Ed2002

Got to this website http://www.dengoods.com/meridian/ for getting a detailed description. HTH Ed

Stunod, you are right, there is no SD Card necessary. 1-You have to download the MyMeridian program from the link below,i think it is not on the Yahoo files section. http://www.navicache.com/freeware/MyMeridianA04.zip This zipped file contains an extensive readme file how to proceed. 2- If you have the firmware Version 4.06, you have to modify the MyMeridian.ini file. It should should look like this: EnglishTitle=WARNING! English=All data is EnglishAgree=PRESS ENTER TO AGREE Best Regards, Ed

quote:Originally posted by Greatwhite6:You guys a freakin crazy........I;m going to use whatever code came with my unit because it works just fine....."If it works, dont fix it" You start screwing around with the hardware and then reliability goes out the window. Maybe we are freakin crazy, but.. 1) Magellan (and Garmin even more often) publish firmware updates about 2 times/year because they add new features and correct some problems (just take e.g. the much discussed annoying way the power button worked before V 4.02; no card utilities; no support of bigger SD Cards.... so most users believe firmware upgrades are useful and upgrade to the newest version; of course if you are fine without this features your "staying with the code your unit came" is right; and sometimes the newest version is not the best(?). 2) Update of firmware or changing the basemap over the serial cable takes much more time and most people experienced in this technology (i am not) believe it is more prone to failure than to do this directly from the SD Card; there are quite a lot of messages of problems doing firmware upgrade over serial cable. 3) So of course doing this procedures directly from the SD Card is not a very important point; maybe we do some "experimenting" with new features just out of interest; but we find this a possibility to make firmware upgrade easier, faster and more reliable than the usual way over the serial cable, and i assume this was the reason Magellan included this menus in their firmware. I am happy my Platinum is reliable as always, Best regards, Ed

After my first firmware upgrade mentioned in my post above i had just the same problem: changing the basemaps via menu 86/Sd Card was without problems, but when i tried to upload V4.06 firmware after lawyer screen modification (using MyMeridian) i got exactly the same as Craig: the unit hanging on the "erasing" screen; i tried 2 more times without success; after reading a post concerning a possible problem with Windows XP (i am using XP home) i formatted the SD Card in the Platinum using Card Utilities; now i could use firmware upload over Menu 88 two times successful. So i know this does not explain why menu 86 works and menu 88 fails, but i think it is worth to try. Regards, Ed (BTW in the meantime quite a lot of users were successful with menu 88)

Jamie, the WW map covers major streets, major towns, no POIs; you get topo lines. I can send you some screenshots of the WW basemap / costa Rica coverage, just contact me by email. Best Regards, Ed

-I loaded the Marine Base Map EUM V.1.01 coming with the Blue Nav Kit. -When working with BlueNav, if you place the cursor over a NAVAID (e.g. a Lighthouse) with and type ENTER to see the Information ,you get two separate Items for the same NAVAID on the screen, mostly with slightly different nomenclature, but exactly the same coordinates; i assume one of the Items is from the BaseMap database coming from C-Map,the other one from the Blue Nav detailed map coming from Navionics. This was quite irritating until i found out, now i switched back to the EU Land base map, to avoid this. Maybe this is one of the reasons Magellan brings a "new marine basemap from navionics for the Sportrak Marine" and hope they will make this map available for users of BlueNav. (I asked Magellan Europe one week before about this, uo to now no answer.) -Another bug: if you have zoomed >700 m level before inserting the BlueNav SD Card, the unit hangs on the map screen; you have to force off; take out the card, power on ,zoom out, power off ,SD card in, Power on...So better zoom out before using the BlueNav SD Card! Regards Ed (For more information on BlueNav before you buy: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Magellan_Meridian/files/Notes/BlueNavEu rope.PDF

AFAIK: if zoomed in and the detailed map takes over you will have the same details on the screen od a Yellow or a Gold; the difference is when zoomed out. Here some citation from the FAQ ch 6: "The 16MB US version...of the base map contains the following: boundaries of all US states, almost all US cities and towns, the entire US interstate system, most major state highways, all medium-sized lakes in the US, US National parks."..."The Meridian green/yellow comes with a 2MB base map which lacks most of the detail of its bigger 16Mb brother. 2MB maps are not available in a marine version. Even if a detailed map if loaded, it is the base map that is shown if the map screen is zoomed out – the base map gives you your “bird’s eye” view. If you have a detailed map loaded, but have poor base map coverage, then it is possible to see the streets of a city, but not be able to see the name of the city itself." I think you have to decide if this is important for you; if you come later to the decision you need a better basemap you have to buy the WorldWide BaseMap costing more than the difference to the Gold. IMHO in the long run the Gold is the better choice. Just my personal opinion, Ed

