Free Topo Maps for Garmin GPS

[titanium46]

Removing all other maps did not change anything

For what it may be worth I am able to zoom in to a 15mi scale if the detail is set as low or 7mi if at lowest. Below that Mapsource crashes with a re-install warning

[+JDandDD]

Removing all other maps did not change anything

For what it may be worth I am able to zoom in to a 15mi scale if the detail is set as low or 7mi if at lowest. Below that Mapsource crashes with a re-install warning

Just if it helps Dale, that's exactly the behaviour that I'm getting.

 

JD

[titanium46]

Working!

I removed both registry entries and the index files then re-ran the beta updater. It did a 'fresh' install and rebuilt the registry but did not seem to download any files, this install did not work. I copied in the new index files you had linked to and all was fine. Interesting though is that the registry is now listing it under "families" rather than "products"... has my problem been caused by skipping the 1.5 updates. Sections of Ontario that I have checked work at all scales and detail

Thank you so much for all the work you do on this project

. Hal

[+Red90]

Yes, since 1.5, the installer, installs under "Families" but I don't think it was removing the old keys.

 

When I'm home, I'll update and let you know if there are still problem as I'm quite familiar with what the should be in the registry.

[+JDandDD]

Working!

I removed both registry entries and the index files then re-ran the beta updater. It did a 'fresh' install and rebuilt the registry but did not seem to download any files, this install did not work. I copied in the new index files you had linked to and all was fine. Interesting though is that the registry is now listing it under "families" rather than "products"... has my problem been caused by skipping the 1.5 updates. Sections of Ontario that I have checked work at all scales and detail

Thank you so much for all the work you do on this project

. Hal

That gets the maps working. Do you see any street names where you've looked? I don't including throughout Toronto.

 

Maybe not everywhere.

 

JD

[+GPSlug]

This worked for me:

1. Changing Families\NTDBData\ID to "7F 00" makes the install error go away, but I still can't see the detailed maps.

2. Then deleting Families\NTDBData\MDR fixes everything.

 

The same changes happen when I delete Families\NTDBData and re-run MapUpdateBeta

 

I get street names everywhere I've looked in Alberta and BC. Which is apparently as expected.

Edited July 7, 2008 by GPSlug

[+ibycus]

Working!

I removed both registry entries and the index files then re-ran the beta updater. It did a 'fresh' install and rebuilt the registry but did not seem to download any files, this install did not work. I copied in the new index files you had linked to and all was fine. Interesting though is that the registry is now listing it under "families" rather than "products"... has my problem been caused by skipping the 1.5 updates. Sections of Ontario that I have checked work at all scales and detail

Thank you so much for all the work you do on this project

. Hal

 

The initial problem was caused by me goofing up the download location for the index files. It was downloading the old indices but trying to use them with the new maps. Obviously this won't work (as the layout has totally changed.).

 

I'm thinking at the moment that the vestigial MDR key is what was causing the crashing behavior (although why you didn't see this when you had the wrong indices is a mystery to me).

 

You're right though, the current "Map Update Beta" doesn't download *any* index files. I'll fix that, and post when it does.

 

**edit the problem was that if it didn't find any IMGs to update it assumed that the indices were OK. I've modified my program to check to see if the index files *exist* before I continue.

Edited July 7, 2008 by ibycus

[+ibycus]

OK, just uploaded a new "MapUpdateBeta.exe" file. It should fix all the problems people have been having.

 

Basically this version read whats in the registry to get the install path, then wipes the keys and rewrites them with 'fresh' information (remembering custom install paths).

[+ibycus]

I get street names everywhere I've looked in Alberta and BC. Which is apparently as expected.

 

Street names should be available in Alberta, BC and Nova Scotia. Updated roads are available in many other provinces.

[dixarone]

I'm dense, so bear with me please...

 

I do not have any earlier versions of these maps installed whatsoever. I started the download of the beta set earlier today (around 8am Pacific), and everything should be finishing up pretty much as we speak (I'm at work right now, so don't know for sure).

