+Katoom Spudster Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 I am getting a new Dakota 20 for Christmas with topo (2k10 or something) and wondering what the max microSD card size recommended for this unit? I plan to buy a card before I open the gift my wife let me buy before I open her gift to to me. Considered the Oregon 450t but they seem to expensive an I tend to be a bit rough on these gps units. $220 is an easier loss than$350 minimum. I think that 8meg or 16meg should do well to more of my topo maps along with my 2k streets and citys (older version that I have on my vista etrex hcx) so that I can use the route capability. Hello paperless caching come Dec 25th. What size of microSD are you using and is it enough? Quote Link to comment
+G & C Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 The Garmin map software will only allow you to download 4GB of maps onto a card. I use 8GB cards in both my Oregon 550t and Dakota 20, with 4GB of maps loaded. That way I have the extra 4GB for pictures and geocaches on each card. Quote Link to comment
+Cacheoholic Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 4GB is the limit for a single map (IMG) file which is dictated by the FAT32 file system not necessarily the GPS. You can have more than one map file as long as you are under the ~4000 map tile limit. I have a total of 7.3GB on an 8GB microSD that works fine. I tried to put it on a 32GB microSD but couldn’t get it to work but I think my 32GB cards might be defective. The newer Garmin’s are SDHC compatible so theoretically 32GB should work? There are reports of people using 16GB successfully. Quote Link to comment
snowfleurys Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 How many mapsets are in the 7.3GB total? There was a post a week or two ago stating there was a 10 mapset limit per sortarge 'device'. I ran a test on my OR300 and posted my findings of not having a problem with 17 on a micro memory card. Quote Link to comment
+Cacheoholic Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 That's only 5 on the external memory and 2 more internally. Quote Link to comment
+G & C Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 4GB is the limit for a single map (IMG) file which is dictated by the FAT32 file system not necessarily the GPS. You can have more than one map file as long as you are under the ~4000 map tile limit. I have a total of 7.3GB on an 8GB microSD that works fine. I tried to put it on a 32GB microSD but couldn’t get it to work but I think my 32GB cards might be defective. The newer Garmin’s are SDHC compatible so theoretically 32GB should work? There are reports of people using 16GB successfully. How do you get it in more than one mapfile? DL the first file and then start a whole new one on the same card? And that works? Awesome. Also, I don't remember where I read this, nor do I have a source, but somewhere down the line I read that the Garmins support a max of 16GB external memory. That might be why your 32GB card is not working. If it's true, anyway. Quote Link to comment
+Cacheoholic Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 Just make sure you rename the IMG file before you load a second map set or MapSend will automatically over write the first file. The newer Garmin's will recognize any name you choose as long as it has the ".img" tagged on the end. Quote Link to comment
MtnHermit Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 Just make sure you rename the IMG file before you load a second map set or MapSend will automatically over write the first file. The newer Garmin's will recognize any name you choose as long as it has the ".img" tagged on the end. FWIW, not exactly true. Only applies to newer handhelds (exclude any eTrex?) and the Nuvi 5x0's like AnyName.img files. All other Nuvi's choke. Last week I updated my Nuvi 205W to the latest firmware and it would only read gmapsupp.img. Quote Link to comment
+Cacheoholic Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 Opps, should have qualified by stating all newer paperless Garmin GPS’s. That’s what I intended but I forgot most people can’t read my mind. Quote Link to comment
+G & C Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 Thanks for the tip, that's fantastic. I thought it was a 4GB max, period. All sorts of fun is about to ensue. Quote Link to comment
+kwcahart Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 I have an 8GB card in my 450T and it works fine. I had about 6GB of maps on it. No problem. Quote Link to comment
+geojibby Posted December 19, 2010 Share Posted December 19, 2010 I'm running the 4GB card. I tried cutting up the ibycus canada topo into multiple maps (a couple of provinces per map) and experienced slower performance with them all loaded on the card. I went back to one western canada chunk and ND and it is quicker. FWIW. Quote Link to comment
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