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Garmin 64MB Memory Cartridge for Street Pilot or eMap

Garmin 64MB Memory Cartridge for Street Pilot or eMap

List Price: $291.65
Your Price: $97.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Jury is still out
Review: I have an older streetpilot colormap. In order to be compatable with this card you have to make sure that you have updated firmware (just download it from Garmin), and a current copy of mapsource. Upgrades are available on Garmin's web site(mine was way old).
It turns out that you can load more than 8 metroguide maps. You can have as many maps as space allows. Since they aren't all 8MB this is a real plus. My unit limits you to 50 maps, but you can get a lot of Roads and Recreation maps in since they vary from 64k to 400K. Garmin has very good phone support.

I am having issues with my card though. Depending on where I am in the map set the unit will hang and sometimes shut off while navigating a route. I might just have a defective card. I will find out how Amazon handles these issues soon.

Oh yes downloading nearly 64MB takes nearly four hours. The USB interface is looking very attractive (even if it is expensive).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great service saved the day
Review: I have had two problems with this card that may or may not affect others. I had an old version of Mapsource that did not recognize the 64MB cards. A call to customer service pointed me to a free update. I had difficulty with the card in my unit. The unit was acting very flaky. A call to Garmin customer service resulted in getting a in Warranty repair for an old unit. Some specific older units (the StreetPilot Colormap) do not properly handle cards with greater than 16MB capacities.

Why didn't I rate 5 stars? It take 4 hours to load the card over a serial link. The USB programmer is a bit pricy but would really make life much easier. I think for my needs I can get by without it. If you need program the card often you will want it for sure.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Holds 8 MapSource Maps! Long program time.
Review: I love this little memory card. It holds 8, count 'em, 8 MapSource maps. I can hold roughly half of the US NorthEast on my eMap GPS! For convenience, it's great.

It does, however, have some drawbacks. Most noteably, you need Garmin's MapSource program to download maps to it. This program is sold separately. The card only works with certain Garmin GPS models such as the eMap. Check your documentation to see whether it is compatible with your GPS before you buy. Finally, programming 64MB over serial took me two hours and used a lot of GPS battery power. I use rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries in my GPS unit so it wasn't a problem for me. Garmin sells a faster USB memory card programmer but this is an expensive option.

Pros:
1. 64 MB allows you to hold 8 MapSource maps
2. MapSource maps have much more detail than the GPS basemap
3. High quality product
4. More convenient than using multiple memory cards

Cons:
1. MapSource program is not included
2. Downloading 8 maps takes 2 hours over serial
3. Proprietary design makes it expensive
4. Only works with certain Garmin GPS units

All things considered, I think this memory card is a good product. It works as advertised. But I give it four stars because it is fairly expensive for what it is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: good!
Review: very fast, no problem (and better:a map offered!)


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