Magellan GPS - Newbie Question

Author

Newbie Question

Danny

2006-06-07, 5:48 pm

I just purchased am Explorist 500. I use MS Streets 2006 on my laptop and
handheld Jornada and wonder if I can convert maps for the gps unit. MS
Streets doesn't recognize the gps, it wants a comm port connection while the
gps has a USB connection. Is there a way to use it with MS Streets 2006?
Also, I plan to but an SD memory card in hopes of enevtually getting the
Topo 3D USA map as well as the street map. In order to cover California with
both, how big of a SD card would be best? Thank you for any help in advance,
Pat.

Jack Erbes

2006-06-07, 5:48 pm

Danny wrote:

> I just purchased am Explorist 500. I use MS Streets 2006 on my laptop and
> handheld Jornada and wonder if I can convert maps for the gps unit. MS
> Streets doesn't recognize the gps, it wants a comm port connection while the
> gps has a USB connection. Is there a way to use it with MS Streets 2006?

I don't have an eXplorist 500 so I'm guessing a little. If the
eXplorist has a NMEA output mode put it in that mode.

Then go to the Device Manager and see if you can find a virtual COM port
that is associated with the eXplorist. You can figure that out by
unplugging the eXplorist and watching to see which one goes away. Or
you can watch it while you plug the eXplorist in and see if a new COM
port appears.

Once you identify the COM port, select that port from S&T 2006 and it
should have a NMEA input and locate you.

The S&T 2006 software does a good job of finding the NMEA data it it is
on one of your COM ports so your problem all along may have been that
you needed to enable the NMEA output on the GPS or change it so the NMEA
mode.

> Also, I plan to but an SD memory card in hopes of enevtually getting the
> Topo 3D USA map as well as the street map. In order to cover California with
> both, how big of a SD card would be best? Thank you for any help in advance,

Both of those will fit easily on a 256mb SD card. The SD cards are
getting so cheap on sale ($40 or less for 1Gb cards) that if you buy a
1Gb card you can put all the western states on it and also have tons of
space for storing routes, track, waypoints, etc.

If you wanted to make maps for the entire U.S., DR3NA takes about 1.5Gb
and Topo 3D a little bit less. So two 2GB cards would let you store all
the maps of both types.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at adelphia dot net)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

Ron Hunter

2006-06-08, 5:48 am

Mark Pace

2006-06-08, 5:48 pm

So you use MS Streets 2006 with your eXplorist? I thought you had to to
use DirectRoute, which is pretty limited. Any idea if MS Streets would
work with a Meridian Gold?

Thanks for any insights.

Mark Pace

Ron Hunter wrote:
> Danny wrote:
> The eXplorist 400 I have works just great with MS Streets and Trips
> connecting the 400 through the USB interface. When you plug in the
> eXplorist, MS Streets and Trips will recognize the GPS and ask what type
> of communications to use. Select the last option. As for converting
> maps to load on an SD card, sorry, no.
> I have ordered the Direct Route software, so I will be able to answer
> your question about SD space to save such a map soon.

Jack Erbes

2006-06-08, 11:48 pm

Mark Pace wrote:

> So you use MS Streets 2006 with your eXplorist? I thought you had to to
> use DirectRoute, which is pretty limited. Any idea if MS Streets would
> work with a Meridian Gold?
>

He is saying that he uses the NMEA output from eXplorist as the GPS
input for S&T running on a PC.

There are no provisions for exporting a map from S&T to eXplorists,
Meridians, or any other GPS receiver.

I'm not sure what you mean by DirectRoute being "pretty limited". It is
limited to use on the Magellan Meridians and eXplorists but the software
itself is not bad. The most recent version, V3.0, has the latest
NavTeq data on it.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Ron Hunter

2006-06-09, 5:48 pm

Mark Pace wrote:[color=darkred
]
> So you use MS Streets 2006 with your eXplorist? I thought you had to to
> use DirectRoute, which is pretty limited. Any idea if MS Streets would
> work with a Meridian Gold?
>
> Thanks for any insights.
>
> Mark Pace
>
> Ron Hunter wrote:

Yes. It will work with any NMEA compatible GPS. Note that you are NOT
using the GPS for anything but providing position information for the
program, and that the combination of GPS, cable, and Laptop require you
to have quite a bit of space for the setup. It is the program that
provides voice prompts about turns, and displays the map and current
position.

