Basemap Upload/Download Tutorial for Magellan SporTrak Topo

By: Aaron Boggs
(http://www.aaronoutpost.com)

Difficulty: (2/5)

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Disclaimer
3. Downloading of Basemaps
4. Uploading of Basemaps

This can be used on similar Magellan GPS systems.

It is important that you backup your own basemap as others cannot provide them for you. Basemaps are copyrighted material of Magellan and Thales Navigation and may not be redistributed.

It is assumed that you have a working Magellan GPS in hand. This tutorial cannot fix a GPS that is already displaying the message "UNIT CURRENTLY CONTAINS NO MAP INITIATING MAP UPLOAD" unless you have a backup of the basemap.

This tutorial will show you how to backup the basemap and allow you to replace your Basemap if that message ever does occur which it has for me often. My Magellan crashes as much as a 5 year old in a bumper car rally.

This tutorial was compiled from the documentation of others. However, authors were not documented in original. If your contributed to this it is greatly appreciated.

Items Needed:

• SporTrak Topo
• Microsoft Windows
• Data Cable
• Fresh Batteries or Power Supply

Magellan is not associated with myself or AaronOutpost.com and cannot assist you with this documentation nor do they support it.

Please note: Basemaps are copyrighted material of Magellan and Thales Navigation and may not be redistributed. This is why it is important that you backup your own basemap as others cannot provide them for you.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

1. Connect the SporTrak Topo to the PC using data cable.
    
2. Turn the SporTrak Topo ON, make sure that the battery life indicator is over 75%
    
3. Turn off the NMEA output
    
   • Press Menu > Setup > NMEA > Off
      
4. Set the baudrate to the desired value. - You can use any baudrate but the PC must be at the same rate so be sure to document which baudrate the unit is on. It is suggest to start with a baudrate of 115200 bps and if errors occur then reduce the baudrate. Reducing the baudrate takes more time and battery life. The Map File is 108 MB and will take over 3 hour to send even at 115200.
    
   • Press Menu > Setup > Baudrate > 115200
      
5. Turn the Unit OFF

   
    

Setup of the PC

1. Start Notepad: Start > Programs > Accessories > NotePad
    
2. Create a text file using Notepad containing the following lines
   (Copying & Pasting this text into Notepad will do):
   
    

   gps.txt
   Line	Code
   1 2 3 4 5 6	$PMGNCMD,FIL,FIRST,*6B $PMGNCMD,FIL,NEXT*1A $PMGNCMD,FIL,NEXT*1A $PMGNCMD,FIL,NEXT*1A $PMGNCMD,FIL,NEXT*1A

   
   This file has already been created here:
   gps.txt
   
   Don't forget the carriage returns at the end of each command. The file contains the commands to let the SporTrak Topo show the available files in the unit. We will modify this code again later to actually download the files.
    

3. Start HyperTerminal: Start > Programs > Accessories > Communications > Hyperterminal.
    

4. Make a new connection (or open the saved connection from a previous session and go to step 9)
   
   
    

5. Connect Using: Direct to Com1 (or Com2, whatever Com port your SporTrak Topo is
   connected to). Click OK.
   
   
    
6. Port settings:
   Bits per second: equal to SporTrak Topo setting (115200)
   Data bits: 8
   Parity: None
   Stop bits: 1
   Flow control: None
   
   
   
    
7. Now click the Disconnect icon to stop the communication between HyperTerminal and the SporTrak Topo at this point, as we first need to check some other communication settings. Some of these settings may not be relevant at all, others are very relevant. Anyway, the settings below have proven to work and so are listed here.
   
   In HyperTerminal, click the Properties icon and choose the Setting Tab.
   • Keys act as: Windows-keys
   • backspace key sends: CTRL+H
   • Emulation: Autodetect
   • Telnet terminal: ANSII
   • Backscroll buffer lines: 500
     
     
     
      

   Next, Click ASCII Setup:

   • Check 'Send line ends with line feeds' (this one is very relevant!)
   • Check 'Echo typed characters locally'
   • Set both delays to 0 milliseconds
   • Check 'Append line feeds to incoming line ends'
   • Uncheck 'Force incoming data to 7-bit ASCII'
   • Check 'Wrap lines that exceed terminal width'
     

   Click OK twice to close the two dialog boxes
    

8. Now connect to the SporTrak Topo (click on the Call icon)
    
9. Go to Transfer > Send Text File, selecting the text file that was created in step 1 gps.txt.
   
   
    
10. The unit should now respond with a directory listing of the internal file system. You should see it mention two file names: FIRSTMAP.DAT & MEMORY.DAT
    
    FIRSTMAP.DAT Contains all of the TOPO data
    MEMORY.DAT Contains the road maps, water, locations, etc...
    
