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what is the largest sd card you can use with a alpha?

I thought I seen on it on here once but can't find it.

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32GB

I sometimes think you would be better off with several 8gb cards and switch them out as you travel. I can't explain it but I have seen systems work perfectly and they install birdseye on a sd card and things start to happen.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Bruce M. Conkey
32GB

I sometimes think you would be better off with several 8gb cards and switch them out as you travel. I can't explain it but I have seen systems work perfectly and they install birdseye on a sd card and things start to happen.

---

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Bruce M. Conkey
32GB

I sometimes think you would be better off with several 8gb cards and switch them out as you travel. I can't explain it but I have seen systems work perfectly and they install birdseye on a sd card and things start to happen.

---

Bruce is right. On two separate new alphas we installed Birdseye. To begin with, I had a 32GB in mine and I added about 6GB of birdseye. Suddenly the handheld randomly locked up at different times for no rhyme or reason. The screen fades to black and it disappears. I swapped the 32GB card for a 16GB card and made each individual birdseye image a bit smaller (as someone here suggested). I also called Garmin regarding the issue and they guided me through some different steps (none of which worked). It still locks up occasionally (once or twice per hunt) but it will turn back on and start where it left off and is at least somewhat useable.

On my hunting buddy's brand new Alpha we loaded about 14GB on a 16GB card. The thing wouldn't even turn on without locking up, fading away and crashing! I removed roughly half of the Birdseye (around 7.5GB) and it works much better but still locks occasionally just like the other.

I really wish there was a way to transfer the Birdseye to the internal memory and the 100K topo to the SD card. I think it would help! The birdseye is a godsend for us hunting around many different parcels of land.

Bruce-

Do you think this is directly related to the size of the microSD card or is it simply related to the Alpha processing the birdseye images? It doesn't lock up when the card is removed or when no birdseye is present on the card (no files for the handheld to process). Would dropping down to a 8GB card fix the problem you think? I know you've had tons of relevant experience with them.

FYI- I called Garmin 3 times. They guided me through several different steps with mine. Nothing fixed it and I have a new one on the way from them under warranty. It should be here tomorrow.

One interesting find- after it locked up and I went to zoom levels under advanced map setup it looked something like this. (this is a Astro 320 image but it was showing basically the same thing on my Alpha. Both of them have Birdseye loaded on them)




Good luck!! The Alpha really is a fantastic system. I hope they fix this soon- I know tons of folks have had this issue also.

http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthrea...eadid=928381469

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Deadeye I would hate to even make a guess as to what the problem is.

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I Wonder if the speed of the card has anything to do with I was just looking at best buy and seen anywhere between 30mbps to 80mbpscards price was way diff I bought a 80mbps card see if that changes anything.
The card I have been using is old probly not capable of transferring data to fast

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Marc Mcwhorter
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Mr. Robinson had this same problem last week and after several discussions with Garmin this is the outcome. I would love to hear from people that try this so we can determine if this has been the problem.

The key is DO NOT USE A HIGH SPEED CARD.


Mr. Robinson just called and asked that I share this information.

He was having a problem with his ALPHA locking up and turning off after he installed Birdseye.

Here is what Garmin recommends.

1. Do not use a high speed SD card. The recommend a class 6 or class 10 Sandisk. I would say if you get another brand just get a slower speed card.

2. They also verified with him 32 GB is the largest card you can use. Someone gave him information that a 64 would work in an ALPHA. I personally go with 8GB and have more than one card.

Mr. Robinson said he did some testing and it worked ok. We will do some more downloading and let us know.

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After reading that Bruce I was scrambling doing my research on the different classes of micro sd cards. It turns out my new card is a class 10. So fingers crossed LOL.

For those who wanna check there class look on the package or card you will see a "C" with a number in it that's your class

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Marc Mcwhorter
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Mr. Walkerhound please remember I am sharing the information that came from Garmin. I hope it is accurate and we can figure out what cards to use in the alpha so they work well. I have been lucky and the two I am around all the time and have not had this problem. If someone uses a slower card as described and runs into problems it would be good to hear about it. If it works well it would also be good to hear.
Thanks as we can all learn together!!

Last edited by on 09-19-2014 at 04:48 PM

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