nRoute and CNNT 2010

This is my first post here, be gentle!

OK, I know this has been discussed a thousand times, but I want to make absolutely sure I am doing this right. (Some of the other threads go off on tangents that don't pertain to my set-up.)

Here is what I use:

nRoute 2.7.6 (I don't like Mobile PC)
Mapsource 6.15.7
Garmin GPSMap 60CSx as receiver
City Navigator NA NT 2008 (unlocked to above receiver)
City Select NA v6 (unlocked to an old GPS 18)
Garmin Topo US 2008
WIN7 Home Premium (32bit)

I want to purchase CNNT 2010. I know I have to convert the maps with MapReverseConverter so that I can use them with nRoute. I have d/l'd the converter app and I think I understand that I "point" the converter at the newly installed CNNT 2010 .gmap file and have them go into the target directory, which for me will be C:\Garmin\nRoute. (For some reason, I could not get my older maps to show up when installed into the default Garmin dir. with Win7.) I then just unlock as usual with the GPSMap 60CSx, right? I also have the CNNT 2008 maps in the GPSMap 60CSx as I use it as a handheld also.

I just want to make sure I understand this before I purchase the new maps.



Thanks!
Karen

Also, on another post I saw that MapReverseConverter is suppose to convert the .gmap folder at C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\GARMIN\Maps (WinXP). There is no similar folder in Win7. There is no AppData folder as there was in XP. Guess I will just have to search for .gmap file using Windows "Search Programs and Files"?

The folder for Vista is C:\Program Data\GARMIN\Maps. I would assume that is the same for Win7 as I have that folder on my Win7 computer.

You can have MapReverse Converter put the converted files anywhere you want (e.g. C:\Garmin) as it adds an entry to the registry telling MapSource and nRoute where to look.

I might suggest you unlock CNNANT 2010 to your 60CSx before you convert it.

Terry

Hi GadgetGirl,

You've done your homework well. Follow Terry's suggestion about unlocking the new maps before converting, but be prepared that you might need to unlock the converted ones anyway.

Do you have your older maps working okay in Win7 now, or are they still not showing up? If there is still a problem, can you be more specific about what you mean by "not showing up"? Not showing up in Mapsource? In nRoute? In both? Any error message(s)?

...ken...

Thanks for the replies! This helps a lot.
I wouldn't have thought to unlock the maps to the 60CSx first. I will put the converted maps in the Garmin\nRoute dir where all of the other maps already reside.

I had a tough time getting it all working in Windows 7. I almost gave up. Some of the problems were due just to the idiosyncrasies of Win7 that I didn't fully understand yet. (nRoute was one of the first apps I installed after putting Win7 on my XP netbook.) I have the original nRoute disks that ship with 2 City Select map disks. It forces you to install City Select and there is a lot of flipping back & forth between the 3 disks. Win7, as many of you probably know, does not put running apps on the taskbar the same as in previous Win OS's. The installation windows were "hidden" on the taskbar tabs as I switched discs and I was missing them. Hard to explain. Once I realized this, I was able to get everything installed. The nRoute installation defaulted to the Garmin\nRoute directory. The City Select and City Nav installations defaulted to the Garmin dir. For some reason, installing into the Garmin dir prevented them from showing up in nRoute. I can't remember whether they were visible in Mapsource as I was pulling my hair out at this point! Long story short, everything worked fine when the maps were installed into the nRoute dir. The problem may have originated because of all the aborted installations. Maybe the Registry had improper entries.

I currently have a C:\Garmin\nRoute\CNNANT2008 dir (along with the other map dir's). There is no .gmap file. I am assuming CN2008 doesn't create a .gmap file. Is that correct?
Would it be OK to just have the converter place the converted CN2010 maps into the future CN2010 dir? I am assuming it doesn't matter.

Whew! Sometimes it seems like it would just be simpler to ditch the nRoute and get Mobile PC, but I just don't like it as much! I like all the functionality of nRoute.

Now that I think about it, I think the problem I had with the installation in Windows 7 was unlocking the maps or viewing the maps. I was getting error messages. I don't remember what they were. Like I said, I was getting frustrated at this point!

