How To: Using Preinstalled 400t Topo Maps in Mapsource
A frequent complaint about the Colorado and Oregon 400t has been the inability to use the preinstalled Topo 2008 maps in Mapsource. Shortly after getting my Colorado 400t I worked with some clever folks who were able to make it work but the procedure wasn’t quite ready for prime time. After messing with this for several months I got stuck until a few days ago when a user on the Oregon wiki boards suggested something that seems to work for those who have tried the procedure AND it is quite simple.
I’ve posted the detailed instructions on both the Oregon and Colorado wikis, but essentially it involves installing Garmin’s Trip and Waypoint Manager and replacing the T&W basemap file on your computer with the Topo map file from your GPS. The good news for Colorado owners is that you should have received a copy of T&W with your unit. Oregon owners aren’t quite so lucky, so unless you happen to have a copy kicking around you’ll need to shell out $25 to get Trip and Waypoint Manager
A few details:
- Works with Mapsource 6.13.7 and 6.14.1
- Works with T&W versions 3 and 4
- Does not work the the 400i maps
- POI’s show up on the map and can be searched using “Find Nearest”
- DEM does not display on the map
- Map tool does not work
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January 9th, 2009 at 6:52 am
Scott, does this give you access to the POI database on your computer as well?
January 9th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Yes, the POI’s are all available on the map view and when you search for “nearest places”. I have noticed several other limitations:
- DEM shading doesn’t display
- The map tool doesn’t work to select map segments
- At lower zoom levels only one segment will display at a time, so if you are at the intersection of two maps you might have to pan the map page to see maps on both sides of the seam
January 14th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
You can also split any non-NT maps wth GMaptool.exe and then install to Mapsource with Mapsettoolkit or similar. I’m not sure if the DEM shading works as I don’t have any DEM maps.
January 14th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Yes, I’ve done this as well and have instructions ready to post on how to do it but I’ve had a nagging problem with getting a preview map to work properly in Mapsource. When I split with gmaptool -S / cgpsmapper and install these files the preview map in Mapsource doesn’t seem to use the basemap inside the topos. As a result you see the underlying detailed maps when zoomed out which make the performance in Mapsource terrible. Still playing around with it, maybe using Mapsettoolkit would give me some other options for the preview map.
Thanks for the suggestions.
May 15th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Scott,
Apparently, since I was new to the GPS thing, I didn’t know that the 400t wouldn’t let you transfer/edit the map on your computer – it’s locked into the GPS (as you’ve explained quite well, above). What happens if you’re a Mac person? Does your “trick” work with Mac Basecamp Beta as it does with PC Basecamp or Mapsource?
Thanks, I really appreciate it,
Dave
May 16th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Dave, Unfortunately this does not work with BaseCamp on the PC (and I’m also assuming the MAC). The maps I have installed on my PC using this technique are visible in Mapsource but not BaseCamp. I’m not sure if this technique would work with Mapsource on the Mac.
May 16th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Thanks Scott. I really hope something comes along soon, as I was disappointed to find that I can’t plan out my hikes on the software. It seems QUITE ABSURD that Garmin wouldn’t give you the map software on an accompanying DVD, when you’ve paid $100 extra to get the software preloaded onto the 400t (and some extra memory of course). If you ever find out a fix for Mac Basecamp (or know of a place I can get Topo US 2008 for cheap!), please let me know!
Thanks again for your help Scott,
Dave