The small 2MB basemap of the Meridian Yellow/green has some "negative" effects even if you use MapSend detailed maps: the database (cities, streets..) is located in the basemap; in the 2MB basemap smaller cities and streets are not existent and this affects all database searches. The detailed map comes in when zooming in; so in short you cannot make a MeriGold by adding SDCard and Mapsend to a MariYellow. Read this message of an experienced user: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=KkKaa.21616%24F1.1339%40sccrnsc04. Regards, Ed

QUOTE]Originally posted by tico: I have a Xircom that I use for my Palm interface, and have tried it with my eTrex Vista, and while it worked fine, it did not speed up data transfer as I thought it might. Any Comment? Tico AFAIK the adapter emulates a serial interface and has the same speed limitations with a max. baud rate of 115200. (thats one of the reasons why the SD Card with Card Reader is a great feature of the Meridians) Ed

I am using a Toshiba Laptop/Win XP home; good experience with a Sitecom CN 104 Converter; just plug in, no driver installation. http://www.sitecom.com/index.php HTH Ed

I am using a Meridian Platinum in a VW Sharan with heated front windshield just on the dash without any problem. Ed quote:Originally posted by 01ROVER:Mine has a heated front windshield with wires running through the entire windshield and this causes mine to have issues without the external antenna. It can get a signal through the windshield, but it can't hold it as well as when the external is attached.

There are lots of posts about this in the Yahoo meridian group; many users complain about magellan units not capable of showing below zero values; up to now even in the newest firmware versions no correction; somebody cited "they did it for marine use, sailors fearing if the GPS shows under zero"? Ed

Yesterday, about 6 weeks from purchase, i got the replacement CD BlueNav V 1.00E from Thales. - All the defective map files from V 1.00d are o.k - There are no additional software features (no track download, no real time tracking) - Navaid Database accessible only on the GPS - A bug concerning map scrolling on the Computer screen is corrected. So if you know that "BlueNav is made for uploading marine maps to the GPS, for Navigation on the Computer there are other programs like Fugawi and Maptech offshore Navigator" and some of the fratures like tidal information do not work on the meridian you will not be disappointed. Regards, Ed

Good question. - When i bought the Platinum i wanted it for use with hiking, biking, in the car mainly for vacation trips and for use with recreational sailing, (i am chartering a sailing yacht about two times a year, sailing in the mediterranean sea). - At the time i bought the Platinum magellan had announced the BlueNav, but it was not available then; - Of course i was looking around for comparable Garmin units too, but mainly for the same reasons you mentioned i took the Platinum, i thought if Magellan brings out marine charts they will at least give the features of Garmins Blue Chart. Now: the Platinum and MapSend Streets work like i expected, and for all "land" use i am very happy with the unit. - I would not be frustrated about BlueNav if Magellan or the Vendors would have given enough information what to expect; my vendor e.g. just now added a phrase "BlueNav is made for uploading marine maps to the GPS, for Navigation on the Computer there are other programs like Fugawi and Maptech offshore Navigator" on his website; Magellan did not add information or publish a data sheet with more detailed information, or maybe including some screenshots on their website up to now. - I read a post before buying the Platinum saying: "if you intend to buy a GPS, look at the maps before and then decide", obviously i did not follow this recommendation. What would i take now? If you have time and tend to Magellan i would wait until the new Sportrak marine is out; there is a new special Navionics basemap; maybe they add some features to BlueNav to be competitive with Blue Chart; there will be for sure more user comments when they publish the US Version of BlueNav. If you want use the GPS with marine charts in the next time, i would take the GPSMAP76S. Best Regards,Ed

quote:Originally posted by FelfRik:Hallo Ed, i have some questions after your review: 1/Could you compare the BlueNav maps with Garmins Blue Chart? No, i could not have a side by side comparison; - concerning the charts i got divergent opinions, one BlueChart user saying "they seem to be more detailed than BlueCart", another saying "...the Garmin BlueChart wich is based on Transas charts(Much better than Navionics)...."; some saying the Navionics charts contain more POIs for recreational boaters. I think both charts are of good quality and come from respected marine chart companies. -concerning the features: -Garmins Blue Chart allows real time tracking on the Computer with the registered GPS; and it is possible to download tracks to the PC;both functions not available with BlueNav -the Database of the BlueChart is accessible from the PC only when used with the GPSmap76, whereas it is accessible from the GPS only with BlueNav and a Meridian; -there is no Tidal function in BlueNav with the Meridian, AFAIK BlueChart has this only for the "Americas". 2/Do you know when the new version with all maps working is available? -No. I bought BlueNav on Jan 22, my vendor told me the replacement CD will take "about one month", but up to now i did not get it. 3/How can i find the screen samples? They are located in the Photo section of the Yahoo Meridian Group http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Magellan_Meridian/lst?.dir=/BlueNav&.src=gr&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/ I think you have to register; if you do not like this i could mail you a .pdf file with the screenshots. HTH Ed Thanks, Rike

