Mapsource Officially Discontinued

Wonder if this too will see that fate...

I'll have to fetch the mac version of Basecamp to play with.

That is dissapointing to me, since I like to use Map Source to create my own maps to send to my garmin. What is Basecamp? Does it work anything like Map Source?

http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/us/onthetrail/basecamp

The biggest difference I recall in Basecamp is its ability to read map image files direct from the device. It functions a lot like MapSource, but the interface is different and takes getting used to.

First the jcv file snafu with the new map update

Now Mapsource

Golly, if my nuvi 750, 855 and 295W weren't already discontinued models, I'd be waiting for that shoe to drop this month, too

Basecamp is something Garmin came up with to be a "universal" app for more than just their automotive units - and be cross-platform for computers as well - I fetched the Mac version off the Mac app store (it's free!) and played around with it for a bit - it does indeed pull the maps off the device first time you hook it up. The interface isn't much different than RoadTrip - but does give a 3D view on the maps. Cool.

MapSource is a very efficient program for routing. Now we're stuck with a bad port of a Mac program.

Why would you say that?

Thanks for the info and the link. I was just now looking at the Edge 800 cycling computer, and it uses BaseCamp too, so I guess BC is a one stop, fits all program.

As long as my current version of Mapsource continues to work, I really don't care.

Should it not load the new map updates etc., I will be one unhappy camper.

Simply, BC is a poor clone of a Mac program. It doesn't save files any more, but "Export" and "Import" them. Every time you want to start a new route, you've got to erase all the clutter left over from the prior route planning. It is slow, It doesn't display via points and Waypoints while hovering, so to select an intersection of a ramp and an interstate is plain guesswork. This is important to Zumo owners that use "shaping" via points to make our routes take specific roads without battling tie routing algorityms of the software. That's a special feature that Nuvi owners don't have.

With MS, I can select a route with the left mouse, select again to get a rubberband and zoom in and out to another map view and place a via or shaping point there to coax the route over to that road.

I can right-click on a location and MS will display all the POIs available at that spot or close by from which I can select the POI I want.

On a long ride, I can have specific Waypoints, not in a route, but along that ride, that get included in the gdb file and can be imported into the Zumo.Copying these into the "Collection" for that route is cumbersome and needs to be done one POI at a time.

Sure I can continue to use MS, but only until Garmin changes a critical design feature, such as their change to a new method for map unlocking.

If I'm not mistaken, Garmin has had this planned for some time. When was the last time you heard any mention of Mapsource from Garmin?

What is the last version?

6.16.3

For the Mac.

BaseCamp has more capabilities, and I find more each time I use it. If you are new to BaseCamp, go and explore the menus, what you can do with it. It has lots more than RoadTrip.

I like that I see the GPS in BaseCamp and modify it directly.

I find I am using BaseCamp for managing my GPS, not RoadTrip.

When version 6.16.3 as released on October 25, 2010

Once you get use to the interface differences it's a major upgrade from Mapsource as well.

An upgrade from MapSource? I don't think so. Start south of Winchester, VA and end north of Cherokee, NC and make a route in BC that stays on Skyline Dr and Blue Ridge Pkwy. It took me 10 minutes in MapSource.

How do I get Basecamp?

I sure do love my Mapsource. It gets harder to change from something I like as I get older.

Can I work on Basecamp without hooking my gps up to the computer?

Yes, you can work on BC without your device connected.

Download here:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/mappingsw.jsp

How many times have you heard Garmin mention Basecamp since the announcement of the release of 6.16.3?

Garmin must be up to something new!

Maybe Garmin is innovating.

I downloaded Basecamp last night. So used to Mapsource it will take some getting use to.

Did notice that when you clicked on a waypoint it took you to it and you didn't have to open it and tell it to go there. That is an improvement. A look at things to come??

Thanks for the information. Now just have to learn how to use it. The main think I used Mapsource was for routing. Guess I will have to read how to do that!!

If that is the case, why would they discontinue MapSource before they are finished innovating?

Just because Garmin is discontinuing it, can't we continue using it? Sure we can.

I am still using the 1999 version of MS Money because my wife is used to it & I have been threatened if I even suggest switching to something else.

I am still using JASC Paint Shop Pro 7. Both the company and the product are long gone, but I am used to it.

Just because a product is discontinued, doesn't mean we have to stop using it. It DOES mean that it is now WYSIWYG. No more updates, bug fixes or new features. If you can accept those conditions, keep using it as long as you can. We will have to wait & see if Garmin continues to offer map updates for our GPSs that will also install in MapSource. If they do, great. If they don't, there is nothing we can do about it.

The only possible problem is will the old program run on new OSs as we upgrade those. With compatibility mode, chances are they will. I am running both programs I mentioned above on a Windows 7 64-bit laptop and they run fine. They were both originally built around the time of Windows 98.

Keep using MapSource.

The name “Basecamp” has strong implication that the usage is for trail/hiking/camping type GPSr units. And indeed a CD with it came with my Garmin Etrex Legend. As I recall, it was said to be a reduced version of Mapsource but with features specific to off the road type units.

