thcri Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Today I got my City Select North America and decided to install on my computer. When I got to the unlocking portion I could not unlock it because I don't have my New Gps from Garmin yet. I really wanted to open the program and play around with it but it won't really let me do anything until I unlock it. I tried to unlock regions but without Garmins 25 digit code I can't. Is this true can I not use the program even just to mess around and get use to it without the unlock code?? murph Quote Link to comment
+Volwrath Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 My detail did not show up at all until it was unlocked. Quote Link to comment
thcri Posted February 20, 2004 Author Share Posted February 20, 2004 Yes but I can't unlock it without my GPS right? I don't have my GPS as of yet or I would just unlock it. Another thing is can I only unlock one region and have to pay for the rest. I thought I would get the whole United States with it? I am really confused about what I am getting here. murph Quote Link to comment
+Rubberhead Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 (edited) Send Garmin Cartography an e-mail and ask for a dummy code so you can explore your City Select without having a GPS unit. This dummy code will allow you to look at the detail from within a PC but it will not download to a GPS unit. They did this for me when I was trying to decide which Bluechart Region to purchase. Here's the e-mail link: cartography@garmin.com edited to add e-mail link. Edited February 20, 2004 by Rubberhead Quote Link to comment
+Volwrath Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Excellent idea! Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 (edited) You can borrow anyones unlock code and unlock the software for your PC. However you need the serial number of the GPS you are using to get an unlock code that allows the maps to display on your GPS. Edited February 20, 2004 by Renegade Knight Quote Link to comment
thcri Posted February 20, 2004 Author Share Posted February 20, 2004 Ok but I still don't understand what is this "Unlocking a Regions"?? I thought the City Select gave me the complete United States?? It looks like there could be 7 different regions? murph Quote Link to comment
Swagger Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 The "region" you unlock with CS NA is all of NA. They use the same program framework for CS as their other products, so the concept of regions and unlocking them is the same, but CS only has the one region to unlock. Don't worry. You'll be happy. Quote Link to comment
thcri Posted February 20, 2004 Author Share Posted February 20, 2004 The regions were named 1 to 7. So what is North America or once I connect my GPS will it be automatic?? Quote Link to comment
Swagger Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 I don't remember all the details, but I think you only get one option for unlocking - North America. Don't sweat it - once you get your GPSr, plug it in and go through the unlock process. It'll be smooth as silk. Quote Link to comment
thcri Posted February 20, 2004 Author Share Posted February 20, 2004 Thanks Cruzin, I appreciate all your help. I will sleep now. murph Quote Link to comment
+kiltsurfer Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Here's a question on nearly the same topic... I'm getting ready to buy a new 60C or 60CS and the same software. I have 3 computers that I want to load this software on (Home, Work and Laptop) will I have a problem with this, or do I need to buy 3 different copies? Also I heard someone say that this is only good for one GPSr. Do I need to buy another copy for my wife's GPSr? What happens if I trade my GPSr in for a new model? The reason I am asking, is I have only been doing this for a year, and I am on my 3rd GPSr and getting ready to buy my 4th (bought a cheap one, then a good one with problems and switched it with another good one). THANKS Kiltsurfer Quote Link to comment
Swagger Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 I'm getting ready to buy a new 60C or 60CS and the same software. I have 3 computers that I want to load this software on (Home, Work and Laptop) will I have a problem with this, or do I need to buy 3 different copies? I was also very concerned about this, but no worries - it's tied to the GPSr, not the number of installs. In fact, the software license permits you to install it on multiple machines as long as you're the only user, which is a pretty rare provision in a software license. Also I heard someone say that this is only good for one GPSr. Do I need to buy another copy for my wife's GPSr? What happens if I trade my GPSr in for a new model? You get two unlocks with the software. I think you can buy more unlock codes if you need them, but you should contact Garmin to be sure before you start unlocking. Quote Link to comment
+Rubberhead Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Thanks Cruzin, I appreciate all your help. I will sleep now. murph I know how you feel. I drove Loy and Matt crazy before I finally purchased and unlocked Bluecharts ($139 ). I now use two unlocked maps (Bluecharts and Fishing Hotspots). There's nothing to it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment
mgabel Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Great topic. [i'm new to all this. Have a 60CS on order and also ordered City Select ver 5.] Now, I REALLY don't want to have to take a laptop with me. Can I copy my legally owned unlocked maps to either an SD card or one of those tiny UBS drives, find a computer somewhere else and then transfer files to my GPS? Also, can I take a COPY of my CD (or just some files from that CD - put, say, on another CD) and then find a computer somewhere and download to my GPS. Or, must I only use the original CD for map installs. Also, how does the CD know if it's installing to the "wrong" GPS? I gather the unlock code is tied to the serial number of the unit. And, I gather, Garmin will only send you two lock codes (for two units). Quote Link to comment
Swagger Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Can I copy my legally owned unlocked maps to either an SD card or one of those tiny UBS drives, find a computer somewhere else and then transfer files to my GPS? Not really - you need to use the MapSource program to transfer them to your GPSr, so it'll have to be installed on whatever computer you're transferring from. Also, can I take a COPY of my CD (or just some files from that CD - put, say, on another CD) and then find a computer somewhere and download to my GPS. Or, must I only use the original CD for map installs. IANAL, but I believe that this is covered under the law as a backup copy and if I remember right, it's also provided for in the software license. Just make sure that if you install it on someone else's machine, you uninstall it when you're done. Also, how does the CD know if it's installing to the "wrong" GPS? I gather the unlock code is tied to the serial number of the unit. And, I gather, Garmin will only send you two lock codes (for two units). You're right - it's tied to the serial numbers. The software comes with an "unlock code" (think of it as a serial number) that you use during the unlock process. During that process, MapSource contacts a Garmin server to determine the status of your code and using it and the GPSr serial number, registers that unit as unlocked for that copy of the software. You're able to save your unlock data to a file, which lets you then import it into another MapSource installation (at work, for instance) so you can program your GPSr at more than the one computer without having to go through the unlock process multiple times. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Since Cruzin has answered about everthing I'll just add a background comment. The regions are a carryover from prior versions of City Select. 3.x had regions and it really sucked when you lived on the boundary of one like I do. 5.x shows regions but when I unlocked it I only had one choice. All of North America. Since I skipped 4.X I can't say with 100% accuracy but I think you had the choice of a region at one price or everthing for not much more. Quote Link to comment
