Sure, they're a monopoly so I guess you just need to take what you get. I thought the explanation might be of interest since you didn't seem to understand. Sorry, I have no dog in that race, I'm in my "post-Garmin" phase now. 
New Garmin GPSMAP 66i
- Thread starter ecampbell
- Start date
@NJCoastal - was looking at your screenshot again and realized that it doesn't correctly represent the sizes of these two devices. The GPSMap 66 screen is only 2.5 inches high but the Montana 700 screen is 4.25 inches - a huge difference. So I took the images into photoshop and re-scaled them. I believe this correctly illustrates just how huge that beast is! 
Well Bob, I have good news and bad news. Good news first, here's Garmin's FAQ about the age of BIrdseye imagery
https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=bcTgJcwxCE51OYksg89DZ6
"In February 2020, BirdsEye Satellite Imagery was upgraded. Customers who have downloaded satellite imagery in the past will notice that the only available option now is BirdsEye Satellite Imagery Subscription V2. If you have older imagery under My Collection in BaseCamp, re-download the area for improved image quality."
OK... but here's the bad news, I just read this at GPSFileDepot
https://forums.gpsfiledepot.com/index.php?topic=5019.msg26343#msg26343
"The reason for my post was in reaction to Garmin ending Birdseye subscriptions. The only option for Birdseye currently is with Birdseye Direct, which works on few Garmin devices."
I hadn't heard about this before, but evidently it's true Garmin has discontinued the "classic" BIrdseye, as indicated on their site
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/70144#overview
Apparently this happened about a month ago, couldn't find much about it. Some discussion here:
https://www.gpsrchive.com/Discussion/viewtopic.php?t=1941&sid=130f81cc102cc85683f44f155d2761e0
I cannot confirm this, so caveat emptor. Like I said, I no longer have a dog in the race but this sounds pretty bad on the surface. Better hang on to whatever you've got and make sure you have it on a memory card, you may not be able to get any more.
I suppose their answer would be to spend $600+ for a new Montana 7xx or GPSMap66xx because they include the "lifetime" Birdseye Direct subscriptions (which are apparently not compatible with our older devices).
You will need to confirm this because I'm just guessing. Assuming the above is true, that might mean a replacement Montana 6xx would not be able to use any of your existing Birdseye because it was authorized for the old GPS and they are no longer authorizing new Birdseye in Basecamp.
Last edited:
Give it a try and see what happens. As I understand, that first link is "old news" from 2020 and the "new news" is that it has all been discontinued. Do you have an active (paid-up) Birdseye subscription? Because I think you're out of luck if you don't, since you can no longer purchase one. And, while you might be able to download the imagery into Basecamp, you would not be able to transfer it to the GPS without an active subscription.
Let us know what happens if you try to download and send to your GPS.
Let us know what happens if you try to download and send to your GPS.
It will work, but if I read this download message correctly, I would need a new subscription, and I need to delete the old first.
If I were you, I wouldn't delete anything. Maybe there is some other way, but when I go to the Birdseye page it says it's discontinued and you cannot purchase it.
www.garmin.com
Garmin Outdoor Maps
Add Garmin maps to your outdoor device to guide your next adventure.
www.garmin.com
Was curious, so just tried this myself on my DriveTrack 71 using Basecamp. It will let me download Birdseye into Basecamp even though I don't have an active subscription - this is the same as always. When I try to send it to the GPS I get this message - again, just what I would expect.
I then click the "subscribe" link and get this
So... I think you are screwed unless you have a currently active Birdseye subscription (do you?). Otherwise, you can download imagery to Basecamp but cannot send it to your GPS because it has been discontinued.
Let me know if you get different results.
Last edited:
The subscriptions I buy only last one year for downloads. So within one week of buying the subscription, I download all of South Jersey. That was over a year ago, so I don't have the right anymore.
Just make sure you have a backup of all the imagery on your GPS, because you are not going to be able to get any more. Also, if you have imagery in Basecamp that you have never sent to your GPS, then you will never be able to send it to your GPS, you will get the same error as I posted above. The authorization does not take place until the imagery is sent to the GPS from Basecamp.
This is a really poor way to treat customers. If they were going to do this they should have warned everyone. There is not even any info on their site showing this has changed, they still have all the old help files that are wrong. A friend who is well-known for his Garmin software and maps just wrote me "Garmin are running out of feet through which to shoot themselves."
This is a really poor way to treat customers. If they were going to do this they should have warned everyone. There is not even any info on their site showing this has changed, they still have all the old help files that are wrong. A friend who is well-known for his Garmin software and maps just wrote me "Garmin are running out of feet through which to shoot themselves."
Garmin has now announced the GPSMap67 series. Did not look closely enough to see the differences from the 66, will they will discontinue the 66? Cost is $600 with satellite communications option, includes their topo map and direct Birdseye downloads to the GPS with wifi.
www.garmin.com
But wait, there's more! Garmin now has a new $50/year map subscription service which (supposedly) includes maps with parcel data. But it is only compatible with this new GPSMap67 and the Montana 700 series.
