Montana 650T where can I download basemap?

[+Nerves]

My basemap file is corrupt and the 1:100K terrain map is either missing or also corrupt. Can I download basemap from somewhere?  Garmin is no help as the unit is no longer covered.  Thanks in advance.

[+Mineral2]

Yes... and no. I think there are folks here who would feel comfortable sending the generic basemap as it's the basemap for all of the GPS units. The 100k topo map... well, that's both a proprietary and paid feature, and while the map isn't technically locked to the device, we regular forum users (at the behest of the forum owners) are wary of condoning activity that might not be completely legal.

 

The first thing I would do is verify that the map files are in fact on your device. Plug it in and look for the following within the Garmin folder:

gmapbmap.img
gmapprom.img or gmapprom1.img

and maybe gmapsupp.img

If those files are there, then the maps are there, the GPS just isn't reading them properly. I would perform a hard reset. Doing this won't erase your data, but will reset the databases as well as return all settings to factory settings.

If the map files aren't there, or the hard reset doesn't fix your problem, then I would contact Garmin anyway and see what they have to say. In theory, they have the files on hand and can send them to you. Or they might tell you to find someone with a functioning GPS to give you the files. If the latter occurs, then sure, we'll help if Garmin condones it.

If you'd like some free and legal topo maps that are better than the 100k basemap, browse through what www.gpsfiledepot.com has to offer.

[+Nerves]

Thanks for the great response Mineral2. I'm going to start the process and will get back here with the status.

[+Nerves]

On 9/15/2019 at 10:36 PM, Mineral2 said:

Yes... and no. I think there are folks here who would feel comfortable sending the generic basemap as it's the basemap for all of the GPS units. The 100k topo map... well, that's both a proprietary and paid feature, and while the map isn't technically locked to the device, we regular forum users (at the behest of the forum owners) are wary of condoning activity that might not be completely legal.

 

The first thing I would do is verify that the map files are in fact on your device. Plug it in and look for the following within the Garmin folder:

gmapbmap.img
gmapprom.img or gmapprom1.img

and maybe gmapsupp.img

If those files are there, then the maps are there, the GPS just isn't reading them properly. I would perform a hard reset. Doing this won't erase your data, but will reset the databases as well as return all settings to factory settings.

If the map files aren't there, or the hard reset doesn't fix your problem, then I would contact Garmin anyway and see what they have to say. In theory, they have the files on hand and can send them to you. Or they might tell you to find someone with a functioning GPS to give you the files. If the latter occurs, then sure, we'll help if Garmin condones it.

If you'd like some free and legal topo maps that are better than the 100k basemap, browse through what www.gpsfiledepot.com has to offer.

Hi Mineral2,

gmapbmap.img IS GONE
gmapprom.img or gmapprom1.img - GONE

and maybe gmapsupp.img - THERE BUT DOESN'T OPEN

gpmaptz - CORRUPT

My Topo 1:100K is GONE.

 

What may have happened is that I was going on a trip and purchased 2020.2 City Navigator North America NT as I was tired of my old map. I knew about gpsfile and downloaded some top maps as well The topo maps were terrible and I wonder if that's because Basemap was no longer there. .. It seems that one or both of those downloads somehow deleted Basemap and possibly the above files gmap files.

 

Garmin said they don't have Basemap anymore which I find hard to believe but I should buy a new unit since this 650t is no longer being serviced.  Hah! I'm not spending $500 for a new unit. They said if I could find it anywhere I could go ahead and download it but it "might not work".

 

First of all, Do I need Basemap? Garmin is telling me I do in order to get other maps to work.  If so, I'd be very appreciative if anyone out there can help me load Basemap.

 

Thanks in advance.

[+Mineral2]

I'm curious how you are discovering that the map files are corrupted. The .img file extension is also used for disk image files (think whole CD images meant for burning) and if you double click the map .img files in Explorer or Finder, you're going to get a message that the file can't be opened and may be corrupt because they aren't encoded as disk image files. This is an example where Garmin really should have come up with a different file extension for these files, or just built these devices to read the .gmap files directly.

