Oregon 450, maps, and a Mac

[+Hogwartsexpress]

I have done a lot of research and finally invested in a Garmin Oregon 450 looking forward to the "easy to use" paperless caching opportunity.

 

I have had 2 days of frustration because after I downloading Mac version maps from GPSfiledepot & installing them to my device using Garmin map install I cannot use them! I keep getting the error message "can't unlock maps"

 

I spent 1 hour on the phone with Garmin support & they told me it was a "bad unit." So I returned it to the store, exchanged for another one and had the same issue with the new one!!! ( I have registered with a new user name and tried to load to the micro SD card without success)

 

Hopefully someone out there is using a Mac and has successfully loaded free maps because I don't want to have to stick with Garmins version for $130 after I have spent $350 for the decive!!!

 

HELP ME PLEASE, I am thinking upgrading from my iphone was a huge mistake

[+allory]

I have a Dakota rather than an Oregon, but have been using it with a mac and both free and paid maps with no problem. The first thing you should do is make sure your Oregon has the most recent version of the firmware (4.20). If you haven't already, go to http://www8.garmin.com/macosx/ and get at WebUpdater.

One of the recent fixes was 'Fixed problem with certain custom maps'. There was a version where even free maps with no unlock code would endlessly ask for one.

If that doesn't help let me know which map you're trying and I'll see if it works on my Dakota. There's at least some possibility that there's a problem with the map.

[+jmavisnj]

I have the oregon 550t and running a mac. I was able to load the KMZ type map files (google maps) directly to the custom maps folder. The draw back is it can only handle one at a time. I cant load map X,Y, and Z. I tried the garmin MapInstaller but it states "no map found" and shuts down. Also, when I hook up the oregon to the mac it turns it off and goes into mass storage mode. I read the documents for the installer and it states to turn unit on after hooking it up to the mac, but that cant be done. Am I missing something? I was told I could get a bunch of maps together and mapinstaller will make it like one garmin map.

[+myotis]

Go to the gpsfiledepot forums and search on unlock-there are threads on the issue.

 

However, as a map maker I will say its a royal pain to make MAC installers-you have to use a garmin converter and it starts out with all your maps selected and there is no unselect all. So its a royal pain when you have lots of maps loaded. I wish someone would make a program to convert the Windows installer to a MAC installer so we would not have to mess with making a second installer for the MAC users. Or at least make us a MAC converter that is easier to use.

[+coggins]

HELP ME PLEASE, I am thinking upgrading from my iphone was a huge mistake

I have a Mac & an Oregon 450 and haven't seen that issue with the gpsfiledepot maps. The only reason you should see that is if you have some map tiles from a locked map(not unlocked for the Oregon) sent with the gpsfiledepot maps with mapinstaller. Really has nothing to do with the installer.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Any chance you're in California? I seem to recall seeing in the GPS File Depot forums that this was an issue with the California topo.

[+jmavisnj]

Actually i did figure out the problem accidently. I wasn't using the installer correctly. However, I did get the maps from GPSfiledepo for my area in south jersey. They maps are ok but I was expecting the level of detail that I get with my Iphone 4 but that is not the case. Zooming in to fine detail the area gets very blurry. I tried the bird's eye satellite imagery subscription from garmin and it seems a little better but wow, what a pain in the a** to make map sections over and over. Might have been worth it to just buy the maps on the card. I guess I was just in a hype that the maps I could get for the Oregon would be as clear aas the iPhone.

[Wintertime]

I've got an eTrex 20 coming from REI, so I'm about to enter the wonderful world of installing maps on a GPS receiver. As I read Garmin's website, MapInstall requires that you first use MapConverter on a PC, then move the maps over to the Mac for installation on the GPSr. And the instructions on GPS FileDepot say to install both Basecamp and Mapsource, the latter being a Windows-only program according to Garmin. But I thought I'd read some time ago that a Windows system was no longer required to get maps onto a Garmin GPSr via a Mac. So could someone please summarize--or point me toward a summary of--the process of installing FileDepot maps on a Garmin via a Mac?

 

Thanks!

Patty

[snowfleurys]

Most map authors who use GPSfiledepot to host their mapsets have both a PC and a MAC version for download. Use Garmin's program for the MAC to view and transfer data to the GPSr.

[Wintertime]

Thanks, Snowfleurys, but that's the confusion--there are multiple Garmin programs for the Mac, and some of them work in conjunction with required Windows programs. As I mentioned, I started on the FileDepot website and it was the instructions there that led me to the multitude of programs on Garmin's website.

[+coggins]

I've got an eTrex 20 coming from REI, so I'm about to enter the wonderful world of installing maps on a GPS receiver.

Thanks, Snowfleurys, but that's the confusion--there are multiple Garmin programs for the Mac, and some of them...

OK, you have an eTrex 20 coming from REI & a Mac and are in California. So what you are going to want is:

 

BaseCamp for Macintosh: LINK

California TOPO 2011 Map (Macintosh version): LINK

 

You don't need any windoz software.

[Wintertime]

OK, you have an eTrex 20 coming from REI & a Mac and are in California. So what you are going to want is:

 

BaseCamp for Macintosh: LINK

California TOPO 2011 Map (Macintosh version): LINK

 

You don't need any windoz software.

Thank you, Coggins! Exactly the information I needed.

 

What had led me astray was the link on that California topo page that said, "Need MapSource? Click Here." And when I got to that page, it sent me to the BaseCamp and MapSource pages on Garmin's website, both of which say the system requirements are, "IBM-compatible PC running Windows XP Service Pack 3 or later operating system." Probably the people at GPS FileDepot who put in those links were assuming that people had Windows systems and didn't put in links for the Mac versions of those two programs.

 

So I'm going to download BaseCamp for Mac and that topo map and try it your way instead.

[+coggins]

What had led me astray was the link on that California topo page that said, "Need MapSource? Click Here."

 

It probably says that for the people running the Microsoft OSs, not the Macintosh OS.