Mapping software questions

[rlc7254]

Does anyone know of a good mapping program for the Clie NX series? I am not interested in GPS information, just inputting maps, etc. I would need one that runs from the memory stick obviously. I have tried the Rand-McNally one once, but it wouldn't let me add anything to the memory stick, only the main Clie memory.

Thanks

 

 

[wellsjs]

Check out Mapopolis at:

www.mapopolis.com

There latest release supports Hi-Res+ and you can store your maps on the memory stick. To view them the program temporarily copies them to internal, but when you exit, it prompts you and you can delete the copy off of internal RAM. One-year subscriptions start at $14.95 giving you unlimited downloads and I believe they have every town of any size in the entire US. It's one of my most beloved apps! :)

[hherbzilla]

Originally posted by wellsjs
One-year subscriptions start at $14.95 giving you unlimited downloads and I believe they have every town of any size in the entire US. It's one of my most beloved apps! :) I was under the impression you had to pay per map. I'll have to check it out again.

Usually I just go to Mapquest (or find another map that suits my needs) and just copy the image to my MS. For example, on a recent trip to D.C., I grabbed a map of the Metro from their web site and a few maps of the D.C. area. Works great with AcidImage or FireViewer.

[wellsjs]

My one-year subscription expires in 8 days and I have been downloading all the maps my little heart desires over the last year. I will definately renew! Even considering going to the next level which is, I believe $24.95 and adds the ability to search on an address number rather than just by street name, i.e. I'm guessing it will pinpoint on the street the location.

When I head out of the house to find some place I've never been before my wife always forgets about my "abilities" with this app on my Clie and asks, "how are you going to find it?" To which I patiently (because she refuses to enter the PDA world) remind her that I have mapping software on my PDA. PalmGear lists their "Essentials" and this is definately one of my essentials. If I traveled much I would go for the GPS version. Does anyone make a GPS MS?

[spradlinb]

I really like using Mapopolis too, even though I end up using it pretty rarely... I subscribed to the Platinum maps sometime last year and downloaded many of them for my surrounding area, but found that I really don't travel enough to resubscribe once it runs out on me. It's definitely handy to have though, and got me to my destination after getting lost a few times already :). I have a quick tutorial for it at http://www.LaunchPlug.com/Mapopolis.html as well, showing how to store the maps on a MS and use some of the map controls.

Cheers.

[Flash-57]

> My one-year subscription expires in 8 days and
> I have been downloading all the maps my little
> heart desires over the last year.

Mine also expires in a few days and I did manage to download a lot of maps for almost any place to which I expect that I may be traveling.

Mapopolis is the most useful (as opposed to most used) program I have. Many times I have been driving somewhere and gotten lost. I pull off the road into a handy parking lot and whip out Mapopolis. I find the cross streets of where I am and plot a route back to wherever I need to go.

You know how men never ask for directions? Well, now I really don't have to--ever!

[byte2be]

I agree Mapopolis is a great app.

For those interested, Mapopolis is now offering a GPS bundle (with or without the Platinum +GPS maps) http://www.mapopolis.com/gps.jsp . I was thinking about this until Garmin announced the slick new iQue 3600 PDA with OS5 and T-like form factor.

[andrewcoffin]

I highly recommend Mapopolis as well. Just make sure that you spend enough time initially playing around with the app--I found that there was a little bit of a learning curve to make it function the way I wanted (or was most useful to me), but now, as others have said, it's one of my favorite aps.

There are no more complete maps the the Mapopolis maps for the handheld--the detail is incredible. You need to get a Platinum subscription in order to be able to utilize step-by-step, door-to-door directions, but it's a great feature, and has never failed me...

[wellsjs]

More info for those "on the edge!" Mapopolis has a neat feature called "Load Contiguous Maps" that, as an example, loads three separate maps (counties) in my locale, and they appear as one map. If I'm viewing in one county but do a "find" on a street that happens to be in one of the other two counties, it will come up! If I drag the map, the three counties look like one map. Don't know how the developers did this but it is absolutely slick!Flash-57: You know how men never ask for directions? Well, now I really don't have to--ever!LOL, that's me! :D :D

[hherbzilla]

Sounds awesome. Thanks, guys!

[Donkeystyle]

Check out Mapopolis' CD preoder sale, all the North America Platinum+ GPS maps, and the major roads maps, for 35 dollars. Sounds like the way to go to me....

[DanT]

Originally posted by rlc7254
I have tried the Rand-McNally one once, but it wouldn't let me add anything to the memory stick, only the main Clie memory.