 

From what I've read here...should I assume:

 

- that if I try to access these maps straight away from Mapsource, I'll crash it, so I should not run it until:

 

- I access the 3 "index files" and manually download those, and, I then just stick the files in the same directory as the rest of the map images...

 

Or am I missing something completely? I should note as well, I do not have any Garmin Mapsource maps in Mapsource or my GPS at this point.

 

Thanks a tonne - I'm trying to avoid crashing if at all possible, obviously.

 

EDIT: I see that another possible solution is to delete everything I've downloaded, and start over...I guess I'm okay with that if it turns out to be the recommendation...

Edited July 7, 2008 by dixarone

[titanium46]

Unless I am looking in the wrong place I have no MDR key. This install was done originally using a 1.2 exe installer and updated to 1.31 by copying in the topomap folder ( I had a faulty connection to the internet at that time). I have basically a clone of it still running on the laptop. It has no entry other than 'trip and waypoint' under families. In the entry for NTDBData under products there are only keys for BMAP, LOC and TDB plus the normal default

I do not know now what registry entries were made on the first update attempt but I do know that it would still work after with the old topomap directory restored

If it helps, now that all is working well I see that the tiles that were originally working were the ones that remained small, the newer large ones showed only numbered highways and nothing else

[+ibycus]

- I access the 3 "index files" and manually download those, and, I then just stick the files in the same directory as the rest of the map images...

 

Not quite the same directory, you want to put them one level up from all the IMG files (in \Program Files\TopoMaps, rather than in \Program Files\TopoMaps\imgs)

 

EDIT: I see that another possible solution is to delete everything I've downloaded, and start over...I guess I'm okay with that if it turns out to be the recommendation...

 

Definitely not the recommended solution. You certainly don't need to delete anything in the \imgs directory.

 

The 'crash' in question won't actually cause any problems with your system (other than the immediate problem of not being able to get in to Mapsource), fixing the problem will resolve the issue without resorting to any drastic measures.

 

The easiest way to fix the problem (without wiping everything and restarting) is to just delete the NTDBData.* out of \Program Files\TopoMaps and running the latest MapUpdateBeta (http://www.ibycus.com/ibycustopo/download1/MapUpdateBeta.exe). Alternatively you should be able to just download the index files referenced earlier, and that will also fix the problem.

[+ibycus]

Unless I am looking in the wrong place I have no MDR key. This install was done originally using a 1.2 exe installer and updated to 1.31 by copying in the topomap folder ( I had a faulty connection to the internet at that time). I have basically a clone of it still running on the laptop. It has no entry other than 'trip and waypoint' under families. In the entry for NTDBData under products there are only keys for BMAP, LOC and TDB plus the normal default

I do not know now what registry entries were made on the first update attempt but I do know that it would still work after with the old topomap directory restored

If it helps, now that all is working well I see that the tiles that were originally working were the ones that remained small, the newer large ones showed only numbered highways and nothing else

 

That's all as expected. I'm no longer using the MDR key (or the file). The small ones kept the same name as in the old version, and so were still visible, whereas the large tiles got new names.

 

If you run the latest MapUpdateBeta, it will move your Registry Keys to be under Families (advantage being its possible to customize the display of the map using a TYP file if you're Savvy enough).

[martin_nv]

I've loaded them onto my computer using mapupdatebeta.exe and so far they look great! I'll try and load them onto the GPS now...

Great stuff ibycus!!

[+JDandDD]

Great work Dale! Everything is running OK and looks great on the GPS. Thanks!!!

 

JD

[dixarone]

Not sure what's going on now...if I delete the three files and run the update again, it's trying to download everything...but says 2399 files...less than last time.

 

I only know enough about this stuff to be dangerous...

 

EDIT: just had a look at the directory, and it's definitely re-downloading all the image files, and overwriting the ones that were done earlier today. If I put the 3 files back where they are supposed to be and leave everything else alone, Mapsource isn't recognizing that the maps are there.

