Maps for 450

[NHRA1877]

Finally got my new Oregon 450, i know there are free topo maps available, was wondering where the best place to get them is or how to go about loading them onto mapsource is. Im located in NJ so im looking for something like the 24k northeast maps. Also would like to be able to load them onto my friends 60csx. Thanks guys!!

[+Reno8]

I get mine here; http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/

 

After you download the maps you want to your computer Mapsource will automatically recognize them. Then just upload them to your GPS. They're free.

 

Good luck!

[NHRA1877]

Thanks, just loaded a nice set of NJ maps on both units. Is there anyway to get the shaded releif on the 450 with these maps?

[snowfleurys]

How Garmin codes the elevation data used for shaded relief has not be reversed engineered. You would have to use one of their mapsets which has that data.

[NHRA1877]

Thanks, just loaded a nice set of NJ maps on both units. Is there anyway to get the shaded releif on the 450 with these maps?

[NHRA1877]

Sorry for the double post. So if I bought us 100k maps, and loaded them on, then loaded the nj one from the web site, would it be able to use the technology to shade the nj maps?

 

Also should I be loading caches and topo onto the mem card? I have a spare 2gig micro sd from an old phone I can use

[+myotis]

Sorry for the double post. So if I bought us 100k maps, and loaded them on, then loaded the nj one from the web site, would it be able to use the technology to shade the nj maps?

 

Also should I be loading caches and topo onto the mem card? I have a spare 2gig micro sd from an old phone I can use

 

The answer is yes.

 

Also here is some canned language I use when this issue comes up:

 

I think there needs to be a FAQ on the difference between the T and regular models. People ask this all the time and usually get misleading advice. Certainly you can get free better topo maps on gpsfiledepot.com. However, the T models also come with 100K DEM (Digital Elevation Model) data which some features require. You can only get DEM data from a T model or Garmin 100K topo or Garmin's 24K topo (which have 24K DEM). Us map-makers have not been able to figure out how to make DEM data to load on your GPS, so you cannot get DEM data from gpsfiledepot.com.

 

While one may still decide the DEM data is not worth the extra money, it needs to be weighed in the decision. I thought it was worth the extra money when I bought my 550T.

 

DEM:

 

To show shaded relief, the GPS requires DEM data. If you have DEM data on your GPS, it will show shaded relief on any map (including the ones from gpsfiledepot.com). However, shaded relief makes the GPS significantly harder to read. However, sometimes it can be nice when looking at a map to see if the trail goes uphill or downhill. You can turn it on if you need it. Without it, usually you can tell which way is up, but sometimes you have to click on topo lines to figure it out.

 

The 3d viewer requires DEM data

 

With DEM data, the GPS will add elevation data to a track you load and follow on track manager. This allows you to view the elevation profile of your trip. However, I use http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/elevation to obtain the elevation profile as the DEM data there is more accurate than the built in 100K. But it is nice to have it just in case.

 

These are the two things I like (and use) the most:

 

With DEM data, the GPS will add elevation data to a car route. So you can see the elevation profile of the route you are driving.

 

With DEM data, you can click anywhere on the map and one of the pieces of information about the site that will be provided is the elevation. While it is based on 100K DEM, it is reasonablely accurate.

[NHRA1877]

Thank you very much!! i really appreciate the detailed information. I think i will look around for the best deal i can find on the 100k maps, im in no rush for them but would like to have the shaded relief sometimes if its avaialable.

 

Another question, i downloaded a map on GFD that was a transparent map that i hoped would show out lines of the wildlife management areas. How do i use these transparent maps in mapsource and load it into the gps.

[snowfleurys]

Overlay/transparent mapsets usually do not have any overview data to display in MapSource/BaseCamp - only the selection quads/segments.

Select the area based on the coordinates of the pointer and/or display some other mapset which has an overview map and zoom into the area of interest, then switch to the overlay/transparent mapset - the same geographic area should be in the MS/BC display.

With a 'newer' type unit like your OR450, rename the gmapsupp.img file to somename with a .img extension before you send data from a new mapset to the GPSr; otherwise it will overwrite the existing gmapsupp.img.