garmin maps

[+toil&trouble]

I need a little advice, please. We're thinking about getting a new Oregon 6xx, been thinking about the 650, since I don't want to pay that much for topo maps that I hear are not that good, but do want the extra storage (the 600 has very little available). I would need City Navigator, as we like to use the unit in the car, then get out and navigate to the cache. If I get the "download" of City Navigator, and put it on and SD card, would I also be able to put topo maps on the same card? Would I have to physically go in and switch mapping software from one to the other, or if I switched from "car" to "walking" would it know what map to use? Thanks for any advice.

[+geodarts]

When I used City Navigator, I had the DVD version and transferred maps for the areas I needed on to an sd card, where I also keep gpx files. If you load more than one map, rename them do they do not overwrite each other.

 

I got an Oregon 600 because I did not want the camera on the 650 (I generally have another camera or the phone with me in any event). I have been using the free OSM street maps. There are routable maps available and I like them better than the garmin maps. In addition to streets, they include major trails, which comes in handy. I have maps for several states, topos, and gpx files on the sd card - storage is not an issue for me.

 

It's very easy to switch maps using the map set up on the Oregon or profiles. You can use software that allows you to install more than one kind of map (such as mapsource or basecamp) or transfer .img files to the unit - but again make sure to rename maps so they do not overwrite each other since they often save to the same default file name.

 

You may want to check the free maps first.

 

http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ (the street maps I use)

http://gpsfiledepot.com/

http://www.osmmaps.com/

Edited March 14, 2014 by geodarts

[+splashy]

Garmin SAYS the map limit is about 4000 maptiles or 4 GB, some users claim to have much more in a good working condition.

I myself are over this 'limit' and never had a problem.

However you don't need a bigger Sd then 16 GB and you can select the slower type, the fast sd don't seem to work well om the Garmin.

 

About the FREE and very Good maps

 

Us gpsfiledepot (topo)

Uk talkytoaster (topo)

 

OpenStreetMap = OSM car satnav

 

How to get the maps on your Gps see these links

 

 

Edit see the video's about profiles (Monatana system is about the same)

 

http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-montana-650.html#videos

Edited March 14, 2014 by splashy

[+larryc43230]

I need a little advice, please. We're thinking about getting a new Oregon 6xx, been thinking about the 650, since I don't want to pay that much for topo maps that I hear are not that good, but do want the extra storage (the 600 has very little available). I would need City Navigator, as we like to use the unit in the car, then get out and navigate to the cache. If I get the "download" of City Navigator, and put it on and SD card, would I also be able to put topo maps on the same card? Would I have to physically go in and switch mapping software from one to the other, or if I switched from "car" to "walking" would it know what map to use? Thanks for any advice.

I own an Oregon 650, and also own copies of City Navigator NA and Garmin TOPO U.S. 24K maps. I used BaseCamp's MapInstall program to load all of City Navigator and a whole lot of Topo maps on the unit's SD card.

 

You won't need to physically swap SD cards to switch maps, as long as you use a large enough SD card (mine is 16GB). You'll be able to switch the various maps on and off from the Setup/Map/Configure Maps page. See this page on the Garmin Oregon Wiki for details.

 

As for switching between map products in the field, you can also use different profiles for car use and walking, and when you switch profiles the maps displayed can also change. It depends on how you set up the profiles.

 

--Larry

[+toil&trouble]

Thanks so much. Garmin says that City Navigator will overwrite topo maps, if I copy the maps to a sad card and rename them, can I get topo and street maps without having to go to settings and disable City Navigator?

[+larryc43230]

Thanks so much. Garmin says that City Navigator will overwrite topo maps, if I copy the maps to a sad card and rename them, can I get topo and street maps without having to go to settings and disable City Navigator?

If you have both City Navigator and Topo maps active on your unit, the City Navigator map will be displayed and the Topo map will be hidden underneath. There's no way to display both City Navigator and Topo maps at the same time, though in Setup/Advanced Setup/Shaded Relief, you can have shading from the Topo maps appear with the City Navigator maps when shading is available.

 

Whether the maps are loaded in the unit or on the SD card won't make any difference.

