Etrex Map update

[Bunker22]

I have just got a new Etrex 30x and Garmin express wants to update the map included. However it doesn't give english as one of the language options. What do I do?

[TimC]

Learn one of the ones it offers?

Modern Garmins use OSM. I have an Edge 1000, and it updates the maps every so often. I can't remember ever being offered a choice of language by Express, however.

[frankly frankie]

Assuming the Etrex is working in English at the moment, I would back up everything you can see (in the Garmin memory and on the mSD card) to hard disk, before doing anything else.
And - well - you don't really need the updated map do you?  I would decline the offer.

[JonB]

As per my reply in the other thread, I've not used Express but my experience is that the Etrex does not interact well with the units designed for the Edge (I'm thinking of Connect but not sure about Express).  I suggest downloading Basecamp which seems to work well with the Etrex although I wouldn't use it to plot a track or route. Also agree with Frankie, don't update!

[TimC]

I'm interested to know why you recommend not updating the maps. I've never had a problem with it, though I do make use of the 1000's capability to store and access more than one mapset as I relatively frequently ride outside the UK.

[JonB]

I'm interested to know why you recommend not updating the maps. I've never had a problem with it, though I do make use of the 1000's capability to store and access more than one mapset as I relatively frequently ride outside the UK.

I think I'd like to be a bit more confident in the programme that the Etrex is interacting with. Connect or Express, in my experience, have very limited functionality with the Etrex which is geared up to talk to Basecamp or Mapsource for earlier models. When I first used the Etrex I noticed that Connect would see it but trying to upload or download anything led it to crash.  Putting this issue aside, I've seen a number of posts here in which updates (for the Etrex and/or Basecamp) have proved to be very problematic and so I tend to avoid them until they're well bedded in or just avoid them.

[frankly frankie]

As a matter of principle I never update anything if the version I've got is working well enough.  To me that's always a risk not worth taking.

I will say though that when I bought an E30x last March, I could see that the OSM data contained was over a year old.  (I could tell this from local footpaths that I had added to OSM myself, some were present but some were not.)  Hopefully an E30x bought recently would have a newer map.  But - you know, I look at my bookcase full of paper maps, which are mostly over 20 years old - they still seem to work well enough.

[TimC]

Ok. Well, as I say, I've had no problems with my Edge 1000 and updates. The process is automatic and painless, and remarkably quick compared to my camper van's TomTom! I also have an old 800 which doesn't update its maps (it originally had OS maps, which don't work well in this format). I updated it to the latest OSM cycling with contours about this time last year, so I won't bother again for a couple of years at least!

[fuaran]

Putting this issue aside, I've seen a number of posts here in which updates (for the Etrex and/or Basecamp) have proved to be very problematic and so I tend to avoid them until they're well bedded in or just avoid them.

Most of that is due to user error. Or people complaining about any sort of change, even if it is clearly an improvement.

One of the big advantages of OSM is it is much more up to date than other maps. And you can add anything that's missing, or fix any problems etc. So its great to get a newer version of the map, and see your changes. I often update my maps every month.

[Phil W]

I update the osm data as I find errors as well. If you find a mistake it's easy enough to edit it yourself. Anything from a one way round the wrong way to a path not being suitable for a road bike.