I also do something similar: select the tiles I need, download them as *.img files and then use img2gps (free software) to upload them to my Garmin Etrex Vista HCx.
What’s happening with maps since May (the last one that still worked correctly I downloaded from 30 April 2011) is that I can’t do a search for street names. No matter what I put in, my GPS tells me “Not Found”. This was not the case with earlier maps on this unit. The earlier maps also worked for the Nüvi 205. I’ll have to check whether the newer maps since May still allow a street search on that particular unit.
Earlier maps that I loaded onto a friend’s Garmin GPSMAP62 or a larger Nüvi also didn’t find any street addresses. I’ll also have to check whether the newer maps now work on those devices.
I can search for POIs, though. The restaurants or hospitals, etc. do come up in a search. It seems (as far as I’m aware at the moment) to be just the street name searches. The street names are on the map if one moves the cursor to the streets. These names can be switched off on my unit by selecting “declutter on” in the menu. Then only major route names or numbers are shown on the map, and no POIs.
The conclusion is that somehow street searches are now being done differently and the Etrex Vista HCx can’t work with the new format. Is this correct? Is there a way around it? Has it got to do with how I load the maps? I’ll try download a map from http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ by allowing them to compile it and see whether that makes a difference. In particular, I’m using the tiles for South Africa.
Anybody else having a similar problem?
