basecamp not reading topo maps

If you want to see the maps that are preinstalled on the 450T from within BaseCamp, follow these steps:

• Launch BaseCamp
• Plug-in the 450T using the supplied USB cable
• Look for the 450T to load as a device in the sidebar from within BaseCamp
• Select the Oregon 450T

Now the maps that are loaded on the 450T should be available to you from within BaseCamp. You may have to select the maps you want to see from the Maps menu.

Note, you cannot copy the maps from the 450T to the computer to view when the 450T in not plugged in. The 450T must be plugged in at all times that you want to view the maps. If you want to view the topo maps without having the 450T plugged in to the computer you will have to buy the maps separately.

i did everything as described, however topo maps are not shown in the selection list. as I have mentioned, same behaviour on windows & mac with all the latest updates installed.

It sounds like you are doing things correctly. You should probably contact customer support to resolve your issue.

I did contact them and they were not sure why it is happening. They did post me CD with the maps and told me that I can use pre-installed maps unlock code to use maps on the CD. This presumably will allow basecamp to view topo maps. Will try this today, hopefully it will work.

However, I did search forums and looks like quite many people have the same issue as I have. That points to the fact that probably software should be patched to work properly?

Hey everyone,

I was wondering whether this issue has been resolved? I just bought a Garmin Topo 100K Map for Alaska yesterday and downloaded it to my GPSMAP62. It works fine on the device, but I can't see the map in Basecamp when connecting my GPSMAP62 - I just see the "Worldwide Autoroute" standard map. Any suggestions how to make the Alaska Topo usable in Basecamp? I really need to use the map in Basecamp to generate some Tracks before hitting the road..

Any help is appreciated! :)

I did contact them and they were not sure why it is happening. They did post me CD with the maps and told me that I can use pre-installed maps unlock code to use maps on the CD. This presumably will allow basecamp to view topo maps. Will try this today, hopefully it will work.

However, I did search forums and looks like quite many people have the same issue as I have. That points to the fact that probably software should be patched to work properly?

You should be thankful it did not work. A dvd you install on your Mac is a much better. It is a real hassle to plug your GPS into your computer every time you want to plan. Many GPS stores have a great deal on the oregon 450 with a topo 100k DVD included. In my opinion, that is the best way to buy a Garmin. I would never buy installed maps if I had an option. Topo maps age very slowly and you might want to upgrade your GPS and keep your topo maps.

I just bought a Garmin Topo 100K Map for Alaska yesterday and downloaded it to my GPSMAP62. It works fine on the device, but I can't see the map in Basecamp when connecting my GPSMAP62 - I just see the "Worldwide Autoroute" standard map. Any suggestions how to make the Alaska Topo usable in Basecamp? I really need to use the map in Basecamp to generate some Tracks before hitting the road.

I believe this is caused by an unfortunate bug in the way the map downloader names the map file on the device. What is the name of the map that was downloaded onto your device? You should have gmapprom.img, gmapbmap.img, and a new file named gmapsupp.img. If you name the new file to gmapsupp.img, BaseCamp will find it and use it.

Hi azdrmn,

thanks for getting back to me! I believe that the map files that were downloaded with my purchase are "Topo100K_Alaska.unl", "Topo100K_Alaska.gma", and "Topo100K_Alaska.img".

In the Garmin base folder there is also a "gmapbmap.img" file, but no "gmapprom.img" or "gmapsupp.img". I did rename the "Topo100K_Alaska.img" to "gmapsupp.img" with the effect that it now works perfectly fine in BaseCamp (software recongizes the device and the Topo map shows up as dropdown in the sidebar) but the GPSMAP62 doesn't recognize the map anymore :(

I can probably rename the *.img file back to original and keep the "gmapsupp.img" as a copy, but I don't want to waste 800MB of my device's internal memory. Is there no way to just install the map in BaseCamp? Also, what happens if I install a second Topo map on my device (I was planning to install some parts of Western Canada) - can I use both at the same time in BaseCamp?

Thanks again for your help! :-)

I'm trying to do the same thing. I can't activate my Australia/NZ topo maps that came with my 400t. I can see the Autoroute under my connected GPS in the basecamp sidebar so everything seems to be working except for the topo map.

I only have gmapbmap.img, gmapprom.img and gmaptz.img appearing in the my /Volumes/Garmin/Garmin directories. How important is the gmapsupp.img file and should I have it etc?

The gmapsupp.img file is the map file created when you send maps to your GPSr using a program like MapInstall. If you sent maps from your computer to your GPSr then you should be seeing a gmapsupp.img file.