Posted: 12/27/2008 8:37:29 AM EDT
| Got a Garmin e-trex vista hcx for christmas, the loaded maps are teh suck. I've got the Topo '08 dvd coming & am confused whether I actually need to install a micro SD card or can / will it replace the existing map with itself ? |
| you'll be able too transfer maps via USB to the GPS. Though my Etrex Vista from a few years ago only came with a 64MB card. I suggest buying a 512mb microSD card. I have a 1gb card , but it takes hours to load and it really isn't worth it. I can't remember if it replaces the old maps on it, I do know you can turn on and off areas within the GPS itself. |
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On my Colorado, the installed maps supplemented the pre-loaded maps, they did not replace them. Although there was some internal memory remaining, I wanted to load the entire North America navigator so I bought a memory card. A 2GB card is not particularly pricey. Bugalaman: HOURS to load? Do you use a card reader? That might improve your transfer time significantly. It only takes minutes to load Navigator (~1.6G) |
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On my Colorado, the installed maps supplemented the pre-loaded maps, they did not replace them. Although there was some internal memory remaining, I wanted to load the entire North America navigator so I bought a memory card. A 2GB card is not particularly pricey. Bugalaman: HOURS to load? Do you use a card reader? That might improve your transfer time significantly. It only takes minutes to load Navigator (~1.6G) when I selected about half of the topo maps for the country, it did take a few hours to move, that is via the USB cable. I tried to manually find the files and move them using a card reader, but I could never figure out Garmin's software. Again this was a couple years ago, so its probably changed |
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The basemaps are staying put, you can load all the maps onto a 2gig micro SD, almost all....do it from Mapsource
Got a Garmin e-trex vista hcx for christmas, the loaded maps are teh suck. I've got the Topo '08 dvd coming & am confused whether I actually need to install a micro SD card or can / will it replace the existing map with itself ? |
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This is a timely thread for me; I just bought (a week or so ago) a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx.
It came bundled with TOPO US. 2008 and one 256 MB MicroSD card. I bought City Navigator while I was doing it. I was wondering how much stuff I could put on that one 256 MB card. I was surprised when I could put the "section" here where I live and the one to the west, along with the city map, and one other "section" back east where I grew up. Based on what I am reading here I could put a lot more than that. I might go to an electronics store today and get a bigger chip just for the hell of it. |
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Got a Garmin e-trex vista hcx for christmas, the loaded maps are teh suck. I've got the Topo '08 dvd coming & am confused whether I actually need to install a micro SD card or can / will it replace the existing map with itself ? i have that garmin, i got the topo maps on garmins cd, versus the individual sd cards. my advice, go out get a 1 gig card, ( i have almost 4 states on mine rite now) the biggest card you can put in it is a 2 gig card. it won't function with bigger, don't know why but it says it in the directions, i found that after a buddy tried to put a 3 gig card in his. you don't have to load, the entire cd on it. i put mine on my laptop and if i'm going some place other than the usual i down load those map sets. its pretty easy, you'll get the hang of it pretty quick. play with the colors on the screen to find out wich one works for you, mine had the blue screen on it and it sucked, couldn't see shit. the more you put on the more time it takes , you pick what sets you want it builds them and then down loads them, last set i put in was more than half a gig and it took about 40 mins. good luck. |
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Garmins have a limit of around 2000 "objects" that they can access. So even if you can get every map that you want on an SD card in the unit, it still couldn't access it all.
What you can do is get multiple SD cards, load various maps on them and switch them out if you need to. Re. taking along time to "load" maps via usb, the Mapsource software has to compile the various maps that you select into one .img file, then copy it to the unit. When they get into hundreds of megs that can take a while. That's why I usualy get all the maps that I will need, get them on the unit, test them, then leave it alone. Changing maps just for the hell of it is a big time waster. Gringop |
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I have a 60csx, and a Nuvi for the car. I use the older mapsource topo, and a 1 gig micro sd card in the 60. I have several states worth of topo data loaded onto the handheld unit.