:confused:

I have Rand McNally's StreetFinder with about 20MB maps in MS.  I use PiDirectII to open map as big as 1.5 MB from MS in 10 seconds with free RAM as low as 0.7 MB w/o any problem.

[parmesian]

mapopolis wins hands down. i tried every map program out there and this is the only one i found that is updated (maps with new areas added) on a regular basis. it also lets you get point to point directions.

you can search for addresses by either street name, intersection, street address, business or landmark name, and (best of all) your address book. and on the nx clies it really smokes.

my advice is to buy the one year subscription for the maps and the place guides. you will use it a lot if you drive much at all.

[sebring]

Have any of you that use Mapopolis had any problems with your Hacks and, if so, which ones. Mapopolis displays this ominous warning, when it starts, that all hacks have to be disabled and a soft reset performed before using Mapopolis. I've tried it with my hacks still enabled and, so far, haven't noticed any problems or difference in function from having my hacks disabled. I haven't tried it with a GPS device yet, maybe that is when the problems occur.

[parmesian]

i never had any problems running mapopolis with my hacks installed (i never used many hacks anyway). now that i moved to the nx70v i can't use hacks.

unfortunately i never used a gps module, so i can't help you there.

[xyeta]

I also have Mapopolis, and a question.

Does it seem to take FOREVER to load a map from MS?

I have a T615, and it takes 4-5 minutes to scan my card and show available maps. I looked at spradlinb's tutorial. Maybe unchecking the "scan entire card" option will help.

[parmesian]

that will help a lot as long as you have the maps in the right directory (as per the manual). it also helps to only load the maps you need at the time (uncheck "load contiguous maps")

of course what really makes the program smoke is the new arm processor in the nx. i have used mapopolis since my palm IIIxe and now i finally have a palm device that can truly make this program perform like it should.

[wellsjs]

To load maps from the MS fastest, store your maps on the MS in \palm\programs\mapopolis and enter that in the directory to search in the mapopolis app, otherwise it will search the entire card.

The map(s) I use most are loaded contiguously and are three maps that comprise my locale. It takes about 8-10 seconds to load on my T665C (66Mhz processor). It would take a bit longer on your T615 at 33Mhz. The time will depend on the size of the maps also. But how long would it take to dig a map out of the glove compartment, open it up and find the spot on the map you need? :eek: When exiting the program, I always say "Yes" to remove the maps from RAM. Guess your choice would depend on how often you use the program and how tight you are on RAM.

When I'm using mapopolis to get somewhere, I load it that one time and then simply power off my PDA with it loaded. When I need to check the map again, I power it on and it's there. When I get where I'm going I close the app and remove the maps from RAM. Works out nicely! :)

[MikeD]

What if you're doing a cross country road trip? Would you use mapolis? How would it handle All those maps along your route? I was thinking about getting this with the GPS unit for my NR70V. Any ideas?

Mike

[hherbzilla]

Originally posted by MikeD
What if you're doing a cross country road trip? Would you use mapolis?... Any ideas?Another cool program for this type of thing is I-WayInfo (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&jid=8E3558CC3D13493F436F8A56C6227DB9&productId=14624&optionId=1_1_2&productType=2&catalog=1&txtSearch=i-way+info&sectionId=0&platformId=1). It tells you what restaurants, stores, gas stations, etc. are at each exit. You can search on a particular thing you're looking for (e.g., you car is acting up and you want to stop at PepBoys for a service check... or you have a taste for a slice of pie at Cracker Barrel). Check out the trial version on your next roadtrip.

[MikeD]

Thanks for the link! Looks like it'll come in handy! Just out of curiosity, it's just for looking up the stuff I'd be interested off the highway right? It's not a full map program? So I would use this in conjunction with something like mapopolis right?

And speaking of mapopolis, would you use that for a cross country trip or would the maps just be WAY too many to store on your PDA?? I'm just wondering what I should go for for my trip. I like how mapolis has the option for a GPS unit to be connected.

Thanks,
Mike

[spradlinb]

Originally posted by xyeta
I also have Mapopolis, and a question.

Does it seem to take FOREVER to load a map from MS?

I have a T615, and it takes 4-5 minutes to scan my card and show available maps. I looked at spradlinb's tutorial. Maybe unchecking the "scan entire card" option will help.

Yes, as others have mentioned, unchecking "scan entire card" will vastly improve your scan time, especially if you have a lot of other files already on the same card.

