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Garmin Oregon 600 data limit and performance


GeoLTL

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Three questions about data on a Garmin Oregon 600.

 

1. What is the limit to the # of caches I can install? When I read the specs for the eTrex 30 a few years back, I remember the forums saying it had a limit of 2,000 caches, so I stick to that.

 

2. Can I load GPX files onto the additional micro card? So far I've only loaded them onto the standard internal memory.

 

3. I know I can load a larger map file onto the micro card. Right now I loaded only my own state plus a few small states around it. The question is, if I go ahead and load all of the mid-Atlantic, New England, and parts of Eastern Canada, will the resulting file (~700 MB) affect performance.

 

thanks!

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Three questions about data on a Garmin Oregon 600.

 

1. What is the limit to the # of caches I can install? When I read the specs for the eTrex 30 a few years back, I remember the forums saying it had a limit of 2,000 caches, so I stick to that.

 

2. Can I load GPX files onto the additional micro card? So far I've only loaded them onto the standard internal memory.

 

3. I know I can load a larger map file onto the micro card. Right now I loaded only my own state plus a few small states around it. The question is, if I go ahead and load all of the mid-Atlantic, New England, and parts of Eastern Canada, will the resulting file (~700 MB) affect performance.

 

thanks!

 

1. Unlimited

2. Yes

3. Some users have reported as many as 20 maps loaded without issue, so long as you do not exceed the total segment limit.

 

More information available here.

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The 2000 limit on the eTrex 30 is probably for waypoints. The 20/30 can hold 5000 geocaches. Not only can the caches be loaded on the micro SD card, it is recommended to do so. While not frequent, it is not unusual for the GPS to to freeze while in the field. This can be fixed by removing the card, rebooting, then reinserting the card. This allows you to fix the issue in the field and save the caching trip.

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1. Thank you

2. Thank you, I suspected as much

3. Thank you. Perhaps I will try to find the outer limit... B)

 

I clicked on your suggested link, but received the following message when I tried to selected Oregon: "This wiki's subscription has expired". Oops.

 

 

1. Unlimited

2. Yes

3. Some users have reported as many as 20 maps loaded without issue, so long as you do not exceed the total segment limit.

 

More information available here.

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I read up on this so long ago that I can't possibly be a reliable source, but... I remember the conversation about the eTrex limit in the forum going back and forth (wasn't me - I was just reading the answers). Some said 2,000, some said more. I just remember one response struck me as more... believable. I probably had some problem loading caches at the time and thought that was the reason. I do find that the eTrex stalls on start up from time to time. However, I will ignore my past "learning" if you assure me that you have most definitely loaded more. I find it a pain to unload my home ones when I want to add new ones for a trip.

 

Of course, that last observation might be mute if I can just install them on the removable card. All this time I never realized that I could use that card for actual caches. Guess I earn The Duh Award.

 

-Thanks!

 

The 2000 limit on the eTrex 30 is probably for waypoints. The 20/30 can hold 5000 geocaches. Not only can the caches be loaded on the micro SD card, it is recommended to do so. While not frequent, it is not unusual for the GPS to to freeze while in the field. This can be fixed by removing the card, rebooting, then reinserting the card. This allows you to fix the issue in the field and save the caching trip.

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I read up on this so long ago that I can't possibly be a reliable source, but... I remember the conversation about the eTrex limit in the forum going back and forth (wasn't me - I was just reading the answers). Some said 2,000, some said more. I just remember one response struck me as more... believable. I probably had some problem loading caches at the time and thought that was the reason. I do find that the eTrex stalls on start up from time to time. However, I will ignore my past "learning" if you assure me that you have most definitely loaded more. I find it a pain to unload my home ones when I want to add new ones for a trip.

 

Of course, that last observation might be mute if I can just install them on the removable card. All this time I never realized that I could use that card for actual caches. Guess I earn The Duh Award.

 

-Thanks!

 

The 2000 limit on the eTrex 30 is probably for waypoints. The 20/30 can hold 5000 geocaches. Not only can the caches be loaded on the micro SD card, it is recommended to do so. While not frequent, it is not unusual for the GPS to to freeze while in the field. This can be fixed by removing the card, rebooting, then reinserting the card. This allows you to fix the issue in the field and save the caching trip.

My eTrex 20 (original release, not the 20x) would have problems indexing the GPX if I had more than about 1200 caches on the external microSD card.

 

I've loaded over 3000 caches in a GGZ file on my Oregon 600 with no issue.

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1. Thank you

2. Thank you, I suspected as much

3. Thank you. Perhaps I will try to find the outer limit... B)

 

I clicked on your suggested link, but received the following message when I tried to selected Oregon: "This wiki's subscription has expired". Oops.

 

 

1. Unlimited

2. Yes

3. Some users have reported as many as 20 maps loaded without issue, so long as you do not exceed the total segment limit.

 

More information available here.

 

You do not have an Oregon, you have an Oregon 6xx - which is the wiki I linked you to, you were already there!

 

Use the links along the left side of the page to find more information than you ever wanted to know about your new GPSr!

 

For example, this is the direct link to answer your last question, under Maps > Map Storage Capacity.

Edited by Atlas Cached
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I read up on this so long ago that I can't possibly be a reliable source, but... I remember the conversation about the eTrex limit in the forum going back and forth (wasn't me - I was just reading the answers). Some said 2,000, some said more. I just remember one response struck me as more... believable. I probably had some problem loading caches at the time and thought that was the reason. I do find that the eTrex stalls on start up from time to time. However, I will ignore my past "learning" if you assure me that you have most definitely loaded more. I find it a pain to unload my home ones when I want to add new ones for a trip.

 

Of course, that last observation might be mute if I can just install them on the removable card. All this time I never realized that I could use that card for actual caches. Guess I earn The Duh Award.