Edited July 8, 2008 by dixarone

[+ibycus]

Not sure what's going on now...if I delete the three files and run the update again, it's trying to download everything...but says 2399 files...less than last time.

 

I only know enough about this stuff to be dangerous...

 

EDIT: just had a look at the directory, and it's definitely re-downloading all the image files, and overwriting the ones that were done earlier today. If I put the 3 files back where they are supposed to be and leave everything else alone, Mapsource isn't recognizing that the maps are there.

 

Hmmm. Are you sure you ran "MapUpdateBeta.exe" and not MapUpdate.exe?

 

The last thing MapUpdate does is add the maps to the registry, which would explain why its not seeing the maps (done this way to prevent partial installs from mucking up Mapsource).

 

Dale

[dixarone]

Not sure what's going on now...if I delete the three files and run the update again, it's trying to download everything...but says 2399 files...less than last time.

 

I only know enough about this stuff to be dangerous...

 

EDIT: just had a look at the directory, and it's definitely re-downloading all the image files, and overwriting the ones that were done earlier today. If I put the 3 files back where they are supposed to be and leave everything else alone, Mapsource isn't recognizing that the maps are there.

 

Hmmm. Are you sure you ran "MapUpdateBeta.exe" and not MapUpdate.exe?

 

The last thing MapUpdate does is add the maps to the registry, which would explain why its not seeing the maps (done this way to prevent partial installs from mucking up Mapsource).

 

Dale

 

Yep - that was one of my thoughts as well...but I'm definitely in the middle of a MapUpdateBeta.exe download as we speak. Double and triple checked.

[+Red90]

OK, I ran this overnight. It did not upload the new index or preview map files.... I downloaded a new installer this morning and re-ran it to make sure.

 

I then manually uploaded, which solved the problem.

 

Everything looks good to me. The only thing I noticed a bit strange is "trails" and "railroads" show up in level 1, while roads don't come up until level 0.

[+ibycus]

OK, I ran this overnight. It did not upload the new index or preview map files.... I downloaded a new installer this morning and re-ran it to make sure.

 

I then manually uploaded, which solved the problem.

 

Weird, weird, weird. Was this in a new directory, or was this overwriting a previous install in that directory?

[+Red90]

Weird, weird, weird. Was this in a new directory, or was this overwriting a previous install in that directory?

 

Overwriting 1.5

 

A couple of other things. IMO, there are still too many roads in the preview map in the central Provinces making Mapsource slow when zoomed way out.

 

- Tile 041A is bad.

- Northern Ontario is missing....

[+ibycus]

Weird, weird, weird. Was this in a new directory, or was this overwriting a previous install in that directory?

 

Overwriting 1.5

 

A couple of other things. IMO, there are still too many roads in the preview map in the central Provinces making Mapsource slow when zoomed way out.

 

- Tile 041A is bad.

- Northern Ontario is missing....

 

What's wrong with 041A? I'm panning around and can't seem the problem.

 

I think I see the problem in my code now for MapUpdateBeta. I'll fix it and upload a new version shortly.

 

For Northern Ontario, I assume you mean 042, 043, and 054? (i.e. far northern Ontario). I was getting these from the 1:250k maps, and I haven't re-added them yet (they require some tweaking of my code to get them to work with the new processing).

[dixarone]

Here's my story, fwiw...:

 

I let the download complete overnight...2399 files total. Checked the directory, and sure enough, there are 2399 files that have been overwritten, but also files that were there from the 2700+ from yesterday's first download.

 

Checked in Mapsource, and everything looks fine in my neck of the woods - haven't gone beyond Vancouver Island and the lower mainland yet, however.

 

One thing I did notice - in Mapsource it definitely lists these maps as 2.0Beta. Yesterday, I did have a peek at the drop down list in Mapsource before deleting the index files and getting into my whole problem issue (without actually loading the map), and it showed up as 1.5.

 

Thanks a tonne for this, Dale. If and when I get a chance, I'll definitely be "toking the dealer".

