One thing to be aware of when buying Memory Map with a Garmin mapping GPS is that usually you cannot load the Memory Map maps onto the Garmin - they are only useful on your PC (this may not be true of the very latest units, but certainly was of the devices a year or two ago) - and getting this wrong can be a very expensive mistake as you’ll end up spending a small fortune buying duplicate maps in the other format. Whilst Memory Map has claimed compatibility with Garmin mapping GPSes for many years, it actually means (meant?) that you could transfer tracks, routes and waypoints between the two, NOT map data.
The best way of handing mapping that I found was to buy a mapping GPS (I happen to use an Edge 705 - because I use it for long distance cycling) and then the Garmin maps (Topo GB is probably most use for SOTA) on DVD not SD card. If you buy the SD card version it works out of the box, but you don’t get the mapping on the PC. If you get the DVD version, you can download the maps to the GPS and also have them on your PC in Garmin’s Mapsource program (included with the map DVD). This is good for plotting routes and putting in waypoints - I did some data format conversion on the SOTA database download to get it into Mapsource GDB format, which means I have all the summits on the PC and can just click on the ones I want to load into the unit.
Having said that, Memory Map style OS mapping is easier to use for identifying the exact position of trig points etc., and if not taking a real OS map into the wilds (as opposed to wandering up an easy hill where you can see where you are going from the road) I’d not rely upon Garmin TopoGB mapping - it simply isn’t detailed enough. It is plenty good enough to use in conjunction with a decent paper map - and I’d not rely solely upon a GPS in an area where TopoGB isn’t good enough!
Just for information, TopoGB is based upon OS mapping, but it looks nothing like an OS map on the computer or GPS. Have a look at Garmin | Select a Location , click on the “View Map” tab, and then the link to the detailed maps and zoom in to an area you know well.
In summary, outdoor GPS devices are not yet really mature consumer devices and there are compromises - just make absolutely sure that the maps you want to use are compatible with the device you want to use before parting with your cash.
Yeah, the big (and most welcome) surprise with the Tracks4Africa microSD was that the card contained both the GPS unit formatted maps and maps in a format usable by Garmin’s GPS-management programs including the MacOSX ones. The Garmin-supplied UK maps don’t have that advantage, and the Garmin DVD versions need conversion before the MacOSX programs can use them. On the computer I can see better detail in Africa than in the UK.
As for relying on maps, well, there’s no substitute for on-the-ground experience; maps are only as accurate as the map maker made them, and they get out-of-date, sometimes frighteningly quickly…
In reply to MM0TAI:
I opted for the Garmin 60csx…a steal at £130 on ebay!! With next day delivery, which equates to 3 day delivery up here im looking forward to playing with it over the weekend.
In reply to M6MDP:
Ok matt I’ll have a look and see what it’s set for. What does this do? On another thread I mentioned that my 4gb sdhc card isn’t being recognised. Updated to the latest firmware but still no difference. The 1gb is working fine with 341mb of full uk contour maps. I might try another make of card but happy enough for the moment.
On a side note I was watching a documentary about Iraqi wildlife on BBC just the other night and the private security team escorting the camera men had the garmin 60csx attached to windsceen of their 4x4. So if it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for me.
I should know this as I modeled an SD card controller for one of our clients last year but I think there’s something fundamental that happens in how you can access SD cards bigger than 2GB. Now I could be mistaken here and perhaps the limit is at 4GB or 8GB, but the software needs to send different commands once you go above the limit. I know my Vista HCx works with a 2GB card.
This may sound like the oft quoted Bill Gates statement relating to MS-DOS memory limit “who needs more than 640k?” but just how much do you need in a GPS that is primarily used for walking? I’ve got a 1GB card in mine. I have it set to record the track log to the card. I average about 45 summits a year now. Having logged every walk from mid February 2008, I have used 26Mb. So if I was to continue walking at this rate, that 1GB card gives me the capacity to save 123 years (ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE) before I need to delete anything from the card.
With the 340Mb map now installed, there’s only space for 82 years of walks. So perhaps I do need a bigger card!
In reply to MM0FMF:
Well, there is no doubt about it, I have a 4gb micro SDHC card in mine with the whole of GB topo at 1.62gb, along with a large pile of POIs and every track I have ever made and I still have about 2gb free.
The Garmin Updates site for the GPS60CSx say’s very clearly:
Changes made from version 3.70 to 3.90:
* Added support for maps greater than 2 GB.
What I suspect may be the issue, is that I created the gmapsupp.img file with the micro card installed in an adapter and built it in a card slot on the PC. Same with the POI files. However while the 60CSx will use a 4gb card managed via a card slot in the PC, I don’t think the firmware update allows the card to be used in Interface, USB Mass Storage mode.
73
jim g0cqk
What I suspect may be the issue, is that I created the gmapsupp.img
file with the micro card installed in an adapter and built it in a
card slot on the PC. Same with the POI files. However while the 60CSx
will use a 4gb card managed via a card slot in the PC, I don’t think
the firmware update allows the card to be used in Interface, USB Mass
Storage mode.
73
jim g0cqk
Hi Jim, i had the card out and installed directly into the computers adpater, so not doing anything different to you.
Andy - “How much data do you really need?” I thing 1Gb is enough!! I got the 4gb thinking that the maps were bigger. The 1gb is doing its thing just fine!!
You might find that if you format the 4GB card as 2GB it will work. Or again it might not. As we tell our clients on a regular basis “it depends”. We hope they wont ask us what it depends on! I found using the Vista as a USB storage device was exceptionally slow and the last time I updated the map file I pulled the microSD and used it in an adapter straight onto the PC.
Well that can be an issue Rick, but there’s something more fundamental lower down inside the SD card ISTR. Official SD cards go to 2GB and above you need SDHC cards. They use different commands to identify and access the features. The 2GB limit comes from the number of bits in the size register though you can get some non-SDHC 4GB cards that may end up being read as 1GB or 2GB on some devices and 4GB on others.
If the reader is not SDHC aware then I think you’ll find the card just doesn’t work.
See this is the nice thing about standards, no matter which standard you implement, someone has added some extension somewhere that puts the kybosh on everything working everywhere!
…i had the card out and installed directly into the computers adpater,
so not doing anything different to you.
Very strange - Your GPS definitely shows you on Software Version 4.00? What happens if you put the 4gb card formatted to FAT32 with or without anything on it, into the GPS and select Card Info?
One reason why a 4gb card can be useful is if you travel a lot and have several different map sets. You build gmapsupp.img for the first map set then rename it to some thing else. Then you can do the same for other map sets so you end up with a few map sets on the same card but only one is called gmapsupp.img. Provided you can access a computer as you travel, a couple of renames will allow you select the map set you want. Of course you could do the same with several individual smaller cards but I know of someone who travels widely and uses this approach.
73
jim g0cqk
EGNOS - European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service
Basically, EGNOS provides corrective data for the GPS network. The system uses fixed ground stations that know their exact location. They cross reference their known location with the location that the GPS network provides and upload corrective data to the EGNOS satellites. A GPS receiver equipped with EGNOS can then download the data and apply the correction data to its own position.