I can also load topo maps on an SD card and use them in the Nuvi for the truck. (It's nice to have of you're going off road). Also, I got the 2009 upgrade software for the Nuvi that's supposed to have the latest roads and waypoints for on-road driving. I find that I can also load this onto the 60csx (which has auto routing). All in all, I like the versatility and interoperability of the Garmin software. |
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Got a Garmin e-trex vista hcx for christmas, the loaded maps are teh suck. I've got the Topo '08 dvd coming & am confused whether I actually need to install a micro SD card or can / will it replace the existing map with itself ? i have that garmin, i got the topo maps on garmins cd, versus the individual sd cards. my advice, go out get a 1 gig card, ( i have almost 4 states on mine rite now) the biggest card you can put in it is a 2 gig card. it won't function with bigger, don't know why but it says it in the directions, i found that after a buddy tried to put a 3 gig card in his. you don't have to load, the entire cd on it. i put mine on my laptop and if i'm going some place other than the usual i down load those map sets. its pretty easy, you'll get the hang of it pretty quick. play with the colors on the screen to find out wich one works for you, mine had the blue screen on it and it sucked, couldn't see shit. the more you put on the more time it takes , you pick what sets you want it builds them and then down loads them, last set i put in was more than half a gig and it took about 40 mins. good luck. Damn it, I sure hope your wrong about the max. capacity of the micro sd card. Just checked my owners manual & it says nothing about it. I ordered a 4 gig earlier this afternoon. I want to load the entire US topo on it, my job takes me all over the country for months at a time & I had planned to add this to my " get my ass home home " box should bad things happen & I find myself on foot while on the other side of the country. |
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Got a Garmin e-trex vista hcx for christmas, the loaded maps are teh suck. I've got the Topo '08 dvd coming & am confused whether I actually need to install a micro SD card or can / will it replace the existing map with itself ? i have that garmin, i got the topo maps on garmins cd, versus the individual sd cards. my advice, go out get a 1 gig card, ( i have almost 4 states on mine rite now) the biggest card you can put in it is a 2 gig card. it won't function with bigger, don't know why but it says it in the directions, i found that after a buddy tried to put a 3 gig card in his. you don't have to load, the entire cd on it. i put mine on my laptop and if i'm going some place other than the usual i down load those map sets. its pretty easy, you'll get the hang of it pretty quick. play with the colors on the screen to find out wich one works for you, mine had the blue screen on it and it sucked, couldn't see shit. the more you put on the more time it takes , you pick what sets you want it builds them and then down loads them, last set i put in was more than half a gig and it took about 40 mins. good luck. Damn it, I sure hope your wrong about the max. capacity of the micro sd card. Just checked my owners manual & it says nothing about it. I ordered a 4 gig earlier this afternoon. I want to load the entire US topo on it, my job takes me all over the country for months at a time & I had planned to add this to my " get my ass home home " box should bad things happen & I find myself on foot while on the other side of the country. i dug out my book but can't locate the place were it says 2 gig card, its there, some where. either way you couldn't put all US on 4 gig. get a couple 1 or 2 gig cards and stash them in your gps bag. go into the menu and turn off the track log or it will fill up quick when you are driving or flying. i just turn my track log back on when i know i'll need it, and then save it for later. go to garmins web page and check out the geocaching page, its good practice. if you turn off the compass on your gps you will get a couple more hours of battery time, and the unit will still navigate from sat fix. have fun with it |
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I checked out that geocaching page. I had heard of it before. I just wish most of them wern't in metro areas. I personally don't see the fun in following my GPS to a public park down the street from my house.
Anyway, I also downloaded the geocaching program they have for the iPhone. The iPhone of course will only work in urban areas. |
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I checked out that geocaching page. I had heard of it before. I just wish most of them wern't in metro areas. I personally don't see the fun in following my GPS to a public park down the street from my house. Anyway, I also downloaded the geocaching program they have for the iPhone. The iPhone of course will only work in urban areas. there are a lot of them out in state parks and preserves. i have a couple i had to hike into, and a couple that i should have had repel gear to get to. i haven't hid one myself yet, i'm thinking of putting some in the worst neighborhoods in my city, (kind of an urban adventure) the site garmin sends you to for the description of the cache has a lot more of them listed in national parks. |
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Got a Garmin e-trex vista hcx for christmas, the loaded maps are teh suck. I've got the Topo '08 dvd coming & am confused whether I actually need to install a micro SD card or can / will it replace the existing map with itself ? i have that garmin, i got the topo maps on garmins cd, versus the individual sd cards. my advice, go out get a 1 gig card, ( i have almost 4 states on mine rite now) the biggest card you can put in it is a 2 gig card. it won't function with bigger, don't know why but it says it in the directions, i found that after a buddy tried to put a 3 gig card in his. you don't have to load, the entire cd on it. i put mine on my laptop and if i'm going some place other than the usual i down load those map sets. its pretty easy, you'll get the hang of it pretty quick. play with the colors on the screen to find out wich one works for you, mine had the blue screen on it and it sucked, couldn't see shit. the more you put on the more time it takes , you pick what sets you want it builds them and then down loads them, last set i put in was more than half a gig and it took about 40 mins. good luck. So how much can I put on my Venture HC with 24mb of internal memory? Can I at least get all of my state? |
| i don't know anything about that one, but i do know that you can put half of PA, and Ohio, Kentucky, half of WV, half of Virginia, north Carolina, Tennessee and all of Georgia on a 2 gig card, with some room to spare. my guess is Oklahoma, shouldn't be a problem. |
