OFF ROAD NAVIGATOR - Displaying maps??? Help!

[JohnTT]

I installed OFF ROAD NAVIGATOR on my TomTom ONE V2 and I get the compass coming up with speed indication, distance etc. but I can't get any maps to display .

I mabe a bitmap OS test map 320 x 8 by 240 x 8 pixels and created a folder called OFFROAD\MAPS on the TomTom and put the map (called Torridon.bmp) in there along with the config file "config.map" as indicated on this site: http://www.webazar.org/tomtom/offroad.php?lang=uk

In the file "config.map" I pasted the following to correspond with the latitude and longitude top left botton right corners:

-5.58107 57.57912 -5.35955 57.49887 \mnt\sdcard\offroad\maps\Torridon.bmp

BUT - it doesn't work and I just get the compass etc. I wondered about the forward slashes (/) and tried back slashes (\) and tried with and without "mnt" amd "sdcard" in the path but to no avail. The longitude comes first strangely but as instructed - I've checked again that the numbers are correct.

Anybody got any ideas? The OffRoad software does seem very slow to load and a little quirky but should display the map automatically once the GPS co-ordinates are on the map.

I hope someone can help as I'd like to go trecking up a hill this week .

[mikealder]

What is you curent GPS position when you start the off road application on the device? - it needs to be within the box detailed by the co-ords you have in the config.map file then it will load and display the actual bmp file as a back drop to the display you have showing your present position (if the calibration points - the top left and bottom right corners are accurate) - it does take a while to load though, give it at least a minute but you need to be within the map area as defined by the conifig.map text - so check that for a simple typo while you are at it - Mike

[JohnTT]

Thanks Mike,

I got it to work eventually by reducing the bitmap size to the basic 320 x 240 pixels and not times 8 - even though it says it should work.

I realise now that there's no way to zoom in or out, so it might not have been a good idea to have a large map - depends if it displays all on the screen or just 320 x 240 pixels worth. No matter now.

If you do a detailed zoomed in map it makes it a bit difficult to plan a route on the fly! - you can't zoom out and you can't pan to adjacent maps! Not as good as Memorymap on a PDA! Still, better than nothing.

Two questions though:

What's the function of the apparent minimise button top left of the screen?

Is there a source of OS maps available? It's a real pain making them.

[mikealder]

If you want higher res maps that show more detail you need to zoom in closer before capturing the bmp file used for the map tile, the application you are using can support multiple map tiles just make sure sure they are all listed in the config.map file.

I have created map tiles in excess of thirty individual tiles and put them on my 910, yes it is dificult and time consuming but certainly possible.

If you want multiple scales available again this is possible put the higher definition map tiles closer to the top of the config.map text file, the application will then switch tiles accordingly and display the highest res map for your given position.

I would not mention using OS maps if I were you in this context as they are very tight in terms of copywrite, and I am not too sure where a user of Memory Map / OS mapping on the PC would stand legally if using maps in this way.

Never noticed the minimise button before to be honest so I cannot comment on its usage - might try it out though in the morning to find out if it does anything - Mike

[JohnTT]

Thanks Mike,

I mean OS "type" maps i.e. showing more terrain features rather than just road details.

If I understand you correcty, you mean the higher resolution maps display in priority by being at the top of the list. But - is there a way of manually controlling the display, to zoom out, or pan around, to see where you are, so to speak - even when you are zoomed in to a high resolution map? I suspect not - and you are doomed to a close up, until you physically roam off the high resolution map .

I think this is a fundamental problem. You can zoom out of TomTom maps all you like, until the image of Europe is visible. This is where Memory map on a PDA scores. I did think of replacing the TomTom zoomed out Europe map (which is a bitmap) with another map, just to have a way of viewing a selected terrain map - which you can pan around with! But of course there would be no GPS correlation and when you zoomed in the TomTo maps would superimpose.

[mikealder]

You need to consider what the TomTom was designed to actually do, that is to perform the function of a road based navigation device - which I am sure you agree it does very well.

The fact there was a software developer kit made available for programmers to create extra application that can run on the device was an added bonus. You will never get true walking style maps as per Memory Map on a TomTom unit, certainly not with the zoom features that a PDA can offer - it simply will not do this.

If you need the dual functionality of on/ off road I would seriously think about a decent PDA with integral GPS, then you can have full functionality of the Topo maps (off road) and TomTom for on road - Mike

[JohnTT]

I think you're right - a shame though, it's almost there - makes me feel like having a go but such things are life long labours part time. The TomTom is excellent as it stands for road use and as you say, being able to display off road maps is a bonus.

My friend has an HP PDA with TomTom software and GPS built in - and Memory Map - but it's a little bulkier. Impressive though and longer battery life!

[JohnTT]

To update this thread I've discovered that TomTom have implemented the necessary software onto the latest version to allow you to add your own map overlays. This is better than off road navigator.

Explained here: http://create.tomtom.com/manuals/create-your-own-content/

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