In addition to that, the T615C has MUCH slower MS access times when compared to the NR or T665C models. That means that files the size of most Mapopolis maps will probably take quite a bit longer to load on your PDA compared to new versions. I have a T665C myself, and don't see much of a delay in loading maps, but I do know that MS access was greatly improved on the later Clie models. Unfortunately there isn't a way to speed up the access times, because I think it was a hardware issue, but you can at least decrease your scan time with the above option unchecked, and make it a bit faster overall.

Cheers.

[MikeD]

I too would like to see some samples if anyone has them...

Maybe for the long trip purpose, I should bring a laptop with some mapping program like Rand McNally or something........... But I could see the benefits for local area navigation with the PDAs. What do you think???

Mike

[wellsjs]

For traveling I use Mapopolis and Interstate Guide (www.theheadwaters.com). Not sure how it stacks up against I-Wayinfo, but it did not appear that the later gives phone numbers for nearly every establishment listing. Interstate Guide does. When driving down the interstate and the kids yell "Wendy's," I can quickly tell them how far we are from the next one! :D It also lists hospitals, ATMs (Banks), hotels/motels, gas stations, and whether these are open 24-hours!

[parmesian]

mapopolis has place guides which match up for each county map and they contain a incredibly large amount of info on places and businesses.

for long distance trips there is a special map for each state with just the main roads (mainly interstates and such) if you load the county maps for the start and finish points and the state maps for the states you would be traveling through the program will get you there. i just made a trip from LA to houston and never got lost (of course i also had all the county maps from CA, AZ, NM, and TX loaded on memory sticks just in case)

[hherbzilla]

Originally posted by wellsjs
For traveling I use ... Interstate Guide (www.theheadwaters.com). Not sure how it stacks up against I-Wayinfo, but it did not appear that the later gives phone numbers for nearly every establishment listing. Interstate Guide does. When driving down the interstate and the kids yell "Wendy's," I can quickly tell them how far we are from the next one! :D It also lists hospitals, ATMs (Banks), hotels/motels, gas stations, and whether these are open 24-hours! Wow! That's a slick program. It definitely does more than I-WayInfo, and is certainly worth the couple dollars more. I wish I had know about it before buying IWayInfo. :(

[MikeD]

Originally posted by parmesian
mapopolis has place guides which match up for each county map and they contain a incredibly large amount of info on places and businesses.

for long distance trips there is a special map for each state with just the main roads (mainly interstates and such) if you load the county maps for the start and finish points and the state maps for the states you would be traveling through the program will get you there. i just made a trip from LA to houston and never got lost (of course i also had all the county maps from CA, AZ, NM, and TX loaded on memory sticks just in case)

Is easy to load just the interstate/main exit maps in mapolis? How about if you wanted all the county maps? Does it just gather them all for you or do you have sit and research all the counties you'll be travelling through first? What I mean is, is it a pretty easy process to get things loaded on your pda?? Another factor is that the laptop I'm bringing is a macintosh. Can I just store the maps there and load them on the memory stocks as needed?

Anyone with any info/experience with using GPS their clies?

Oh one more thing, does the NX offer significant speed advantages over the NR that would make me want to upgrade my NR for an NX or maybe even an NZ?? I'm just thinking about speed of drawing the maps and GPS keeping up with everything.

Thanks everyone! All the suggestions have been helpful!

[wellsjs]

Originally posted by MikeD
How about if you wanted all the county maps?
Anyone with any info/experience with using GPS their clies?I have been searching for a reason why I would ever need one of the new MS Pros coming out with 1Gb+ storage capacity. You may have just hit on it! :D Not making fun, by any means, but maps = storage use. If you buy one of the "all you can eat" map plans, by all means download all the maps (counties) you want onto your PC, but you will want to be fairly selective on what you really need to store on your MS. If I found out I needed to fly to Seattle this week and would be driving around in a rental car while there, I would download and load the map(s) for Seattle before I left. Once back home, I would delete them if I were not planning to go back anytime soon. If you travel in your job, say all over the state, then it might make sense to have all the counties of your state or region that you cover. Would certainly be handy! :)

Sorry, no GPS, or NX experience. I only have used the basic edition, but my subscription is up in a week and I'll seriously considering stepping up to platinum.

