New Color TFT Display Transforms Tried And True Aviation GPS
Workhorse
By ANN Senior Contributing Editor Juan Jimenez
In the first two parts
of this review we talked about the specifications and features of
the Lowrance Airmap 2000c, and the major functions of the various
pages and displays that the unit is capable of presenting. In this
section, we will talk about the MapSource software that comes with
the product, as well as related features.
If you are not running a Windows operating system on your
computer (Windows 98 Second Edition or better), or if you don't
have the capability to emulate Windows down to the USB drivers, you
can stop reading at this point, and skip to the last few
paragraphs. All the software features of the 2000c run exclusively
on Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition or newer versions, and
Lowrance has no plans at this time to support other computers or
operating systems. In fact, if you don't have a Windows computer
you can't even download operating system or Jeppesen database
updates, because those are installed using Windows programs. You
will have to mail the SD/MMC card that comes with the unit to
Lowrance to have them install updates for you.
MapSource is the application that Lowrance sells, along with
databases of your choice, to manage maps, waypoint lists, routes
and other aspects of the mapping capabilities of the Airmap 2000c.
It is included in the purchase price of the 2000c. The application
comes on two CD's and installation is straightforward. The install
program also takes care of installing the drivers for the LEI USB
SD/MMC card reader -- also included with the package -- that
is used to access the contents of the unit's SD/MMC card. The
software is heavily copy-protected -- in order to run MapCreate you
must insert the original CD into the CD/DVD drive on your computer.
In addition, maps created with the software can only be downloaded
to and used on up to five "registered" memory cards.
The MapSource CD set that comes with the US version of the
AirMap 2000c contains the North America database, but you can order
it with another database if you wish, or order additional CD's with
the datasets for those areas of the world in which you are
interested. Once installed, you are shown a map of the area of the
world that the CD covers, and you can then zoom in or out, and
select ares of the map you wish to export to the memory card in
order to use them with the GPS. The data included in the CD covers
Puerto Rico, but not in anywhere as much detail as the Garmin
database, so I selected an area of the map in a square covering the
Lakeland (FL) area on the lower left corner, and the Orlando (FL)
area on the upper right hand corner. Unlike the Garmin map
databases, MapSource allows you to be quite specific, in a square
shape, when selecting the area of the map you wish to export.
When you have completed your selection, you have the option of
deciding what data in the map you wish to export. On the left side
of the map there is a hierarchy of map category options where you
can decide what data you want to include in the export file. The
level of selection is very detailed, allowing you to decide, for
example, that you don't want to see country/parish boundaries but
you do want to see underwater wreck sites because your plane has
floats.
MapSource also includes a comprehensive points of interest (POI)
database with three major categories -- lodging, restaurants, and
"all others." There are more than three dozen sub-levels in the
three POI categories, allowing you to, for
example, include all the bars, sporting goods stores and post
offices, but exclude Italian, Mexican and seafood restaurants.
(Give me a break, no groaning, I picked them at random from the
list... JJ) Even if you do download these into the card, you
can exclude them from the map rendering, by category or
sub-category. This is a neat feature! One function that it could
use is the ability to talk to a GPS connected to the computer and
track your position on the map, but then again that's why you have
the GPS.
The LEI USB reader works just like another removable drive
(floppy, CD-RW, etc.) but you must not let Windows install its
default drivers, otherwise it won't be able to talk to the cards
used with the 2000c. Install the MapSource software and LEI drivers
first, then plug in the card reader into any available USB port.
Windows will then automatically select and enable the correct
drivers.
One thing we tried to do with the unit was update its internal
software. The unit we were sent had version 1.1.0, and we needed to
bring it up to 1.3.0 for the review. The download and installation
of the update was straightforward, and everything went smoothly up
to the point where the actual update was to take place.
We copied the files to the SD/MMC card and inserted it into the
unit. As expected, when we turned it on a blank screen with the
words "Loading Software..." appeared, with the outline of a
rectangle below it. The rectangle slowly filled up from left to
right, and then... nothing. The unit froze. We removed external
power as well as batteries, and all we could do was make it update
again, and freeze. Lowrance technical support did not know why that
was happening, but we did figure out, by removing the card and
restarting, that the update had been installed. It appeared that
the problem was in deleting the now unnecessary update files from
the card.
So, the card went back into the LEI reader, whereupon I found
out how easy it is to make a mistake and delete the wrong file from
the card. I had to delete the update files, but accidentally
deleted the wrong file, and found out the hard way there is no
Windows "Recycle Bin" associated with the card or the reader. When
it's deleted, it's gone, period. Good thing it wasn't a critical
file, but it could very well have been the Jeppessen database,
which would have meant having to purchase a database update. Word
to the wise: back up the contents of your card as soon as you have
the card reader up and running.
In conclusion, this reviewer believes that the Airmap 2000c is a
solid unit when it comes to the hardware and the design of the
controls. The accessories are of good quality and provide a
complete set of everything you will need to make the best use of
the unit. However, this product is severely hobbled by software
issues that can make the unit unusable under a number of
circumstances, as well as Quality Assurance issues that are, in my
opinion, inexcusable.
For these reasons, ANN feels that this unit deserves two and a
half stars in the ANN Review Scale of 1 to 5 stars. It is our
belief that the Airmap 2000c can be improved and garner a much
higher rating, but that won't happen until the problems and issues
we found are corrected. When that happens, we would be more than
happy to provide our readers with an update.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.15.24)
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