Topo Maps on a Nuvi

[Seabee]

Hi, I just joined and have a question. I downloaded my states topo map a number of years ago from the predecessor of this site and they work just fine on all my Nuvi's (2595, 2686, and 2598) they where done originally with cgpsmapper Ver 0095. The new topo maps from this site don't show up. I used the latest version of Basecamp and Mapinstall to install them on a SDcard which is where the other topo maps are installed. I have also have Mapsouce the latest version which is what I think I used to install them originally. So what do I need to do? Thanks, Jim

[Boyd]

What is the "predecessor of this site"? GPSFileDepot has been around for quite some time.... I have been posting maps here since 2008, and it was not new then. But anyway, it's meaningless to talk about the "maps from this site" as though they had something in common. They do not. This site is just a collection of maps by many different people. There are no standards for how they are made and there can be big differences in the approach and method. of the authors. In other words, it's like talking about the "books from the library", as though they all had something in common.

Most of the maps here should work on a Nuvi. If you are having problems with all of them, then you must be doing something wrong (or you're incredibly unlucky in choosing maps that have problems).

I spent a fair effort to make my own maps look good on a Nuvi. They may not cover an area you want, but they definitely work on the Nuvi - try this as a test: https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/785/

Are you saying that you have an SD card where your old maps work but new ones installed at the same time don't? That would be odd. How many maps total do you have on the card? Where are they installed? Newer Nuvis like yours expect the map to be installed in a folder named Map. If the card is in a computer slot or USB reader (instead of inserted in the GPS) when you install the map, then Garmin's software may not do this correctly.

Also, with Mapsource, when you install a new map, it will erase an old map on the card because it always uses the filename gmapsupp.img. MapInstall shouldn't do that. You can also manually re-name gmapsupp.img to something else, like topo.img after installing.

If you don't format the card as FAT-32, then it will not work in the GPS. How big is the card? Cards larger than 32gb will not work properly.

Also, are you sure you have the newest version of Basecamp? Because the version before that was broken an could NOT install most of the maps from this site.

Just some ideas. No idea what's wrong, but almost all the maps here should work on your GPS.

[Seabee]

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking that I had gotten the Topo map from this site but I could be mistaken. Memory is the second thing to go because one can't remember the first . Anyway I went back and looked at the SDcard (32GB) there's a folder named Map and one named Garmin. The Garmin has gmapsupp a disc image file (3,333,312KB) and Map has individually numbered disc image files. these are Idaho Topo. I'd like to install Oregon and Washington Topo maps. The ones that I downloaded and installed from here on my computer were installed with the Windows installed from this site. The Basecamp is Ver. 4.7.1. I'll try and install the maps with the SD card in the GPS. I did it with it installed in the computer before. We'll see what happens. Jim

[Boyd]

First, these are not "disc image files". I know that's what your computer says, but it's wrong. They are Garmin map files. The problem is that the .img extension is used for different kinds of files.

A little hard to tell, but what you describe sounds OK. I assume you can you view the map(s) in Basecamp/Mapsource on your computer? See this tutorial for map installation. Unfortunately, it's a little out of date.

 https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/how-to-load-maps-on-my-garmin-gps-unit/

Anyway, there shouldn't be a problem using topo maps on a Nuvi. Sometimes, they don't look very good, but they work. So - sorry - you must be doing something wrong.

[Seabee]

Took another shot yesterday at loading the maps. Used Mapsource 6 (the latest ver) they showed up on the SD card. I won't know if they are going to work for a couple of weeks. We won't be driving to Oregon before then. When we're driving in Idaho the contour lines show on the map as we're driving along and that's what I'm trying for when we visit other states. We'll see. Jim

[Boyd]

Why do you have to wait for a couple weeks? You can look at different place on the GPS without actually being there. And you can turn on the GPS simulator in the menu so it will act like you really are there.