Ron Hunter

2006-06-09, 5:48 pm

Jack Erbes wrote:
> Mark Pace wrote:
>
>
> He is saying that he uses the NMEA output from eXplorist as the GPS
> input for S&T running on a PC.
>
> There are no provisions for exporting a map from S&T to eXplorists,
> Meridians, or any other GPS receiver.
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by DirectRoute being "pretty limited". It is
> limited to use on the Magellan Meridians and eXplorists but the software
> itself is not bad. The most recent version, V3.0, has the latest
> NavTeq data on it.
>
> Jack
>

I have ordered DirectRoute v3, even though I don't expect to use it for
'turn by turn' directions as the eXplorist lacks a voice prompting
capability, and the 'alarm' feature is inaudible in my car at highway
speeds, thanks to my age and damaged hearing.
I am getting it for its ability to load much more detail in the maps and
points of interest.

Jack Erbes

2006-06-09, 5:48 pm

Ron Hunter wrote:

<snip>
> I have ordered DirectRoute v3, even though I don't expect to use it for
> 'turn by turn' directions as the eXplorist lacks a voice prompting
> capability, and the 'alarm' feature is inaudible in my car at highway
> speeds, thanks to my age and damaged hearing.
> I am getting it for its ability to load much more detail in the maps and
> points of interest.

You might be surprised to find yourself using it anyway. It is hard to
ignore a handy tool after you get familiar with it.

The autorouting on the handheld with DRNA3 is relatively unsophisticated
but it is certainly useful. If you have the eXplorist laying almost
anywhere in the car it will maintain a fix and you can see at a glance
the display of an icon that shows the upcoming turn type and the
distance to it. And a passenger with no great technical skills can
usually figure out what it is trying to tell you too.

The dedicated automobile GPS navigation devices will have many more
useful features than you'll see on the eXplorist (things like multiple
destination routing, automatic re-routing, etc.) but even so the
eXplorist can be very useful.

And the DRNA database of POI can be very helpful for locating or
pinpointing addresses, businesses, etc.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Ron Hunter

2006-06-09, 5:48 pm

Jack Erbes wrote:
> Ron Hunter wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>
> You might be surprised to find yourself using it anyway. It is hard to
> ignore a handy tool after you get familiar with it.
>
> The autorouting on the handheld with DRNA3 is relatively unsophisticated
> but it is certainly useful. If you have the eXplorist laying almost
> anywhere in the car it will maintain a fix and you can see at a glance
> the display of an icon that shows the upcoming turn type and the
> distance to it. And a passenger with no great technical skills can
> usually figure out what it is trying to tell you too.
>
> The dedicated automobile GPS navigation devices will have many more
> useful features than you'll see on the eXplorist (things like multiple
> destination routing, automatic re-routing, etc.) but even so the
> eXplorist can be very useful.
>
> And the DRNA database of POI can be very helpful for locating or
> pinpointing addresses, businesses, etc.
>
> Jack
>

As long as I am with my wife, she can read the routing information, and
watch for off-course messages. My hearing is impaired to the point of
being unable to hear the beeps unless the unit is in my shirt pocket,
and then not if traffic sounds intrude. I guess that is the price we
pay for the thing being water-proof.
Still, I am not buying it mainly for the routing, but for the detailed
mapping, and the points of interest database. Too bad that GPS makers
want to have the cake and eat it to in reference to their mapping
software. A little competition would bring down the prices.

Jack Erbes

2006-06-10, 5:48 pm

Ron Hunter wrote:

<snip>
> As long as I am with my wife, she can read the routing information, and
> watch for off-course messages. My hearing is impaired to the point of
> being unable to hear the beeps unless the unit is in my shirt pocket,
> and then not if traffic sounds intrude. I guess that is the price we
> pay for the thing being water-proof.

In a quiet room I can hear the alarm on my Meridian if I have my hearing
aids in. With them out, I pretty much never hear it anywhere. If the
alarm works for me it is because someone in the family is looking around
saying "what is that noise?".

