Uploading Free Maps to Garmin 800

Sorry this is only for Edge 800 users. Other devices may be able to access and download these maps too.  The advantage of these maps over the commercial maps is that many of the mountain bike trails have been mapped which are not available on the commercial cards.  They are also free (once you purchase a blank micro-SD card 4GB or more)!

Below was adapted from this website http://ridewithgps.com/edge_800

How to Download the maps and load them onto a Micro SD card.

  1. Choose a mapset from this link– choose Australia and download the NSW maps which will cover the Cootamundra area.
  2. You have to enable data recording on the SD card by changing the settings: Settings > Data Recording > Record to memory card.
  3. Place a blank SD card in your Garmin, turn it on and then start the timer. You will need at least a 4GB SD card. This will create the proper directories on the SD card automatically.
  4. Stop the brief activity you just started.
  5. Feel free to revert the “Record to memory card” setting once you have started then stopped the timer.
  6. Plug your Garmin into your computer. Depending on your computer, you will probably be prompted to open a folder to view the files on both the main unit and the SD card. Otherwise, navigate to the drive/folder your computer assigned to your SD card.
  7. After downloading, YOU WILL NEED TO EXPAND THE FILES – AND RELABEL THEM.  The file type must be .img for the Garmin to recognise them as maps.  Then copy the .IMG file to the SD cards “GARMIN” folder that was created earlier.
  8. The SD card can have multiple IMG files on it and you can choose between them in the Edge 800 configuration menu. Keep the names descriptive, eg. “osm_NSW_1.img”. VERY IMPORTANT: keep the name short and free of spaces or odd punctuation – underscores are OK for spaces.
  9. Once the file is copied, safely remove (right click on the icon in the lower right of screen for Windows users) the Garmin with the SD card in it from your computer.
  10. Insert the card and power up the Garmin.
  11. Go to the configuration menu, then System -> Map -> Map Information, and select the map type.
  12. Enjoy!