Quote:
ORIGINAL: Bigg~BirddVA
A FYI........... some hacker has broken the Garmin encryption. There is a key generator out that unlocks all Garmin maps for all Garmin units. Not sure how Garmin can counter it but I would imagine their maping products have taken a hit over it. You used to get 2 unlock codes with a Garmin map product but they changed it to one now. Stinks if you have 2 units you have to pay double. The Garmin maps and routing are nice if you drive to specific addresses every day. My GPS doesn't use the NT version out now.
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wow, I havent heard of anyone breaking into the unlock codes, although I can believe it(and IMO, more power to them), unlock codes are onlyrequired with the city navigator type maps and tie one map to one gpsr(even if you erase the map you can still download it again to the gpsr its registered to, and its transferable from one owner to another), topo's, parks & recs's, inland lakesand such dont require an unlock code, I believe some of the older street maps dont require one either, neither do the pre-programmed micro sd cards(if you have a gpsr that takes them)
I can see garmins want tolimit their more elaborate maps from speading around(by using unlock codes) butIMO the unlock code idea is getting a little too "money hungry" and its more of a problem for the actual consumer/user than its worth, for handhelds I have a garmin summit hc and a vista hcx(which takes micro sd cards is auto route capable, the summit hc doesnt, and isnt) and if you dont have a gpsr capable of auto routing then IMO buying those maps with unlock codes is pointless anyway, your better off sticking tothe self generated(and usually free)street maps that people create and put out(like the ones in the links above)
besides dealing with the unlock codes copying/recreating the actual garmin mapsactuallyisnt as impossible at it would seem, in fact if you follow the gpsr world much you read here and there of people doing it, usually its some kind of computer engineer/geek capable of decifering the mapping "language" and rewriting/recompiling it into a garmin copy... quite a job to dofrom what I understand,which is probably why not many people attempt it(or have the ability and computer resources to attempt it), and its way, WAY beyond my computer skills... in fact most of it is way beyond my understanding...
through various mapping programs custommade maps are entirely possible for the average person to make though, and I've been studing the proceedure, but even that is a looong drawn out(and tedious)proceedure and quite a mind numbing job in itself,I'm more interestedin makingsome more highly detailed maps ofthe areas I hunt than anything butI just cant find the time to devote to sitting down, putting it all together and creating a map...
maybe this winter when/if I get laid off...
GPSr users