[+GPSlug]

Just to not confuse any download matters, my success was done with a complete manual download (my only option since I can't make McAfee work with the updater) and copy to the appropriate directories, followed by running MapUpdateBeta with all the files already in place.

[+Red90]

What's wrong with 041A? I'm panning around and can't seem the problem.

 

I can't verify I am talking about the correct one until I'm home, but that tile would not open with either Mapspurce or GPSMapedit. GPSMapedit said it had a bad header.

Edited July 8, 2008 by Red90

[+Red90]

What's wrong with 041A? I'm panning around and can't seem the problem.

 

I can't verify I am talking about the correct one until I'm home, but that tile would not open with either Mapspurce or GPSMapedit. GPSMapedit said it had a bad header.

 

I deleted and re-downloaded that tile and the new one works fine.

[+MaliBooBoo]

Somehow while trying to download the new set of maps, my original set of Ibycus maps were erased (I think). Now when I click on the link and RUN, a MapUpdater box opens and I press the button that says CHECK FOR UPDATES. Now a box opens that says "Unable to locate an existing install: Should I continue with a fresh install? I click Yes and it hangs everytime.

 

Would appreciate any ideas on how to solve this problem as I really want to check out the new maps! Thanks...

[+MaliBooBoo]

Standby: somehow it is now checking for orphan files... Maybe it'll work now!

[+ibycus]

Somehow while trying to download the new set of maps, my original set of Ibycus maps were erased (I think). Now when I click on the link and RUN, a MapUpdater box opens and I press the button that says CHECK FOR UPDATES. Now a box opens that says "Unable to locate an existing install: Should I continue with a fresh install? I click Yes and it hangs everytime.

 

Would appreciate any ideas on how to solve this problem as I really want to check out the new maps! Thanks...

 

If you kill an install part way through, you'll loose the registry settings associated with the maps. I'll have to address this as I admit it is a little confusing, and could potentially cause problems if the maps aren't where it expects them to be.

[+MaliBooBoo]

Somehow while trying to download the new set of maps, my original set of Ibycus maps were erased (I think). Now when I click on the link and RUN, a MapUpdater box opens and I press the button that says CHECK FOR UPDATES. Now a box opens that says "Unable to locate an existing install: Should I continue with a fresh install? I click Yes and it hangs everytime.

 

Would appreciate any ideas on how to solve this problem as I really want to check out the new maps! Thanks...

 

If you kill an install part way through, you'll loose the registry settings associated with the maps. I'll have to address this as I admit it is a little confusing, and could potentially cause problems if the maps aren't where it expects them to be.

 

Yeah, that's what happened: the laptop overheated and shut itself down when I tried to download this and it caused some problems! When I am doing type of thing now I have a fan blowing on the laptop, otherwise it simply overheats! It seems to have worked!

[+ibycus]

Yeah, that's what happened: the laptop overheated and shut itself down when I tried to download this and it caused some problems! When I am doing type of thing now I have a fan blowing on the laptop, otherwise it simply overheats! It seems to have worked!

 

Have you tried blowing it out with compressed air? Or sucking out the dust with a vacuum?

 

Glad it worked.

[+cyberrat]

I try to install the new version 1.5. the problem that I have is the installer locate de file in

c:\program files\topo maps.. all my application still install on D drive. Can I setup a new install

directory with de setup.exe. I alerady used the 1.31 version and update to 1.34 and all working well.

 

Regards,

[+cyberrat]

I try to install the new version 1.5. the problem that I have is the installer locate de file in

c:\program files\topo maps.. all my application still install on D drive. Can I setup a new install

directory with de setup.exe. I alerady used the 1.31 version and update to 1.34 and all working well.

 

Regards,

[+cyberrat]

I try to install the new version 1.5. the problem that I have is the installer locate de file in

c:\program files\topo maps.. all my application still install on D drive. Can I setup a new install

directory with de setup.exe. I alerady used the 1.31 version and update to 1.34 and all working well.

