How to send maps to your Garmin GPS using BaseCamp

The following tutorial will walk you through transferring maps to your GPS using BaseCamp.  BaseCamp is Garmin's new GPS map, trip, and waypoint management software that will take the place of MapSource. It is very, very similar to MapSource, but one difference that can be confusing is the way mapsets are sent to the GPS. You have to have your GPS connected to the computer and turned on before you will have the option to Transfer to your GPS. With that in mind, here are the basic steps for sending maps to your GPS using BaseCamp:

 

  1. Connect your GPS to your computer using the USB cable that came with your GPS (If you don't have this cable go to your local Garmin dealer with your GPS and purchase it)

  2. Open your BaseCamp program

  3. With your GPS connected and turned on, BaseCamp will recognize your GPS unit and display it's information in the left hand part of your screen under 'Devices'basecamp-or300

  1. If you have an SD/microSD memory card in your GPS, this will also be displayed under 'Devices' as 'Removable Media'.basecamp-or300-SD

  2. You can transfer maps to either your GPS's internal memory or to the external memory card (Removable Media). We will generally transfer maps to the external memory chip because of limitations on the internal memory of the GPS (see your GPS units specifications to find out how much internal memory your GPS has)

  3. To Transfer mapsets to the 'Removable Disk' (MicroSD card) you will need to right click on “Removable Disk' or it's 'All Data' Folder under 'Devices' on the lefthand side of the screen.basecamp3

  4. After right-clicking a menu window will pop up – select 'Install Maps' from the menu.

  5. A MapInstall Wizard Window will pop-up, select Next.basecampwiz1

  6. If it asks if you would like to automatically detect locations of your user data, say No unless you understand this process and would like the MapInstall Wizard to do this.

  7. The next window should show a view of the mapset that you have selected. You can change to a different map product using the drop down menu in the bottom part of the window:basecampwiz2

  8. Now that we have selected the map product that we want to send to our GPS, we can select the areas of the map we want to send to the GPS. We can do this by left-clicking each area individually or we can left click and drag a box around the whole state or any portion of the map:basecampwiz3
  9. The areas you selected will now be highlighted a light pink color. Another indication that you have areas of the map ready to be sent to the GPS is the storage meter on the right hand side of the MapInstall Wizard Window. A green bar will show to indicate how much storage space you have used:basecampwiz4
  10. You can select more areas or de-select highlighted areas by left-clicking each one. You can also drag more selection boxes to select additional map areas to send to your GPS. Once you have selected all the areas you want to send to your GPS, press 'Next' (Note: You can also switch to a different map product from the drop down menu while in this view to select maps from other states or areas)
  11. Now select 'Finish' to send the maps to your GPS. basecampwiz5
  12. The mapset can take a while to be built and send to your GPS (depending on how much memory is required to store the mapset), but when it is complete you can disconnect your GPS and go enjoy your new maps.