Garmin mapsorce question.

[Neil]

I have a Garmin mapping gps that has about 24 Meg of memory. I loaded the ADK's (Mapsource) into it no problem. Then I went to load another mapset: Garmin metro guide for the Montreal area and it erased the contents in the gps. Today I re-uploaded the Dacks and of corse now Montreal is gone. There is enough memory for both mapsets. How do I get them both into the gps?

Next question. Why are gps's so stingy when it comes to memory. The memory chip on my camera is a tiny little thing and it holds 250 meg and I could get a one Giga byte chip of the same size. There must be a reason...

 

[Peakbagr]

Neil,

Good question. Garmin just came out with a new line of GPS's with a new microprocessor and removable memory chips. I'm waiting for the price to come down on it. I intend to load the 512 chip when I get it and choke it maps.

Alan

 

[imarchant]

I have a Garmin mapping gps that has about 24 Meg of memory. I loaded the ADK's (Mapsource) into it no problem. Then I went to load another mapset: Garmin metro guide for the Montreal area and it erased the contents in the gps. Today I re-uploaded the Dacks and of corse now Montreal is gone. There is enough memory for both mapsets. How do I get them both into the gps?

Next question. Why are gps's so stingy when it comes to memory. The memory chip on my camera is a tiny little thing and it holds 250 meg and I could get a one Giga byte chip of the same size. There must be a reason...

I had no problem loading both Topo and metroguide information into my 8meg memory. I wonder if there is some limitation because the information is from 2 diffrent countries?

As far as the memory goes it is probably a cost issue. The etrex units were designed several years ago now. The memory size was probably considered the most economical at the time. The price of all electronics decreases rapidly as new technology emerges.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

I loaded the ADK's (Mapsource) into it no problem. Then I went to load another mapset: Garmin metro guide for the Montreal area and it erased the contents in the gps.

Loading a new mapset erases the previous one. To load multiple maps they must all be loaded at the same time. I assume that the metro guide uses the same software as the ADK maps (i.e. Mapsource)?

 

[DougPaul]

Loading a new mapset erases the previous one. To load multiple maps they must all be loaded at the same time. I assume that the metro guide uses the same software as the ADK maps (i.e. Mapsource)?

erases on load: Correct.

Same mapsource: Yes.

A single copy of mapsource can access the maps from multiple mapping products and load them into the GPS in a single operation.

Doug

 

[Neil]

Loading a new mapset erases the previous one. To load multiple maps they must all be loaded at the same time. I assume that the metro guide uses the same software as the ADK maps (i.e. Mapsource)?

I just figured it out. A no-brainer really. You create your mapset then switch to the other set of maps(ie. from US Topo to Metroguide Canada in my case), switch discs, then keep adding on to the mapset. Presto! It's loading as we speak.

 

[DougPaul]

Next question. Why are gps's so stingy when it comes to memory. The memory chip on my camera is a tiny little thing and it holds 250 meg and I could get a one Giga byte chip of the same size. There must be a reason...

This has been a continuing complaint against the Garmin hiking GPSes. Cost is one possibility, waterproofing and marketing are other possibilities. The new *x models have a removable micro-SD card. Such cards are currently available in up to 512MB sizes. Bigger later?

FWIW, the entire USA Topo is about 1.4GB.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

I know there's a way to load all the discs' contents onto the hard drive as with Topo! but I havn't gotten around to figuring it out yet.

Just copy the CDROM to hard disk and reinstall from the hard disk copy. You can also edit the registry instead of reinstalling if you are brave enough...

Doug

 

[Neil]

If the average gps held a Gig of memory then one could upload USGS quads into them. Move over Mapsource!

 

[DougPaul]

If the average gps held a Gig of memory then one could upload USGS quads into them. Move over Mapsource!

One of the automotive units (2620?) contains a 2 GB disk with road maps for the entire USA (NA?).

There is another automotive unit (2610?) that takes a CF card--put in a 2 GB card and load it up with the entire USA (NA?) using Mapsource. Cheaper and more reliable than the 2620.

Doug