[sebring]

Originally posted by wellsjs
I have been searching for a reason why I would ever need one of the new MS Pros coming out with 1Gb+ storage capacity. You may have just hit on it! :D Not making fun, by any means, but maps = storage use. If you buy one of the "all you can eat" map plans, by all means download all the maps (counties) you want onto your PC, but you will want to be fairly selective on what you really need to store on your MS. If I found out I needed to fly to Seattle this week and would be driving around in a rental car while there, I would download and load the map(s) for Seattle before I left. Once back home, I would delete them if I were not planning to go back anytime soon. If you travel in your job, say all over the state, then it might make sense to have all the counties of your state or region that you cover. Would certainly be handy! :)

Sorry, no GPS, or NX experience. I only have used the basic edition, but my subscription is up in a week and I'll seriously considering stepping up to platinum.

You folks have just about convinced me I need Mapopolis. I am debating between the Enhanced and Platinum +GPS, but it looks like all the Platinum adds is door to door directions, which I don't think I'd use much. If that is the main difference, $20 seems like a lot to pay for just that enhancement.

Any comments from users would be welcome.

[DanT]

Originally posted by wellsjs
For traveling I use Mapopolis and Interstate Guide (www.theheadwaters.com). Not sure how it stacks up against I-Wayinfo, but it did not appear that the later gives phone numbers for nearly every establishment listing. Interstate Guide does. When driving down the interstate and the kids yell "Wendy's," I can quickly tell them how far we are from the next one! :D It also lists hospitals, ATMs (Banks), hotels/motels, gas stations, and whether these are open 24-hours!

StreetFinder has these points of interest with addresses and phone numbers for restaurant, hotels, banks, bookstores, cinema theatres, cleaners, computer software,copy centers,department stores, nightlife, office supply, pharmacy, etc.  However, there are no listing of office or store hours.  I figure I can always call them.

[sebring]

DanT,

Does StreetFinder support Hires+ and is there a demo available anywhere. Hires+ is a must for maps. The difference between the 320x320 view and 320x480, when it come to maps is dramatic.

[DanT]

Originally posted by wellsjs
The map(s) I use most are loaded contiguously and are three maps that comprise my locale. It takes about 8-10 seconds to load on my T665C (66Mhz processor).

I have 1.5MB map from StreetFinder that opens up about the same length of time with N760C at 53 mHz with PiDirectII

Originally posted by wellsjs
When I'm using mapopolis to get somewhere, I load it that one time and then simply power off my PDA with it loaded. When I need to check the map again, I power it on and it's there. When I get where I'm going I close the app and remove the maps from RAM. Works out nicely! :)

It sounds like you need to keep plenty of free RAM for a big map.  I went to as low as 0.7MB free RAM without any problem loading 1.5 MB StreetFinder map with PiDirectII.  Would PiDirect work with mapopolis?

[sebring]

DanT,

I found a StreetFinder demo on Handmark's site. In my opinion, there is no comparison. This is based on the demo map they include. StreetFinder and the demo map took up about 900k of memory. Mapopolis, it's demo maps and a couple of demo maps of 2 entire counties where I live took up only about 150k more and the maps have incredible detail. I couldn't find a single street that was missing. Also the StreetFinder demo doesn't support hires+, not even sure it was hires.

PiDirect probably would work with Mapopolis. Might be a better solution than their VFS support for large maps, when low on RAM. I believe I'll try it with MSMount. Good Suggestion.

[DanT]

Sebring, I went to RandMcNally website and couldn't find any hires+ for StreetFinder either. They seem to gear their products towards Palm not Clie. I purchased the 5CD's version for the whole USA for my laptop from BestBuy. Since it has options to upload the map to Palm OS and to work with GPS, I figure that is not bad for $30.

Someday, when Sony comes up with T series with VG, may be I'll get the mapopolis. It sounds like a great map app. For now, I feel the NR, NZ, or NX form factor are just too big to fit into my pants front pocket. T series is the perfect size.

The StreetFinder .prc and .pdbs size are not a problem for me since I put them in MS in PiDirectII directory.

The StreetFinder maps seem to have enough details for my needs. So far I can find my home street address and places that I need to go in Houston Metro (10 maps, 8 MB). If I need to go to a Mexican restaurant in some part of Houston, I just put My Marker in the map and tap Find, it will find Mexican restaurants within a chosen miles distance from the maker. This is a good option if you are visiting new area.

[sebring]

DanT,

Your idea of putting the maps in the PiDirect folder works with MS Mount also. I think I will keep the maps I use most often in the MS Mount folder, they seem to load and redraw a little quicker than using the Mapopolis VFS support. The Mapopolis directory will be fine for maps I use less often. Not sure why the redraw would be any faster, since Mapopolis copies entire map to RAM from it's directory. That part may be my imagination.

