Basecamp will recognise maps installed in your Montana's own memory AND those on the micro SD card.
The larger the map, the more time it takes to 'cross over' but you can always see the green progress bar.
Maybe see you in Germany!:thumbup1: Weather forecast is good!:mchappy:

OK, I've gotten the OSM map of Mongolia to show up, but the level of detail is really low--there are very few roads, and once I zoom in below a very high level, all of the roads and terrain features disappear, even Lake Hovsgol disappears; do I need to download separate maps at higher detail levels? Also, where do I get the tracks?

Sorry for the dumb questions, but a lot of this GPS stuff is really counter-intuitive for me.

no that's normal- in OSM map detail will fluctuate wildly depending on how much data has been sent in.
In some places it's as good as city navigator in others it's sparse.

The only way you will get better maps (if they exist!) is to buy them.

Tracks are made by others who may share them with you
Same for waypoints

Just a word of caution if I may- if going anywhere remote DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH and verify all data supplied by others.

can you bring your montana to lunch??

heh, brought it with me.

Also, it appears that the battery fried during my last trip, when I had it mounted on the bike, so right now running it off of AAs. Anyone know what the battery would have fried? During the trip I kept getting messages "Unsupported Battery Detected", but I thought that the contacts might have been dirty or loose.

Basecamp will also see maps that are installed on your computer.

daryl

I put a map (img file) in Basecamp's Map subdirectory, but it did not seem to see it.

When you download maps from OSM, you can download a zipped image file that when unzipped can be placed on the gps's sd card. Or you can download an executable file that will install the maps on your computer. BC can see maps that are installed on the PC and the gps.

Maps installed on the PC can be sent to the gps via 'MapInstall' by selecting a map region. 'MapInstall' is included with BC.

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorial...rmin-basecamp/
http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorial...rmin-gps-unit/

There needs to be a sticky for using Basecamp.

daryl

For what is worth.....I live in the state of Missouri, in the US. I've been using OSM maps to route me around the state finding Geocaches. I've been quite pleased with the maps and their detail. The only issue I have, is not being able to do address searches.

daryl

Reading different forums there seems to be a consensus of opinion that if a Montana is mounted in the power-fed bespoke hard mount, there is no benefit in having the battery remain in the unit - in fact quite the contrary-

I sought Garmin's advice on this and their take was:
"Aside from the battery being charged whilst in the hard mount, there is no need to have it in the Montana."

Its removal seems to possibly avoid running the risk of battery loosening/damage and makes some sense. Some people have placed some soft foam between the battery and the casing to make a tighter fit and lessen possible vibration issues.

My only question, (which I forgot to ask doh) was the issue of compass calibration.
i.e once calibrated, does the unit retain its setting for this as the battery is removed?

Another Q for Garmin unless someone has the answer?

Thanks for this info; I had hoped to keep a battery in so I could take pictures it, but I guess that's not critical. I am also trying the foam trick to see if I can get my battery to work.

Very useful info... Thanks...

I have been following this thread with interest and have successfully down loaded an OSM map that covers Antigua to Base Camp but have come across a problem getting it to work on my Zumo 550 when loaded on to an SD card. It will work fine when loaded to the Zumo memory. I have a Garman life time update subscription and the maps of Europe that I have loaded on an SD card work fine.
I have loaded them in to a file ‘garman’ on the SD card but nothing that I have tried so far has allowed the Zumo to recognize them. Any ideas appreciated.

Is there any way to transfer maps to and from the SD card to the Zumo without the use of a computer?

Is there a noticeable difference in speed when using maps on the SD card as apposed to the memory?

Is it possible to load OSM maps on to an Android tablet and access them with a program like Base Camp and then transfer routs to a Zumo?

If anybody is wondering why I need a GPS map of a 100sq mile island, I don’t, but as I live here it makes for a good test. The detail and accuracy of the OSM map is impressive.

Make sure the *.img files are in the 'Garmin' directory on the SD card.

What size is the SD card?

What SD Card to Use in the Zumo 550 | eHow.com
http://gl1800riders.com/forums/showt...-card-max-size

daryl

All forgive me if this is a n00b question, just bought a 600 and trying to work out how it works.

I have created a map of eastern russia and downloaded to the montana & basecamp, i can view the map in detail and have created a route between 2 waypoints but when I attempt to select it an error appears "Maps do not have routable routes in this area"?
I have tried it in Demo Mode also.
Do I need to do anything before loading the OSM img file into it?
Thanks

Mark