+toil&trouble Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Okay, I hope this is a simple question, I am think of getting a Montana, I have an Oregon 300 and have been very happy. My needs are, paperless caching, 3 axis compass, better "sunlight readable screen, car navigation and topo maps. So, if I get City Navigator, and buy the 650t, will I be happy with the info provided? Will I want to buy 24k topo maps? If i do buy 24k topo maps, and use city navigator, can i use them at the same time? If I have City Nav, and 24k topo maps on a SD card, can the unit "use" them both at the same time? I spend some time at REI and the staff was great, but she couldn't answer all my questions. What I want is to be able to load a PQ to the device, navigate in the car, grab the device and take a short hike, with minimal "tinkering" with setting. On the Oregon, I find it pretty easy to switch from "navigate on road" to navigate off road", but can I do that without buying the 650t??? Quote Link to comment
+coggins Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 You can get the 650 (non-t model) and the 24K TOPOs and you won't need city navigator and you won't have to worry about which map is active. Quote Link to comment
MtnHermit Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 So, if I get City Navigator, and buy the 650t, will I be happy with the info provided? No, the "T" maps are 100K topos. Unless you need 48 state coverage, the Garmin 24K Topos have CN built in, but only for a few states. Will I want to buy 24k topo maps? If i do buy 24k topo maps, and use city navigator, can i use them at the same time? If I have City Nav, and 24k topo maps on a SD card, can the unit "use" them both at the same time?You can have many maps resident on the SD card, but only ONE active at a time. Easy to switch. I spend some time at REI and the staff was great, but she couldn't answer all my questions. What I want is to be able to load a PQ to the device, navigate in the car, grab the device and take a short hike, with minimal "tinkering" with setting. On the Oregon, I find it pretty easy to switch from "navigate on road" to navigate off road", but can I do that without buying the 650t??? "T" simply means the 100K Topos installed. Adds ~$100 to the 650, otherwise the two are near identical. Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 The Montana has different Profiles. You can have the street map linked to the Automotive Profile to get you to the nearest parking location. Then switch to the Geocaching profile that will pull up your topo map. Quote Link to comment
MtnHermit Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 The Montana has different Profiles. You can have the street map linked to the Automotive Profile to get you to the nearest parking location. Then switch to the Geocaching profile that will pull up your topo map. Didn't his OR 300 support profiles? My OR 450 has profiles. Quote Link to comment
+toil&trouble Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Thanks, yes the 300 has profiles, but when I'm geocaching, I don't want to have to switch between profiles. The sales person at REI said if I get the 24k topo maps, I won't need CN, is that really true? We live in our motor home and travel all over the US and Canada, so how many different 24k maps would I have to buy? How much are they? Could the topo maps "live" on a SD card, so when I move from one region to the next, I would have to switch maps?? Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Yes you can put the maps on the SD card. Rather then buying maps why not go with some of the free maps? Do you want the maps to be routable (i.e. give you turn by turn directions)? I don't know if any topo maps are routable weather free or purchased. Quote Link to comment
+Wampus-N-Pickle Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Thanks, yes the 300 has profiles, but when I'm geocaching, I don't want to have to switch between profiles. The sales person at REI said if I get the 24k topo maps, I won't need CN, is that really true? We live in our motor home and travel all over the US and Canada, so how many different 24k maps would I have to buy? How much are they? Could the topo maps "live" on a SD card, so when I move from one region to the next, I would have to switch maps?? Like CN, all of the Garmin Topo US 24K maps are routable. However, the Navteq/POI data on the 24Ks are a few years old. The CN info is updated 4x a year. The US is divided into 6 topo DVDs. Theoretically, you can throw more than 1 topo onto a DVD. However, Garmin tends to impose arbitrary limits on things (i.e., 5000 geocaches, etc.). The units have a "map tile" limit. For example, Topo US 24K West eats up most of the tiles on an Oregon 450. The entire tile set on the CN North America is smaller than Topo 24K West. If you have a large memory card, the best way (although not entirely convenient) to handle multiple Garmin 24K maps is to use a PC and rename the regions on the SD card you are not using. Changing the extension from .IMG to .IMX works great. Save your money and skip the 't' series. The 100K topo is not very good. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment
Barrikady Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 how many different 24k maps would I have to buy? How much are they? Could the topo maps "live" on a SD card, so when I move from one region to the next, I would have to switch maps?? Good questions. Here are the answers: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/buymaps.do Quote Link to comment
MtnHermit Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I don't know if any topo maps are routable weather free or purchased. Turns out all of the Garmin 24K Topos are routable, including trails. So you do get something the free maps don't offer. Quote Link to comment
+GLAMS Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I label my maps like this and they are all available for use. Just enable/disable what you need or don't need. You are only limited by the size of your sd card. gmapsupp1.img gmapsupp2.img gmapsupp3.img gmapsupp4.img gmapsuppx.img Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I label my maps like this and they are all available for use. Just enable/disable what you need or don't need. You are only limited by the size of your sd card. gmapsupp1.img gmapsupp2.img gmapsupp3.img gmapsupp4.img gmapsuppx.img You may find it easier to keep track of them with more detailed names. I use CO_topo.img, KS_topo.img, MO_topo.img, etc. Quote Link to comment
+GLAMS Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) I label my maps like this and they are all available for use. Just enable/disable what you need or don't need. You are only limited by the size of your sd card. gmapsupp1.img gmapsupp2.img gmapsupp3.img gmapsupp4.img gmapsuppx.img You may find it easier to keep track of them with more detailed names. I use CO_topo.img, KS_topo.img, MO_topo.img, etc. Your probably right. I have just remembered them based on a numbering system and in the GPS the maps are labeled with the type and region. Edited September 15, 2011 by GLAMS Quote Link to comment
+kentwoodkrew Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Thanks, yes the 300 has profiles, but when I'm geocaching, I don't want to have to switch between profiles. The sales person at REI said if I get the 24k topo maps, I won't need CN, is that really true? We live in our motor home and travel all over the US and Canada, so how many different 24k maps would I have to buy? How much are they? Could the topo maps "live" on a SD card, so when I move from one region to the next, I would have to switch maps?? Hi. My go to map is the 24k map for my neck of the woods, but then I don't travel out of the area covered. I don't think you want to spend over $1500 to cover the USA and Canada at 24k. I suggest free topos( http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/ ) with city nav na or the free routeables here: http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ Quote Link to comment
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