Thanks for the suggestion

[MikeD]

Are there any maps for trails etc? I saw Garmin makes this handheld units (eTrex) and they can do hiking trails etc.

Mike

[MikeD]

I went ahead and ordered the GPS unit for my clie NR70V.. I'll let everyone know how it goes once I get it. I downloaded the maps for my county also and they are VERY good/detailed.. I can't wait to test out GPS on this thing! Now I still need a way to mount it in my car!

[DanT]

MikeD, to mount Clie on the car dashboard, I use the $10 RadioShack radar-detector windshield mounting. It has adjustable side grip and fits perfectly with my N760C which has similar width and thickness dimensions with NR70V. The mounting device has a hinge to where you can tilt the Clie display vertically.

I connect Garmin eTrex Vista (GeV) to the N760C. StreetFinder can receive NMEA format from GeV and track where I'm going in its map in Clie. Which GPS receiver are you going to get?

[MikeD]

I'm going to be getting the Holux Mouse GPS unit.. It's really affordable and works with my clie NR70V with Mapopolis. I can't wait to try it out. How do you connect your eTrex to your clie? Also, when a more capable clie comes out (OS5 or OS6 unit like NZ w/bluetooth) I'd like to upgrade my clie to that unit and then get a bluetooth GPS unit. But alas, the NZ is WAY too big and too expensive for me. Perhaps if it were thinner and without that HUGE camera, I'd get it... as long as it had bluetooth though.

Mike

[DanT]

I build the cable adapter from GeV to N760 myself :D. You can get the parts from pc-mobile.net (http://www.pc-mobile.net/clie.htm), but if you don't feel like messing around with the adapter, you can buy it from them too. The connection is pretty easy, you just need 3 wire cable from Clie (C) to eTrex (E):
C-TXD > E-RXD
C-RXD > E-TXD
C-GRD > E-GRD
Yours could be similar, so no need to get the DB9 (serial) with Null messy connectors.

[MikeD]

The holux unit I got comes with a connector for the GPS unit and the Clie. Mapopolis sells the bundle for the clie NR/nx etc series.

[DanT]

Cool. The cigaret lighter adapter will come in handy.

I ended up making two type of adapters, one for the car, like the holux, to charge both the Clie and the GPS through 12VDC and one really compact and short cable (6" long) for hiking. The one for hiking has an second line to connect the Clie to a 4AA battery for long trip in the woods, pretty much like the setup that pc-mobile has.

One thing nice about GeV, I can use it by itself too. It is compact, durable, and waterproof. It uses 2AA batteries, so no worry about running out of juice in the middle of nowhere. It also has altimeter for climbing and display with 25MB RAM for storing maps.  All this for $75 more than the holux.

[sebring]

DanT,

I am interested in the cables you made. I have a Garmin emap, which I think has the same connector as the eTrek. I've been trying to determine the most elegant way to use it with my NR and have both powered by the cigarette lighter outlet. Most of the solutions I've seen so far leave one or the other powered by it's own batteries. The cable for the Holux looks just like what I would like, except of course for my emap. I want to spend as little ( how many people say they want to spend as much as possible?) as possible, since the emap is quite satisfactory by itself. Actually the emap display is easier to read in bright sunlight than my NR, but it is monochrome and much smaller than the NR display. The site you referenced has a good solution for using both devices together with both on their own battery.

[MikeD]

That's awesome that you are good with wiring etc.. It took me double the time to do a simple rewiring mod in my car than was stated by "everyone else." I saw that navman came out with a really cool GPS device and it claims about 10 hours on two or three AA batteries. Not bad at all! Again, I can't wait to upgrade this NR70V.. just waiting when Sony will come up with the "right" device for me.

I'm spoiled by the large screen (High Res+ w/virtual graffiti), and need bluetooth. Camera is only optional but not at the expense of major BULK (like in the NZ's)

[DanT]

Sebring, Garmin emap (Gem) use 2AA batteries and ePlug like the GeV, so the charging voltage is around 3.2 VDC, versus NR which is about 5.2 VDC. If you want both NR and Gem go to the same cigaret lighter charger, you need to drop the Gem power line voltage from 5.2 to 3.2VDC by adding two of 1N4148 diodes hooked in series from the power line to the ePlug. You can get a pack of 10 of these diodes from RadioShack for $1.00. Pfranc.com (http://www.pfranc.com/usb/etrex.htm) has a nice article about the trick I mentioned above.

