DataSend Americas, ver. 1.0 contains numerous Points of Interest (POI's) that can be uploaded to the Magellan 315, 315A and 320 GPS receivers. The program contained on the CD provides a simple interface that can be used to select a region and types of POIs for upload to the receiver.
The installation was uneventful and does not require much input from the user, except for the decision of whether or not the data files should be transferred onto the hard drive. If the program is fully installed on the hard drive, it does not require the CD in order to run. Also, the execution is much faster so it is the preferred option.
Note that the program utilizes large databases, so redrawing can bring my P200MMX 64M to its knees. The speed is not the strong side of the program. The data upload to the GPS receiver can be done only at 4800 Baud. It results in a 20 minutes process, if one wants to fill the 19820 POI memory of the GPS 315. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be done too often.
Beside the POIs, the CD contains also files to restore the original set of POIs in the GPS 315 and various versions of the GPS 320. Since the hardware and the firmware is the same for the 315 / 320 family of receivers, a 315 can be “restored”, for example, as a 320 Asia & Australia.
The program interface is very straightforward. A basic map of the world with political boundaries is displayed as the background. That map can be enhanced to some degree by color shading and some additional detail (shoreline, state / province borders / major highways) that can be displayed for US, Canada and Mexico. The major, large and medium cities from around the world can also be displayed in the background.
The map can be zoomed in to any particular area, but there is no additional detail displayed in the background. An area (one only) for upload is selected by marking it with a rectangle. POIs are divided into various types. Up to 10 types can be selected for upload and any POIs from the selected types and located within the marked area will be uploaded. The POI selection window indicates the number of POIs from each selected type that fall within the selected area. Total number of POIs selected as well as the balance of the receiver’s memory is also indicated.
The POIs can be displayed on the map with or without icons and names.
If the displayed POI’s are pointed to, full info can be displayed.
It is the same info that will end up being uploaded and can be displayed by the GPS 315 or 320, but exploring it on the computer is easier than in the receiver. Potential explorers should be careful. It appears that each time the POI type selection is changed, the program must redraw all the types for the whole displayed map. Therefore with a large area shown, selecting 9 – 10 types containing numerous POIs, and displaying all the background detail, POI names and icons is nothing to be toyed with, unless one has a supercomputer.
(Each of the dots in the above screenshot represents a city or town.)
Also, in many areas the POIs are located very densely, so the individual names and icons start to overlap and are unreadable. For simple exploring, selecting only one type at a time may be the best solution.
To select the POIs for the upload, the most practical method we found is:
Hopefully the interface will be improved and an upgrade will be made available from the Magellan website.
Still, the most important part of the DataSend is the collection of POI’s databases.
The tables below contain the basic breakdown of POIs by type and indicate the number within each type. The comments are the copies of the text from files associated with each type.
City
POIs with world coverage.
|
POI Type |
Number |
Comments |
|
Major Cities |
517 |
Contains capitals and major cities with population greater than 500,000. |
|
Large Cities |
1,178 |
Contains large cities and town districts with population between 100,000 and 500,000. |
|
Medium Cities |
9,898 |
Contains medium cities and town districts with population between 20,000 and 100,000. |
|
Small Cities |
140,813 |
Contains small cities and town districts with population less than 20,000. |
London area (Europe)
Malmoe area (Europe)
Brisbane area (Australia)
Marine POIs with world coverage.
|
Fixed NavAids |
55,070 |
Contains fixed navigational aids, which are fixed points composed of towers and lighted/unlighted beacons used for
navigation. |
|
Lighthouses |
17,923 |
Contains lighthouses, which are fixed points on land and
are usually lighted. Many appear on the familiar paper charts used by
mariners. |
|
Floating NavAids |
24,980 |
Contains float navigational aids, which are buoys that are
usually numbered at the entrance of harbors. Many times they are lighted and
colored and flash at particular intervals. |
(Fixed and floating NavAids around the world. Again, the individual ones are indistinguishable at this scale)
Marine POIs with North America coverage.
|
Wrecks and Obstructions |
9,381 |
Contains visible, submerged, dangerous to surface and
non-dangerous wrecks. Also contains both covered and uncovered marine
obstructions. Also contains the location of rocks awash and uncovered at low
tide. Also contains marine depth sounding information. Wrecks
and Obstruction data is provided by the National Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). This data is
provided for the North American regions only. |
POIs with USA and CANADA coverage.
