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Maps Etc. are Laterally Stretched When Viewed in Basecamp?

LancashireMV
over 9 years ago
Hi,

I'm new to the Garmin forum, (and to GPS usage in general), so hope that this post meets with forum rules.

I'm using Garmin Basecamp on a Windows 10 Desktop, in conjunction with a Garmin GPSMAP 64s.

When basecamp is opened, and the GPSMAP 64s is connected to the computer, (and recognised by Basecamp), all maps, Birdseye satellite images, and Birdseye Select downloaded maps, etc. etc., are correctly proportioned on screen.

However, when I open Basecamp on the computer, (and the GPSMAP 64s is not connected), all the maps, Birdseye satellite images, and Birdseye Select downloaded maps, (as stored in "My Collection" folders), appear laterally stretched on screen.

i.e. each individual map grid square on British Ordnance Survey maps shows as a substantially oblong box rather than the correctly proportioned square that it should be.

EDIT - I've added comparison images below, in order to show what the problem is: -

Correctly proportioned when GPS connected -

Laterally stretched when GPS not connected -

Is this normal? (Perhaps something that Garmin have incorporated to prevent copying & pasting of maps?), or is there something I've perhaps not set correctly that would allow the maps to show correctly?

I was hoping to be able to create routes/tracks etc. using Basecamp alone (without having to connect the GPS itself to the computer every time), but with the "stretched" mapping that is on view, I'm not sure if such tracks/routes would then be properly aligned with actual paths on the ground, when transferred at some later stage to the GPS unit.

Any replies / clarification / suggestions will be much appreciated.

Regards,
Mike.
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    I have no help to offer, but I've noticed the same effect.

    As my manager used to say: "A problem shared is a problem doubled" :D
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    First, using the maps in BC to create routes etc won't cause any issues when sending them to your device.

    Second, what you're describing is normal and is due to the projection angle of the map that is used by BC. You can adjust the projection angle for each map using this utility http://www.javawa.nl/jdm_en.html
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    Maps Etc. are Laterally Stretched When Viewed in Basecamp?

    Hi,

    Thanks for the support Swiftie :), and for the answer SUSSAMB.

    I don't really understand why there should be any "projection angle of the map" coming into play within Basecamp? - It's the first and only mapping software I've used where this occurs.

    Surely Garmin could have easily sorted things out such that maps and sateliite images show correctly proportioned within Basecamp by default - as such images do in Google Maps, Bing Maps, etc. etc. ?

    Thanks for the suggestion of the linked utility, but I'll live with the situation as is.

    Regards,
    Mike.
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    It's a feature of the map, not Basecamp, and varies according to where you are in the world so it's not as simple as you might think :)
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    It's a feature of the map, not Basecamp, and varies according to where you are in the world so it's not as simple as you might think :)

    We've had this discussion going back to the later versions of Mapsource and almost from the beginning in Basecamp.

    It's a function of Mercator Projection. As we know from the earlier versions of Mapsource/nRoute its trivially correctable in the program code if the developers care to do it. They chose not to in the Mapsource rewrite and also in Basecamp. Thus anyone who lives any distance north or south of the equator must put up with this.

    JaVaWa's utility proves that the correction is quite do-able and straightforward. But it should not be necessary. Why should modern versions of Garmin's software be less functional for something as basic as displaying a map than truly ancient versions were?

    ...ken...
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    Maps Etc. are Laterally Stretched When Viewed in Basecamp?

    Hi,

    I accept that the practicalities of adapting Mercator projection to show given areas in "square" grid-squares on two dimensional maps require an amount of falsification of reality to suit the grid-square format, and that the further away from the equator the area in question, the more this effect will manifest itself.

    However, the images showing in Basecamp, (when GPS isn't connected), are stretched west-east by some 30+ percent.
    I could accept a small amount of Mercator "stretch" being apparent here in the UK, but when a 1km grid-square shows on screen as 1km north-south, but more than 1.3km west-east, then to me, there is something very wrong.

    These Birdseye select and satellite imagery downloads are jpeg images and show up perfectly correctly (i.e. as correctly proportioned squares, not stretched) when the GPS is connected to Basecamp.
    (As they do when viewed standalone on the GPS itself).
    So as kganshirt says, this must be a feature of the Basecamp software rather than the map/satellite image itself - after all, it is the exact same jpeg image that is being viewed in each case.

    I note that the two images I included in my original post are now "invalid attachments" I don't know why? - they showed up correctly when I first made the original post.