After 1 month of testing the maps, asking and getting more answers from Magellan support i try to give a summary what you really get with BlueNav and what you should not expect: - Without doubt the Navionics charts are good, and the price of 268 Euros (incl.VAT) for 192 charts covering Europe and the Mediterranean sea seems adequate. - the display of the charts on the monochrome screen is quite good (if you want to see examples there is a Photo Album "BlueNav" in the photo section of the yahoo meridian group). - there is no possibility for real time tracking, and it is not possible to download a track to the computer! AFAIK these are the only modern GPS charts without this function. When i wrote to Magellan that this is quite a limitation and if they plan to include it in future Versions of BlueNav i got the answers:-"The Map Send Blue Nav KIT had made to load chartinto the SD-CARD, it is not a navigation software"; -"if you should want a serious navigation tool you should purchase the FX324" and -"Magellan does not plan to include this function in the future". - the charts cover small regions; you can have only one chart on the SD Card at a time; for a normal sailing trip of one week you will need more than one map, so you have to bring the laptop with you. - for the regions not covered by the standard basemap ( e.g. big parts of the mediteranean sea) you get adequate coastlines from zoom level 3km and below; if you zoom out there are only unusable lines mostly off 12 km and more. Answer from Magellan:"There are no plans to add a new basemap"; but for the new Sportrak Marine a new "Navionics World basemap with coastlines.." is advertized,so Magellan seems to see this as a problem; maybe Meridian users can get this basemap in the future to overcome this problem (?). - The POI database: Two groups of POIs: ports and services, under services you can choose Fuel,water,repair services,first aid separately or all subcategories together; The database is accessible only from the GPS (similar to address/street in Mapsend Streets) but not from the Computer Software, and "it is not planned to include this". - Tidal Information: Magellan support told me that “there is no tidal information on the Meridian”. - The first sold Kit includes > 10 defective map files, up to now i did not get the replacement CD with V 1.OOE. Summary: You get quite a lot of good marine vector charts, uploadable to your GPS, but without real time tracking and no possibility to download/edit tracks; no tidal Information with the Meridian;you have to have your laptop with you to change maps. If you can live without tracking and track download, they are worth the money, otherwise you will be frustrated. Regards, Ed (As there are no examples on the website: if you are interested in screenshots and do not have access to the yahoo group,a can mail a sample .pdf file)

Thats how i did it: -copied "mgold406.hex" to the SD Card -renamed it to "firmware.hex" -cleared all memory in the Plat without the Card -from the Sat screen Menu l r l r -Menu 88 -upload took at max. 1 minute. Ed quote:Originally posted by TeamCNJC: quote:Originally posted by Ed2002:You are right; i did upgrade from 4.02 to 4.06 via SD Card without problems. Ed Hmmm. I tried this going from 4.02 to 4.06, got as far as "erasing" and had no change for 10 minutes after that. Needless to say I had to force off and force upload to get 4.06 into my Gold. Did you reset first? Did you access the function from the hidden menu after starting up (left/right/etc) or did you start up in the hidden menu mode? -Craig/TeamCNJC ... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took off through the thorns, chest high, ...

You are right; i did upgrade from 4.02 to 4.06 via SD Card without problems. Ed quote:Originally posted by TeamCNJC:I couldn't get code 88 to work, even with a clean copy of 4.02 firmware. Maybe it's due to the fact that I'm going from 4.02 to 4.02. I'll give it a try once the next firmware update comes out. For now, I'll be content to change basemaps using the SD card and code 86. -Craig/TeamCNJC ... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took off through the thorns, chest high, ...

quote:Originally posted by TeamCNJC:I couldn't get code 88 to work, even with a clean copy of 4.02 firmware. Maybe it's due to the fact that I'm going from 4.02 to 4.02. I'll give it a try once the next firmware update comes out. For now, I'll be content to change basemaps using the SD card and code 86. -Craig/TeamCNJC ... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took off through the thorns, chest high, ...

On the ME machine, have you activated "system recovery"? I could not find it now, but i think there was a similar task about this and the problem was solved by disabling this feature. Maybe you give it a try, Ed quote:Originally posted by Rusty O Junk:Is anyone out there using Windows Me (I know, I know, it's got to go!) and Mapsend topo? I couldn't believe everyone was taking as long to generate a map as I was so I did a little testing. I have two computers here, one a 233 Pentium II running windows 95 and the other a 1.4 gig Pentium 4 running Windows ME. Both computers have a full install of mapsend. I disabled all the startup items including Nortons, emptied the recycle bin, deleted all the temp files and defragged both computers. I then made a region and put the same Regin on both computers. My son helped me and we started both computers processing the same rgn file at the same time. When the Pentium 2 machine was finished the Pentium 4 was only 26 percent. I've run Dell's complete diagnostics (8 hour) test and everything passed. I have a new mother board, new primary CD drive, new hard drive, new power-supply, and new data cables. Any ideas?