To make the adapter, I purchased a Clie 4-in-1 cable charger from eBay for about $16. It includes USB to 12VDC and USB to 120/240 VAC adapters. Then I cut the HotSync cable into two parts and solder the 4 pins of ePlug that I get from pc-mobile (you can also get from pfranc, BTW) with the cut-end right wires and voila, both Clie and GeV are powered by the 12VDC and talking to each other in NMEA format. :D

Just in case you don't know about the NR pinout for the GPS:
pin 1 and 18 = GND, 8= 5.2 VDC, 13=RXD, 14=TXD

ePlug pinout:  1=GND, 2=TXD, 3=RXD, 4=3.2VDC

[sebring]

DanT, thanks for the scoop. I'll have to think about it a little before I risk frying my emap or my clie. I do have a little knowledge about electronic components and power supplies, but you know what they say about a "little knowledge".

[DanT]

Check out the pfranc.com site. It's awesome and very educational.

FYI, powering up the Gem more than 3.2 VDC may make it a little warm than normal, may be even the display becomes darker for too much power, other than that I haven't heard people fried their GPS up. If you have less than 3.2 VDC it will automatically start using your 2AA batteries for power instead.

The only part that I had a concern was connecting the ePlug pins with the two cut-ends of the Clie HotSync cable. It is a pretty small plug and a little tricky to jam those diodes in the plug w/o short-circuiting them. Another option is to open the GeV and put the diode in there, on the circuit board, like the guy in pfranc did. But I didn't feel like opening the GeV if I didn't have to and managed to put the diodes in the eplug.

[palmgeek]

To all you Mapopolis subscribers;

It is, admittedly, very tedious, but it only takes about an hour to download ALL of the US maps (with a good connection – i.e. one lunch hour at work).

I complained for months, and Mapopolis finally put up a link on each state where you can download the entire state in one file.

I think my subscription runs out today. Last week, I went through and downloaded all of the maps one more time. They are a month newer than the previous maps I had. Also note that you can download any of the maps BELOW the level you subscribed to as well. I grabbed all of the Basic Maps as well - the entire US (basic maps) will fit on 1 CD unzipped! The Enhanced Maps require 2 CDs unzipped.

I keep the 4 counties around my home loaded on my CLIE’s main memory. I keep most of the rest of NY State (areas I sometimes travel through, Syracuse, Adirondacks, etc.) loaded on my Memory Stick. I keep the rest of the US maps on CD, ready to load off my laptop.

I too, have to commend Mapopolis for a job well done. I have been with them since their maps and program were free - I even beta-tested their earliest program. You can't beat the program, and they constantly improve it (like adding GPS support). You won't be disappointed!

I don’t know if I will renew my subscription. I have the entire US on CD now. Perhaps I’ll wait a couple years, and do it again.

[wellsjs]

Just renewed my subscription from "Basic" to "Platinum" yesterday and replaced the maps I frequently use. A new major section of highway near my "hood" is on the new Platinum map and was not on the basic. Mapopolis' website has a statement that the NavTech (Platinum and above) are generally more accurate and up-to-date than the Tiger maps.

After playing with the "driving directions" and door-to-door features of the NavTech maps, I am of the opinion that it was worth the extra $20 from Basic. Also very much like the address book lookup feature. Only catch was I had to go through my address book and "clean up" in accordance with Mapopolis' rules. For instance, if your address entry had "Road" or "Rd." it will not work. It must be "Rd," "St," Pl," etc. Of course it's not case sensitive though. Now that I know that, it should be easy to enter new entries that way.

Only one local seach I did routed me a very round-about route from one I know to be shorter and faster. The others were dead on accurate. Great app! Glad I upgraded to Platinum! Wouldn't leave home without it!

[palmgeek]

You may have been happy with the Enhanced maps as well. My brother's neighbor has a driveway back to his barn... it shows that driveway (unnamed, of course) on my Enhanced maps. Really freaked my brother out when I showed him.

BTW, John... like your logo... Did you create it yourself?

[sebring]

Originally posted by wellsjs
Just renewed my subscription from "Basic" to "Platinum" yesterday and replaced the maps I frequently use. A new major section of highway near my "hood" is on the new Platinum map and was not on the basic. Mapopolis' website has a statement that the NavTech (Platinum and above) are generally more accurate and up-to-date than the Tiger maps.

After playing with the "driving directions" and door-to-door features of the NavTech maps, I am of the opinion that it was worth the extra $20 from Basic. Also very much like the address book lookup feature. Only catch was I had to go through my address book and "clean up" in accordance with Mapopolis' rules. For instance, if your address entry had "Road" or "Rd." it will not work. It must be "Rd," "St," Pl," etc. Of course it's not case sensitive though. Now that I know that, it should be easy to enter new entries that way.

