Hi Stainless,
How large is the map in KM?
The current RM release will generate maps up to about 15km square, with 10km being more confortable. We don't limit the size because if a user has enough memory (and time) it is possible to create larger.
The next release (due in a month or two) does have significant performance improvements in many areas - we have some testers generating 15km maps with 400+ tracks in well under 10 minutes.

For now, your best bet is to split your map and either generate separate AT5 maps or combine vectors in a single User Map and export that as a single AT5. Note that if you place multiple AT5 maps on your SD card, they will all be displayed as appropriate. You would need to change the generated filenames as the maps are produced so that they do not clash.

Generating multiple maps with raster background colours is a little more complicated but it can be done. You would need to export the raster background image files from RM and combine them in the IMC so that a single background is created. You could do this once, and then export your contours separately (assuming you are not using transparency). Let me know if you want more details.

Looking at the map you have posted, I would suggest just creating two smaller maps over the areas where you have significant data.

Matt

Hi,

I've been working on a monster map myself, I'm not very good with kilometers but it's roughly 25x12 miles - although there's only one coast line (top to bottom including bends it covers about 28 miles). I've pimped out an Alienware M15x laptop to 16GB ram just for the job in hand and it takes approximately 25 minutes to generate with smoothing set at 3 and grid contours at 1m. There's still a lot of blank space but the time hasn't seemed to increas by more than a few seconds with each new set of data I've added. However reducing the smoothing to 1 and grid contour to 5 it takes approx 8 minutes to generate. When I was doing the same process with 4GB ram it would take closer to an hour.

I started off doing seperate projects and combining them on a map but when I'm adding to the map 2-3 times a week it made it a little too much like work so I settled on throwing as much ram as I could at it and seeing just what Reefmaster could do, I've been writing software for 20+ years and I'm massively impressed at just how well Reefmaster works.

Cheers,
Paul

I would say the area is roughly 25KM square.
I guess it is too large.
I will try to create 2 smaller maps.
What do you mean by "displayed as appropriate."
Will it change automaticly based on GPS coordinates?

Thanks for helping out....

You can have as many different maps on your SD card as you like, as long as they either have 1. Different filenames or 2. are in seperate folders (in which case the filename doesnt matter). Whichever lake you are sitting in will display on the chartplotter (that's "appropriate")

T

If you have several maps in at5 format on yous SD, your HDS automatically will use the right one, depending on your gps position or on the position of your cursor.

With an x64 system and 4 gb ram (Win 7), I create an area of about 160 km² at once with the latest release of RM.

Thanks Paul - 25 miles is probably the biggest map I have heard of anyone generating in one go on RM, that's impressive, and the reason we don't impose an artificial map size limit. If you've got the hardware (or the patience - or both) then RM will usually get it done. Map generation resource use (memory and time) depends much more on the mapped area that the amount of data within it.

Stainless - 25km square is big, and I can see from your project settings that you have just about the slowest settings you could possibly have; 1m contour grid resolution, 1m contours with 0.25m minors generating across the full depth range, and you are generating isobaths (vector mode).

I would suggest limiting your map size to the areas in which you have data, running with auto resolution, using a larger contour interval and limiting minors to depth ranges that you need them. This will speed things up considerably, as contouring is one the most processor intensive part of the process. When you have the map as you want it, you can consider dropping the contour grid resolution down to 1 and generating the map again - if you think the change in results warrants it.

Matt

Ok, i got it.
Then i can create 3-4 smaller maps and put them all on the SD-Card and the correct map will show when i fish different parts of the lake.

I know i use tough settings but i want to push the software to see what it can do.

By the way i´m running RM on a Macbook Pro with 8Gb of RAM with WM-Ware to emulate Windows 7.
works great.

Can I clarify off you guys how I would put multiple maps on the SDcard? Is this just a matter of selecting the card as the output location and it will save it as required?

Cheers

Create some folders on the SD card, give them names of the lakes or areas, then save each chart into its relevant folder.

T

I got some large lakes and I wonder how do you split up the areas when the lake is to big to minimize overlapping of areas?
Do you know how the ovelapping if any is behaving on the at5 format?

Blocking (without an overlap) is usually not an issue on HDS on the vector side of things but can be on the raster side of things. It can be an issue on the Elite units for both.

I would recommend exporting the shapefiles and using all the source shapefiles to generate a single AT5 data set rather than creating 4 separate data sets.

When I was using DrD and LCM maps I got some inverted colors or gaps in the map where the areas was overlapping.

The issue you talk about on Elite models would it be like above or will the map end up not showing?
I got both HDS, elite,lms and lcx users that uses my maps so I really need to be careful when I define the projects area then.

Perhaps I should talk to Matt and suggest some feature for dividing an large area into smaller projects?