So I have now have a garmin 770 Camper SatNav. I have the extra SD card installed. However I find the user manual not very helpful on some questions. Maybe there is somebody here who can help or point me towards online tutorials.
Basically what I want to do is make use of the SD card for extra files. I use a Mac desktop computer. How do I transfer files is one problem. Second what type of files to I transfer (csv, gpx are types I've seen mentioned). Finally how do I access these files once they have been transferred to the Garmin 770.
I'm sure that there is information on this in the manual but so far I've not been able to find this.
Thanks in advance.

It’s my belief that the satnav just uses the SD card as extra memory space. However you could load data onto the card by inserting it into the memory card reader on your computer. Garmin’s downloaded software recognises both the satnav and it’s associated card.

Looks like you put files on SD card while in the computer - see here
https://support.garmin.com/en-GB/?fa...nA7EzZYqbhaa77

Wow what quick replies! Thanks.

Anyway I've now managed to use the POI Loader app to transfer files to the Garmin and can see the pois when I use the device. I was expecting to be prompted as to where on the destination device the files should be placed but this didn't happen. So I'm still wondering if the files are being written to the SD card or just to the main memory of the Garmin. My concern is what happens when the main memory gets full.

When you upload files with Garmin POI loader it will give you a choice as to destination, choose SD card and thats it. Of course make sure that the card is properly inserted into the device and that your MacBook is showing both the device and the card on the desktop. You do need to create a new folder by using "finder" and name it Garmin POI. You save the downloaded files there first by dropping them from your downloads folder,then when you use Garmin POI loader you choose that file as the upload and the SD card as the destination. Stay clear of the Garmin device content and only use the SD card, they you won't spoil anything on the device. If you use a decent size SD card say 16 gb you will never ever even approach filling it with POI.

I should add that when you create the folder "Garmin POI" you will want to create separate files within it for each set off POI. I refer to take the bmp. file and the csv file for from downloadstothe desktop then I can drop them into the Garmin POI file I have previously created for that individual file.


when you go into the device these files will show as a new category "Custom POI" which you canned to the main menu for easy access.

Thanks for that. I did upload a POI file to the main device and can access this OK. However I'm still having problems with the SD card. Got it inserted OK and the POI Loader was able to see it. So all seems OK for future use but as I was turning the satnav off I got a message saying it needed formatting even though I had formatted it. So I clicked on Yes and nothing happened. Then I clicked on No and it tells me it's now formatting the memory card. However this has being going on for several hours. Any idea how long formatting should take?

Have you looked at Garmin BaseCamp for managing your POI's, routes, etc?
There's a Mac version and when transferring data over it definitely asks you main memory or sd card, well the Windows version does. It also gives you a back-up facility if your sat nav gets corrupted.
Formatting the sd card should only take a minute or two.
What size \ capacity of sd card are you using? There's a limit and I think the max for a 770 is 32Gb.
Also, the unit only supports Mac OS greater than 10.3.

Thanks I'll try that but POI loader also shows the SD card. However in doing various things I found that my new POI file was now showing twice in the list of Custom POIs. So I deleted the one on the SD card but that didn't solve it so I then tried formatting the card (8Gb by the way) and that's when my problems started. The unit now won't recognise the card or says it needs formatting but it won't format. So a bit stuck at the moment.

Try taking the sd card out and formatting it as FAT32 on a laptop \ pc then formatting it again on the sat nav.

Thanks but that was what I did and it just kept on saying it was formatting on the sat nav. I'll give it another go though and let you know.