Advice on Maps for Garmin Montana 650
 

Afternoon,

I purchased a new Garmin Montana 650 last week; I have a query regarding purchasing maps and the use of MapSource.

I'm planning a trip from the UK to Australia and I would like to plan overland routes using MapSource and upload them to my device.

I have a copy of Mapsource without any maps installed or unlocked and my Montana appears to be loaded with 'Worldwide Autoroute DEM Base Map NR v5.01'

I was hoping to use the basemap from the device in the mapsource software and then use open source mapping downloads. Is this possible or do I need to purchase a map from Garmin so Mapsource works?

Do I need to purchase this:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=662

Or could I buy the European maps and would this give me access to mapsource with a worldwide basemap?

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=6299

Regards

John

Since no one else is coming up with possible answers, you could look in this thread --- somewhere around post number 79 onward might be what you want to know.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ontana-57846-6

Fantastic; thanks for the link.

Just what I was looking for; I'll give it a go and see how I get on.

It looks like I'd be better off using Basecamp as I've never used Mapsource before [so I've nothing to re-learn] and it looks like MP is no longer supported?:scooter:

Forget about using Mapsource, your time would be better spent learning Basecamp. You're find that planning with BC will become an obsession. Think of BC as a database of your data.

An example would be how I built my database of RoadRunner magazine routes, sorted my year, month, then the route's imported gpx file.

A good source for routable maps is here: Free worldwide routable Garmin maps from OpenStreetMap

Below are links to some BC basics, keep in mind that the information may not be current with the latest versions of BC.

http://garmin-mapsource.wikispaces.com/BaseCamp (http://garmin-mapsource.wikispaces.com/BaseCamp)
How To Open Maps In Garmin BaseCamp - GPSFileDepot

daryl

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...ScreenShot.jpg

Thanks for the advice; Basecamp it is ... however I'm still having problems showing the OSM maps.

I downloaded the .exe file [tried in in both Explorer and Google Chrome] and installed it. It shows in the software but doesn't actually show the map.

Any ideas:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/06...Picture3-1.jpg

Download the zipped image file from OSM, not the exe file. Then unzip it.

Rename the *.img file to something descriptive like. Missouri.img and place the file inside the 'Garmin' directory you create on the SD card installed in the gps. You can add several if you wish. When you connect the Motana up via a USB cable to a computer and start BC. BC will see those maps when it starts.

Having the maps installed on the sd card will allow you to run BC on multiple computers. The maps will move with the Montana.

daryl

I'll give that a go but should it work the way I've tried it also? I downloaded a single OSM tile (of Rome) and that successfully loaded?!

I've tried the UK map on two computers installed with BC now and it doesn't work on either.

Daryl,

I'm assuming I can drop the .img file straight into the device memory direct also rather than onto an SD card? (I haven't got one yet)

The only problem with this method is that I have to have the GPS device hooked up to my computer to see the maps and do some route planning? Is it possible to transfer the maps the other way? I.e. from the GPS back into BC?

Whooooo .... successfully uploaded the UK map by downloading the .img file.

First track laid!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/06...FirstTrack.jpg

Yes you can, but make sure its into the 'Garmin' directory. You're need to rename the OSM gmapsupp.img file you unzipped to UK.img otherwise you will overwrite the gmapsupp.img file that's already there. Older Garmin units won't allow you to rename the file.

On the microSD card I have a directory called 'My OSM Maps' and that's where I park them. I can drag and drop them into the 'Garmin' directory on the microSD card when I need them.

There's nothing wrong with having the gps connected to a pc when you do your route planning. I do it all the time. I use a Garmin 62s. It has a 8g microSD installed. This is where I keep my OSM maps and my gps project files. I'm using the gps as a mass storage device. I'm running BC on two desktops and a netbook, this allows me to move between any computer any anytime and work on any gps project using BC's Backup/Restore function.

I use the microSD card to store manuals, photos and other documents as well.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/O...armin/Download

daryl

Be careful!

Using BC can become an obsession.

daryl

Hi Daryl,

Can I pick your brains again?

I've uploaded two or three OSM maps now and it is abit of a pain that they're all called 'OSM World Routable'

How can I change them so the device displays an easier to distinguish name? I downloaded JaVaWa which works if using an .exe file but not if downloading an .img [and I obviously can't get the .exe to work anyway as discussed].

I've read the wiki-link; but if I'm honest it's a bit over my head.

Any suggestions?


What if I have an existing gmapsupp.img file?

Some Garmin devices/applications support more than one img file. Try naming your openstreetmap img gmapsup2.img or gmapprom.img.

When tested on an Oregon 200 (firmware 3.42) and GPSMAP 62S (firmware 2.80), eTrex 20 (firmware 2.30), it will load any .img files in the Garmin directory. The nüvi 1xxx and 3xxx series will load any .img file in the Map directory. You don't need one named gmapsupp.img at all. (in fact, if you don't want the device to see a map for testing purposes, you need to move the file out of the Garmin directory or rename it so it won't end with .img)
When multiple ".img" files are installed, it is difficult to differentiate them in the on-device menu when they all have the default "OSM Street Map" name set in the ".img" file header, but it is relatively simple to change the on-device name:

Open the ".img" file in an editor that can handle binary data.
Edit bytes 0x49-0x5C to assign a new name using ASCII printable characters.
Pad unused characters at the end of the name with spaces.
In some map files, 0x5D is a space character, but it is not part of the name field.
Additional map descriptive text may be placed in characters 0x65-0x82.
Unused characters at the end of the field are padded out with spaces.
The descriptive text may not appear in the list of maps on-device. For example, on the eTrex 20, the descriptive text only shows up when the map name is selected.

Some devices may not display the entire descriptive text field. For example, the eTrex 20 seems to display only characters 0x65-0x73.
On some devices, when both name and description fields are populated, a space is either needed at the end of the name field, or at the beginning of the description field. For example, the eTrex 20 needs a space at either 0x5C or at 0x65 to be sure the two fields are separated by a space on some screens. Lack of a space in one of these locations can cause the name to truncate due to line-wrap issues.
Character 0x83 is also technically part of the description text, but a null character (0x00) is always required at this position.
Save the edited ".img" file.

I never have more than two OSM maps visible in the GPS and BC. So having the 'OSM World Routable' title hasn't bothered me to much. You can get an SD card and store the OSM maps your not using there under a directory called 'My OSM Maps'. Then drag and drop them into the 'Garmin' directory as you need them.

You can rename the image files to something more descriptive like, UK.img, Spain.img or Egypt.img for each country you downloaded.

The GMAPPROM.IMG is the preloaded map file.
The GMAPSUPP.IMG is the supplemental map file.

daryl