"With Outdoor Maps+, you have access to a wide variety of premium mapping content that is regularly updated and delivered directly to your compatible Garmin device via Wi-Fi® connectivity. This premium map data is collected from multiple sources, providing full coverage of all 50 U.S. states. The full collection contains premium elevation contours as well as landowner names and boundaries for public/private land types and boundaries — including Bureau of Land Management, national wildlife refuges, national parks, state parks, Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and more."
www.garmin.com
Garmin GPSMAP® 67i | Handheld GPS & Satellite Communicator
GPSMAP 67i is a handheld GPS and satellite communicator with two-way messaging, SOS alerts, location sharing, and a battery life of up to 165 hours.
www.garmin.com
But wait, there's more! Garmin now has a new $50/year map subscription service which (supposedly) includes maps with parcel data. But it is only compatible with this new GPSMap67 and the Montana 700 series.
"With Outdoor Maps+, you have access to a wide variety of premium mapping content that is regularly updated and delivered directly to your compatible Garmin device via Wi-Fi® connectivity. This premium map data is collected from multiple sources, providing full coverage of all 50 U.S. states. The full collection contains premium elevation contours as well as landowner names and boundaries for public/private land types and boundaries — including Bureau of Land Management, national wildlife refuges, national parks, state parks, Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and more."
Garmin Outdoor Maps+ Plans
Outdoor Maps+, you have access to a variety of premium mapping content that is regularly updated and delivered directly to your compatible Garmin device.
www.garmin.com
That screen size is unacceptable to me. Once you go big, you never want to go back.
Increasingly it seems like this is a category of devices that shouldn't really have to exist. The satellite radio and high quality GPS chipset should already be built into your phone, which is typically a fast, big-screen, large storage device you already have with you. New Qualcomm SoCs are already starting to have the satellite capability.
They will still sell some units since there are other reasons people might want a dedicated device, like longer battery life or more rugged design (which is probably part of why they are still offering smaller screen models like this) - but it'll be a more and more niche product once you can just add a $14.95 Iridium plan onto your phone bill and not buy any additional hardware.
They will still sell some units since there are other reasons people might want a dedicated device, like longer battery life or more rugged design (which is probably part of why they are still offering smaller screen models like this) - but it'll be a more and more niche product once you can just add a $14.95 Iridium plan onto your phone bill and not buy any additional hardware.
Garmin is making handheld GPS devices now with pushbutton interfaces and all but abandoning touchscreens. To me, that suggests they are just ceding that market to smartphones. Touchscreens have always been somewhat problematic for Garmin because they need an extra layer on the screen, which diminishes the contrast/brightness in transreflective mode. For those that don't know, dedicated GPS devices have "transreflective" screens, which means you can view them by reflected sunlight while the backlight is turned off. This provides a much brighter screen in full sunlight as opposed to smartphone backlit screen. It also allows for longer battery life, since there is no backlight to power.
Some people prefer the pushbutton interface for things like snowmobiles, motorcycles, etc too. So, they are positioning their products to that market (people who wear gloves and use the GPS in bright sunlight). Smartphones still can't compete for that kind of use. But there's also a core of (mostly) older men who still feel that a GPS should be a dedicated device. I guess Garmin is really only interested in the affluent segment of that market however, considering the $600 price tag.
But I'm still shocked that the only touchscreen handheld is now the HUGE Montana 7xx. So, you can't "go big" anymore - you have to go HUGE. We've discussed it before, that Montana 7xx actually looks like an nice device but I really felt my Montana 6xx was as large as I wanted a GPS to be. And the 7xx is WAY larger than that. Then there's the price...
Some people prefer the pushbutton interface for things like snowmobiles, motorcycles, etc too. So, they are positioning their products to that market (people who wear gloves and use the GPS in bright sunlight). Smartphones still can't compete for that kind of use. But there's also a core of (mostly) older men who still feel that a GPS should be a dedicated device. I guess Garmin is really only interested in the affluent segment of that market however, considering the $600 price tag.
But I'm still shocked that the only touchscreen handheld is now the HUGE Montana 7xx. So, you can't "go big" anymore - you have to go HUGE. We've discussed it before, that Montana 7xx actually looks like an nice device but I really felt my Montana 6xx was as large as I wanted a GPS to be. And the 7xx is WAY larger than that. Then there's the price...
I have to say that if something happened to mine and nothing else like it was available I would be buying the 7xx. I am like Bob, I don't want to go back to a smaller screen and I want touchscreen. And aerials are a must. I can look at the GPS and know for the most part what is in front of me.
And if I see they are going to discontinue the 7xx I suspect I would be buying one even if I don't need it right now.
And if I see they are going to discontinue the 7xx I suspect I would be buying one even if I don't need it right now.