Garmin GPS: Installing New maps

PerritoBites · 11-30-2008, 11:23 AM

I just bought a nice Garmin GPS (260w) from the black friday deals and it came with the US and Canada maps. That is fine, but I intend to not only use this GPS in the US, but also in South America. (Mainly Uruguay) Is there any way to install maps for locations that are not available through the Garmin website? I also don't want to pay an extra $100 for a map when my GPS was only $180. I saw a decent website that has some maps, but I have no idea how good these maps would be and if there is any risk to fuk up the maps that came with the gps. Also, is there any way to revert to the GPS in case of any fuckups? I bought a Garmin because I was told they have the most 3rd party maps available out of all the GPS brands. (Which leads me to believe there should be a way to install the maps I want)

Tullaeniel · 11-30-2008, 05:59 PM

Garmin does not make any Uruguay directly. They do have a third party developer that does carry the mapping.

Third-Party MapSource Developers

Since the mapping has to run in the mapsource program it is hard to find a wide variety of maps that will run on the Nuvi. I honestly couldn't tell you if the Uruguay mapping has any sort of unlock code to it off the top of my head but if it does not then you may be able to search for it via a download or a torrent. Search some GPS forums or Google it.

The best advice I can give on installing the mapping is to load it to a blank SD card. Most all Nuvi's will accept up to a 4 gig SD card without any problems. You can load mapping directly to the Nuvi's internal memory but those Nuvi 260's only have about 300 megs of free space in them loading anything larger and you may end up overwriting the North American mapping installed on it.

You can recover the North American maps if you delete them or overwrite them with a copy of City Navigator (probably 2009 since you just bought it) but we dont include a copy of the disk with the unit so you would need to call up the customer service people and order a disk for $15.00 or bitch enough to see if someone will send it as a courtesy.

The maps are on the expensive end in some ways but really mapping is kind of the bread and butter of GPS units and it takes quite a bit of money and man hours for all the land surveying and inputting of coordinates ect. GPS's have dropped in price dramatically over the last couple of years and it almost seems as if the quality of all the brands have dipped a little. When your average GPS was selling between 600-900 dollars and now most are between 100-300 the 500-600% profit margins on them have dropped to a reasonable level. Sadly it's gotten to the point that most of these units seem like they are built to last 1-2 years now and are throw away compared to what they used to be.

Brutul Tarew Marr · 12-01-2008, 11:39 AM

I have never tried to pirate garmin maps, but I do know that they work pretty hard at not letting you do it. When I bought my GPS20 they sent the map software on an SD card and it was a big hassle to get it copied to a micro-SD so I could use it with my phone that took multiple calls to garmin to get it to work.

PerritoBites · 12-02-2008, 01:12 AM

I have no idea how to get the map from that website or how would I find the correct torrent for it. The description makes it sound like it would be good enough for what I need it, but nowhere on their website it says how to get the actual maps. I tried searching for torrents but I haven't been able to find a way to get the correct maps.

MrGraham · 12-04-2008, 09:04 AM

So I can't find the box that came with mine and Garmin wants to charge $70 for the newest map update, don't see that happening. However I need to update as Austin has apparently changed a shit load since 2 years ago, so I'm looking at the pirated DVD on TPB. Many positive comments from the people who followed the instructions, anyone done this and had any problems?

MrGraham · 12-05-2008, 11:35 AM

Well in case anyone cares, it was pretty easy to get the 2009 City Navigator installed from TPB. The only catch is that my model (C340) apparently doesn't have enough memory to upload the maps, and I have to keep an SD card in it at all times for updated maps. Apparently other models (Nuvis) will let you delete the extra languages and stuff to free up space but I haven't had any luck figuring out how to do it on my Streetpilot. I'm pretty sure I'm doing something wrong because the memory it states it needs seems like the amount it would need to install brand new maps, not update current ones, but a good amount of Googling hasn't turned up anything different to try.

Tea on tuesday · 12-07-2008, 10:42 PM

I won a nuvi at a Christmas party for my work. I was pretty excited about this. I thought I'd take it for a spin since I needed to get groceries, but it didn't have the grocery store on the map. So, I start scrolling through the maps, and they look to be 10-15 years out of date for my area.

What are the chances that an update will actually fix this? How bad are the standard maps that come pre-installed?

Oh, Kentucky.