Only one local seach I did routed me a very round-about route from one I know to be shorter and faster. The others were dead on accurate. Great app! Glad I upgraded to Platinum! Wouldn't leave home without it!

I recently purchased and Enhanced map subscription and noticed I can download both Enhanced and Basic maps. If I had a platinum subscription, would I also be able to download Enhanced and Basic maps. Two reasons I opted for the Enhanced instead of Platinum were 1) Smaller memory footprint and 2) Enhanced include GPS support. To get GPS support with the Platinum would have cost $20 more.

If a Platinum subscription allows access to Enhanced maps, I might upgrade to the first level of Platinum.

Also considered purchasing the CD, but Mapopolis told me it did not include download privileges, I would have to carry the disk around with me everywhere.

[wellsjs]

palmgeek,

Can't remember where I downloaded it from specifically. Do a Google search on "Christian animated graphics." You should find it and many more. Of course for avatars, we are limited to 100x80 pixels and 20K file size. I have several nice ones that are just outside that range. Drats! :(

sebring,

You can download any maps below your subscription level.

[34Ford]

Im glad I found this thread.

I am waiting for the Mapopolis north american cd I ordered from them.
I already have the Deluo receiver and they told me they expect a cable for the Clie this month.
Reason Im waiting for their cable instead of making one, is their cable includes a plug for the cigarette lighter to power the Clie & the receiver at once!

www.mapopolis.com
www.deluo.com


Dennis

[sebring]

Originally posted by 34Ford
Im glad I found this thread.

I am waiting for the Mapopolis north american cd I ordered from them.
I already have the Deluo receiver and they told me they expect a cable for the Clie this month.
Reason Im waiting for their cable instead of making one, is their cable includes a plug for the cigarette lighter to power the Clie & the receiver at once!

www.mapopolis.com
www.deluo.com


Dennis

I seriously considered the CD, until I learned that it did NOT include download privileges. You lose, damage or just don't have your CD with you and you are stuck.

wellsjs, thanks for the info, I believe I will upgrade to Platinum.

[34Ford]

Originally posted by sebring


I seriously considered the CD, until I learned that it did NOT include download privileges. You lose, damage or just don't have your CD with you and you are stuck.



So whats wrong with buying the cd AND getting download privileges too?
I dont have broadband and, I now have the entire north america on a cd all at once and I can burn as many cd's as I want.
One for the home, one for the car.

[sebring]

Originally posted by 34Ford


So whats wrong with buying the cd AND getting download privileges too?
I dont have broadband and, I now have the entire north america on a cd all at once and I can burn as many cd's as I want.
One for the home, one for the car.

Just can't justify $100 for maps. If I were travelling a lot more, maybe.

[jbarr]

Not sure if this has been covered here (it'a a long thread!) but did you know if you subscribe to Mapopolis, you get access to ALL maps at and UNDER the level at which you subscribe? For example, I subscribed to the Platinum service for a year, and when I go to download maps, I notice that all the Enhanced and Basic maps are also available to download. This is a HUGE bonus that I didn't expect and I don't think is mentioned anywhere! Why is this important? Because though I REALLY like the Platimum maps, I find that I really don't always need Driving Instructions, so the Enhanced map does the trick most of the time using much less memory than the Platinum map. I keep both on the Memory Stick, and just load in the ones I need to use. For example, in Cook County, IL, the Enhanced map is 2.25MB while the Platinum map is split into four maps totalling over 5MB. The cool thing is that Mapopolis won't load Enhanced and Platinum maps at the same time, so you can leave them in the same directory and not worry.

One other thing. I emailed a suggestion to Mapopolis Support for an enhancement: Add a selective "Directory Picker" function to the Map Selection screen. I live in Northern Illinois, and have some maps of Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Problem is that when I select Contiguous maps, it loads them ALL. Maybe I want to load just the Illinois contiguous maps or just the Wisconsin contiguous maps. In the current version, you can't. It's all or nothing. So, I create two directories, /PALM/Maps/IL and /PALM/Maps/WI and put the maps in their respective directories. But wait, that doesn't work! If I have Mapopolis pointing to /PALM/Maps, it reads all maps in all directories UNDER the current directory. So, I created new directories called /PALM/MapsIL and /PALM/MapsWI and keep the maps in their respective directories. This works great, but introduces two new problems: I can no longer get ALL IL and WI maps to show contiguously at the same time, and I have to type the path name in Graffiti. So, my suggestion was to have some sort of directory/file picker screen that has checkboxes in front of each directory and map entry allowing you to selectivly choose what maps are loaded.

