Garmin Montana

You may want to preemptively take that back so you're not to disappointed in your assessment when I start asking questions about "on/off buttons" and such other technical operations.

Basecamp's 'Backup' & 'Restore' utility will save the list structure and data within BC. But it doesn't write any changes you've made to a *.gpx file you imported into 'My Collections'. To save those changes to a file, you need to do an 'Export'.

I not sure I follow you ...
I have imported many gpx and gdb files and they are all still there.
After my PC restore.

I am still learning about basecamp so I must be missing something here.

Thanks
Fred

If you make changes to those files in BC and wish to save those changes back to that imported file, for use outside of BC, you must use 'Export'.

Did the same last week(600 + Canada TOPO) and it arrived on Fri, so the weekend was spent getting up to speed. I was worried, but it's not near as bad/hard as it seemed. Very pleased so far!

Thanks for the heads up on this.
I'll have to play around with this.

Thanks
Fred

Quick question. I jumped the gun on the mount adn purchased the garmin rugged cradle only. After looking around it looks like that I need an arm that hooks to the bike and a plate with a ball on it so I got the
RAM-B-149 RAM U-BOLT MOUNT W/ SS HARDWARE.
It looks like this should work with teh Garmin rugged mount but
1) am I still missing the ball part
2) does it have to be the diamond pattern..I thought AMPS was a standard

Should work. The 'standard' is the AMPS hole pattern. The Rugged craddle uses this standard, as does the part you ordered (This?). The only thing is that you'll only use 2 screws from the rugged mount to the diamond-shaped plate. Should be OK, IMO....

I think you can use this to replace the diamond-shaped piece if you want to be a little more secure.
http://www.rammount.com/CatalogResu...d/082065077045066045051052055085/Default.aspx

Probably already asked here somewhere, but I don't see it. Supposedly CNNA is unlocked if you get it on the sd correct? How does this work if you want to run a larger sd card? Can you 'copy' it over to a larger sd card or are you restricted to swapping in CNNA sd card everytime you want to use it? I imagine it would be locked down somehow because if you could just copy it off and on to another sd everyone could just pass it around...

So if I want to run a larger sd card am I better off getting the DVD version? If so how is that loaded on to the Montana?

All your questions are answered here.

I highly recommend the DVD version over all other versions.

The part you linked above is what you need to attach the Rugged Mount to the Ram arm. The Rugged Mount has four holes so the two hole Ram parts won't work properly.

Click the image below to see the part on the GPSCity site.

Since I currently don't have the uSD card inserted, and all my data is on the internal memory... Can you please walk me through how I can put all the same data onto the uSD card? Tracks for example.

Then how does the Montana pick between looking at the internal memory vs. the uSD. For example if you have somehow backed up identical Tracks (same names) onto the uSD card, and you are out on the trail with the uSD NOT in the Montana... and your Montana has some kind of crash, then you insert the uSD and will it automatically just find the Tracks on the uSD?

What if some Track files are on both with the same name? Just don't understand it without experimenting and don't have time...

I have no idea what would happen if you had the same tracks/routes/waypoints duplicated on the Montana and the uSD card, but I don't think it would prevent the gps from running. I also don't think it would help anything. Why would you not just use the uSD card for all those things? The cards are so cheap these days that it just doesn't make sense not to have a few kicking around with all your maps/routes/tracks/waypoints, to ensure reliability.

The gps will always record tracks to internal memory, though.

That is a great idea to carry an extra card. I especially like the idea of having service info on the card. It would probably be nice to be able to read the service manual for your bike by borrowing someones computer when out in the boonies!

Thanks!

The Montana simply reads and indexes the data that is on the device (including the µSD Card). So, if you have duplicated data on the µSD you will see duplicate data in the applicable apps (Waypoint Mgr, Track Mgr, Route Planner, etc.). The only time the Montana does any "filtering" of data is if you have transferred Routes and the Waypoints they use to the internal storage. In this scenario the Montana will only place the applicable Waypoint from the Route into the Waypoint Manager if it does not already exist.

On a related note, what is the 'proper' way to transfer waypoints, etc.... from Basecamp to the Montana so as not to duplicate items? I'm trying to keep my waypoints 'in the cloud' in basecamp, but it seems every time I try to transfer them to/from the Montana I end up with duplicates.

Please read my reply above again for understanding. BaseCamp does not do any "filtering" of data that is Imported to your "My Collection". That is your job. So if you're repeatedly transferring the same Waypoints to the Montana and back to BaseCamp you are going to have duplicates. If this is something you do regularly then you might do as I do and only Import into a new List. From there you can decide which "version(s)" of the Waypoint(s) you keep.

The search in the coming v4.2 of BaseCamp is getting some development attention and can find results within your own data - keeping in mind that all searches are currently geographical from the center of the map in view.

Having got a few weeks of quality time on the montana... I've found a few pet peeves.

The biggest one is that when I'm panning around on the map, why can't I do a "find" ("where to") near where I'm panning? I run into this constantly and it's pretty frustrating. Seems like all it would take is a "where to" in the menu when panning...

You can do this but you need to go to "Where To" first. One of the choices is "On a map" or something similar. I don't have my Montana with me so I can't check it, but it is there...

Got my Montana now - go to "Where To", select "Menu", "Search Near" then "A Map Point" or any of the other three selections, "A Recent Find", "A Waypoint" or "My Current Location".

Actually, "Use Map" only shows if you are already navigating a Route and want to add a Via Point. I agree with SteveAZ, this is a needed addition to the "Where To" searches: along with "Along Active Route".

P.S, Of course, the better workflow on the Montana is to use one of the per-made Where To apps for the service you want to search for: e.g, Lodging. The workflow would be press the Where To "Lodging" app icon on your Main Menu. Then press the Options button and select "Search Near"->"A Map Point". Done.