11-30-2008, 11:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
PerritoBites （￣ー￣） Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PR, UY, ROC Posts: 2,507 -20 Internets	Garmin GPS: Installing New maps I just bought a nice Garmin GPS (260w) from the black friday deals and it came with the US and Canada maps. That is fine, but I intend to not only use this GPS in the US, but also in South America. (Mainly Uruguay) Is there any way to install maps for locations that are not available through the Garmin website? I also don't want to pay an extra $100 for a map when my GPS was only $180. I saw a decent website that has some maps, but I have no idea how good these maps would be and if there is any risk to fuk up the maps that came with the gps. Also, is there any way to revert to the GPS in case of any fuckups? I bought a Garmin because I was told they have the most 3rd party maps available out of all the GPS brands. (Which leads me to believe there should be a way to install the maps I want)

11-30-2008, 05:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tullaeniel Bill Clinton Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 610 +11 Internets	Garmin does not make any Uruguay directly. They do have a third party developer that does carry the mapping. Third-Party MapSource Developers Since the mapping has to run in the mapsource program it is hard to find a wide variety of maps that will run on the Nuvi. I honestly couldn't tell you if the Uruguay mapping has any sort of unlock code to it off the top of my head but if it does not then you may be able to search for it via a download or a torrent. Search some GPS forums or Google it. The best advice I can give on installing the mapping is to load it to a blank SD card. Most all Nuvi's will accept up to a 4 gig SD card without any problems. You can load mapping directly to the Nuvi's internal memory but those Nuvi 260's only have about 300 megs of free space in them loading anything larger and you may end up overwriting the North American mapping installed on it. You can recover the North American maps if you delete them or overwrite them with a copy of City Navigator (probably 2009 since you just bought it) but we dont include a copy of the disk with the unit so you would need to call up the customer service people and order a disk for $15.00 or bitch enough to see if someone will send it as a courtesy. The maps are on the expensive end in some ways but really mapping is kind of the bread and butter of GPS units and it takes quite a bit of money and man hours for all the land surveying and inputting of coordinates ect. GPS's have dropped in price dramatically over the last couple of years and it almost seems as if the quality of all the brands have dipped a little. When your average GPS was selling between 600-900 dollars and now most are between 100-300 the 500-600% profit margins on them have dropped to a reasonable level. Sadly it's gotten to the point that most of these units seem like they are built to last 1-2 years now and are throw away compared to what they used to be. __________________ Now you know and knowing is half the battle. GO JOE!!!

12-04-2008, 09:04 AM	#5 (permalink)
MrGraham The Next Orange Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,321 +11 Internets	So I can't find the box that came with mine and Garmin wants to charge $70 for the newest map update, don't see that happening. However I need to update as Austin has apparently changed a shit load since 2 years ago, so I'm looking at the pirated DVD on TPB. Many positive comments from the people who followed the instructions, anyone done this and had any problems? __________________ < HOOAC > - Gamehopping collective of ADD gamers.

12-05-2008, 11:35 AM	#6 (permalink)
MrGraham The Next Orange Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,321 +11 Internets	Well in case anyone cares, it was pretty easy to get the 2009 City Navigator installed from TPB. The only catch is that my model (C340) apparently doesn't have enough memory to upload the maps, and I have to keep an SD card in it at all times for updated maps. Apparently other models (Nuvis) will let you delete the extra languages and stuff to free up space but I haven't had any luck figuring out how to do it on my Streetpilot. I'm pretty sure I'm doing something wrong because the memory it states it needs seems like the amount it would need to install brand new maps, not update current ones, but a good amount of Googling hasn't turned up anything different to try. __________________ < HOOAC > - Gamehopping collective of ADD gamers.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

12-01-2008, 11:39 AM	#3 (permalink)
Brutul Tarew Marr Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,234 -2 Internets	I have never tried to pirate garmin maps, but I do know that they work pretty hard at not letting you do it. When I bought my GPS20 they sent the map software on an SD card and it was a big hassle to get it copied to a micro-SD so I could use it with my phone that took multiple calls to garmin to get it to work.

12-02-2008, 01:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
PerritoBites （￣ー￣） Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PR, UY, ROC Posts: 2,507 -20 Internets	I have no idea how to get the map from that website or how would I find the correct torrent for it. The description makes it sound like it would be good enough for what I need it, but nowhere on their website it says how to get the actual maps. I tried searching for torrents but I haven't been able to find a way to get the correct maps.

12-07-2008, 10:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
Tea on tuesday I am a Hittite in love with a horse Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta Posts: 2,018 +47 Internets	I won a nuvi at a Christmas party for my work. I was pretty excited about this. I thought I'd take it for a spin since I needed to get groceries, but it didn't have the grocery store on the map. So, I start scrolling through the maps, and they look to be 10-15 years out of date for my area. What are the chances that an update will actually fix this? How bad are the standard maps that come pre-installed? Oh, Kentucky.