Garmin Montana

Around 1800 est you may feel a disturbance in the Force as I try to get this all sorted.

I just ordered a 600 to replace my 60csx and hopefully, my Magellan XL. I normally use the both together, the 60CSX for navigating, and the XL for its big screen and clear and quality topo maps, and also its more or less unlimited track point logging.

I'm doing my homework, I found this thread, and Emmbeedee's guide, but maybe stand by for some questions anyway

Merry Christmas

Will the Montana do this ?

Linky please? on how data is organized.

uh yeah, operator error, that's what I get for trying to squeeze it in at the end of the day at 2am when I should be in bed.

I had 6GB left on my main C: drive and what the message actually said was "Not enough space left" then showed me my D: drive which had 30GB available on it, and it was asking me if I wanted to install it there.

Retried after I cleaned up my hard drive to have 18GB available and it was happy. Here is what happened, not a question here just showing others the details and/or maybe I'll learn something.

This is the CNNANT 2013 DVD install:
You have to have your GPSr connected (mass storage mode).
It asks whether you want to Download (1-time only) a newer version or just use the DVD. I picked the DVD since I also bought the nuMaps Lifetime update. Happily it let me pick the directory to install to, and there it placed 2 dirs "City Navigator North America NT 2013.10.gmap/" (2.17 GB size) and "Global Application Basemap v2.gmap/" (0.010 GB size).

Apparently it also installed BaseCamp as I see it now, it auto installed to a fixed dir at C:\Program Files\Garmin\BaseCamp\ (0.058 GB size).

I'm not sure if it installed anything else and was a bit surprised about BaseCamp, I thought it would offer it as an option perhaps or I would have to download it separately.

So DRTBYK: as for your post it is (naturally) right on: the DVD itself is 4.1GB and after the install the installed size on my hard drive is 2.2GB for the maps themselves + BaseCamp.

Isn't it interesting about PERSPECTIVES? It sounds like you are familiar with routes and are looking forward to tracks, and I got it because all I've ever known are tracks (60Csx) for offroad, and I want to do autorouting of routes as well....

This can be best summed up as...

It can do BOTH routes and tracks without major compromise (compared to other current GPSr generation models).

I have high expectations and really what made me start looking was a bigger screen and tracks - my personal 2 MUST haves.

Some people do tracks and routes simultaneously - they make the track visible on the screen, and convert the track to a route and navigate it.

Will the Montana do a recalc without being asked to? Even imeaditly after a route upload? in other words will it accept and behave like a 276/376/478 in regards to custom route handling?

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Any gps will do a recalc if the maps used to create the route don't match the maps on the gps, or the routing options on the gps are not the same as those used when the route was created.

So to keep the route intact you can use the maps on the gps to create the route by using Basecamp with the gps connected, or ensure the maps and routing options are identical.

But often the problem happens when a buddy creates a route, then shares it to you. Probably the best way to ensure you follow that route is to make a track of it. Then navigate the route with the track showing as well, and you can see if the gps has recalculated, and follow the track until the route sorts itself out based on the direction you're going in.

There are options in the gps like "off route recalculation" which you can turn off but if you start with mismatched maps, routing options or avoidances, there's always going to be some recalculating going on at some point.

When you fire up BaseCamp, there is a "Welcome to BaseCamp" aka "Getting started with BaseCamp" screen that displays. Down in the lower left hand corner of that is a link to "view a collection of useful videos..." and that is where they are. This welcome screen will appear every time you start BaseCamp until you tell it to stop. I recommend all the videos in the series. They may also be on you tube somewhere, but I don't have that info. Once you have BaseCamp installed, you'll have a link.

Thanks. I just installed BC and just found those but didn't know which ones you meant. They are located at Garmin.com Training Videos or also at Garmin BaseCamp tutorials on YouTube (handy if you are reading from your iPad or somewhere without the BC app installed).

Ok so I have a 650 with an EMPTY 8GB uSD card. How can I tell MapInstall to transfer maps to either the main internal memory or the uSD card? In MapInstall on the first page I can see my GPSr and the total memory on both internal and uSD card but they are both together on just 1 dropdown listbox item and not separate, so I cannot pick just one or the other. In the "Advanced/Partial Install" window I can pick map segments but it doesn't specify WHICH place they are going, as I assume this was done on the first page.

I understand that MapInstall will fill up the uSD card first. If this is always true then do I have to remove the uSD card and install everything that want to into the main memory first? Then insert the uSD card and transfer anything I want to fit into the uSD? The trick would be to know how much room is left because the Adv/Partial Install window lumps them both together.

My goal was to put all the CNNANT that would fit into my main internal memory and just leave it there "always". Then for specific little trips have 1 or more uSD cards and put them in as I want. But I don't know how it works.

I read the awesome Wiki on MapInstall but I don't think it covers this. (atlas did I say YOU ROCK yet?).

Let MapInstall load the maps to your uSD, the use Windows Explorer (Finder on Mac) to manually move the *.IMG map files where you want them. I always make archival copies on external hard drives so I can re-load them later without using MapInstall again.

MapInstall is not yet able to allow the user to select which map tiles go where, but Garmin IS working on it ;-)

So.

Got it all installed. Need a card so I can get all my maps aboard, but I got maybe half of them on, so at least I could play with it.

I'm.... under-whelmed. Screen is smaller than my 478, especially because of the buttons and data fields. And I lose one level of zoom at max detail. And have yet to try using this thing with gloves on at speed. Gonna miss the volt meter.

There's a nice flexibility to the menu, simple to set it up in a convenient order. The cheap and easy source mem card will be nice.

Based on my reading here, I'm guessing that the bigger benefit from my 478 is route/track length/sharing. Dunno if I'll make much use if that, not very social that way.

Guess the jury is out right now. Kinda thinking I should pull my 478 off the flea market until I'm sure.

Great to have the power of USB Mass Storage mode so you can directly control things like this. Gonna like that feature! thanks I'll try it.

I think you really should take the 478 out of FM - odds are you'll eventually see the differences as more important than the things Garmin left behind, like the voltmeter, but it's good to be able to compare the gps units face to face. And to have the option of going back.

Good info. I use my voltmeter all winter riding the DR with the Gerbings. Does the Montana give you any data fields like we have on the 478 ?

Dude, you have to have them both on the bike at the same time!

And the problem is???

I was looking at the manuall this morning and I don't see a limit for the memory card listed. The Zumo is 16 GB max. Any limit on the Montana?

Driffy, keep us posted! I was pretty underwhelmed with the Zumo 665. Yeah, music and weather are nice but I wish I had gotten the 478 before they were discontinued. I like the "real maps" instead of the cartoon maps.

Gerg

Data Fields is Third Down on This Page. A pretty long list.