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Free Maps for Garmin GPS


ibycus

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I have tried using these links with no luck, I can't even get to gpsfiledepot at all.

 

This link works, I'll download it tonight when i go to bed.

http://www.ibycus.com/ibycususa/IbycusUSA20.exe

It appears my wonderful (sarcasm) host has decided to take a dump today. Hopefully I'll be back up soon.

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I have tried using these links with no luck, I can't even get to gpsfiledepot at all.

 

This link works, I'll download it tonight when i go to bed.

http://www.ibycus.com/ibycususa/IbycusUSA20.exe

It appears my wonderful (sarcasm) host has decided to take a dump today. Hopefully I'll be back up soon.

 

And I was afraid I had forgotten how to work a computer -- What a relief!!--

 

Anyway thanks for the response, I am downloading it from the link that I found working right now couldn't wait 'till tonight. I am thanking you for your work on this even though I haven't seen the maps yet. I'm after Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado as I live on the three corners.

 

Thanks!!! :ph34r:

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I downloaded v1.4 some time ago and just noticed you can't select Pinellas county in Florida. That is the area just west of Tampa bay. Is there a way to make this work? Thanks.

Download version 2.0. With the exception of a very few areas it fixed all of these issues.

 

The links are at the top of this page in this thread.

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OZ - Everytime I download, and from every site I try, the file size is always 898,575. Dale showed in a previous post that the file should be 920,140,297 bytes. I get the NCIS Error everytime. I even went to NCIS Error decriptions site and tried the suggestions but they didn't help. Is there a site where I can get individual states? I'm looking for LA, AL, MS, FL. I'm also trying to download from another PC tonight.

thanks for any help you can give

Kevin

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OZ - Everytime I download, and from every site I try, the file size is always 898,575. Dale showed in a previous post that the file should be 920,140,297 bytes. I get the NCIS Error everytime. I even went to NCIS Error decriptions site and tried the suggestions but they didn't help. Is there a site where I can get individual states? I'm looking for LA, AL, MS, FL. I'm also trying to download from another PC tonight.

thanks for any help you can give

Kevin

 

Not sure why its not working but thought I'd interject....

898575kB ~ 920,140,297 bytes

898575 x 1024 = 920,140,800 bytes

 

this is why I quoted in bytes, not kB or MB, as there is no ambiguity as to if you're using base 10, or base 2 calculations (hard drive manufacturers like to use base 10 because it makes their hard drives look bigger, computer people like to use base 2 (x1024), because it makes more intrinsic sense than base 10)

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So, Dale. You're saying I'm a few bytes short. You sound like my wife....:0. Using the other PC didn't help. It stopped downloading at around 50%. I also tried running ver. 1.4 again but I get the same error. Would it be feasible to download individual images from your site and install them with MapSet Toolkit? Would this be a work around or is there a better way.

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So, Dale. You're saying I'm a few bytes short. You sound like my wife....:0. Using the other PC didn't help. It stopped downloading at around 50%. I also tried running ver. 1.4 again but I get the same error. Would it be feasible to download individual images from your site and install them with MapSet Toolkit? Would this be a work around or is there a better way.

 

Actually you're a few bytes too many :P. In reality, you're probably exactly right (if you count the actual number of bytes, rather than round to the nearest kB as you've done...).

 

At the moment, the only version I have on my website on a 'file by file' basis is version 1.4. I'll try and get 2.0 on, but vet school is coming fast and furious, so not sure when I'll have time to babysit the upload.

 

Couple questions: What OS? Can you run the installer on another system and then copy the files over? Can you calculate an MD5 checksum on the file? (to make sure the file isn't to blame).

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I'm running XP pro w/ SP2. The checksum is : f9a30c550b463e79b46b57fb64b1bf10. I tried copying the file to a thumb drive and running it on my daughters PC but I got the same error. I'll try it at work tomorrow too.

Hmmm, looks like your file is corrupted... I get

 

9aa5f10d54ea0547bc9eeab015a91d51 IbycusUSA20.exe

f47bd24a078b5a93d71426c8198ae6c4 IbycusUSA14.exe

 

when running on the server...

 

What did you download with? I've had more success downloading large files with Firefox than with IE...

 

Dale

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Okay...maybe I'm not as tech savvy as I thought I was. I downloaded v2.0 and got that installed with no problem. I also dowloaded the patch, but I don't know what to do with it.

 

I'm guessing the patch is supposed to fix a couple of areas that mapsource wouldn't let me highlight? In particular, there was a spot in western WI that I couldn't get to work...

 

Thanks

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Okay...maybe I'm not as tech savvy as I thought I was. I downloaded v2.0 and got that installed with no problem. I also dowloaded the patch, but I don't know what to do with it.

 

I'm guessing the patch is supposed to fix a couple of areas that mapsource wouldn't let me highlight? In particular, there was a spot in western WI that I couldn't get to work...

 

Thanks

 

Unzip the patch file, and put the numbered images in the \program files\IbycusU2\imgs directory, and the rest of the files in \program files\ibycusu2\

 

HTH,

 

Dale

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Yup, Downloaded from your site at least 4 times and with different methods, i.e. FDM, Mozilla and I.E.7. Also downloaded from OZ's links the same ways with the same results.

