Numpty Garmin GPS SD card question

[Matt Cartney]

Hi folks.

I have what is almost certainly a dumb question about buying extra maps on SD card for my Garmin Nuvi 250.

I have the above GPS with Europe maps on it. I am planning to buy a mini SD card off t'internet with maps of Russia (i.e. the Garmin City Navigator Russia NT). I assume all I do is put the card into the slot and away I go. When the GPS crosses into russia it presumably knows to retreive the map information from the SD card?

The Garmin website is fantastically vague in all sorts of ways and I'm not sure if buying an SD is either a very simple way of extending the coverage of your GPS or if it's more complex than that.

Thanks,

Matt

[Toyark]

No numpty about it! we all are until we just learn something new!
1- I do not know your particular unit

When you buy a map on an SD or micro SD it is recognised when you power up and displays automatically where you are.
In newer devices, you have the choice to select or deselect a map. I would suggest you ask whether your device can or cannot do this.

Memory (aka a lack of) can cause problems (unit freeze) if the maps you have are too large. It would be a good idea to test whilst still at home unless you are going with a PC -

IF your unit cannot deselect maps AND you have a memory issue, you may have no alternative but to remove the EU map currently in the unit's memory. It will be called GMAPPROM

IF you can access your unit via USB, then you can copy this (large if EU) file onto your PC or other medium for safekeeping and simply use the Russia map in your case on the SD card.

Hope this helps / makes sense!

p.s
Garmin have told me never to have maps of the same area selected at the same time.
You can have, for example your City Navigator EU AND a France topography map on the same memory card but one MUST be DEselected.

[Matt Cartney]

Thanks Bertrand,

My unit is from 2008 and I'm not sure if I can select/deselect maps on it, but will look into it. Looks like it should n't be too much of a problem. I'll actually have my laptop with me so if problems arise I can do as you say and remove the EU map temporarily while I'm in Russia.

Thanks mate

Matt

[Toyark]

Matt check that you can access your unit via usb. Prob. best tried at home!

[m37charlie]

If the Garmin GPS has an SD card slot it should be simple under "Tools" or "Settings" to find the function that allows one to switch between internal memory and SD card. That's the way it works on my Streetpilot 7500.

Charlie

[strimstrum]

On a slightly different note ...... Garmin maps for Russia are not spectacular. I rode from Vladivostok all the way west to UK and the Russia map was only (sort of) OK in European Russia but even then it was only of use for major routes.

[Matt Cartney]

Hi guys,

Yes, I can access my GPS by USB, so that's cool. I can't see anything in my settings menu to switch between memory and SD, so I'm assuming it must be automatic.

Thanks for the tip on the Garmin Russian maps. I'm only going to be in the very west, so it should be OK. I'll also look into downloading some free maps but this seems a little technical and I may just end up going for the easy option!

Matt

[Sam I Am]

On my Nuvi 255, map selection is buried under Tools > Settings > Map > Map Info. Be careful digging into the files on your GPS via USB. It's possible to brick the device if you delete something you shouldn't.