 

--Larry

[+Walts Hunting]

As has been said several times the solution is Profiles. Set up several that match different situations and then a shortcut for each one on a secondary screen and it is one press to change to it.

[+splashy]

Often on sites the maps you can place on the Gps or Sd is called gmapsupp.img, on this model you can rename that mapname to yourownname.img, By doing so you prevent overwriting the maps with the same name. A side effect is that it will be easier to know what is what, since you might be ending up having maps on the gps and Sd.

The Gps will know the different maps from each other, but you have to be sure, ONLY 1 ROUTABLE MAP MAY BE ACTIVE in the active profile.

[+Mineral2]

I need a little advice, please. We're thinking about getting a new Oregon 6xx, been thinking about the 650, since I don't want to pay that much for topo maps that I hear are not that good, but do want the extra storage (the 600 has very little available). I would need City Navigator, as we like to use the unit in the car, then get out and navigate to the cache. If I get the "download" of City Navigator, and put it on and SD card, would I also be able to put topo maps on the same card? Would I have to physically go in and switch mapping software from one to the other, or if I switched from "car" to "walking" would it know what map to use? Thanks for any advice.

 

Your argument of getting a 650 for more internal space is kinda null and void if you plan on using an SD card for extra space. Unless you want the camera, save the $80 and get a 600. Store all your maps and geocaches on the SD card.

 

If you plan on also purchasing the lifetime updates, I think you have to purchase the DVD version of city navigator, but once you've installed the map from the dvd, the lifetime updater should install the map directly to your GPS. If you're using the Oregon as your primary automotive navigation device, then City Navigator maps are good to have. If you're using it for cycling and just want routable maps or are using it as a back-up/secondary automotive navigation device, perhaps look into using Open Street Maps (http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl) instead. They're free.

[+toil&trouble]

Well, with my Nuvi, that last time I went to do the map update, Garmin Express told my I didn't have enough space, so I had to load just the US instead of North America. No biggie, unless I leave the country, which we will be doing soon. So, I guess my concern is, with so little space available, I can see a time when there might not be room for a software update. Garmin doesn't make anything user friendly. Also, I have never put caches on the SD card, have alway loaded them to the device, really just trying to cover all bases. If I have everything on a card and it goes bad, I'm screwed, if the device goes bad, there are lot of resources to fix it. I do tend to over-think things and look for problems. It's just been my experience with electronics, more storage is always better.

[+Mineral2]

Well, with my Nuvi, that last time I went to do the map update, Garmin Express told my I didn't have enough space, so I had to load just the US instead of North America. No biggie, unless I leave the country, which we will be doing soon. So, I guess my concern is, with so little space available, I can see a time when there might not be room for a software update. Garmin doesn't make anything user friendly. Also, I have never put caches on the SD card, have alway loaded them to the device, really just trying to cover all bases. If I have everything on a card and it goes bad, I'm screwed, if the device goes bad, there are lot of resources to fix it. I do tend to over-think things and look for problems. It's just been my experience with electronics, more storage is always better.

 

If you put everything on a card, and the card goes bad, you just buy a new card. Nuvi's only come with about 2GB of internal memory, which does not support a full map update. But stick a card in there, and it'll update the map on the SD card. At 1.7GB of internal memory, you'll never run out of space just loading software updates and tracks/routes/waypoints/geocaches. Trust me, my 850mb on my Oregon 450t still feels unlimited, but only because I keep all my maps on an SD card.

 

There are a number of reasons for keeping all of your data on an SD card, one being that if something does happen to your GPS, you simply pop out the card and place it in another unit. Additionally, Garmins are known to have indexing problems with Geocache files that cause you to boot up your GPS and find all your geocaches are "gone." If this happens and the geocaches are stored on the GPS itself, you have to connect to a computer to fix it. If the geocaches are stored on an SD card, you simply take the card out, boot up, power down, put the card back in, and boot back up. You can buy a 4GB card for under $10, and an 8GB card for about $20, so I still argue that it's not worth $80 just to have 4GB of internal memory. If you're going for the built-in camera, that's another story.