 

Something very strange is going on then, as lots of others have downloaded it with no trouble.... Not sure where to go from here.

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Dale - did you get time to put up the indvidual img files for ver 2.0 on your site? I was able to pick and choose the ver 1.4 img files and download them succesfully, but I'm trying to fill in gaps I have in several counties, i.e Miss., AL, Fla and parishes(Louisiana)

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Dale - did you get time to put up the indvidual img files for ver 2.0 on your site? I was able to pick and choose the ver 1.4 img files and download them succesfully, but I'm trying to fill in gaps I have in several counties, i.e Miss., AL, Fla and parishes(Louisiana)

 

I haven't yet... My upload speed is really slow from here, and it really seems to bog down my computer. I'll see if I can work out a way to get it uploading from the university, but at the moment, my time there is pretty well packed.

 

Dale

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I would be more than happy to pay someone. If someone could burn to a disc and mail it to me. I have tried 3 times to download it, the bettest was 10.3 hrs and got 783mb. Sometimes I think snell mail would be faster than downloading with my pc 56k modem. Thanks Tim

 

56k modem! Eeek. I really wouldn't like to be downloading at 56kbps. (PM sent)

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Any idea if/when you'll do Minnesota?

 

Minnesota is already covered in the latest version (2.01).

 

Dale

 

:laughing: I didn't know people still had 56k modems :blink: I got tired or reading the posts, so I came to the end. I did notice that there was someone working on the 11 western states. Is Wa done?

Thanks

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Okay -- hopefully this doesn't tick too many people off, but I'll admit it -- I'm lazy. I'm sure it's been answered already, but I don't feel like looking at the 15 pages of back posts. I want to put these maps on my Oregon 400t. Two questions.

 

1)Do I use mapsource just like I dd with my old Legend?

 

2) Will my preloaded topographics still be on the unit, or will they be erased? Can I switch back and forth between the two maps? (okay, technically 3 ?'s)

 

Thanks,

 

Chapskis1

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Okay -- hopefully this doesn't tick too many people off, but I'll admit it -- I'm lazy. I'm sure it's been answered already, but I don't feel like looking at the 15 pages of back posts. I want to put these maps on my Oregon 400t. Two questions.

 

I probably wouldn't put them on the Oregon. Not that you couldn't but I don't see how much you'd gain. (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the preloaded Oregon Maps at least as good as these ones?)

 

1)Do I use mapsource just like I dd with my old Legend?

 

Yes. They'll show up as a seperate product in Mapsource.

 

2) Will my preloaded topographics still be on the unit, or will they be erased? Can I switch back and forth between the two maps? (okay, technically 3 ?'s)

 

The preloaded maps should stay there (I'm assuming that they are loaded under "gmaprom.img" and "gmapbase.img"). You can always back up these files first just in case though.

 

Dale

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Michigan maps would be greatly appreciated!!!!

 

Thanks,

Ron (Michigan)

Ron,

 

Saw your post. Did you ever come up with any Michigan maps?

 

Thanks,

 

Karl

 

Pretty much the whole country is covered now. (with the exception of a couple tiny squares)

 

Do you have a topo map for Wisconsin?

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I have these maps loaded on my Etrex Vista Hcx, and I think they are great.

 

I also have my entire geocache database loaded as POIs using a GSAK macro. Unlike Waypoints that will display on the map, the POIs will only come up in a search and you have to select one and "go to" it as a waypoint to see it on the map.

 

I asked Garmin tech support if there was a way to display POIs in the map screen, and I was surprised to get this response:

..... Yes, you are able to view POIs on your map

page. However, you do need to have City Navigator loaded onto your

unit. These POIs are seen at around a zoom level of 300ft. Whereas

waypoints are seen at any zoom level. There is not a setting to adjust

the POI zoom level.

 

Does anyone have a clue what City Navigator might be doing to trigger this functionality? And is it something that we might be able to incorporate into the free maps?

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POI are custom points of interest that is why.

 

City Navigator (and all the custom maps) have points of interest built in that display at different levels. on my topo maps summits appear at one point while waterfalls and the like appear at other levels. You would have to create a map with all the points of interest and have a registered version of cgpsmapper in order to make the POIs searchable and you wouldn't be able to change them from not found to found.

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POI are custom points of interest that is why.

 

City Navigator (and all the custom maps) have points of interest built in that display at different levels. on my topo maps summits appear at one point while waterfalls and the like appear at other levels. You would have to create a map with all the points of interest and have a registered version of cgpsmapper in order to make the POIs searchable and you wouldn't be able to change them from not found to found.

 

Further to this, you also wouldn't be able to share your maps with anyone due to the restrictions on how you can use pocket query data. (although I think you can search the POIs to some degree even without the registered version... you are however missing the additional field information in the non-paid cgpsmapper...)

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Thanks for the replies. I have no doubt that my ignorance is showing here, but nonetheless --

 

Since POIs can be changed frequently, and Garmin says that POIs will display in City Navigator, it must mean the only thing hard-coded into city navigator is the ability to display any given POI when the zoom level is 300 feet or closer. At least I read the reply from tech support as saying that custom POIs would display with City Navigator, not just the POIs that come with it -- perhaps that is not the case.