|
Marinas and Harbors |
5,421 |
Contains marinas and harbors. |
|
Dive and Snorkeling |
827 |
Contains scuba shops, diving tours and rentals. |
|
Boats and Canoes |
4,891 |
Contains boat launches, boat rentals and boat charters. |
|
Airports |
6,571 |
For the US, contains public airports. Also contains
hospital landing pads, seaplane bases and heliports. For Canada, contains public, certified and registered
airports. |
|
Gardens |
177 |
Contains arboretums, atriums and botanical gardens. |
|
Zoos and Aquariums |
284 |
Contains zoos and aquariums. |
|
Museums and Historical |
8,698 |
Contains historical sites and museums. |
|
Resorts and Casinos |
10,091 |
Contains resorts and casinos. |
|
Parks |
13,421 |
Contains parks and playgrounds. |
|
Golf Courses |
15,073 |
Contains country clubs, private and public golf courses, and golf practice ranges. |
|
Campgrounds |
15,385 |
Contains Federal, State and local campgrounds. |
|
Recreation |
34,851 |
Contains amusement parks, bowling, miniature golf,
carnivals, bicycle tours, skiing and horseback riding. |
|
Aerials activities |
1,021 |
Contains sky diving, ballooning, hang gliding and
helicopter charter locations. |
|
Firearms and Archery |
1,154 |
Contains rifle, pistol and archery ranges. Also contains game farms, gun clubs and gun safety locations. |
|
Sight Seeing |
1,205 |
Contains nature centers, sight seeing tours, whale
watching tours and wildlife conservations. |
|
Sport Arenas |
1,559 |
Contains sports arenas, athletic fields, horse racing and auditoriums. |
|
Wineries |
1,893 |
Contains wineries. |
|
Tourist Attractions |
2,802 |
Contains tourist attractions and guide services. |
|
Hunting and Fishing |
5,001 |
Contains hunting and fishing guide clubs and
reserves. Also contains private and public lakes and ponds. |
POIs with USA coverage.
|
Truck Services |
6,828 |
Contains truck fuels and services at highway exits. |
|
ATMs |
8,951 |
Contains automated teller machines (ATM's) at highway
exits. |
|
Hotels and Lodges |
12,292 |
Contains hotels and lodges at highway exits. |
|
Auto Repair and Services |
12,322 |
Contains auto repairs and services at highway exits. |
|
Gas Stations |
13,442 |
Contains auto diesels and fuels at highway exits. |
|
Highway Exit Ramps |
15,688 |
Contains highway exits and ramps. |
|
Restaurants |
37,910 |
Contains fast food, restaurants, specialty foods and
donuts at highway exits. |
|
Parks – Exit Ramps |
1,111 |
Contains State parks, beaches and lakes at highway exits. |
|
Medical Facilities |
2,418 |
Contains hospitals and other emergency facilities at highway exits. |
|
RV Camps and Services |
3,777 |
Contains RV campgrounds and services at highway exits. |
If you are looking for DataSend covering other areas, below is what Magellan's response to
Tan
Puay Sun's query about it.
Quote
>The information on our website needs to be
updated. As of right now, we
have the following software available for the
GPS 315 and 320:
>
>- DataSend North America - includes worldwide
cities and navaids, and
North American data categories such as campgrounds,
airports, and
recreation. Coverage is best for the United States, since that
is where
the most geocoded data is available.
>
>- DataSend
Aviation - includes the Jeppesen worldwide aviation database,
plus worldwide
cities and navaids and American recreation data. DataSend
Aviation is
bundled with the GPS 315A (not sold separately at this time).
>
>-
DataSend Europe - includes worldwide cities and navaids, and Western
European
data categories such as airports, petrol stations and recreation.
Coverage is
best for Britain, France, Germany, and nearby countries. Does
not include
any recreation data for eastern Europe or Portugal.
>
>Please note:
We do not have a DataSend International per se, at this time,
since we do not
have worldwide coverage on any recreation data categories.
>
>If you
are interested in Southeast Asia, for example, DataSend North
America could
potentially be used for worldwide cities, fixed and floating
navaids, and
lighthouses; however, the recreation data will not cover your
area at all and
customers might find it frustrating (unless they are
planning a trip to the
States).
>
>We are actively pursuing more data for Asia, Australia,
and other key
regions where our data coverage needs improvement. If you know
of any
vendors with geocoded point data, we would be very happy to contact
them
and investigate. We will update you as soon as we get
additional
information. Thank you very
much,
>
>Sincerely,
>MAGELLAN CORP.
End quote.
Related links:
This website:
Magellan’s website: