Transferring Detail Maps from Mapsource to Mobile PC

You're very welcome. I'm glad it worked for you.

It made perfect sense to me when I wrote it, but I already knew how to do it when I wrote it so I never know if anyone else will understand it. It's good to know that it works.

...ken...

I have a Mobile PC (software only) that I am using with a Garmin 10x.

It is a North American version, and the US maps that came with it work fine.

However, I have another map set that has been unlocked to the 10x, and I cannot get that to work with Mobile PC, even though I am using the map with the 10x that it has been unlocked to.

This seems to be quite a serious deviation by Garmin from their policy of allowing maps to always work with the Garmin GPS devices that they have been unlocked to.

Is there any way to resolve this ?

I would have thought that it would be simple for Garmin to allow Mobile PC (software only version) to work with the maps that came with the software, AS WELL AS any other maps that have been unlocked to the Garmin receiver in use. I can understand that in the case of this version of the software that Garmin would want to lock the included map to the software, as they allow the software to work with non-Garmin receivers.

Or am I expecting too much from Garmin ? On the other hand, do you want to use a vendor that can't even implement their own policies ?

I agree with you. This is not the way Garmin used to do things by my way of thinking. However, as far as we can tell, there is no solution. Even a second unlock code would not solve your problem as there would be nothing to unlock it to. It appears the only version of GMPC that you can use extra locked maps with is the one including a GPS (10x or 20x).

As to whether a different policy for software and hardware based solutions is acceptable, you are free to try other mapping programs as discussed here and form your own opinions.


Terry

Thanks.

IMHO Garmin are just being ignorant here by not allowing the software only Mobile PC to use maps unlocked to the Garmin receiver in use. They have all this technology already, how difficult could it be to implement this ? Trivial, I would think.

The only solution here seems to be to use nRoute for the other mapset (at least until Garmin come to their senses and fix the software as suggested above) ?

Being another 10x owner, I agree. However, I don't think it is an implementation issue; rather a business decision.

Terry

OK, but if their business decision breaks their own business policy then maybe it's time to move on to another vendor, don't you think ?

I think the policy we knew applied to their hardware business (where the money is). This new policy applies to the software side such as Mobile PC and XT. Not much chance of it changing my mind but you should check what is out there. Maybe you will find something more to your taste.

Terry

AFAIK this new policy only applies to Mobile PC (software only).

I have two versions of Mobile XT (Symbian and Windows Mobile), and both of them pass the Unit ID through the sofware in order to check it against the unlocked mapset. Neither of them have the problem as described above. This also applies to the Mobile PC incl hardware version.

All that they need to do resolve this is to allow Mobile PC (software only) to also use mapsets unlocked to the Garmin GPS device (if any) in use. Because this product really stands in isolation I don't believe that this is a policy, but rather a pretty stupid oversight that can still be resolved in a software update. The code enhancement to do this would be pretty trivial, in fact most of it is already in the product (for the MPC incl hardware option).

Come on Garmin, sort yourselves out !!!!!

just use last version of mapsource
transfer maps to memory stick then transfer to mobile pc folder and work
nothing simple as this


sorry on my english its not my language

Ken. Hi, I have just joined the forum. I really like MobilePC but I have had a lot of pain with it.

I travel regularly between the UK, where I live, and the US. I bought a US version of MobilePC last year with City Navigator North America NT 2009 maps with the 20X GPS included. I was very impressed with it and when I returned to the UK I asked Garmin Support whether I could add European maps by buying City Navigator Europe maps. They told me it was not possible to add maps and that I would have to buy a separate European version of MobilePC. I bought the software only version but then found that this would not work with the 20X I had already (as the 20X was registered to the US version). I then bought a new 20X but could not get it to register with the European software only version as the software was not expecting to be used with a 20X. After a lot of hassle Garmin Support exchanged my European software only Mobile PC and separate 20X for an integrated European MobilePC + 20X that they had in their office (a used copy which I now cannot register in my own name because it is registered to them). This has City Navigator Europe NT 2008 maps. Both US and European MobilePCs now work fine independently but you cannot install them both on a single PC, so I have the US version on my business PC and the European on my home PC (which is not what I want - I want a single integrated version). I have now been introduced to this forum and I wonder whether there is a simple solution to this. Do I just buy a new copy of City Navigator Europe maps and install it on the US MobilePC using MapSource, which is what I wanted to do originally? Regards, Julian.

Hi Julian,

The people you have been dealing with are idiots. It is really discouraging that there are those of us in the user community who seem to understand Garmin's products better than their dealers and many of their tech support staff. It's the lack of knowledge among the tech support people (and in the knowledge base they work from) that is most discouraging. It's too bad that the developers have not done a better job of educating the tech support people because they really do want to be helpful. Most of the information we have here has come about from some rather trivial testing exercises. Even more discouraging is that at least a couple of us have shared this information with Garmin tech support.

... There, now I feel better.

Yes, the solution is as simple as you described .. well, sorta....