 

But if the maps will display custom POIs, then it sounds a lot more like a setting for the maps that could be changed -- an option to display that category of data from the memory card, and a zoom level where it would appear. (and FWIW -- other tech support folks at Garmin were telling me that their GPSs would not display POI points on the map screens, so I guess this question does not come up often. )

 

Is that a setting that could, perhaps, be set in the commercial version of CGS mapper? I can understand why a company might save that feature for a paid version of the software, but it does not necessarily mean that feature could not be unlocked if someone else figured out how to reverse engineer the setting, right?

 

I'm not asking about cracking the software or pirating a copy of anything -- I am asking if that is a setting that is not, in itself, protected from being changed if someone wrote the software to do it. Isn't that the deal with the auto-routing feature? It is offered in the commercial software, but could just as lawfully be built into another piece of software and released as open source. Or do I have that wrong?

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Thanks for the replies. I have no doubt that my ignorance is showing here, but nonetheless --

 

Since POIs can be changed frequently, and Garmin says that POIs will display in City Navigator, it must mean the only thing hard-coded into city navigator is the ability to display any given POI when the zoom level is 300 feet or closer. At least I read the reply from tech support as saying that custom POIs would display with City Navigator, not just the POIs that come with it -- perhaps that is not the case.

 

I think the confusion lies in the two different kinds of POIs that your GPS can interpret. Those that come with your GPS.

 

There are two completely seperate kinds of POIs that your GPS can view. The kind that come with City Navigator are stored in a 'map file' format. The same format can display lines, and polygons etc. Officially these kinds of files can only be generated by Garmin and Garmin approved people.

 

Most Garmin GPSrs only have the ability to store about 1000 'waypoints' onboard. To overcome this difficulty, Garmin introduced the ability to display and view custom POIs (but they wanted to keep their map file format private). The custom POIs have an entirely different format than the ones stored in the IMG files, so there is no way to go back and forth between them.

 

Now Garmin support can tell you that your GPS can view custom POIs, but they are going to ignore the existence of the 3rd party mapping solutions.

 

Dale

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"Now Garmin support can tell you that your GPS can view custom POIs, but they are going to ignore the existence of the 3rd party mapping solutions. "

 

So what Garmin probably meant was that the hard-coded POIs will display in the maps, but not the custom POIs.

 

I did see some forums for the Garmin Nuvis where a similar question was being discussed. I saw a post from Garmin saying the POIs will display on the Nuvi maps in 2D mode but not in 3D mode -- but now I am guessing that it only referred to the built-in POIs. For custom POIs, folks are reporting that they cannot get their geocache POIs to display on their maps, but they can load the custom POIs and set a flag for a proximity alarm. When the GPS is within a set distance from one of their cache POIs a pop-up appears on the screen that, when touched, will bring up the POI data for the closest caches. That seems like a very clever work-around for a car GPS, but I don't think there is anything comparable for the handheld models.

 

Given that waypoints appear on the map, and that the GPS constantly pulls the map data off of the memory card, it seems technically possible that Garmin could add that functionality in a firmware update to pull off the relevant POI data every time the map file was accessed to get the unit to display POIs. Not that they will, but it doesn't seem like it would be a difficult change to make.

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I received another email from Garmin saying that, after a bit more research, the Vista Hcx (and presumably the other models using memory cards) CAN be set to display all POIs as map data. I have not tried this yet, but here is the reply ---

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

 

I will be happy to assist. I did some further research. It appears

that the Vista Hcx is able to view all points of interest. You can

adjust from what zoom level they are seen from. By default City

Navigator is the only software that automatically shows POIs. However

this can be adjusted with different POIs.

 

This can be done by: MAIN MENU > SETUP > MAP > MAP SETUP POINTS > All

POIs are recognized as Map Points. It may be set to AUTO. If you

highlight and click on AUTO you can adjust what zoom level they are seen

from.

 

If you have any further questions please feel free to let us know.

 

I'm looking forward to giving this a try. And I tip my hat to Garmin tech support for taking another look at my question.

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Update -- sure looks like this works. apparently the "auto" setting really does not display any POIs unless you have City Navigator installed. changing it from that default will have the POIs display at the selected zoom level.

 

now here is the strange part -- I am also getting additional POI icons that will display for schools. I haven't explored the maps enough to see if anything else is showing up.

 

but I know I don't have any POI data loaded for schools. is it possible that some POI data is coded into the IBCUSA map data we are using?

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Update -- sure looks like this works. apparently the "auto" setting really does not display any POIs unless you have City Navigator installed. changing it from that default will have the POIs display at the selected zoom level.

 

now here is the strange part -- I am also getting additional POI icons that will display for schools. I haven't explored the maps enough to see if anything else is showing up.

 

but I know I don't have any POI data loaded for schools. is it possible that some POI data is coded into the IBCUSA map data we are using?

 

There is definitely some POI data in my mapset (including some stuff for schools).

 

Dale

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