Now to sit back and wait and see what they think!

[jbarr]

I just received a VERY quick reply from Mapopolis support:

"I am passing your idea on to development -- they are already planning changes in the area you mention"

Wooo Hooo!!!!!

Send your suggestions to these guys. They do listen!

[palmgeek]

Jim,

I mentioned the fact that you get maps, at and below the level you registered, in an earlier post in this thread. It bears repeating though, since many folks don't know that.

Don't hold your breath on seeing your suggestion show up anytime soon. I suggested that Mapopolis provide Zip files of entire states on their web site, rather than making us D/L them one county at a time. It took several months (almost a year) before they implemented that simple suggestion.

I never noticed the problem you noted, until I checked it out today. It’s just as you said. Still, it hasn’t been a problem for me yet. I keep the 4 counties surrounding my house loaded in main memory all the time. When I travel, I add the counties I need from the Memory Stick (with contiguous UN-checked). Seems to work okay that way.

Perhaps, instead of a directory-related modification - how about simply allowing the selection of multiple maps (like the way holding the CTRL key in Windows works) would be an acceptable alternative. Just click the maps you want to load (one, or several) then press load… Just another idea.

[Graig]

Originally posted by palmgeek
To all you Mapopolis subscribers;

I complained for months, and Mapopolis finally put up a link on each state where you can download the entire state in one file.



I went to the mapopolis site but I could not find the state map files. I do see counties listed by states, but not in a single file for the whole state. Please help.

[palmgeek]

Wow, here's try #3...  attaching stuff is tricky.  Wish it would keep what I typed each time!

 

Okay, first you have to be a registered user to see the link.  Go to the maps page; http://www.mapopolis.com/mapstore.jsp?pg=sr&s=1044643127343356&p=&q=8185.676963837785 then select a state, and click the "Show All Maps" button.  You should see the following:

 (see attachment jpg)

Okay, it shows an attachment in the edit screen, but I don't see it on the posting anywhere. 

So... here's the TEXT version; the first link at the top will read "Download All County Maps in State".  Click there, and you'll get a Zip file with all the counties.

[sebring]

Originally posted by Graig


I went to the mapopolis site but I could not find the state map files. I do see counties listed by states, but not in a single file for the whole state. Please help.

Enter the state you are interested in. Select show all maps. At the top there should be a file for downloading all counties. If you have a Platinum subscription, there should also be a file for Major Roads only also.

Jim,

I agree with you, this is a real pain. If you have a major roads map installed, it can tie together many counties you didn't intend to install, if you select load contiguous maps.

[cosFFM]

Just checked their website (http://www.mapopolis.com) and noticed they now have maps of western europe. But are they only available in the 99 USD NavTech package? That would be a little pricey.

Any european users of Mapopolis here who can give some advice?

Thanks!

[slippy4twenty]

I'm using my Palm M515 with a Radioshack Digitraveler (which uses a Sony chipset BTW), it works quite well, maps for mapopolis have to be stored on the card in /programs/mapopolis to work correctly, but then they copy to ram to run, and offer to delete when leaving the application.

I'm trying to build a cable from the Radioshack Digitraveler (which is an AWESOME bargain at $49.97) since it is NMEA there should be a way. Gotta email n2ifp for that pinout....would anyone be interested in such a cable? The unit runs on 3 AAA batteries and has run for me over 8 hours without a change yet.

[palmgeek]

Originally posted by slippy4twenty
I'm using my Palm M515 with a Radioshack Digitraveler (which uses a Sony chipset BTW), it works quite well, maps for mapopolis have to be stored on the card in /programs/mapopolis to work correctly, but then they copy to ram to run, and offer to delete when leaving the application.

I'm trying to build a cable from the Radioshack Digitraveler (which is an AWESOME bargain at $49.97) since it is NMEA there should be a way. Gotta email n2ifp for that pinout....would anyone be interested in such a cable? The unit runs on 3 AAA batteries and has run for me over 8 hours without a change yet.

I'd be interested if you're successful in building a cable.  I tried building a cable to connect my Streetfinder GPS (Palm III model) to my SJ20.  I ran into trouble getting the Sony serial connection hooked to the Streetfinder's serial port.  I had it working fine via ribbon cable to my IIIxe, but no banana with the SJ20 and a serial cable.

I finally gave up and bought a Garmin eTrex.  :-)