- buy the City Navigator Europe maps,
- install Mobile PC US,
- install the maps and Mapsource,
- use the Mapsource unlock wizard to unlock the maps (make sure you get the unlock code for the 20x that's tied to Mobile PC US),

** ... here's where you need to make a decision about Mapsource. If you want to keep the new version that installed with your Europe maps and does a prettier job of drawing the maps, you need to be aware that it can't find Mobile PC. So... **

- if you want to stay with Mapsource 6.14.x or newer, put an SD card in your card reader (if you have one) or plug in a USB flash memory stick that's big enough to hold the maps (City Navigator NA will just fit on a 2GB card. I don't know what size Europe will be.),
- in Mapsource, use the map selection tool to select all of Europe, or just those parts you want in Mobile PC,
- select Transfer > Send To Device,
- give it a minute to search for available devices,
- select "removable drive x:", where "X" is the drive letter of the SD card reader or USB stick,
- sit back and drink your tea while Mapsource does its thing,
- copy the gmapsupp.img file from the \Garmin folder on the SD card or USB stick into the folder on your hard drive where Mobile PC US is installed. That is normally "\Program Files\Garmin\GarminMobilePC".

That should be it. You should be able to use both sets of maps happily with the 20x that came with Mobile PC US. Since they are for different parts of the planet, you can have them both selected for display with no conflicts.

If you want to have a Mapsource that will find Mobile PC and transfer the maps directly to it rather than having to mess with an SD card or USB stick, you will need Mapsource v 6.13.7 installed. You sacrifice the lovely map display of the newer two versions but it has fewer problems. (The newer two versions have other problems besides the fact that they won't transfer maps to Mobile PC.)

To transfer the maps with Mapsource 6.13.7 you just need to select all the map segments in Europe that you want, select Transfer > Send To Device, select Mobile PC in the transfer dialog and Mapsource will do the rest.

If you have been reading any of the threads here regarding the two newest versions of Mapsource you may already know that some of us have both installed. I have 6.15.3 installed and then I also have just the executable for 6.13.7 also in the same folder but with a slightly different name. I have two different Mapsource icons on my desktop so I can use either one. I don't know why I keep both installed because I never use the newer one except when someone asks a question about it.

...ken...

Ken. That is really helpful, thanks. However, as usual when you get some good information you always want more. I am using MapSource v6.13.7 - I downloaded it from the internet for free. I don't know how to get a higher version - does it come on the DVD with the City Navigator maps or can you download it?

I don't have a native City Navigator map DVD for either North America or Europe. My DVDs are both titled "Garmin Mobile PC - quick start DVD" and one contains the City Navigator North America NT 2009 maps and the other the City Navigator Europe NT 2008 maps. Both came packaged with 20X GPS units and to unlock the maps I just needed to enter the serial number of the appropriate 20X. Both Mobile PCs now return 10 digit GPS Unit IDs. I do not have any 25-character unlock codes that MapSource talks about. Interestingly I have tried the "Receive from Device" feature in MapSource to retrieve the maps from Mobile PC but I get a return saying "the selected device has no maps on it". I was hoping that retrieving the maps would allow me to access the unlock codes but no joy.

Sorry to bother you further but can you suggest how I would pair my US Mobile PC with a new City Navigator Europe map DVD if I go and buy one?

Thanks, Julian.

If you are dead set on a newer version of Mapsource there are a couple of ways to get it. Simplest is to just go into the Help menu on Mapsource and "Check for Updates". That will get you the latest from Garmin's web site.

If that doesn't work, I'm pretty sure 6.14.3 is on that North America NT 2009 DVD.

As you have probably figured out, the unlock codes are tied directly to the specific 20x whose serial number you used. You have two options.

- You can get another unlock code for City Navigator NA NT 2009 and unlock it to the 20x for Europe and use Mobile PC Europe.

- You can get another unlock code for City Navigator Europe 2008 and unlock it to the 20x for North America and use Mobile PC NA.

I don't see any compelling advantage to one over the other. ..... Oh wait, you can't register the Europe package anyway, so running the US Mobile PC and 20x would definitely be the prefered option and get an unlock code to unlock the Europe 2008 maps to the US 20x.

No matter which way you decide to go, it's going to cost you some money to buy another unlock code. You have three options.

- you can use the unlock wizard in Mapsource to acquire the unlock code via the internet using your credit card.

- you can use your MyGarmin account online to acquire the unlock code through Garmin's site on the internet using your credit card.

- you can phone Garmin support and buy one over the phone using your credit card.

You might wish to use the telephone option and try to sweettalk them into giving you an unlock code for free since you already have the maps you need and you have one copy of Mobile PC and an extra GPS20x receiver that you didn't need but were forced to purchase because of their bad guidance and lack of knowledge about their own product. .... Well, you would probably be a little more diplomatic than that, but that is the argument in a nutshell. That is certainly the approach I would take ....

... Well, only if I couldn't persuade the UK dealer to take back that 20x from the Mobile PC Europe package they gave you that you can't register anyway and get them to refund at least enough cash for you to purchase the unlock code you need for the Europe 2008 maps (and inform them that the maps and an unlock code is all you really needed from the start ... diplomatically, of course).

Brits know how to do all this diplomatic stuff, eh?

You cannot transfer compiled maps from Mobile PC (or any other Garmin navigation device) into Mapsource. The contents of the error message aren't relevant. It's simply telling you it can't do it.

To look at those maps in Mapsource you need to install them from the DVD. You can install both sets. At the end of it, depending on what options you get during the installation process, you might also end up with a newer (but not the newest) Mapsource installed.

You should rename the "Mapsource.exe" file that you now have and hide a copy somewhere. That way, if you decide you want to be able to use it for any reason, you won't need to reinstall 6.13.7. All you need to do is copy it into the same folder as the Mapsource installation and run it from there. Just make sure you use a different name for it (mine is now Mapsource6137.exe) and create a different shortcut on the desktop for it.

By the way, you can use Mapsource 6.13.7 to transfer Waypoints (aka Favorites), Routes and Tracks between Mobile PC and Mapsource (both directions).

...ken...

Ken

Sorry to be a nuisance but just another question. I assume when you say unlock the City Navigator Europe 2008 map to the 20X that MapSource asks you for a device to register the map to after you have unlocked it? Also, how do you load maps into MapSource? I have retrieved the 25 digit unlock code for my City Navigator NA maps but MapSource does not appear to recognise them on the Mobile PC DVD.

Thanks, Julian.

Julian,

The procedure is something like this (I'm winging it from memory because July was the last time I installed and unlocked maps).

Insert the map DVD into your DVD drive and it should autorun the installation routine. There should be a selection to install the maps. Do it.

If it doesn't autorun something useful when you insert the DVD, open My Computer and look for something like "Setup.exe" on the DVD. Run it. It should either install the maps or give you a window with some selections, including installing the maps. Do it.

Once you have the maps installed, run Mapsource. If the maps you just installed don't automatically appear in the Mapsource display, go to the VIEW menu and select "Switch to Product" and select the map product you just installed to view it.

Use this process to install both sets of maps into Mapsource. You can easily switch back and forth between them using the VIEW menu or the map selector dropdown at the upper left, immediately under the FILE menu.

When you run Mapsource with the maps installed, you might get a message at startup or when you try to select the maps that they need to be unlocked. You can use the unlock wizard to unlock them with the existing unlock codes. Under the UTILITIES menu, select "Unlock Maps". This will launch the wizard. Follow the bouncing ball.

(If you end up with Mapsource 6.14.3 installed after installing the maps, the unlock wizard is under UTILITIES > "Manage Map Products".)

Some variation of the above should get you to a point where you have the maps installed so they can be viewed in Mapsource and you will be able to create routes and search for cities and addresses and POIs and those sorts of things.

Here's the thing that matters. At this point you still don't have anything useful where you can use both sets of maps in one copy of Mobile PC with only one of the 20x receivers.

With the Mobile PC version that comes with a 20x receiver, the maps need to be tied directly to the exact receiver that came with Mobile PC ... they need to be "unlocked" to that receiver.

Assuming you are going to keep running with the Mobile PC North America version installed and its associated 20x and want to add the Europe maps to that package, you need to get an unlock code for the Europe maps that tie those maps to the 20x of the North America package.

When the unlock wizard runs, you would select the Europe maps and then you would select that you want to get an unlock code for them (or maybe an additional unlock code). You'll need the Unit ID and Serial Number. The online procedure says to connect the device (your North America 20x) to the PC and it might even grab the required identification from them directly, but you should probably have them written down just in case.

The wizard should take you through the necessary steps without any great difficulty. When that's done, the Europe maps will be unlocked to use with the North America 20x. Now you can use Mapsource to install the Europe maps into the North America version of Mobile PC.

As I mentioned in my previous post, rather than using the unlock wizard I would phone Garmin and see if I can get them to assign you a new FREE unlock code to use the Europe maps with the North America 20x (you'll still use the unlock wizard to apply the unlock code but not until after you get a free one over the phone rather than paying for it through the online process).

But I would install the Europe maps on the PC first just to be sure you have them viewable in Mapsource and we don't have other issues to be smoothed out first. If you get the Europe maps installed and viewable in Mapsource, then use the same procedure to install the North America maps and check them out. Then deal with the additional unlock code you need for the Europe maps.

Garmin's approach to map copy-protection makes what should be a simple process into something difficult. The way they have chosen to apply their process to the Mobile PC products turns a difficult process into something that many of their own techs don't seem to understand. So don't feel bad if the light bulbs take awhile to glimmer to full brightness.

If you decide to follow my recommendation and phone them, be prepared that you might have to phone them two or three times before you get a tech who has a clue what you're trying to do. Oh, they'll be happy to simply sell you an unlock code to unlock the Europe maps to the 20x, but when you tell them you expect a free one and explain why, you'll likely leave many of them struggling to figure out what you're talking about.

...ken...