> Still, I am not buying it mainly for the routing, but for the detailed
> mapping, and the points of interest database. Too bad that GPS makers
> want to have the cake and eat it to in reference to their mapping
> software. A little competition would bring down the prices.

I've been using the Magellans for some time and have bought five or six
optional street, topo, and marine mapping packages. They are wonderful
to have and pay for themselves in convenience or time saved. But I
agree that the costs are burdensome.

I bought my last three MapSend packages on eBay (from retail or
storefront sellers) and that got the cost down to about half of the list
price. As always, you have to be careful when you shop on eBay.

On the most recent version of DRNA (3.0 on DVD), activation limits it to
being used on one single GPS receiver (identified by the GPS's embedded
serial number). If you buy a copy that has already been activated with
another receiver you won't be able to use it.

Magellan has lost me to Garmin for my next purchase on details like the
Garmins having better hardware (SiRF III) and more software features
(autorouting on basemaps, multi destination routing, etc.). Magellan
also eliminated some software features I use in their newer models and
failure to maintain forward compatibility with some previously released
but current MapSend packages. Magellan has also failed to compete with
Garmin on allowing multiple unlocks on the optional mapping packages.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Ron Hunter

2006-06-10, 5:48 pm

Jack Erbes wrote:
> Ron Hunter wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> In a quiet room I can hear the alarm on my Meridian if I have my hearing
> aids in. With them out, I pretty much never hear it anywhere. If the
> alarm works for me it is because someone in the family is looking around
> saying "what is that noise?".
>
>
> I've been using the Magellans for some time and have bought five or six
> optional street, topo, and marine mapping packages. They are wonderful
> to have and pay for themselves in convenience or time saved. But I
> agree that the costs are burdensome.
>
> I bought my last three MapSend packages on eBay (from retail or
> storefront sellers) and that got the cost down to about half of the list
> price. As always, you have to be careful when you shop on eBay.
>
> On the most recent version of DRNA (3.0 on DVD), activation limits it to
> being used on one single GPS receiver (identified by the GPS's embedded
> serial number). If you buy a copy that has already been activated with
> another receiver you won't be able to use it.
>
> Magellan has lost me to Garmin for my next purchase on details like the
> Garmins having better hardware (SiRF III) and more software features
> (autorouting on basemaps, multi destination routing, etc.). Magellan
> also eliminated some software features I use in their newer models and
> failure to maintain forward compatibility with some previously released
> but current MapSend packages. Magellan has also failed to compete with
> Garmin on allowing multiple unlocks on the optional mapping packages.
>
> Jack
>
I believe you can spell that 'G-R-E-E-D'. sigh.

Jack Erbes

2006-06-10, 11:48 pm

Ron Hunter wrote:

> I believe you can spell that 'G-R-E-E-D'. sigh.

That would smack of some amount of cleverness, I'm not sure I'd give
them that much credit. 'S-T-U-P-I-D' might be more to the point.

Magellan is owned by Thales, Thales is head quartered in France. French
workers were recently rioting over the right to have assured lifetime
employment (i.e., no one can ever get fired for not doing the job). It
looks like maybe the corporate snake may be dying of a head wound.

Thales has expressed some willingness to divest themselves of the
Magellan line in recent years, I think they have given up on winning the
GPS wars.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at adelphia dot net)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

Mark Pace

2006-06-12, 5:48 pm

Ron Hunter wrote:
> Mark Pace wrote:
>
> Yes. It will work with any NMEA compatible GPS. Note that you are NOT
> using the GPS for anything but providing position information for the
> program, and that the combination of GPS, cable, and Laptop require you
> to have quite a bit of space for the setup. It is the program that
> provides voice prompts about turns, and displays the map and current
> position.
Ah - Okay. Big light goes on. Now I get it! I thought you were using
S&M to do routing on the gps. Hmm - I'll have to think about that one.
Having the GPS and the laptop in the car would be a large amount of stuff.

As for my comment about DirectRoute being limited. It is a good piece
of software. My displeasure is simply that I can't pick the route.
It's algorithm for picking the route is very lacking, IMHO.

Thanks to all that replied.

Mark Pace

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