DiscoverAus Streets
and Tracks

Tips and Tricks

With the release of DiscoverAus Streets and Tracks there have been a large number
 of questions about how to get the most out of large >64MB, SD Card. Here are some
 of the answers.

If you have Windows 95, 98 or ME please download the update from:
www.nextdestination.com.au/downloads/#Software1 before proceeding.

Background:

DiscoverAus Streets and Tracks allows you to add significantly more detailed maps
to your Magellan GPS, Meridian, Sportrak (Map and Pro), Magellan 330 and the eXplorist 4/5/600's.
The main difference between the above models, is that the Meridians use SD
Memory cards to store these detailed map(s), where as the other models rely on
internal memory to hold the map(s). The technique for creating the map(s) is the
same across all models. The only thing that differs is the downloading process. So
for owners of the 330 or Sportrak you can skip the discussion on SD cards.

Creating a maps for download:

At this point I am assuming that you have successfully installed DiscoverAus Streets
and Tracks onto your computer. For the examples below I have also assumed that
you have installed it in its default folder of C:\Program Files\Magellan\DiscoverAus\

To create a map or region to downloaded to your gps, first off select the area of
the map you are interested in by clicking on the Draw New Region button:

The, select the area of the map you want by clicking and dragging across the map
to form a rectangle. Note when you release the left mouse button you will get and
estimate of the region size, 13MB in the example below.

Right click and give the region a name:

The region will then appear in a column on the RHS. Repeat for up to 4 regions.

Loading the map:

Select the region for downloading by clicking on the small square immediately
to the left of the region name:

Start the upload wizard by choosing Regions -> Upload to GPS...
or by pressing CTRL-U

You now have three choices, which is where the fun begins.

Upload to GPS Unit:

If you have your GPS connected to your PC via a serial cable, you can directly
load the selected region(s) into the GPS. If you select this option, your regions will
be combined into a single file and loaded into your GPS. If you have a SporTrak or
330 this will overwrite the map already in the GPS unit. If you have a Meridian, a
file called detail00.img will be created on the SD card. If you repeat this process,
the file detail00.img will be overwritten.

Upload to SD Card Programmer:

This option is only useful for Meridian models.
If you select this option, your region(s) will be combined into a single file called
detail00.img which will be created on the SD card. By using Windows File Explorer
you can rename this file to anything you like and repeat the process. Make sure you
call your file something.IMG, the .IMG is important! So you could end up with
QLD.IMG, NSW.IMG etc on your SD card.

Store on Hard Drive:

This option is probably the most flexible. It will create a single file for each region
that you have selected in the C:\Program Files\Magellan\DiscoverAus\Export\Images
folder. The file will be called regionname.IMG eg CapeYork.IMG in the example
above. From here you can then copy using Windows File Explorer your .IMG files
to your SD card.

NOTE:
You will need to enter the serial number of your GPS as part of the download
process. Each copy of DiscoverAus is limited to two GPS units only. The serial
number is the one displayed in the Menu->About screen. NOT the one in the
battery compartment.

The download process may take several hours depending on the number and size of
regions you have selected and the speed of your PC. You can speed up the process
by using an SD card reader/writer if possible. I have found it faster to select one
region at a time rather than processing say all 9 regions.

Using your newly created map(s) on your GPS:

On Meridian models, you can select different maps to be displayed by selecting
Menu
    Card Utilities & press enter
        Change Map & press enter
            select Detail Map & press enter
                select the map your require & press enter
                    select SAVE & press enter

On the 330, SporTrak and eXplorist 4/5/600 series the options are slightly different.

Notes:

When you create a map for downloading into your GPS or onto your SD card, there
is a limit to the size and number of regions. Each region is limited to 16MB
(16384 bytes) and there can be a maximum of 4 regions which can be combined
into a single download. There is a way of increasing the region size but it is strongly
not recommend. It has been observed that regions of more than 16MB can cause maps
to be drawn incorrectly, to be drawn significantly slower and searching takes a
very long time. Its is NOT recommended or supported!

To use more than 64MB of your SD card (4*16MB) you must have access to an SD
reader writer so that you can rename your .IMG file after the download step.

Sample Layout 1:

So what have I done to get all of Australia onto one 256MB SD card? I have created
19 regions, approx 3 per state. Each region is less than 16MB:

For each state, I selected only those regions appropriate to that state, eg for NSW
I selected NSW, NSWCENT, NSWNTH and NSWSTH and loaded those onto my SD card.
This created a single file called DETAIL00.IMG. I then renamed this to NSW.IMG.
I repeated the process for all the other states and ended up with NSW.IMG (4 regions),
 QLD.IMG (4 regions). NT.ING (1 regions), WA.IMG (3 regions), SA.IMG (2 regions),
VIC.IMG (3 regions) and TAS.IMG (2 regions). So when travelling I now just simply
select the State that we are in.

Note: Some people have reported slow response from their GPS, eg updating their position
on the map. If this occurs, use single regions/files on the SD card of less than 16MB each
rather than combining region(s) into one file. Also use the regions files from Sample Layout 2

Sample Layout 2: - click here