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Joined: Jan 28, 2006 Posts: 33 Location: Nottinghamshire, UK
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 1:28 pm Post subject: Maximum qct file size on an Axim x51v?
I have been trying to transfer (via a card reader) the 1:50k Area 4 Midlands & East England map onto my Axim. If I transfer the visible portion of the map onto the PPC, the Memory Map software loads it with no problem. If I transfer the whole map it gives me the message 'Could not open file:\CF Card\....*.qct'. The size of the complete map is 352Mb. I also have tried the full map of area 7-NW England and this loads with no problem (321Mb). Is this problem a file size issue with the PPC part of the Memory Map software or is there something else I could try.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:59 pm Post subject:
Use the "Send visible map portion", this will reduce the file size, you might want to load the area in two or three chunks, once on the PDA you can select which bit you want.
I get exactly the same problem with the OSvs5 region 4 map which is over 600MB, it will go on the device but the device will not open it!
Zoom in/ out to the area you wish to export to the PDA/ card reader (card reader is much faster ) - Mike
Joined: Feb 23, 2005 Posts: 376 Location: Catford, London, UK
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 12:23 am Post subject:
Hi SvenP,
The problem is not Memory Map as such, but that any PPC cannot handle very large files without hitting a "time-out". Memory Map Tech. Support recommend a maximum of 400MByte map files, but they also recommend using the fastest memory cards.
Personally, I use ordinary (i.e. the cheapest) cards and recommend a maximum of 300MBytes, because there is another problem: Maps around 325MB (in my case) may open initially, but fail to load if another map is already displayed.
The problem with the "Send visible map.." method is that it's difficult to create much more than a 100MB file unless you have a very high resolution screen. That is why in v5, you can create a closed route around any required map area, then right-click on the route and send the enclosed region to the PDA.
Note that with all these transfer methods you can send the file directly to the card reader, or any folder on the c: drive, which is much quicker than Active Sync. Don't forget to also transfer the .QED files, if you want elevtion data on the PPC.
Joined: Nov 15, 2005 Posts: 26 Location: Hampshire
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 3:56 pm Post subject:
This is actually a Memory-Map issue, as the Pocket Navigator software has been written to only open Map Files of a maximum of 400MB.
This is not Memory-Map being awkward however, it is to save the PPC resources, as larger files will need much more processing power, and as such will pull the resources from other things such as On Board GPS, or even the BlueTooth stack.
Thanks
Mortiki _________________ Garmin Etrex H
Memory-Map V5 5.2.7
Joined: Feb 23, 2005 Posts: 376 Location: Catford, London, UK
Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:52 am Post subject:
Hi Sven,
So what memory card gave you the problems with the maps that wouldn't open?
It definitely seems to be an access time issue (card or PPC hardware?) because I have started using a (faster) 2GB SD card in place of 512MB and 1GB cards (all Toshiba, aka Viking/Kingston brand). Now, map files (c.325 MB) which refused to open in MM are OK.
As my Mio also has a Compact Flash slot, I tried putting maps on a 1GB CF card, but it wasn't any better than the original SDs. I can't say if the "timeout" that occurs is fundamental to the Windows PPC Operating System, or whether it's the way that Memory Map sets-up or interprets system "errors".
Joined: Jan 28, 2006 Posts: 33 Location: Nottinghamshire, UK
Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:10 pm Post subject:
Alan,
I am using a Dane-Elec 4Gb and an Integral 2Gb card.
I put the map on the SD card tonight and it loaded without protest. I thought you had solved my problem :-) To test the card speed theory, I put the map on my CF card as well. Now, neither map will load, even when I delete the CF version. Curious....
You previously suggested that my PPC may not be fast enough. I tried overclocking to 728MHz to see if that would work. I'm not sure you can get a faster clock speed on a PPC but it still wouldn't load the map.
Joined: Feb 23, 2005 Posts: 376 Location: Catford, London, UK
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 5:41 pm Post subject:
Hi Steve,
No, I don't think it's the speed of the processor that's the limitation, but the interface hardware to the memory card(s), or the cards themselves. Rather as the speed of the CPU in a desktop PC is unlikely to alter the basic rate that data comes off its 7200rpm Hard Drive.
As my Mio is a USB Host, I've tried putting various sizes of MM file on a USB Hard Drive and seeing what will open (intentionally using only a USB1 hub to limit the data speed). To my surprise it's been opening files of just over 400MB (but not 425MB) and even switching between maps of this size.
However, a few moments later it may fail to open a file that worked previously, so it's obviously not just a simple threshold. Sometimes, changing to a small map then allows a larger map to load again. But normally, I just restart MM (Menu : Exit) which takes only a few seconds (although it does take about 30 seconds to search my external 12GB HDD partitions for maps).
Since I have 3GB of mapping and 10+GB of aerial maps to chop into manageable areas for the PPC, I still think I'm going to aim for 300MB files, rather than risk having to redo any that won't open. Incidentally, if you're experimenting with map files on various cards, you can double-click each .QCT file in the card reader, which opens MM. Then use : Map : Edit Map properties... to add something useful like "2G-SD/FAT16" to the map name, which then appears in the Map List on the PPC.
This also has a lot to do with buffering very large files and the memory needed to do this. The larger the file you open, the more buffereing used and the faster your memory is used up.
Joined: Dec 28, 2005 Posts: 2003 Location: Antrobus, Cheshire
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject:
Sorry to bump an old topic but I have the following observations.
I have an AXIM X51v (WM5 on A12 firmware). I use MM5 but only with 1:25K files - which are relatively small and well contained. However I do have TT6 also - the main file for that is in excess of 500Mb and it has no issues opening and manipulating that. These are on a Dane-elec SD card 2Gb - nothing fancy at all.
It would point to an issue with the way that MM read data from the file. MM uses a 'bitmap' file where as TT uses vector graphics - so the amount of data read at any time is potentially a lot lower for TT.
I could just about imagine that early SD cards were causing a bottleneck but most SD cards today will have read capabilities in excess of the PDAs they are in. Don't forget the speed quoted for "high-speed" cards refers (generally) to the write speed of the device for applications such as digital photography where high speed transfers are required.
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