New Garmin Montana

[empedrado]

Not all versions of 24K are routable. One way to know if you have the routable one is it either came on a card that must be in the device or you have an unlock code if it came on a dvd

Originally Posted by OceanMtnSea

Just to confirm as this seems to come up too frequently:

Garmin 100K USA Topo is NON ROUTABLE

Garmin 24K USA Topo is ROUTABLE

I have both and know............check whatever maps you have with JavaWa Device Manager - it will confirm http://www.javawa.nl/jdm.html

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by empedrado

Not all versions of 24K are routable. One way to know if you have the routable one is it either came on a card that must be in the device or you have an unlock code if it came on a dvd

The best way to check would be to use JaVaWa Device Manager - it'll say if the map has routing info in it.

Here's an example of that display:




The maps with the little green icon include routing data.

[B.E. Coyote]

Is there a way to use the 100k maps from my Montana in Basecamp or do I need to buy the DVD. I am guessing I need to buy the dvd.

[Yossarian™]

Originally Posted by B.E. Coyote

Is there a way to use the 100k maps from my Montana in Basecamp or do I need to buy the DVD. I am guessing I need to buy the dvd.

Basecamp can load the maps from the Montana.

If the 100K map is not currently viewable in Basecamp, you can toggle that by using JaVaWa Device Manager.

[Rocky TFS]

Originally Posted by _cy_

seems there were several folks traveling the world that had extensive problems with their Montana. One I helped with finding Garmin contact in Europe.

rightly or wrong, impression I've gotten is Montana as released is still beta and we are the guinea pigs.

I think Cy has a valid point, semantics aside. Unfortunately there were and still are more than a few folks who had severe problems with their units that could not be ascribed to user ignorance. Luckily I was not one of them.

My problems (issues) with the unit were a direct result OF my 20 years experience with GPS, and the fact that the Montana is so much more sophisicated than older units like the 76C. It really is so different that I had to start almost from scratch in learning how to make it do what I wanted. This was exacerbated by my not having any previous experience with autorouting, the area where most of my learning was required. And by having to learn BaseCamp as well, forgetting nearly everything I had learned in 10 years of using MapSource.

This forum, Wikispaces, and the vids at GPSCity were a great help. Also, the fact that I'm retired and have nearly unlimited time to spend on the Internet sussing things out!

Six months down the road my unit works nearly perfectly and doesn't make me say "WTF is it doing NOW!" anymore, but it has been a long road. I consider it nearly indispensable when traveling in new territory now.

Now the only issue I still have with the unit is the too damn small zoom buttons!!!!!

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by B.E. Coyote

Is there a way to use the 100k maps from my Montana in Basecamp or do I need to buy the DVD. I am guessing I need to buy the dvd.

Yes, as long as your gps is connected to the computer, you should be able to see them but make sure you use the most recent BaseCamp.

If your map can't be see in BC, use JaVaWa to make it visible. Details here:

[FatChance]

Originally Posted by empedrado

Not all versions of 24K are routable. One way to know if you have the routable one is it either came on a card that must be in the device or you have an unlock code if it came on a dvd

The new Garmin 24K regional topo maps on DVD are route-able but do not have unlock codes because they are not locked to a gps. You can load them on as many gps units as you want. At least that is how the Southwest regional topo I got last week works...

[empedrado]

Originally Posted by FatChance

The new Garmin 24K regional topo maps on DVD are route-able but do not have unlock codes because they are not locked to a gps. You can load them on as many gps units as you want. At least that is how the Southwest regional topo I got last week works...

That is good to know -- I have a number of gps's and that would be great for me.

[vabuckaroo68]

I currently have 24K Mid-Atlantic (DVD) and 100K US Topos. I would like to add either City Navigator or possibly other 24K maps. Is it possible to load CN into the 650T with the other 2 topos in there? Can I load CN or other topos onto a micro-card to be switched out depending on where I'm riding?

Oh and I'm currently "off the map". as Captain Barbosa would say
That's why I have a message that says the maps here are not routeable.

[gots_a_sol]

Originally Posted by _cy_

finally figured out why I could not enter coordinates into Montana. had to call Garmin to figure it out.

evidently there are a slew of ways to express GPS coordinates. one has to set which standard Montana uses. what I don't understand is why there is NO mention in instructions. that's right nothing ...

when I posted problem #5632 in this thread, of not being able to change all digits. No one else offered different format was the culprit either.

coordinate I was given was expressed in Decimal Degrees

there's also Degrees Minutes & Seconds, GPS, UTM, etc GPS Coordinate Converter, Maps and Info

to set coordinate position format: setup -- Position Format -- default is: hddd mm.mmm

use above link to GPS Coordinate converter or switch format to match

Thanks for posting this. I had the same issue but since I don't use the coordinates that often, I never bothered to figure out why it wasn't working. It seemed like such a simple task that I didn't want to post it up because it made me feel like a tard for not knowing

After changing formats, it works how it should with the info I'm using (job site locations provided by my work)

[OceanMtnSea]

Originally Posted by vabuckaroo68

I currently have 24K Mid-Atlantic (DVD) and 100K US Topos. I would like to add either City Navigator or possibly other 24K maps. Is it possible to load CN into the 650T with the other 2 topos in there? Can I load CN or other topos onto a micro-card to be switched out depending on where I'm riding?

Oh and I'm currently "off the map". as Captain Barbosa would say
That's why I have a message that says the maps here are not routeable.

What I prefer to do is load the CN on the hard drive of the Montana and use the uSD cards (4 or 8GB uSD) for all my topo maps.

This does 2 things:
1) leaves more free space on the Montana hard drive so it has no problems operating; and
2) Allows me to switch out and use only the topo maps needed for the area I am in on the uSD cards.

You can use all the maps regardless or where you put them, just be sure to "enable" only the ones you need in the profile you are using. The Montana is a computer....no sense in making it load stuff it does not need to do the task at hand.

Don't overload the Montana hard drive as it does need some space to operate...........and defragmenting it every once and awhile is also a good idea (I use WinContig for defragmenting drives).

[Yossarian™]

Originally Posted by OceanMtnSea

Don't overload the Montana hard drive as it does need some space to operate...........and defragmenting it every once and awhile is also a good idea (I use WinContig for defragmenting drives).

"hard drive"

[DennyIndy]

Originally Posted by OceanMtnSea

....and defragmenting it every once and awhile is also a good idea (I use WinContig for defragmenting drives).

Since it is solid state memory and NOT a spinning platter defragmenting is not needed and actually can do damage if done repeatedly.

[OceanMtnSea]

Originally Posted by DennyIndy

Since it is solid state memory and NOT a spinning platter defragmenting is not needed and actually can do damage if done repeatedly.

That is interesting. When I update or switch-out the gmapprom (CN) it always ends up being the only file that gets fragmented. All the other files are OK.

Where did you get your info on not defragmenting SSD drives? I would like to read and understand the differences.

J


Hey, I learned something new today! Thanks!

http://helpdeskgeek.com/featured-pos...defrag-an-ssd/


I have 8 years, 5 months and 2 days left ( March 24, 2021 -theoretically on the SSD according to SSDLife pro/freeware here: http://ssd-life.com/eng/download-ssdlife.html)

Yea........that seems like a reasonable period of time. By then who know what GPS tech will look like?


Cheers,

[DennyIndy]

There 'ya go! I recently upgraded my laptop with an SSD. I discovered that during my usual obsessive research process. I found several places that told me the same story about fragmentation and solid state memory. Since I am very frugal I hope to use my gps for at least 10 years. Maybe I'll be able to find a good used Montana in about 5 years when my budget allows me to upgrade.