Garmin Segment Limit

[segler999]

Mapsource maps divide the area (USA or Europe or West or East or whatever you purchased) into segments. You can see these segments on the map display in Mapsource. When you select some of them to upload into the gpsr (microSD card in my 60Cx, for example), Mapsource will list them, tell you how many of them are selected, and the total memory they take up.

 

For the various street map products, the segments are large; ie, they cover a large geographic area of the map. So, when you select, say, the entire state of Michigan, you get a few large segments into the gpsr.

 

The Garmin TOPO products, however, divide the map into really small segments. So, if you selected the entire state of Michigan, you would get a much larger NUMBER of segments.

 

The size of the memory does not matter as long as it is big enough for whatever you are trying to upload, either internal memory or microSD memory.\

 

Now here's the rub. For the 60C(S)x and 76C(S)x, and maybe for the other x models as well, there is a segment limit built in to the firmware. Right now that limit is 2025 segments. Regardless of how much memory you have in mb, you can't load more than 2025 segments.

 

This is not a problem for the street maps with their large segments.

 

However, for TOPO, you pretty much hit the segment limit at about 375mb or so. Thus, any microSD card bigger than 512mb is a waste for TOPO maps.

 

Several of us have been bugging Garmin about changing the firmware programming to increase the segment limit to some bigger number that will permit loading the entire USA TOPO onto a 2gb or 4gb card.

 

We keep looking for the fix in new firmware versions. However, even up to the current 3.30, the segment remains at 2025. It is getting frustrating.

 

There is a rumor about Garmin issuing a new TOPO package, that has larger segments. However, this is just a rumor. Garmin, like all of them, is prioritizing gps development for vehicle use, since that's where the money is. GPS for outoor use, like hiking and geocaching, has a lower priority for development and perfection. Gosh, just look at the product inventories out there now. The ratio of street/car units to outdoor handheld units is 5:1, from basically all manufacturers.

 

The only real light in the darkness for us outdoor-TOPO users is Delorme with their PN-20. The PN-20 has vastly superior topo maps, does not even bother with auto-routing, and accommodates large memory. Despite these advantages, the PN-20 is not quite the polished product that my 60Cx is. However, I am confident Delorme will continue to polish the PN-20 with firmware updates, like they have already done so far.

 

I am starting to save up for a PN-20. If Garmin does not fix the segment limit problem for us TOPO users, I will buy a PN-20 and peddle my 60Cx.

[+trooperdjb]

Here's another item to add to the Garmin wish list. I too have a 60 CSx and would like to be able to use the rest of the space on the 2 Gb sd card, having all the US road maps and about 4 states worth of TOPO loaded but from my somewhat limited caching experience I think it might be handy to have the unit swtich from CN to TOPO if you were some set distance from a road. That way when GOTO is selected and it follows the road to the nearest point it would automatically switch to the TOPO map if loaded once you were say 100' off the road. What does anyone else think?

[CenTexDodger]

Whatever floats your boat. I like the 60CSx because it is an all-around unit. I can use it in the car, and it will autoroute me to a destination. I would not be interested in a unit that would not autoroute.

[rwsmith123]

Initially the limit was 1000 and change (don't remember the exact number) and Garmin was very responsive and quickly upped the limit to 2025. The change they had to make to do that was probably very minimal, probably just had to change a #define or a constant. So why not just up the number even higher if that's all it takes? My guess is that they can't make the value any higher because they are limited by the amount of internal working ram (memory) that the unit has. I doubt you will see a higher limit than this.

 

I think the only case this limit makes any difference at all is in the US Topo 100k maps (at least that is the one I always hear complaints about) and maybe the US Topo National Park 24k maps (not sure of the sizes there). With a large enough SD card you could load the entire City Navigator maps for North America, Europe, Australia, and any other City Navigator maps Garmin produces.

 

The solution, wait until Garmin releases a new version of US Topo....may happen, may not, personally I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

So what can be done about the problem? Regenerate the US Topo maps with larger map segments yourself. The process isn't that complicated and can be done with free tools that are available such as cgpsmapper and gpsmapedit. The process isn't complicated, but it would be pretty tedious. If there is enough interest, I could write a program to automate the process. How many people would be interested in such a program?

[Barrikady]

...I like the 60CSx because it is an all-around unit. I can use it in the car, and it will autoroute me to a destination. I would not be interested in a unit that would not autoroute.

I agree. I use my 60Cx for running, cycling, hiking AND automobile autorouting. Having the autorouting ability is one of the many things that makes the 60C series of GPS receivers extraordinary and special

Edited April 13, 2007 by Barrikady

[wurthless]

...I like the 60CSx because it is an all-around unit. I can use it in the car, and it will autoroute me to a destination. I would not be interested in a unit that would not autoroute.

I agree. I use my 60Cx for running, cycling, hiking AND automobile autorouting. Having the autorouting ability is one of the many things that makes the 60C series of GPS receivers extraordinary and special

Just load the amount that Garmin allows and be happy with that cus it takes long enough in small pieces. If you could load bigger or more maps it would take for-ever....Little chucks at a time on a big SD card,,have a cold one and slow down , don't worry and "be happy"

[ertyu]

Initially the limit was 1000 and change (don't remember the exact number) and Garmin was very responsive and quickly upped the limit to 2025. The change they had to make to do that was probably very minimal, probably just had to change a #define or a constant. So why not just up the number even higher if that's all it takes? My guess is that they can't make the value any higher because they are limited by the amount of internal working ram (memory) that the unit has. I doubt you will see a higher limit than this.

 

I think the only case this limit makes any difference at all is in the US Topo 100k maps (at least that is the one I always hear complaints about) and maybe the US Topo National Park 24k maps (not sure of the sizes there). With a large enough SD card you could load the entire City Navigator maps for North America, Europe, Australia, and any other City Navigator maps Garmin produces.

 

The solution, wait until Garmin releases a new version of US Topo....may happen, may not, personally I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

So what can be done about the problem? Regenerate the US Topo maps with larger map segments yourself. The process isn't that complicated and can be done with free tools that are available such as cgpsmapper and gpsmapedit. The process isn't complicated, but it would be pretty tedious. If there is enough interest, I could write a program to automate the process. How many people would be interested in such a program?

 

This would be a helpful tool I'd use.