live gps?

pardon my ignorance, but is it possible to read live gps data into basecamp? this would be fairly handy.

what i actually want to do is have the garmin gpsmap62s pot direcltly into Mapinfo GIS but i would need to spend abut $3000 to update to the most recent edition which runs an add-in that will now read garmin usb protocol..man they really know how to screw ya dont they!

anyway, i thought there might be a way around this using basecamp

Craig

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Is there any chance this could be added? The other options don't really work.

+1 please

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

[edited to repair incorrect link]

Live GPS was removed from Mapsource years ago and moved into a seperate program called nRoute. It is still available. Anyone who is familiar with Mapsource will learn how to use nRoute very quickly. It's not supported by Garmin anymore but it works very well. If anyone needs support with it, or with Garmin's Mobile PC, you can drop in to Laptop GPS World.

I don't recommend putting the navigation functions back in either Mapsource or Basecamp. There are already enough things happening in both programs without the developers having to learn how to do realtime navigation and try to figure out how to do a sensible interface that is both suitable for easy use of the nav features AND also fits well with the existing interface structure.

If you want to see the sort of mess that results when you try to marry a map management and trip planning program with a realtime navigation program, just take a look at DeLorme's Street Atlas or Microsoft's Streets&Trips. They are both very powerful programs. But the marriage of the two sets of features is not a happy one.

Both of those programs have stronger trip planning features than either Basecamp of Mapsource but many of the other map/route/track management features are minimal by comparison or completely missing.

My preference would be for Garmin to dust off Mobile PC and fix all the bugs that have gone uncorrected since the first version plus the ones they introduced in the last release. If they just did that, they would have the most powerful laptop/netbook/tablet/UMPC navigation program on the market. It almost was.

Instead, they completely botched the last release and then abandoned it. Something they are becoming notorious for. This is not a company you want straying from their basic strengths. Leave the Basecamp developers to do what they know how to do and encourage them to do more of it. Don't distract them into adding nav functions.

...ken...

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

There are already enough things happening in both programs without the developers having to learn how to do realtime navigation and try to figure out how to do a sensible interface that is both suitable for easy use of the nav features AND also fits well with the existing interface structure.

I'm not sure what you think it needs to do other than move the map and the software already can do that from moving a mouse. I'm sure they could handle that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, you made yours clear.

I do agree with you on not bothering with MapSource in any case, but would further add that it could go the way of nRoute as far as I'm concerned.

Don't distract them into adding nav functions.

Please read the second bullet item:

Welcome!

You are in the forum for discussions regarding Garmin’s BaseCamp desktop application for Windows.

What should I post here?
Questions about how to use BaseCamp for Windows.
Suggestions for features you would like to see in BaseCamp for Windows.
Feedback about things in BaseCamp for Windows that don’t work the way you think they should

.

Source: https://forums.garmin.com/showpost.php?p=21710&postcount=1
This isn't the nRoute or Mobile PC forum.

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

I'm not sure what you think it needs to do other than move the map and the software already can do that from moving a mouse. I'm sure they could handle that.

I'm an IT professional with over thirty years experience so I know what it needs to do (a whole lot more than simply move the map around on the screen) and how complex it would be to do it.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Basecamp developers, individually and collectively, have the necessary programming skills to "handle it". But they are already miles behind just trying to get to the wishlist items that deal with the existing function of a program they are already familiar with. I really hate to think of the delays that would be caused by designing, coding and testing a complex set of completely unrelated functions.

I would much rather see Garmin take a good navigation program they already have and continue its development, using the resources that are already familiar with that program (the Mobile PC and Mobile XT developers).

Stop and think for just a moment why they chose to strip the nav functions out of Mapsource a few years ago.

...ken...

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Can nRoute work with the latest NT type maps? I too would like to have live tracking of my Garmin maps on the computer but am having trouble getting nRoute running so if I know it is supposed to be able to run with the latest maps then I can concentrate on looking at other causes of the problem. Have also asked on the LaptopGPSworld forum here. Thanks - Tony.

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

It's already mentioned earlier in this threat, you need to reverse convert your maps to the old registry structure.

Request MapReverseConvertor

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Thanks - but no thanks...."With every update of nüMaps Lifetime you will need to run MapReverseConverter again."

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Then don't update every 3 months :)

And if you have tried the process you know that it's a short process. And you can also use MapSource 6.13.7 still the fastest MapSource ever.

Converted maps are not only usable in nRoute, but also in the newest MapSource and/or BaseCamp (for as long as BaseCamp supports registry maps).

And manage your maps with JaVaWa GMTK to move them around multiple PC's. Piece of cake.

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Thanks - but no thanks...."With every update of nüMaps Lifetime you will need to run MapReverseConverter again."

Seriously? It takes like a fraction of a second to launch MapReverseConverter. It will automatically find the latest update and offer that as the default. So you click Okay to get it going and carry on with your Twitter or whatever for a couple of minutes. When it's done, everything is in place for nRoute to use the maps.

So, a couple of mouse clicks once every three months or so. Hardly seems a burden.

Sometimes you have to invest just a teensy bit of effort to get the good stuff. ;)

...ken...

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Gee thanks - keep your twit insults to yourself. I was assuming that MapSource would have to also be changed back to an earlier version after every lifetime update so will study the helpful comments on the other forum.

What Garmin can glean from such forums is that there is a demand for live navigation on a computer which at the moment is limited to a small percentage of their customers. I for one would gladly pay for an application better than nRoute instead of these workarounds.