How do I download maps for the USA?

[Paul Rochdale]

I'm going to the US in May and at present the card in my StreetPilot III has all of the UK maps loaded onto it. I don't want to delete these and plan to get a second card with more storage and load up all of the US maps onto it. Are there cards with enough 'memory' to story all of the US maps? Have I over simplified it, or is it less straight forward than I've explained?

 

[ebbo]

Garmin cards aren’t that cheap, I’d wipe it and put on what you need.

If it’s a Streetpilot III and standard 128mb card, you won’t get all of the USA on it, not even near. You need to work out closely where you going and only put that mapping on the card.

Other than that take a laptop, mapping and card reader (it’s a lot faster than doing it via the SP III)

I take it you have the mapping and unlock code already?

 

[samwise]

I think that I worked out the states from the Canadian border down to Tennessee and from Kentucky to the Atlantic was around 450Mb using City Select v6 North America - v7 may be more

 

[Taff]

As a guide, you can regularly get 256Mb Garmin cards either from here or e-bay for around £50 - £65.

 

[Commuter]

256mb

I have most of the eastern seaboard and some 250 miles in all on my 256mb.

Depends where you are going, of course the question is do you have the mapsource disk?

When are you over and where are you going?

Cheers, Nick

 

[Paul Rochdale]

I am flying to JFK NY on 9th May and shipping my bike by sea to Newark from Southampton. I'm planning on staying for at least three months and my roughed out route includes - NY, Washington DC, Nashville, Wabasha MN, Little Big Horn, Yellowstone Park, Mount Evans (highest tarmacced road in the US 14,130ft), Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Las Vegas, Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley), Yosemite, San Francisco, LA, Tucson, San Antonio and Houston, then back eastwards.

I do have the unlock code for the GPS.

 

[ebbo]

Sounds a great trip Paul, including ‘Mount Evans’. Now, don’t forget the laptop so you can upload mapping and save your trail daily, its very useful for telling where you took your pictures!!!. Just make sure your camera is showing the same date and time as the GPS!!!

Have a good trip

 

[gfspencer]

Try Trail Ridge Road (US 34) as well -12,183 ft

 

[Paul Rochdale]

Thanks, I finally found it; Trail Ridge Road (R.34) Colorado, between Estes Park and Grand Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park. It sounds impressive!

 

[beemerboy9]

Hi Paul,
By all means get a second card for your Streetpilot III. I picked a 256Mb up from ebay for £50 or so.
But you don't have to lose the maps (not serious) from your exisiting card and routes (very serious) stored within memory in any case.
Connect up the Garmin unit to the PC and go to transfer --> Receive from Device and store all the routes and waypoints back into your PC. Maps can be transferred back via the card reader I suppose, but these is no real saving of time there.

 

[Commuter]

512

If you are going for a 256 you should consider the 512mb just released. You can get it from tvnav.com at around 120 dollars, so don't bother with the 256 and pick it up when you arrive in the USA.

Hope it helps, if you need anything, drop me a PM, I am a little further north, but happy to help where I can.

Cheers, NIck

 

[BurnieM]

The new 512MB Garmin data card is only useable on the GPSmap 276C, GPSmap 296, GPSmap 376c and GPSmap 396 (not SPIII)