I understand the frustration. With Vista most of the rules changed in the name of "security". Windows 7 is really just Vista SP3 with a new name.

The new file format and location didn't happen until City Navigator Europe 2009 and CN North America 2010.

I'm not quite sure what you're asking. As a general answer, it doesn't matter where ReverseMapConverter puts the converted maps. It will create the necessary registry entry for Mapsource and nRoute to find them, wherever they are.

If you are suggesting to let the converted maps go into the either C:\GARMIN\CNNA2010NT or C:\GARMIN\nRoute\CNNA2010NT, the answer is yes, that's okay.

If you are suggesting letting the converted maps go into the same directory as the unconverted maps, that's probably not very wise.

...ken...

CNNANT 2008 is an old style Garmin map that does not require conversion to work with nRoute. It would not have created a gmap folder.

The registry keys that tell MapSource and nRoute how to find installed maps (the old style or converted ones) are the same for XP, Vista and Win7. They are located at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Garmin\MapSource\FamiliesNT which points to the location the map is installed.

Note that the converted maps will have a different identifier (e.g. FAMILY_205 for CNNANT 2010.2) but the location and map designator can be seen by opening the key.

Terry

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That's what I was asking. Thanks!

Thanks Terry! After I posted earlier, I did take a look at the Registry entries and I saw the Families. There was a family for the really old maps (City Select, Topo, Trip&Waypoint Manager and a family for NT. I saw the installation locations.

I think I have this figured out now. I didn't want to spend $100 until I was sure I had it straight!



Karen

Hi Karen,

Now that you have all this map stuff figured out for Mapsource and nRoute, you want to start on Mobile PC??

...ken...

Oh, I have a whole new set of questions for Mobile PC! Like:

Can I use a set of maps in both nRoute and Mobile PC?,
Should I use my current Garmin CSx handheld with Mobile PC?,
Should I just buy the software?

Are you sorry you asked?

You can not use the maps included with Mobile PC (software only or GPS version) with nRoute (or MapSource for that matter). They are precompiled as img files.

You can use your CSx with the software-only version of Mobile PC with a minor modification or by interfacing with GPS Gate. Whether you should or not is another question.

If you buy the software-only version, you can not add other locked maps to the product. Nonlocked maps (not unlocked maps) will work though. The version that includes a GPS (USB 20x or BT 10x) will allow the use of locked maps but they must be unlocked to the GPS that ships with the product. That version is also eligible for updates (for an extra cost).

You can transfer routes,waypoints, tracks and non-locked maps between MapSource and Mobile PC similarly to the way you would with your CSx.

Terry

I hate buying yet another receiver. In regard to GPS Gate, this is interesting:

"GPS signal splitter - One GPS receiver can normally feed signal to only one GPS software at a time. GpsGate Express can let users run up to two GPS applications, and GpsGate (standard version) lets us share a GPS between any number of applications."

I could use nRoute AND Mobile PC at the same time! AND National Geographic TOPO (which will live track with my unit).
(The passenger seat already looks like an airplane cockpit as in addition to all the GPS stuff, I run iTunes through the car stereo from the netbook. I frequently can't get out of the car cause I'm tangled up in cables!)

Yes, you could feed nRoute from GPSGate's virtual Garmin COM port and Mobile PC from one of the regular COM ports it creates.

Just to follow up on Terry's comments, you will not be able to use your 60 with Mobile PC without some sort of intervention (GPSGate or a hacked version of Mobile PC). For some strange reason Mobile PC is written so that it works great with virtually every non-Garmin receiver on the planet but refuses to work with most Garmin devices.

I have an eTrex Legend HCx handheld and a GPS10x Bluetooth receiver. Mobile PC refuses to work with either one of them.

Re: locked versus unlocked maps. You could, for instance, use Mapsource to compile tiles from your Topo maps for use in Mobile PC (same process as loading to your 60), but not tiles from your CNNA2008 maps.

As Terry said, you can't go the other direction (use the preloaded maps from Mobile PC with nRoute).

...ken...