New Garmin Montana

[Jon_PDX]

Atlas,

All I remember is I got it when I got my GPSmap 60C. The copywrite on the bottom of the box says 1999-2002 and I suspect I got it before 2000 so it's pretty old.

Maybe I'll load it on the computer and look at my local riding area to see what trails are missing.

Jon...

[Jon_PDX]

Almost forgot....... I do remember that I always had to have the CD's in the CD drive to work with it which was a hassle but from what I remember there were no unlock codes required.

Maybe they are all that way, I have no idea. But it sure was a hassle to have to load the disks (there are three of them) if I wanted to even view the map segments in MapSource.

Is the 24K or 100K that way too?

Jon...

[atlas cached]

Originally Posted by Jon_PDX

Almost forgot....... I do remember that I always had to have the CD's in the CD drive to work with it which was a hassle but from what I remember there were no unlock codes required.

Maybe they are all that way, I have no idea. But it sure was a hassle to have to load the disks (there are three of them) if I wanted to even view the map segments in MapSource.

Is the 24K or 100K that way too?

Jon...

Now that you mention it, I do have an ancient set of Topo CD's around here somewhere, and the last time I used them I do remember having to put the correct CD in the drive before I could read the Map information.

Current release DVD's install to your HDD and do not require the DVD be inserted each time to function.

Oh, and SKIP the Topo 100K. Garbage.

This a great 24k map for your area.

[Jon_PDX]

Thanks for the link and info. I'll check it out when I have more time. Need to get some rest (I work nights).

Jon...

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by Jon_PDX

Almost forgot....... I do remember that I always had to have the CD's in the CD drive to work with it which was a hassle but from what I remember there were no unlock codes required.

Maybe they are all that way, I have no idea. But it sure was a hassle to have to load the disks (there are three of them) if I wanted to even view the map segments in MapSource.

If you decide it's worth trying to install the mapset to your computer, copy all the cd contents to a directory on your computer and install from that; that way you won't have to keep the discs in the drive.

[Rocky TFS]

Originally Posted by Jon_PDX

Almost forgot....... I do remember that I always had to have the CD's in the CD drive to work with it which was a hassle but from what I remember there were no unlock codes required.

Jon...

I have been using this version of TopoUSA in all my GPS's since 1999. I had no problem loading it into the Montana from Mapsource, and I still prefer it to many newer products because of the wealth of POI's which I am interested in like old mines. My impression is that many newer topo products have deleted POI's which existed in this one. I can't be sure because I don't own any newer Garmin topos. I've gone the free state map route from GPSFileDepot for the 24K maps.

There IS a way to get the data onto the HDD and make Mapsource recognize it:

Install Topo USA normally and make sure Mapsource will read the maps from the CD.

Create a directory called My Documents-My Garmin-Topo-East, West, and (Alaska/Hawaii, if you want them too) or wherever you like.

Copy the CD's image files into those folders as appropriate.

Run Regedit, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Garmin\Mapsource\Produ cts (in XP)
or in Win7: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Garmin\Map source\Products

Export a copy of \Products for safety.

There will be numbered subfolders there, open each and look at LOC. It will say (drive letter) E:\East...or\West, or \Alaska, etc.

Change this value to the appropriate folder you created above, including correct drive letter. (I left Alaska and Hawaii as E: since I'll never use them. (Right click, select Modify, type in new value))

Voila! The next time you run Mapsource it should read maps from the HDD, which is about 10 times faster than the CD.

This came from http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/ind...howtopic=61356
which also shows the alternate method listed below.


Here is the other method
https://support.garmin.com/support/s...00000000000%7D


Now, once you have gotten this all to work properly in Mapsource, Basecamp should also recognize the maps with no further issues. (I said should ) Apparently you can also do this for Basecamp, but I don't have the correct registry key and I still want both Mapsource and Basecamp on the computer anyway.

I've been happily using this old Topo for 13 years for 95% of my backcountry exploring and don't see much reason to spend money on new. I simply refuse to use autorouting in the backcountry when my life may be at stake....I insist on creating and vettting the routes or tracks at home with the use of varied resources (such as Google Earth).

Hope this helps.

[Rocky TFS]

Originally Posted by Emmbeedee

Today I downloaded the most recent JaVaWa Device Manager and plugged my Montana in and ran the application to see if anything needed attention. I found MGV4 was not visible in Basecamp so I changed that, and ejected the Montana.