Sorry, i gave the wrong file link for the MeriGreen http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Magellan_Meridian/files/mgps_312.zip Ed

You could go back to firmware Version 3.12 if you think 4.02 is making the problems. If you did not keep a copy you can get it here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Magellan_Meridian/files/mgold312.zip Ed

To answer your questions: >1) It`s possible to load MeriPlat/Gold (16Mb >basemap)to SD Card and use it as a Detail001 >Map on Meridian Yellow/Green? Definitely no, this is not possible! You will have to buy the WorldWide BaseMap to get a better Basemap in a Meridian Yellow! 2) If so, where can I get Meri Gold/Plat European Basemap for download? at WWW.NAVICACHE.COM/MERIDIAN_BASEMAPS -but you cannot use them in a Merid.Yellow! 3) It`s legal? (why not - Basemap is`nt a seperate-sold commerzial product) i think it is "borderline" illegal? HTH Ed

After exchanging some mails with magellan support (thanks to John Kingston!)and my Vendor and testing the software for some days longer i want to give this update: 1) -the basemap problem in regions not covered by the default basemap: here i came to a at least partial solution: - I had the map detail set to "low" for use with MapSend Streets,and at this zoom level the detailed map comes in at 700m; if you go to "highest" you get the detailed map at 3km (which means about 9km across the screen), so the problem with the basemap is solved at least partially;even at the non basemap-covered regions i think this is acceptable;if you zoom out further, you get the mentioned "jump" of the coastline up to 12 km. So with this map system you fare best with map detail "highest". -Unfortunately the WorldWide BaseMap and BlueNav work with different file formats and will not be compatible, the GPS does not have enough processor power to deal with both at the same time correctly. - 2) The missing GPS-Log function and the missing posibility to download tracks: In the first answer from Magellan just confirmed that this is not possible,i did not yet get a definitive answer if this will be possible or is intended.I hope i can tell you about this soon! - 3) Concerning the defective maps: the corrected BlueNav Version is 1.00E and should be out soon, so be sure to get this version if you want to get it. In Conclusion: 1)the missing basemap problem can be circumvented by setting map detail to highest at least partially;2)GPS log and track download are impossible, and there is no message if it is possible in the future; if this is important to you have to use other(non uploadable)maps or the WorldWideBaseMap as a partial substitute 3)the corrected Version 1.00E will be out soon. HTH Ed

For all sailors/boaters who are interested in the new MapSend BlueNav Chart Kit with uploadable marine charts for Europe I will tell shortly why i would NOT buy this Software as it is released now. The MapSend BlueNav Kit Europe consists of one CD (containing all 191 Navionics Gold small Charts covering the European and mediteranean coast)and one SD Card (32 MB); the charts can be loaded only to this Card after getting an unlock Code from the Vendor or Magellan. You can switch charts, but only one chart can be loaded. Price is about 260 Euros. After checking this Software there are some (i think very substantial) limitations: 1) There are Naval Charts for regions not covered by the default european basemap (land or marine); this regions are very important for sailors/boaters because they include big parts of the Mediteranean Sea(Aegaeis, Adriatic Sea..) If you load a chart e.g.from the turkish coast, you get very faulty and undetailed coast lines until the zoom level of 700 m, and this is a serious limitation for practical use of this software for yachting! If you zoom out from 0.25nm/700m level you are suddenly 5 nm at the sea or on land at the next zoom level of 1.4km!,this makes it almost useless for approaching / leaving a coast or harbour. It seems to be the situation of using detailed maps without a corresponding basemap. This Problem can only be solved by adding a special Basemap to the package including more detailed coastline for these regions or using the WorldWide BaseMap. Unfortunately the WorldWide BaseMap seems to be uncompatible with Blue Nav,loading a WorldWide Map makes the SD Card unusable for uploading other marine charts! 2) Concerning the PC Software: There is no "Gps Protocol" or "GPS log" function (as available in Mapsend Streets or the WorldWide BaseMap), and there is no possibility to load down tracks from the GPSR. So it is not possible to connect the Meridian to the Laptop and see the trackline on the screen! I think this is an other severe limitation of this charts for practical navigation. The missing possibility of downloading tracks makes it even impossible to analyze tracks offline on the Computer screen. 3) A number of charts are defective,(at least 10 in Norway and 1 in Greece) giving a error message "Severe Error- Data Error". I heard from my Vendor, there will be a replacement CD in 1 month.I do hope so! Conclusion: The problems mentioned above are severe limitations for practical use of these marine maps. Until this problems are solved / corrected i think it is not worth the money. HTH Ed Maurer