1)
Update your firmware. 2) With your GPS plugged into your computer, create a directory called "CustomMaps" in the "Garmin" sub directory on either your GPS itself, or the SD card. Map images in the .KMZ (google earth tile) placed in either CustomMaps directory will be automatically loaded by the GPS.
3) Use TopoFusion -- it has the ability create large scale KMZ files from any of the
available imagery in the software. That includes 24k topos and high res color aerials for most of the country. You can also add your own custom maps to TopoFusion and upload those. Just use the "File->Export View" command to get started.
4) Use the custom maps feature to upload tracks, too. Anything that is displayed in TopoFusion gets rendered and put into the custom map. That means you can have hundreds of GPX tracks loaded and they will all show up on the GPS. No more simplifying and splitting of tracks, worrying about whether it'll all fit or not.
I have found this to be extremely useful. I can load up (or draw) several tracks in an area, change their colors/widths, and then get them all very easily onto my GPS, laid over a highly detailed basemap.
This is hands down the best way to get a
GPS network onto a GPS for use in the field.
5) Use Topo 4M. I've found that the white background on Topo 4M makes the map more readable than the Garmin vector basemap (e.g. Topo 2008 DVD).
In addition I recommend 4M to cover more area (than Topo 2M) and also so that tracks you have loaded end up thicker and easier to see. You may want to add additional thickness to your tracks by right clicking on them in the map and choosing "Track Properties."
6) Aerial photographs are cool, but harder to see. I definitely get a kick out of passing a big building and seeing what it looks like from the top, but aerials tend to be a little dark and tough to read outside on the Dakota and Oregon screens.
7) Remember that you can only have 100 map tiles on your GPS at a time. TF will give you a warning message if you generate a single KMZ file with more than 100 tiles (the number is displayed as you zoom in and out and choose a tileset as well). But even across multiple KMZ files you can only have 100 tiles total. So, be careful.
8 ) You can use Google Earth to preview the generated KMZ file and see what you have. It will look less pixelated on the GPS since Google Earth resamples the map tiles and loses some quality. Still useful to verify what you have.
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Just want to make sure the OP understands that you can do high resolution exports (4000x4000 or maybe 8000x8000) as a single image, but, yes, you need to pan/zoom TF to cover the area you want. You'll get significantly more resolution than what is shown, but it can be difficult to get a hang of at first, specifically when it comes to knowing which tileset you will get.