    I have tried to upload the images again so that a direct comparison can be made between what shows when the GPS is connected, and what shows when the GPS is not connected to Basecamp, but the "Manage Attachments" dialogue consistently says "Upload Failed". (The two images in question are standard jpeg images of about 150Kb file-size each).
    EDIT - tried again using basic uploader, and the images are now (as I type this), correctly uploaded and displaying when the links below are clicked on.

    As kganshirt also says, "Why should modern versions of Garmin's software be less functional for something as basic as displaying a map . . . . "
    Why indeed? One would have thought that a market leading company like Garmin would have been able to sort this out years ago! :rolleyes:

    - Correctly proportioned when GPS connected to Basecamp
    - Laterally stretched when GPS not connected to Basecamp

    Regards,
    Mike.
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    As kganshirt also says, "Why should modern versions of Garmin's software be less functional for something as basic as displaying a map . . . . "
    Why indeed? One would have thought that a market leading company like Garmin would have been able to sort this out years ago! :rolleyes:

    Regards,
    Mike.

    Hey Mike,

    What fries me is that they did sort this out years ago. Versions of Mapsource from 6.13.7 and earlier do not have this problem. It began with the Mapsource rewrite at 6.14.x and later, and, of course, Basecamp.

    When the rewritten version of Mapsource came out with this issue, one of the Garmin developers shared a registry hack with us that would shift the projection to the appropriate latitude. I don't recall the details now and I don't know if there is a similar hack for Basecamp.

    Point is, the really old stuff does it right.

    ..ken...
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    No hack needed, just use the tool I mentioned at the start of this thread.

    Note if you feel it's something that should be included in BaseCamp post your suggestion here

    http://www8.garmin.com/contactUs/ideas/

    Personally it has never bothered me.
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    Maps Etc. are Laterally Stretched When Viewed in Basecamp?

    I don't see why it should be necessary to have to resort to the use of a third party utility (or a registry hack or whatever else), to remove what is essentially a sub-standard implementation of mapping software by a market leading company.

    I believe there should be an implicit right to expect that products obtained from market leading companies should be properly "fit for purpose".
    Nowhere within Garmin literature does it mention this Basecamp image "stretching" problem. (I wonder why :rolleyes:).
    The last thing I would have imagined was that maps would have ever been incorrectly proportioned when viewed on PC.

    I agree that it's not the end of the world, more of a minor irritation.
    I can get around the problem by plugging the GPS into a usb port - but the fact is - that shouldn't be necessary if the Basecamp software was sufficiently well coded.
    Maybe I'm in the minority amongst users, (perhaps just a grumpy old so-and-so having a rant :o), But I am becoming less inclined to accept without question, what I'd describe as "shoddy workmanship", in my old age. :D

    Thanks for the link - I've just sent this "idea" to Garmin: -

    I find it frustrating that (Great Britain) maps/Birdseye select downloads/Birdseye satellite image downloads, etc. show up laterally stretched by more than 30% when viewed in Basecamp (on a Windows 10 desktop) when the GPS itself, is not connected to Basecamp.

    If dialogue on the Garmin forum is anything to go by, I am certainly not alone in my frustration.

    Surely, if other major mapping software in general usage can show grid-squares as "squares" then it should not be beyond the means of a market leader such as Garmin to ensure that map imagery when viewed in Basecamp is ALWAYS shown correctly proportioned, regardless of whether a GPS is connected to Basecamp at the time. (i.e. grid squares with sides of equal measurement and not quite substantially stretched oblong boxes). Just as would be the case if the viewer were using a purchased paper map of the area in question.

    I am led to believe that this should be a simple software "fix" which could be easily implemented if Garmin had the will to do so.

    Having to use third party software to be able to view maps correctly proportioned should not be necessary, and is a very bad indictment on Garmin's reputation!

    So - my idea is this - to alleviate my frustrations (and those of many more Basecamp users), please, - implement a software "tweak" that would henceforth show all maps and Birdseye downloads correctly proportioned - regardless of whether the user's GPS device itself is connected to Basecamp at the time.

    I will update this thread should Garmin respond. :)

    Regards,
    Mike.
  • 0 over 9 years ago
    I just discovered why this stretching is happening. It is a setting in the map controls. (where you select magnification, directions; at the top left of your map (probably)

    I'd just set mine to "On" rather than "Auto", so I started to notice a component of the control which is different from most other maps... the slider above the N/S/E/W ring. It's probably set just left of centre in your Basecamp.

    Slide it to the extreme left (as close to 90° as you can get) and see if that fixes your problem.

    There still seems to be some vertical compression, but I might be imagining this.