 

-Thanks!

 

 

I have had 5000 caches in my eTrex 20 as a test and tried to load more. Got an error message that the 5001st cache exceeded memory limit. I consistently keep 3000 to 3500 on my eTrex 20 but always on the micro SD card.

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1. What is the limit to the # of caches I can install? When I read the specs for the eTrex 30 a few years back, I remember the forums saying it had a limit of 2,000 caches, so I stick to that.

1. Unlimited

It's unlimited if you use the GGZ file format. However, if you're using GPX, the limit is 5000.

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1. What is the limit to the # of caches I can install? When I read the specs for the eTrex 30 a few years back, I remember the forums saying it had a limit of 2,000 caches, so I stick to that.

1. Unlimited

It's unlimited if you use the GGZ file format. However, if you're using GPX, the limit is 5000.

 

No, it's definitely more than 5000 as I've had over 5000 loaded using GPX.

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AHA! Well hit me over the head with a brick. Excellent, I have bookmarked the Wiki pages and will read them thoroughly! (but later)

 

For now, though, it raises one more question:

-Under Map Storage Capacity, it says there is limit of "A maximum of 20 maps, not exceeding 4000 map segments in total". Not sure what a "map segment" is. I am getting my maps from http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl and they come as a single IMG file. If I create a single IMG that covers a very large area, is that considered a single map segment?

 

Thanks again for your help. Not only am I facing a learning curve with the GPSr, for some reason Groundspeak forums and my Safari are no longer talking to each other. I hadn't tried to log in for probably a year, so it came as a bit of a shock. Therefore, I almost gave up before asking the question. But I'm glad I persevered (had to download and install Chrome - all of which took time, sigh).

 

Also today, I figured out how to:

-lock the screen to avoid accidental input (highly annoying before)

-turn on trip distance measure, but NOT tracking. I do this all the time on the eTrex, but for some reason the unit came with defaults that made no sense to me.

-how to configure the user button

 

I'm liking the 600 much more now!

 

 

 

You do not have an Oregon, you have an Oregon 6xx - which is the wiki I linked you to, you were already there!

 

Use the links along the left side of the page to find more information than you ever wanted to know about your new GPSr!

 

For example, this is the direct link to answer your last question, under Maps > Map Storage Capacity.

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1. What is the limit to the # of caches I can install? When I read the specs for the eTrex 30 a few years back, I remember the forums saying it had a limit of 2,000 caches, so I stick to that.

1. Unlimited

It's unlimited if you use the GGZ file format. However, if you're using GPX, the limit is 5000.

 

Incorrect.

 

Unlimited geocaches, GGZ or GPX. I have a single GPX file with more than 100K geocaches on my Oregon 650 uSD card.

Link to comment

AHA! Well hit me over the head with a brick. Excellent, I have bookmarked the Wiki pages and will read them thoroughly! (but later)

 

For now, though, it raises one more question:

-Under Map Storage Capacity, it says there is limit of "A maximum of 20 maps, not exceeding 4000 map segments in total". Not sure what a "map segment" is. I am getting my maps from http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl and they come as a single IMG file. If I create a single IMG that covers a very large area, is that considered a single map segment?

 

Thanks again for your help. Not only am I facing a learning curve with the GPSr, for some reason Groundspeak forums and my Safari are no longer talking to each other. I hadn't tried to log in for probably a year, so it came as a bit of a shock. Therefore, I almost gave up before asking the question. But I'm glad I persevered (had to download and install Chrome - all of which took time, sigh).

 

Also today, I figured out how to:

-lock the screen to avoid accidental input (highly annoying before)

-turn on trip distance measure, but NOT tracking. I do this all the time on the eTrex, but for some reason the unit came with defaults that made no sense to me.

-how to configure the user button

 

I'm liking the 600 much more now!

 

 

 

You do not have an Oregon, you have an Oregon 6xx - which is the wiki I linked you to, you were already there!

 

Use the links along the left side of the page to find more information than you ever wanted to know about your new GPSr!

 

For example, this is the direct link to answer your last question, under Maps > Map Storage Capacity.

 

Each Garmin *.IMG map file is actually a collection of smaller segments. Different map makers will use different size segments, and the total number of segments in any given map can vary dramatically. The benefit to more/smaller segments is that the GPSr only has to load the segment you are currently using and can process information faster, while fewer/larger masp segments may slow your device slightly (not really on the newer devices) while allowing you more map storage capacity.

 

From the Software page at the wiki, you will find many excellent titles, but for this exercise, I suggest installing the JaVaWa GMTK software.

 

Once installed and running, JaVaWa GMTK will allow you to select and view details for any of the maps installed on your computer, including map segments, both numerically and visually.

 

JaVaWa%20GMTK%20Map%20Segments.png

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Limits are set here: https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId=%7B0b02f820-03db-11e0-e050-000000000000%7D

 

Oregon 600 (series)

 

2,000 GPX files

4,000 waypoints

4 Million geocaches***

200 routes, 250 points per route

200 saved tracks

2,000 archive tracks*

10,000 points per track

500 custom map tiles

250 BirdsEye Imagery files

Mapping segments vary by model:

Oregon 600, 650: approximately 4,000

Oregon 600t, 650t: approximately 3,500 (due to internal mapping)

 

eTrex 20/30 and 20x/30x

 

2,000 GPX files

2,000 waypoints

5,000 geocaches

200 routes, 250 points per route

200 saved tracks

2,000 archive tracks

10,000 points per track

100 custom map tiles

250 BirdsEye Imagery files

Approximately 3,000 mapping segments

 

*Archive tracks do not count against GPX file limit; 1 archive track per gpx file.

**FIT files do not count against the GPX file limit.

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