Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => The Knowledge => GPS => Topic started by: LEE on 21 June, 2012, 11:51:07 am

Title: How To - Load OSM maps on a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx
Post by: LEE on 21 June, 2012, 11:51:07 am
1 - Go to TalkyToaster (http://talkytoaster.info/ukmaps.htm#GPSRs-Only)

2 - Download the "GMAPSUPP" file of your choice (British Isles in my case - British-Isles+Contours-Routable-GMAPSUPP.zip)

3 - Unzip it to PC folder

4 - Connect Garmin to PC with USB lead => Select "Setup" => Select "Interface" => Select "USB Mass Storage"
     4a - See point 7a

5 - You will now see your Garmin as a "Removable Disk" attached to your PC

6 - Create a new folder on Garmin (unless it exists already) called "garmin"

7 - Shorten your unzipped file name to GMAPSUPP.IMG and copy it to "garmin" folder
      7a - You can speed this up by removing microSD card and using a Card reader instead of GPS (seconds instead of minutes)

8 - Unplug USB & reboot Garmin (you should see a percentage loading bar at the bottom of startup screen)

9 - Map should now be loaded and usable (go to map display and select "Setup Map" to display Map name/version)

Complete.

10 - You can use the Map display to select which installed map to use (if you choose to install several).



There may be other ways of doing this but THIS WORKS

Maybe it would be nice to have a Sticky thread of "How To......" of simple step-by-step instructions, proven to work, for various GPS model/brands.  I personally  find it a memory test each time I try and do this and will probably use my own post in a few months time..
Title: Re: How To - Load OSM maps on a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 21 June, 2012, 12:00:06 pm
I think you are missing a step.

AFAIK, the garmin is supplied with some maps. Having bunged a map on the SD card (as you've described), I think you then have to tell the Garmin to use the map from the SD card.

I'll turn mine on later and have a look.
Title: Re: How To - Load OSM maps on a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx
Post by: LEE on 21 June, 2012, 12:29:21 pm
I think you are missing a step.

AFAIK, the garmin is supplied with some maps. Having bunged a map on the SD card (as you've described), I think you then have to tell the Garmin to use the map from the SD card.

I'll turn mine on later and have a look.

You may be right.  I deleted the supplied map

I have several downloaded OSM files and I just load the one I need.  99% of the time it's the British Isles but I also used same method for some downloaded France areas.
Title: Re: How To - Load OSM maps on a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx
Post by: frankly frankie on 21 June, 2012, 12:30:42 pm
Its only usually supplied with a base map.

It'll use both until told otherwise, and I haven't used Talkytoaster maps but I imagine they'd sit on top of the base map, but whether transparent or opaque I don't know**.  If opaque then there's nothing to do (in fact step 9 probably not needed).

[** edit - I see some of Tt's files are marked 'can be overlaid on other maps' while others aren't.  The ones that aren't presumably are transparent then, and would allow the basemap to show through.  The basemap can be turned off in the menus.

My main comment on the original procedure would be - presumably the gmapsupp.img file is quite large, nearly 500Mb in the example quoted - so
a) the card has to be big enough (with a bit to spare for archiving tracks), and
b) the transfer will go a lot quicker if you remove the card and use it in a USB2 card reader, rather than via the GPS interface.
Title: Re: How To - Load OSM maps on a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx
Post by: bryn on 21 June, 2012, 06:04:47 pm
Current generation Etrex models are supplied without SD cards, but with an internal memory more than big enough for the OSM maps.  You can just enable/disable whichever files you wish.

Talkytoaster warns that loading two different maps (or different editions of the same map) each with contours will lock up the GPS completely and you may have to remove the SD card to delete one of them.  If you've got an SD card that is.

Don't try to load more than one of the contour maps into internal memory, under the assumption that you can disable one once they are loaded, because you won't even get the GPS to switch on.  You'll never guess how I found this out. (A super-hard reset was required using an undocumented series of clicks/presses).

--
Bryn