MicroSD card for France

[+zueod]

I'm using a Garmin Legend Cx with the North America basemap. I also own City Select NA v7. I recently updated both MapSource and the firmware for the Legend Cx, so I'm running current versions of those.

 

I purchased a Garmin microSD card for France without thinking it through or doing the proper amount of research. Now I'm wondering if I've made a substantial error.

 

When I load the card and try to acquire the maps in MapSource I get an error saying "Some maps could not be opened because the following MapSource products are not installed: City Navigator Europe NT+ v8, City Navigator Europe NT v8 +Traffic".

 

When I set the GPSr to USB mode and transfer the IMG file over to my computer, I can't seem to open it to add waypoints and the like.

 

Did I mention that I'm new at all this? In any case, while I suspect I may need the European basemap, I'm wondering if any of the more experienced users can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

 

So my question is, how do I access the data on the card and add/view waypoints?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

~zueod

[terrible2u]

from my little knowledge, i think its not possible to transfer data from card/GPSr to the computer. but other way around.

 

one question: where did you get it from? from what i know, accurate maps only exist for switzerland, germany and austria. the later only in some parts. well, at least that goes for topos and not road navigation whick usually is much poorer..

[moonpup]

When I load the card and try to acquire the maps in MapSource I get an error saying "Some maps could not be opened because the following MapSource products are not installed: City Navigator Europe NT+ v8, City Navigator Europe NT v8 +Traffic".

 

That doesn't make sense, from what I understand the data card is a complete replacement for the software itself. Anyone else care to chime in?

[+zueod]

terrible2u: I got it from a company called 4runner Sports. Of course, that doesn't guarantee that it's legit. The France chip is also available from Garmin, however. So there is definitely a product of this type.

 

moonpup: I don't know the answer to that. With the France chip loaded in, the GPS unit still shows a map of my current location, so I'm thinking the base map is loaded into the OS. It might be that I need to have the base map for the France card to work properly, but that doesn't seem to jibe with the error message I mentioned.

 

One other question: is there another forum or Web site where you might recommend asking this question? Perhaps one that focuses more on travel?

 

Thanks for the responses so far...

 

~z

[terrible2u]

www.naviboard.de

 

www.swissgeocache.ch/forums

Edited September 15, 2006 by terrible2u

[viamundi]

Besides the City Navigator NT Europe v8 Preprogrammed Card, you can get the individual regions of Europe on seperate preprogrammed cards.

 

Check the Garmin site which shows the different regions which are available.

http://www.garmin.com/cartography/mapSourc...card.jsp#europe

 

This is different from the City Navigator NT North America which just comes on one card only. As far as I know, there are no regions available for the US.

 

 

viamundi.

[+apersson850]

The fact that you for Europe can buy cards with regional coverage is just that here are many different countries, not just two. Hence, licensing fees are higher here, and by using only one or a few of them, such a card can be cheaper.

 

If you don't buy the DVD, then it's true that you have no map for your PC. You can use the card in your GPS, but Mapsource does not upload the map data to your PC. Actually, Mapsource never uploads maps from the GPS, just information about which map tiles are on the GPS. If you then don't have the corresponding maps installed on your PC, then of course you can't see the maps either.

 

The cheapest way is to buy MetroGuide Europe and install that on the PC. It will not provide you with autorouting on the GPS, but if you are happy with the coverage of your card, then that's not a problem. Then you can set waypoints on the MetroGuide map, and then transfer these points to the GPS. Waypoints are independent from the map they were placed on, since they contain their coordinates, not map references.

 

For Europe, there are decent coverage for some 20 countries in the western part. There are some maps for the eastern regions as well, now, but they aren't included in City Navigator Europe. The map image in MetroGuide and CN is identical, assuming you use the same version number.

[+zueod]

What I seem to be hearing is that I won't be able to use this product with MapSource.

 

What I'm thinking now is that their might be a workaround. Reading in the "Rolling one's own maps" thread, and following the various links, it looks like I might be able to use the IMG file from the microSD card and run it through cGPSmapper to make a .mp and .tdb file. Then I will need to create Registry keys that point to those files. This will allow MapSource to view the product --I think.

 

Perhaps I should pop over into the other thread and ask this question there.

 

Thanks for the responses, all.

 

~z

[+Hynr]

The map editing software you describe cannot disassemble the img file that comes from GARMIN. You can only add to it. There is an obvious reason for this (intellectual property protection).

 

My reading of the situation here is that you purchased a Garmin product (from a vendor) and you need techical assistance to use it. Post your question to Garmin tech support either by phone or email. If you cannot use the product as you intended, then return the product.