I plugged in my Oregon 450t to send you the gmapbmap.img file only to find that the 450t does not have one of these. I guess the worldwide basemap is incorporated into the topo map (gmapprom.img) which is a 3.5 Gb file, but also the topo map which costs extra and I am uncomfortable publicly disseminating here in the forums. I'm not convinced that the gmapbmap.img or gmapprom.img are necessary for other maps to work correctly (I could be wrong, though). Though they do contain some useful information (tide tables are embedded in POIs associated with the basemaps, for example). 

When you say that the topo maps you downloaded from gpsfiledepot.com didn't look nice, what do you mean? I use several of these and they look fantastic and provide better information than the topo100k map. The one thing you won't get from these maps is topographic shading - that requires the DEM elevation data that the topo100k basemap provides. But I end up turning this off because it makes the map darker and takes more time to load.

[+Atlas Cached]

Each time I have seen real 'Corruption' issue son a Garmin handheld, it has been due to the failure of the internal memory on the device PCB, which resulted in having to have the unit replaced. If in fact multiple files are mysteriously becoming corrupt on your Oregon GPSr, without your manipulating them, you may have to do the same.

[+Mineral2]

I did some playing around, and deleting the gmapbmap.img and/or gmapprom.img files from a Garmin device does not disable any other maps that are on it. So Garmin is certainly giving you the run around. I certainly am committed to helping you find a copy of the Topo100k that came with your device - I'm currently uncertain that the map on my Oregon 450t is the same that came with the Montana 650t as the devices would have been released in different years (I KNOW it was updated when the Oregon 600/t came out). Plus, with the file being around 3.5 GB in size, it would be difficult to even share that privately with you.

So here is my solution:
For now, you can get free maps that will work just well for you. I suggest the NE US Topo from gpsfiledepot to cover your local area. There are more in this series that cover the rest of the country with seamless connectivity and are quite good for contours, water features, roads, and natural POI features. Some areas have trails on the map, some don't. For a decent selection of trails overlaid, I recommend the My Trails map. And, of course, the City Navigator map that you purchased for the device should still work as well - and its installation is not likely the cause of the missing map files as Garmin Express or Bascamp/MapInstall should know to add these maps as a gmapsupp, or other file name.

To get the Topo100k map back, if you indeed still want it after trying some other map options, I suggest attending a few local events looking for cachers with a Montana 600/650t and see if they'll get together with you to copy the map file. At the very least, bring a laptop and USB cable and you can copy the file from their device to your hard drive and then load it to your device later - keeping the file on your hard drive as backup.

As @Atlas Cached noted, it's entirely possible that your internal memory is failing, in which case you will eventually need a new device. But let's not jump that far quite yet.

[+Atlas Cached]

The 100k topo is notorious for having many errors and little usable data, and is not required for GPSr operation.

 

The smaller ~49K basemap most other unit shave is only necessary if you want to see continent outlines when zooming way out on the map page. It is also not required.

 

Spend your time finding and installing better maps as Mineral2 suggests.

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Atlas Cached
typos

[+Mineral2]

The 100k topo map is certainly better than nothing. It's main advantage is having a contiguous map of the US with more terrain detail than City Navigator gives you but less than any of the free or paid regional topo maps. And they tend to be kept "up to date, " that is, newer models will come with a newer map. Many of the topo maps on gpsfiledepot are approaching 10 years old, which doesn't really mean much for anything but street data since topography and trails don't change that much for most places. But my experience after buying the 450t was that I found myself downloading more detailed topo maps for places I was visiting anyway, so when I upgraded to a 600, I declined the (t) version and .... uh, copied the 100k map from the 450 to the 600 because Garmin left it unlocked (not that I use it much anyway).

 

It makes me wonder about the new devices with the topoactive NA maps - is that map locked to the device, or can it be freely transferred to other Garmin handhelds that you own?

 

[+Atlas Cached]

7 minutes ago, Mineral2 said:

It makes me wonder about the new devices with the topoactive NA maps - is that map locked to the device, or can it be freely transferred to other Garmin handhelds that you own?

 

 

My initial tests seem to suggest that not all routing info for the new TopoActive maps is in the map file, but rather some data is copied directly to the SQL file when the map is installed. So, even though Garmin use open source base data from OSM, I think they may be adding more to it in the form of SQL data, which can not be copied. It is also my understanding that the TopoActive maps do not act (or function) alone, that additional mapping products installed alongside them are required to get full functionality.

 

But, I may be wrong!

 

Hoping more knowledgeable users might do some of their own digging and report!