 

Regards,

[+ibycus]

I try to install the new version 1.5. the problem that I have is the installer locate de file in

c:\program files\topo maps.. all my application still install on D drive. Can I setup a new install

directory with de setup.exe. I alerady used the 1.31 version and update to 1.34 and all working well.

 

Regards,

 

Not sure if I follow absolutely. Are you running in to a problem, or are you trying to avoid a potential problem?

 

Where are the maps currently located?

 

**edit to add, I've just uploaded a new version of MapUpdateBeta which should fix the bug with an existing install in a non-standard location getting 'lost'.

Edited July 9, 2008 by ibycus

[Cheerz]

Dale,

 

I was wondering how you un-install the Canada Topos (mac version) from OSX? I have both versions (PC via parallels and MAC on my native partition) and having both versions is a bit redundant...

[+ibycus]

Dale,

 

I was wondering how you un-install the Canada Topos (mac version) from OSX? I have both versions (PC via parallels and MAC on my native partition) and having both versions is a bit redundant...

 

Absolutely no idea. (I've never even sat down with a Garmin device on a Mac).

[+B+L]

Dale,

 

I was wondering how you un-install the Canada Topos (mac version) from OSX? I have both versions (PC via parallels and MAC on my native partition) and having both versions is a bit redundant...

 

Maps are installed as bundles named XXX.gmap (where XXX is the map name) in your Library/Application Support/Garmin/Maps folder. You can move the bundle elsewhere or delete it.

[sagc]

I was checking out various areas of the 2.0beta maps. While wondering just how flat the prairies really are, I noticed what appears to be a problem with the units for some contour lines. I was viewing the maps using Mapsource with all units set for metric. In some areas, the altitudes shown in meters are as if the original values were assumed to be feet (or something like that).

 

Examples (datum WGS 84):

 

Map name 072J - COURVAL (Saskatchewan)

N50 15.0 W107 15.7

On this map segment, anything north of N50 15.0 has heights in the 200M range and anything to the south is in the 700M range.

 

Map name 072L - MANY ISLAND LAKE (Alberta)

N50 13.0 W110 33.0

This area is in the 200M range but above, below and to the east are in the 700M range.

 

I didn't do an extensive search. There's probably more cases.

[+ibycus]

I was checking out various areas of the 2.0beta maps. While wondering just how flat the prairies really are, I noticed what appears to be a problem with the units for some contour lines. I was viewing the maps using Mapsource with all units set for metric. In some areas, the altitudes shown in meters are as if the original values were assumed to be feet (or something like that).

 

Examples (datum WGS 84):

 

Map name 072J - COURVAL (Saskatchewan)

N50 15.0 W107 15.7

On this map segment, anything north of N50 15.0 has heights in the 200M range and anything to the south is in the 700M range.

 

Map name 072L - MANY ISLAND LAKE (Alberta)

N50 13.0 W110 33.0

This area is in the 200M range but above, below and to the east are in the 700M range.

 

I didn't do an extensive search. There's probably more cases.

 

Doh! I know exactly what the problem is, and it will require me to recompile everything from scratch. (Big tiles are being given the units of the first square in them, if later squares are in different units, its wrong).

 

Dale

[+Red90]

LOL, man that is a pain.

 

Anyway, they are looking working great. Here is a screenshot from a Nuvi.

 

[+ibycus]

LOL, man that is a pain.

 

Anyway, they are looking working great. Here is a screenshot from a Nuvi.

 

 

Its not as bad as it could be. Stan seems to have fixed the bug causing it to hang on the dictionary line, so all of the country only took me a couple days to compile (except for 063I for some reason that one took nearly a full day to compile...).

 

Dale

[+cyberrat]

I try to install the new version 1.5. the problem that I have is the installer locate de file in

c:\program files\topo maps.. all my application still install on D drive. Can I setup a new install

directory with de setup.exe. I alerady used the 1.31 version and update to 1.34 and all working well.

 

Regards,

 

Not sure if I follow absolutely. Are you running in to a problem, or are you trying to avoid a potential problem?