    The last sentence of the response of the unit should be $PMGNCMD,END*3D.
     
11. Now we will create a text file to start the download of FIRSTMAP.DAT
     

    FIRSTMAP.txt
    Line	Code
    1 2 3 4 5	$PMGNCMD,FIL,FIRST,*6B $PMGNCMD,FIL,NEXT*1A $PMGNCMD,FIL,NEXT*1A $PMGNCMD,FIL,DOWNLOAD,FIRSTMAP.DAT*5C

    
     

12. Go to Transfer > Send Text File, selecting the text file that was created in step 1 FIRSTMAP.txt.
    
    
    
    Once the text file has been sent, message should appear on the GPS that download has begun.
    
    IMPORTANT: If the backlight comes on the GPS, turn it off by holding down the power key. If the light is left on the entire time while downloading, the battery may go dead.
     
13. Go to Transfer > Receive File, and select the 1K Xmodem protocol.
     
     
14. After that, name the basemap file that you will be receiving (I recommend using the same suffix as Magellan uses for Magup: .IMG However below you will see that I used FIRSTMAP.DAT) FIRSTMAP.DAT is 108 MegaBytes and will take 2-3.5 hours to download.
    
    
    
     
15. The file transfer should start now, and progress can be monitored (with a baudrate of 115200, it takes about 2-3.5 hours) so go find something else to do. You should try to reduce the use of the computer as it could cause errors while sending and you will have to restart.
    
    
    
    
    That's it! When the download is finished you will have 108 MB basemap file

1. Go to Magellan's website and download the latest software for your gps.
   
   This was found at the following addresses:
   http://www.magellangps.com/en/support/software.asp
   
   http://www.magellangps.com/en/support/products/softwareupdates/SporTrak_TopoStd.asp
   
   If these no longer exist, check Magellan Support Pages for software updates.
    
2. Save the file to your desktop or in a convenient location where you can find it.
    
3. Once the file has downloaded Extract the files from the zip file.
    
   • If using Winzip, Right click on the file and click extract files.
      
   • If you don't have any zip program to extract the files you can just double click the file and enter it like a folder in all Windows ME+, XP+ versions.
     • Highlight the files and right click on one of the files.
     • Click Copy
     • Go to the folder in which you wish to copy the files to
     • Right click on the folder
     • Click Paste
        

Setup of the SporTrak Topo
 

1. Connect the SporTrak Topo to the PC.
   
    
2. Switch the SporTrak Topo ON to make sure that the battery life indicator is over 75%, modify the baudrate if you want to, and then switch OFF the SporTrak Topo.
   
    
3. Press NAV and MARK/GOTO simultaneously while switching ON the SporTrak Topo.
   
    
4. A small rectangle appears, put in the number 95 (using the cursor keys) and press ENTER. Select Yes and press ENTER. This will delete the basemap! The unit will also switch off automatically.
   
    
5. Once again press NAV and MARK/GOTO simultaneously while switching on the SporTrak Topo. In some cases, the unit will display the following message:
   
   UNIT CURRENTLY CONTAINS NO MAPS INITIATING MAP UPLOAD.
   
   That's OK, just leave it there.
   
   If it displays the small rectangle, put in the number 98, and press ENTER. This will trigger the basemap upload feature.
   
   Select basemap upload.
   
   
    

Setup of the PC
 

1. Start magup.exe
   
    
2. Answer NO to the next question (Proceed with software upload?)
   
   
    
3. Click on Expert
   
    
   • Select your gps unit, SporTrak Topo
   • Port most commonly COM1
   • Expert Upload ON
   • Click OK
     
      

    

4. File > Select Database File, and select the basemap file that you want to upload. FIRSTMAP.DAT or FIRSTMAP.IMG
   
   
   
    
5. Upload > OK > choose 'Base Map Only' > Check 'Upload File'
   
   
   
    
6. Now uploading will start. With 115200 bps, this will take approximately 2-3.5 hours. I have heard of it taking 1-2 hours for some users, it took me over 3 hours to transfer.