Next time I booted the Montana, MGV4 was visible again in all Profiles.

OK, I finally got time to experiment: I added an aready existing *img file from the HDD to the Sd card using just Windows Explorer. When I ejected the Montana and turned it on, in ALL the profiles the only change was that the new map had been enabled.

So it must be MapInstall that re-enables all maps in all profiles when adding maps.

I also later deleted the new map using the above method and none of the profiles changed....(not that that's surprising)

[johnpitts01]

I Went out on the super Tenere today with the 478 on board

I have been riding around with the Montana in the car.

Simply stated; if you have one keep your 276/376/478.

I forgot how good everything about the 478 is. I dont think I would ever be happy with the Montana for the Adventure riding I do with our small group. It just doesn't compare. Not even close

I will keep the Montana and continue to use it because it is so versatile and i will use it for paved road only rides. And I will continue to hope they can work on the Montana so it can provide the full functionality of the 478.

But for our adventure rides the 478 will be on the bike.

JB

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by Rocky TFS

OK, I finally got time to experiment: I added an aready existing *img file from the HDD to the Sd card using just Windows Explorer. When I ejected the Montana and turned it on, in ALL the profiles the only change was that the new map had been enabled.

So it must be MapInstall that re-enables all maps in all profiles when adding maps.

I also later deleted the new map using the above method and none of the profiles changed....(not that that's surprising)

Thanks for checking that. I must admit, unless I'm creating a new Mapset, I generally have no reason to use MapInstall so I don't.

[DockingPilot]

Wow, this thread has been idle for 12 whole hours !

[MizzouRider]

Originally Posted by DockingPilot

Wow, this thread has been idle for 12 whole hours !

Weird, I know.
I actually got all my routes and tracks loaded yesterday. No issues.
I imagine I'm just utilizing 5% of the Montana's capability, but its working so far.

[Jon_PDX]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback regarding my older copy of US Topo

I'll play around with it on my days off.

Atlas,

WOW that's quite a download you linked to. Unzipped it and it installed in BC without any drama. Took a quick look at some of the saved rides in the woods I have been on and the detail looks good.....thanks for pointing me to the map. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the Topo I have on CD.

Rocky,

Good info on installing the disks on a PC. I have both (PC and Mac) and have pretty much switched over to the Mac now but know all about RegEdit under Windows. I suspect I can accomplish basically the same thing on my Mac. So I appreciate the time you took to write up the info .

At the very least I can just copy all the CD data into one location as EmmBee suggested which will still be faster than reading from CD.

Jon...

[atlas cached]

Originally Posted by Jon_PDX

Thanks everyone for all the feedback regarding my older copy of US Topo

I'll play around with it on my days off.

Atlas,

WOW that's quite a download you linked to. Unzipped it and it installed in BC without any drama. Took a quick look at some of the saved rides in the woods I have been on and the detail looks good.....thanks for pointing me to the map. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the Topo I have on CD.


Jon...

They also have a transparent version of just the trail maps, NWTrails, if you want to layer the trail information over another map, like City Navigator, etc...

[Rocky TFS]

I've been playing with custom POI files after reading Post # 1935-1938 way back in January '12 from DVWalker.

Several of them went well, then I started seeing this behavior: (posted on the Garmin POILoader forum)


I have created a half dozen *.gpi files with POILoader from *csv or *gpx files with a custom bitmap for each.

When I look for them in "Extras" on the Montana, they appear as originally named along with 6 instances of "Garmin", which has a single POI named "Poi" right at my house.
This POI is NOT in any of the original files, it's being created during the conversion to *gpi process.

I'm converting into a HDD folder, the GPS is not connected, so where is POI Loader getting that lat/long from?

I use special directories for POILoader data, only including one bitmap and one *.csv or *.gpx file at a time, so there is nothing else in there for the Loader to see.

When I look at the *gpi files with GPS Data Team's online editor, each *gpi file has as it's last entry the lat/long for my house, named as "Poi".

However, this POI does not show in the listings of that file when viewed on the Montana, i.e. "Arizona Rest Areas", it only shows up in a separate list called "Garmin" with only that one identical poi in it, "Garmin" being repeated six separate times.

Any of you gurus have an idea what's happening?

[Jon_PDX]

Originally Posted by atlas cached

They also have a transparent version of just the trail maps, NWTrails, if you want to layer the trail information over another map, like City Navigator, etc...

Cool.....Thanks!

Jon...