 

Where are the maps currently located?

 

**edit to add, I've just uploaded a new version of MapUpdateBeta which should fix the bug with an existing install in a non-standard location getting 'lost'.

 

I just want to be able to set another directory that c:\program files\topo... All my mapsource Install located in the d:\program files\. I try updatebeta and I can't set the home directory for install. Can you add this optioin on the next release of map updater.

 

Regards,

[+ibycus]

I just want to be able to set another directory that c:\program files\topo... All my mapsource Install located in the d:\program files\. I try updatebeta and I can't set the home directory for install. Can you add this optioin on the next release of map updater.

 

Regards,

 

I'm reluctant to do this (although I may eventually put the option back in). I used to get a lot of people contact me asking 'why they couldn't open the map files'. Turns out they were doing 'File--> Open' to get them. Since removing that option, I get far fewer confused people.

I can however send you a program that will allow you to set the install path chosen by MapUpdateBeta (e-mail me your e-mail address). (just run it before you run "MapUpdateBeta".

 

Dale

[kcmelty]

Newbe question here. Is there a chart or map that shows where the sections that ibycus is talking about (031, 032, 033 etc.) are located in Canada?

 

I am using Sendmap so I don't get to preview before I send.

 

BTW, thanks for all the work that you put into these maps ibycus. They are really going to come in handy.

[+ibycus]

Newbe question here. Is there a chart or map that shows where the sections that ibycus is talking about (031, 032, 033 etc.) are located in Canada?

 

I am using Sendmap so I don't get to preview before I send.

 

BTW, thanks for all the work that you put into these maps ibycus. They are really going to come in handy.

 

Hey,

 

The numbering is based on the Government's NTS grid system. Essentially, the first two digits represent the east west position (00 --> 11), the next is the North/South position (0-9). The letter then represents a subdivision in a 4x4 grid (a-->p) and then the last two digits represent a further 4x4 subdivision. Here is a link to a clickable map of Canada http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/browse.do...&map=canada showing the NTS system.

[kcmelty]

Newbe question here. Is there a chart or map that shows where the sections that ibycus is talking about (031, 032, 033 etc.) are located in Canada?

 

I am using Sendmap so I don't get to preview before I send.

 

BTW, thanks for all the work that you put into these maps ibycus. They are really going to come in handy.

 

Hey,

 

The numbering is based on the Government's NTS grid system. Essentially, the first two digits represent the east west position (00 --> 11), the next is the North/South position (0-9). The letter then represents a subdivision in a 4x4 grid (a-->p) and then the last two digits represent a further 4x4 subdivision. Here is a link to a clickable map of Canada http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/browse.do...&map=canada showing the NTS system.

 

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

 

But how do your .img file names match up to the different segments without a letter? Like 10520103.img is part of the 052 grid, but how do I narrow it down from there?

 

Also, is there a similar map to use with your USA maps?

[+ibycus]

But how do your .img file names match up to the different segments without a letter? Like 10520103.img is part of the 052 grid, but how do I narrow it down from there?

 

Also, is there a similar map to use with your USA maps?

 

10520103.img is 052A03 (01 is for A).

 

The USA maps are numbered by the US Census bureau's county ID number. This makes a good reference: ftp://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER2007FE . Each county number is prefaced with 200 to pad it to 8 digits.

 

Oh, and if you're looking for the NTS grid covered by a particular lat lon, you can use http://www.ibycus.com/getnts.exe (might be a little faster)

 

HTH

 

Dale

[+paulrimmer]

Hi Dale,

 

Should I hold off running an update for the latest road names/contours?

Edited July 15, 2008 by paulrimmer

[+ibycus]

Hi Dale,

 

Should I hold off running an update for the latest road names/contours?

 

Might be a couple weeks before I get 2.0 non-beta out. The existing online version does have road names in it. The only (known) bug in it is that in some tiles, some of the contour values are out by a factor of 3.28.

 

Dale