Brasileiro Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Will the Meridian accept a 128MB memory card? And is it possible to download that much? I have heard rumors supporting both, I would like to hear from someone who has tried this. Quote Link to comment
+Jamie Z Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 I have a 128 meg card, and it works fine. The only problem I've encountered is that if you try to create a map that is large (The largest I tried was something like 70 or 80 megs) Mapsend takes a very, very long time. So long in fact, that I thought my computer froze, so I restarted it and made a smaller map. Subsequently, several people have mentioned that they waited for several hours for Mapsend to complete big maps. I've come to the conclusion that what might work better than me making some enormous super-map is to create three or four maps that are 20 or 30 megs each, and I can switch between them as needed. Here are a couple threads on the topic when I did a search: http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=1750973553&f=5740990093&m=7130918134 http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=1750973553&f=5740990093&m=9870992384 Jamie Quote Link to comment
+infosponge Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 I have a 128Mb card, and it works great. I use a number of smaller maps (~16 - 24 Mb) tailored to the region I'm traveling in. You can use as many small maps as will fit, and performance is better when the database is smaller, so you can adjust as appropriate. I have one map with all of Florida, and other maps for regions I visit that can be loaded as needed. Quote Link to comment
jwhee0615 Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 Would the problem of large maps taking so long to create be solved if you used a usb card reader/writer instead of the Magellan default connection? Quote Link to comment
+infosponge Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 The problem with large maps is the computer power required to convert the map area you want into the reduced database format that the GPS can use. Is is faster to transfer using a USB card reader than with a serial port, but that's not the major issue. Quote Link to comment
jwhee0615 Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 What size map area can fit on a 128 MB card? Are we talking a whole state or many states? I know states are different sizes but for instance I live in Texas. Would all of Texas fit onto one card? Quote Link to comment
+infosponge Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 I'm pretty sure all of Texas would fit on one card. All of Florida fits in my spare 32Mb card with room to spare. I don't recall the exact size right now. Quote Link to comment
+RangerRick Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 Why not just buy a few 32 or 64 meg cards, load different regions on each and swap them out as you travel? Would that work? Quote Link to comment
+Jamie Z Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 Rick... (hey, isn't someone looking for you?) Having a couple 64-meg or a quad of 32-meg cards is almost the same as having a single 128-meg card. The difference is that a 128-meg card is cheaper, and you'll rarely ever have to swap cards. You can put as many files on the 128-meg card as you want. Less card swapping, less chance to lose the tiny postage size cards, and costs less. Basically, there are no disadvantages, other than initial cost. (if you were on a tight budget, it might be better to get a $20 32-meg card than a $75 128 meg card.) What more can you ask? Jamie Quote Link to comment
+RangerRick Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Hello Jamie, I understand what you are saying about storage capacity on these memory cards but I know that when you download a new map to these cards, the entire map base on the memory card is erased and then is rewritten. This takes a long time. (hours)! So I figure, for example: Have Connecticut on one smaller card, New York on a card, etc. If you own three memory cards and need to go to New Mexico in 2 hours, just rewrite the Rhode Island card installing just New Mexico on it. It will only take minutes instead of hours Quote Link to comment
+Jamie Z Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Rick, I'm not quite sure I followed what you said, but I think you have your info mixed up. If you have an SD card reader (they're really cheap) you can load multiple maps to the same card. So, like your example, I could simply make separate maps for Connecticut, New York, and New Mexico, put 'em all on a 128 meg card, and simply switch between them at will using a feature of the GPS. I think if you are uploading the maps using a serial connection, you are right in that the old map is deleted when you create a new one. I've never done this, though... so I'm not positive. Using an SD card reader, the SD card acts just like another drive, and you can put as many files on it as you please. Jamie Quote Link to comment
+creagerstonefamily Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Don't forget that swapping cards is a pain (on the Platinum anyway) since you have to recalibrate the compass when you change the batteries. I don't have an SD card writer and have only created one map so I can't comment on the "one map with serial connection". However, the guy from whom I bought the 128MB card on Ebay has writers for $17 shipped. Quote Link to comment
+Stunod Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Just to give some perspective on storage capacity, I have the entire state of Illinois, plus the southern part of Wisconsin (and the areas of surrounding states that fell in the rectangle) and the file is only about 25MB. Saving the map thru the Meridian is a huge hassle, takes WAY too much time. Pickup a cheap USB SD reader/writer, you'll thank me later. "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted October 20, 2002 Share Posted October 20, 2002 A SD card reader is pretty much a must for a 128 mb card. You can switch, add, remove and what not with out deleting what you have on there (it acts just like another hard drive on your computer). The slow part is in makeing the maps, this is a one time deal, after you have the maps made you can do as you please with it, and not have to redo the same map (unless you delete it from your computers hard drive). So if you have a few days to waste you probaly can make one 128mb area (but that would be stupid). Wyatt W. The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions. Quote Link to comment
+infosponge Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 I had to make a new map region today to prepare for an upcoming trip, and had a chance to benchmark the performance of MapSend. I made a region that went from just south of Tampa, Florida to north of Atlanta, and a bit west and east from the minimum rectangle that would enclose both those cities. The file size was 27,179Kb. It took 11 minutes to generate the image file that I can copy to the SD card. This is on a dual-processor P4/933 with 1Gb of RAM running Windows 2000. It only uses one of the processors, which is pegged at 100% usage while the map is being generated. The moral of the story is that if you have plenty of RAM, MapSend works faster. :-) Quote Link to comment
+Jamie Z Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 IS, I imagine RAM is my problem, as I have "only" 128 megs... imagine that. My GPS has as much memory as my computer. Ha. Jamie Quote Link to comment
+infosponge Posted October 30, 2002 Share Posted October 30, 2002 I remember using computers with 512 words of memory or something like that...that's probably not even enough to load an IDE disk driver these days. Quote Link to comment
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