mgabel Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Thanks. I gather, then, of course, I can't use my Palm to transfer data from the Palm SD card to the GPS. I think this is really not good. The map install should be a simple file transfer, and not requiring the installation of a transfer program on another CD. So, even going into some sort of public place (like a library) with my CS CD would not readily allow me to get maps on my unit; I'd actually have to intall some software on the other machine. Again, not good. Now the 60CS has 56 megs of space. I gather that's a good deal. But the 76CS has twice the space (and a few months more wait). Don't really know (because I've never used these things) if 56 is big. I've used Mapopolis on my Palm and I know memory was indeed an issue (both internal and external). Quote Link to comment
+Olar Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Yes but I can't unlock it without my GPS right? I don't have my GPS as of yet or I would just unlock it. Another thing is can I only unlock one region and have to pay for the rest. I thought I would get the whole United States with it? I am really confused about what I am getting here. murph If memory serves me correctly when you install the CS maps onto your PC you have the option of downloading the region(s) of your choice even though your unlock code covers all. I would assume this option is in the interests of saving hard drive space. You can go in and download additional, or all, regions later if need be. Cheers, Olar Quote Link to comment
capt caper Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 The unlock actually sees the Unit ID number, not the serial number. The unit ID number is in the memory. The serial number is on the back on the sticker. Quote Link to comment
Swagger Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 The unlock actually sees the Unit ID number, not the serial number. The unit ID number is in the memory. The serial number is on the back on the sticker. I stand corrected. I confuse the two - I don't know why they'd be different... each is unique to the particular unit. I'm sure Garmin has their reasons.. Quote Link to comment
+Volwrath Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Interesting I unlocked mine from the web site and it asked for the 8 digit serial. I did this cause the mapsource id unlock locked up hehe Quote Link to comment
Swagger Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 The map install should be a simple file transfer, and not requiring the installation of a transfer program on another CD. There's no way to validate that your unit has been unlocked if they were to allow that. (There is a method to their madness) Now the 60CS has 56 megs of space. I gather that's a good deal. But the 76CS has twice the space (and a few months more wait). Don't really know (because I've never used these things) if 56 is big. To give you an idea of what 56mb can hold, I took a screenshot of the MapSource window with 56mb of maps in Southern California selected. Consider the density of roads and points-of-interest in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas when looking at it. If you don't want to use the auto-routing functionality, you don't need to include the routing info and can fit a lot more (22% based on the selections in the pic) map sections. People have mentioned fitting entire states (multiple!) into it! If you want, you can let me know where you're at and I'll do the same thing for your area so you can get an idea of how much local data you'll be able to get into it. http://geocaching.sthomas.net/images/56mb.gif Quote Link to comment
+Volwrath Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Here is my area w/all 56 megs filled up. Not quite the density of Cruzin's area, but fit Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, Knoxviile, Chattanooga Birmingham, Lexington and Louisville into 1 download with autorouting. Add the autorouting basemaps and thats perfect. The only question I have that I havent answered is if I plan a trip out west to San Fran, and load in its detail maps, do I lose the exit pois for the basemap? The reason I ask is that some POIs are listed as download from the garmin site because they get erased. Quote Link to comment
mgabel Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Cruzin Posted on Feb 20 2004, 06:03 PMTo give you an idea of what 56mb can hold, I took a screenshot of the MapSource window with 56mb of maps in Southern California selected. This was very useful. Thanks. I'll tell you, though, 115 megs is better and an SD card with 512 or 1 gig on it would be something else again. I'm surprised there has not been an outcry to Garmin about the pain caused by this unlock stuff. I gather over the years Garmin has been burnt too often by people not paying for maps. But, Magellan figured out how to allow data to be put on an SD card that can then be read. I must admit I don't see why Garmin makes one (apparently) have the whole Mapsource program installed on a machine before the UNLOCKED data can be transfered. Why can the USB on a Garmin GPS be used as a SD reader conduit. Quote Link to comment
capt caper Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 The unlock actually sees the Unit ID number, not the serial number. The unit ID number is in the memory. The serial number is on the back on the sticker. I stand corrected. I confuse the two - I don't know why they'd be different... each is unique to the particular unit. I'm sure Garmin has their reasons.. I don't know either,but maybe one is the actual physical (serial # ) and the ID number is just for the Unlock programs. The ID # must be burnt into the circuit somehow and expensive to use that hardware. Where it serial number is just a sticker on the back. Quote Link to comment
JumpinJoe Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 Send Garmin Cartography an e-mail and ask for a dummy code so you can explore your City Select without having a GPS unit. This dummy code will allow you to look at the detail from within a PC but it will not download to a GPS unit. They did this for me when I was trying to decide which Bluechart Region to purchase. Here's the e-mail link: cartography@garmin.com edited to add e-mail link. Rubberhead, I sent email to Garmin tech support asking for a dummy code and a product support specialist wrote back indicating that they do not issue a "dummy code" and that I ought to get a demo from my local dealer to help me decide. I'll try the carto email you listed and see if they can help me out. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.