It would seem to me that if they were going to ditch one of the names, Mapsource would be the logical one to keep. Or if they were really innovative, they should have come up a new name suitable to both types of units (vehicle & trail).

Don't know how many times but certainly once, on June 30, 2011 when they released the latest version. Also when they created the spiffy webpages like the one at http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/us/onthetrail_retired042820...

I didn't realize Garmin had intended to stop working on MapSource. I know they have 3 mapping interface products...MapSource, BaseCamp and HomePort, but I thought each was aimed at a particular mapping segment.

I have used MapSource and am familiar with it, so I hope that Basecamp will be as good or better than MS.

The name BaseCamp does sound like it's for off-road only, but it does work fine for on-road too, just as good if not better than RoadTrip.

I installed Basecamp some time ago, alongside Mapsource. Haven't really played much with either of them. But even Falagar on Garmin mentioned that you can keep using Mapsource and that they plan on keeping it on Garmin.com for the forseeable future.

Still, I would seriously think about making the switch. As a safety net, do what I did and keep Mapsource installed even after installing Basecamp.

I just downloaded Basecamp and used it to measure a walk around the block. It worked very well for that application. Don't think I could do it in Mapsource so I am pleased with the 1 minute download.

I have not used Mapsource or Basecamp. Indeed, I had to be told how to get Mapsource downloaded to my computer just recently.

As I recall, Mapsource required PC Win98 or NT systems => implying that it did not work on a Mac. I just looked and Basecamp works on either a PC or a Mac. Maybe Garmin decided to concentrate on Basecamp as it supports both computing platforms.

Those of us with backgrounds in Information Technology might speculate that Mapsource was programmed in a language that is not now being used for new software. If so, then the correct decision is to either totally reprogram Mapsource to the current programming language or to drop support.

What has not been explored is whether or not Basecamp is a functional equivalent, at a minimum, or an improvement on Mapsource. Since I have used neither, I can not comment. Maybe someone else can and will.

The MAC version of Mapsource was called RoadTrip.

IMO, BaseCamp is more feature rich than Mapsource is but if your use to the Mapsource interface, BaseCamp does take a little "getting use to". All the Mapsource feature are there but not always in the same place or activated in the same way. Hard to explain until you use both side by side.

I tried to find a manual to go with BaseCamp but can't. Do you know where to find one?
I am so used to Mapsource but after looking at what I could figure out on Basecamp it looks to be a better program. If I am correct I would like to know how to use it and a manual would help.

Have you tried the Help item on the Menu bar at the top of Basecamp windows? That is set up pretty much like a manual.

Just go into it and play with it. Explore all the options in each menu. I was just cleaning out my tracks and other waypoints. It is so much easier to use than RoadTrip.

Or start out with the Help menu, it is sort of a manual.

I can't find a manual either but as others have said the Help section is pretty good.

i'll keep using mapsource for now.

Will use the help files.

I just downloaded basecamp. Everything seems clear enough, but I can't find a place to assign waypoints into categories. For example Lodging, Dining, etc.

I feel that it should be there, but I can't find it. Can anyone help please?

With the number of waypoints I have in various cities, this feature is pretty important for finding things quickly.

Have not used MapSource for quite a while now, ever since they updated the graphics engine to mimic the nuvi series' cartoonish graphics and slowed everything down to a crawl.

Downloaded Base Camp but it will not install stuck at 0% when extracting, any clues why?

Does your computer specs meet or exceed these requirments:

◦Windows XP Service Pack 3 or later is required.

◦.NET framework 3.5 SP1 is required. A current version of .NET will be installed if needed.

◦1 GB of system memory is required, 2 GB of system memory is recommended when using BirdsEye Imagery or Garmin Custom Maps.

◦A video card that supports OpenGL version 1.3 or later is needed to enable the 3D view.

XP Service Pack 3
Pentium 2 processor core 2.80GHz
System Memory 2.0GB
NVIDIA GeForceLE (a1440n)

Does your computer have NET framework 3.5 SP1?

If not, maybe something on your computer is blocking Basemap from installing it.

If it is not on your computer you could try downloading net framework directly from Microsoft. And then try installing Basecamp.

BTW Basecamp installed on my XP with no problems and it is not as powerful as yours.

If you use the symbols carefully, you can sort by symbol (or type), such as dining, lodging, etc.

So if you edit the waypoint, you can assign it a particular symbol for categorizing the waypoint.

Hope that answers the question.

Thanks Diesel, I appreciate your reply, but in Mapsource, the waypoint properties allow you to select one or more categories, from a choice of sixteen.

When the waypoints are transferred to my 885T, I can see the categories I created under favorites. SO rather than looking through a list of 50 favorites, I can select, for example, the dining category, and then see a short list of five restaurants.

Since Garmin offers the category feature on their GPS receivers, and they provided the ability to program them on Mapsource, it would seem odd that they would take that feature away from us.

I have the 2450 that has the category feature. If I assign the category in Mapsource it will show up in the gps??

I know where to assign the category in Mapsource but have never used it.

Thanks

Thanks for the alert.

I downloaded Basecamp yesterday & installed it. Once I figured out the UI it persormed everything I needed to do.

Fred