Garmin City Navigator NT China

Greetings All,

I have a copy of Garmin City Navigator v6 which I've not yet used in China (I used Garmin's World Map on my last visit).

Garmin also has the newest version for sale on their web site https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=30217# which was supposedly updated just before the Olympics this year.

I've read in more than one place on the web that this map has some sort of accuracy error that makes it basically useless. I've also read that it can be fixed by just adding a file or two to the folder where the map files reside.

I contacted Garmin directly and they told me they know there is a problem with this product but they don't have a fix. However, if I purchase it in China, it "should" work properly. I replied to them that I thought it was quite strange that they would have a product that worked in this manner. I asked for a clarification and if they would guarantee that the product purchased in China would work, but I never rec'd a reply.

So, is anyone out there already using the v6 or newer product? If so, any input?

Cheers,

Dan K.
Black Hawk, CO

Hi Dan,

I have some friends with various USA and China model Garmins. If you use the China map in your unit, expect it to be about 400 meters off your actual location. I'm not sure if fixing the offset is supported by Garmin.

You can try contacting:
Vincent Hoe
Sales Manager
V&T Information and Technology Co.,Ltd.
www.vttown.cn/shop <http://www.vttown.cn/shop>
Tel: (86 21) 63145873
Mobile: (86) - 139 1863 4967
Room 202, Unit27, Lane 1566 South Xizang Road,
Shanghai, China, 200011
email: vincent.hoe{at}vttown.cn

He's a really nice guy, speaks good english, and can probably give you the best advice on what you should do.

Cheers!
ChinaV

I bought my China city navigator 3 months ago from America.

Yes it is a bit off and slow to keep up compared to back home.

Alot of roads are missing but the main ones are there.I don't think they put alot of effort into Xinjiang.

But I sure use it alot and is a worthwhile investment.

I am told quite a few maps are not accurate up here in Xinjiang some are but you have to find them first.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bigdamo

I bought my China city navigator 3 months ago from America.

Yes it is a bit off and slow to keep up compared to back home.

Alot of roads are missing but the main ones are there.I don't think they put alot of effort into Xinjiang.

But I sure use it alot and is a worthwhile investment.

I am told quite a few maps are not accurate up here in Xinjiang some are but you have to find them first.

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Official Garmin maps of China have a offset, and the Garmin units have the same offset, so they match. The offset is government order, according to Garmin (perterkue found it out). The offset is approx 500m to real geographic coordinates and ChinaV knows the exact offset in degrees.
Peter also found out that the offset in his cn-Garmin is gone, when he disables a certain map (which obviously contains the shift info).

You can see this in GE or GM when you compare a track recorded by a cn Garmin, with the same track recorded by a non-cn Garmin. A track recorded with a cn Garmin displays accurate in ditu.google.com.:eek2:

Check out mapcenter or mapcenter2.cgpsmapper.com - there you can find many free maps of China, loadable into Garmin units. I have a pretty accurate China Basemap, a China Roadmap and a very detailed Beijing map.
No offset together with my non-cn Garmin.:icon10:

For some reason it is sometimes very accurate and then other times it is not so accurate but it certainly lets me know where I am and where to go.At the moment every body is telling me where to go :naughty:

I now have the right maps just no bike and license to use them.

I bought a Garmin Nuvi in China (English/Pinyin edition for China) with a China map inside of it......from a Best Buy Store in Shanghai.

It was out about 400m......made it totally useless in an urban setting and at one point routed me in a circle over and over..........BS customer service from Garmin so I took it back to Best Buy and got a refund. And what with all the road construction going on in Shanghai at the moment any map will be practically useless in a few months.

More bizarre Govt paranoia regarding mapping, GPS co-ordinates and foreigners. I guess no other Nations armed forces possesses the ability to crack the Chinese language character set and therefore could not buy and use a Chinese made GPS and map for nefarious activities.
There are weird rules regarding mapping and recording GPS plotting for foreigners.......seen a few stories on CCTV news regarding Japanese citizens getting the boot for doing such. It's always the Japanese.

Looks like the Garmin folk in the U.S. forwarded my queries to their offices in Taiwan. I rec'd an email from them saying that they could assist me and asking me which models of Garmin devices I have and their respective serial numbers.

I've going to send them the info for my Nuvi 500 and GPSMap 60csx and see if I can get them to guarantee the accuracy of the map before I lay down the cash.

I haven't decided which one I'll bring to China with me on this next trip. I'm leaning toward the 60csx as even though it has a smaller screen and is difficult to use with gloved hands, I find its simpler display easier to read at a glance while riding. The Nuvi is great, but the shaded relief and contour lines make the interface much busier.

I'll update this post after I hear back from them.

Cheers,

Dan K.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DanKearney

Looks like the Garmin folk in the U.S. forwarded my queries to their offices in Taiwan. I rec'd an email from them saying that they could assist me and asking me which models of Garmin devices I have and their respective serial numbers.

I've going to send them the info for my Nuvi 500 and GPSMap 60csx and see if I can get them to guarantee the accuracy of the map before I lay down the cash.

I haven't decided which one I'll bring to China with me on this next trip. I'm leaning toward the 60csx as even though it has a smaller screen and is difficult to use with gloved hands, I find its simpler display easier to read at a glance while riding. The Nuvi is great, but the shaded relief and contour lines make the interface much busier.

I'll update this post after I hear back from them.

Cheers,

Dan K.

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I have the 60csx the maps are not accurate.

If they have a fix for it I would be keen to find out the answer.

When I emailed them in the USA asking whether the maps covered Xinjiang they mentioned nothing about there maps being out and I think they knew by then.

I've just got back from a trip and got to use the maps in a big city and I've got to say there useless in a big city.It is alright(certainly not perfect) in my small city and out in the country.But yeah forget the big cities.:frump:

Hi Dan,

I got one of those Garmin Nuvi200w GPS here, seriously, unless you can read chinese. The chinese GPS maps are almost useless for you, because all of the signs on the street and on the GPS are in Chinese.

The way I do it, is to get someone who can read Chinese for you first and name the waypoint to english as a saved destination

I can set you up with the Chinese map on Garmin in about an hour. but not sure if it is going to work for you.

regards
Pennstlong

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pennstlong

Hi Dan,

I got one of those Garmin Nuvi200w GPS here, seriously, unless you can read chinese. The chinese GPS maps are almost useless for you, because all of the signs on the street and on the GPS are in Chinese.

The way I do it, is to get someone who can read Chinese for you first and name the waypoint to english as a saved destination

I can set you up with the Chinese map on Garmin in about an hour. but not sure if it is going to work for you.

regards
Pennstlong

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Thanks for the offer. The map that I've got uses PinYin to spell out the place names. I know that place names on signs will usually be in simplified characters, but that's not a problem.

I'm not using the GPS to plot routes, just to mark known points and give me a general sense of direction. Should be sufficient for that.

Cheers,

Dan K.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DanKearney

Thanks for the offer. The map that I've got uses PinYin to spell out the place names. I know that place names on signs will usually be in simplified characters, but that's not a problem.

I'm not using the GPS to plot routes, just to mark known points and give me a general sense of direction. Should be sufficient for that.

Cheers,

Dan K.

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That's what I use it for.It gives me a general idea where I am.