Remove Maps/ Then Install entire state - Oregon 450

[bob_dobalina]

I recently purchase an Oregon 450. I used the "Install Maps" feature in BaseCamp to install a handful of maps, then I purchase a 4GB microSD card. I'd like to remove the maps I installed on the unit's internal memory but I cannot see the maps anywhere on the unit in BaseCamp - looking under "All Data." Yet when I receive from the unit in MapSource I get about 10 maps. How do I delete these?

My second question - after I delete these I'd like to upload the entire mapset for Montana to my 4GB microSD card - is there an easy way to do this other than selecting each map in the entire state in "Install Maps" in BaseCamp? This would take forever!

Thanks.

[Boyd]

Do you just want to get rid of the maps from internal memory? If installed with Mapsource/BaseCamp, they should be in the Garmin folder in a file named gmapsupp.img. Before deleting that file however, copy it to your computer just in case. Also, you could keep it for future use if you ever want the maps again, or you could copy it to your memory card.

The Oregon doesn't have any restrictions on map file names. If you want to continue using the maps you should re-name the the file something descriptive, like MiscTopo.img for example (just be sure to keep the .img extension).

Not sure what you are asking about installing maps. You select the map you want with the dropdown menu first. Now connect your gps and choose either internal memory or a card, then "install maps on selected device". Zoom out far enough to show the whole state, then drag across it with the mouse cursor. The individual map tiles you have selected will turn pink. Click Next - Finish and all the maps will be installed.

[bob_dobalina]

thanks.

removing -

i don't want to remove any pre-loaded garmin (base) maps that came with the unit, just the ones I loaded on the unit memory. for example, say I add a map as you describe, how then do I remove this single map from the unit?

adding -

what you describe is what I want to do, i will try this evening. I was looking for a "select all" option in Map Install.

[Boyd]

The instructions I gave are correct for removing a map that you have installed yourself on the unit. gmapsupp.img is a "supplemental" map file. On an Oregon 450, the only pre-installed map will be the basemap which should be in the file gmapbmap.img. The 450t has a pre-installed topo map that would be in gmapprom.img. You shouldn't see a file with that name on a 450.

But now, before doing ANYTHING, I suggest that you do a full backup of the Oregon. Just drag all the files and folders to a location on your computer. This will allow you to restore in case you accidently delete something.

[bob_dobalina]

thanks for the info.

so when you "add maps" it is basically just re-creating this gmapsupp.img file?

It seems then that you can only add maps (as in add single maps with map tool in map source or clicking on a single map in Map Installer), and not remove them without removing them all by deleting this file?

it would be nice if you could see the maps you have added under "All Data" in BaseCamp like you can see WayPoints you've added and had the ability to remove individual maps.

[Boyd]

Yes, I think you are correct (although the only thing I use BaseCamp for is BirdsEye imagery). Basecamp can read certain kinds of map files directly from the GPS or memory card and display them. But this ability is limited to full mapsets - like pre-installed US Topo, City Navigator on a Nuvi, or a 24k map on a pre-loaded data card. See this: http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewtopic.php?t=18480

You can learn a lot about BaseCamp, report problems, and interact directly with the software developers on Garmin's support forum:

https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=179

Yes, the gmapsupp.img file is always created. Evidently this is for compatibility with older units. As I said, you can (and should) rename the file to something descriptive for future reference. If you also copy it to a folder on your computer, you will gradually develop a library of maps that are ready to use by dragging/dropping them in the Garmin folder on your GPS.

[bob_dobalina]

[F2]

Boyd is probably better equipped to answer these questions but....

I've only recently started using Basecamp so I'm much more use to MapSource (MS). MS allows you to select maps and loads them to the gps. It allows you to select multiple maps by using the cursor to create a rectangle using the click, drag method. It can also select maps along a route. So if you define a route from Seattle to LA, you can select all of the maps needed for that route. You can then click additional ones to fill out that area. And you can select maps from different map products, say, some from Europe and USA and road and topo. They get "compiled" and than loaded.

As I've discovered with my relatively new Dakota20, you can load multiple sets in by renaming as Boyd has already discussed (in Garmin's newer units). If you do NOT rename, then even if you have all of Montana already loaded and want to add just one from Wyoming, you need to created the ENTIRE Montana plus that one from Wyoming otherwise the one Wyo map would overwrite your previsous mapset. This happens both with internal memory and sdcards.

Mapsource can also load/erase tracks, waypoints and routes. It was/is a pretty complete product. What is does not do that I guess Basecamp does, is MS cannot edit stuff on the gps. Editing to "track files" on the gps only allows you to save to computer. You can load those back but cannot edit them to the gps itself. Basecamp allowed me to remove extraneous points at the begin/end of hikes and to color one particular track or day's tracks on the unit from what I discovered.

Hopefully, Boyd will correct me since I'm still new to the newer gps/Dakota, having had other more limited garmins until recently.

[Boyd]

F2: that all sounds right to me.

Bob: Mapsource does not let you manage anything on the device. It can only send and receive data. When you send data to the device in Mapsource, it erases the existing data (maps, tracks, routes, waypoints).

However, your Oregon 450 as well as the Dakota series features a new "sync" technology that older units do not have (including older Oregon models). It works specifically with BaseCamp and allows you to edit data directly on the device while connected.

So, for example, to delete just one waypoint in mapsource you would receive the entire waypoint collection, delete the waypoint, then send the collection back to the unit. In Basecamp, you could directly delete the one waypoint without going through all of that.

It also has the ability to view certain kind of maps that are loaded on the unit while connected to your computer, as described in my earlier post.

[bob_dobalina]

[Boyd]