Thread: Kenwood DNX9990HD: Loading 2014.30 Maps on Internal Memory - It Works!

You should try a reset of the device as that may solve the slow registering of characters problem. Backup any favorites first if you want to restore them later.

The gmaptz.img is a world time map. It will be updated by GarminExpress/WebUpdater or can changed manually by overwriting it. However the basemap, gmapbmap.img, does not get updated by Garmin's software programs. If you have an older version loaded you can manually replace it with the most recent: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I will try a reset once I get it back in my vehicle. Pulled it out for more testing.
I dont know how to back up my favorites yet so I will search for info on that, maybe tonight or tomorrow.

I dont think my old Nuvi 200 that I used Garmin Express on to download the latest map had a time zone map, at least I know that it did not update it because that map still shows the old date.
The other possibility is it didn't update because of the way I paid for the update from the device and later attached the Nuvi200 and used Garmin express to download the update to the removable SD card?
Garmin express still shows the Nuvi200 having an update and shows pricing, so that makes me think something went wrong there.
I will look into finding the timezone map to overwrite the one in my DNX6180.

Is there only one basemap since it is worldwide? (as opposed to different maps for North America and other places like EU?)
v6 is newer than the one in my files so I obtained it. I will compare the two file sizes out of curiosity.

Thanks for the info, it is helping me figure out what to search for to learn more.

First Generation nuvi 2x0/2x0W from 2007 doesn't use a TZ map because it's not supported in firmware, but the 2nd Generation 2x0/2x0W released in 2009 did have it and they are firmware-capable to use it. There weren't as many of the Gen 2 sold and they were actually 'detuned' renamed 2x5/2x5W devices anyway. Here's latest gmaptz.img in a ZIP file: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Some older devices had so-called 'regional' basemaps that were still world-wide but only had detailed information for the device's target market (Atlantic/Pacific/Americas). All recent basemaps are world-wide. In truth any basemap will work ok provided you have detail maps for proper navigating. The main purpose of a basemap is actually for scrolling while zoomed out rather than navigating in an area where no proper detail map data is loaded on the device. Even a very old regional basemap will work ok.

I found out the 8GB micro SD card I was using was slower than the one that the DNX6180 came with from the factory.
The factory one had a 4 stamped on it, 4MB a second. The one I was using had a 2 on it so only good for 2MB per second.
I found a 64GB micro SD card with a 10 on it, good for 10MB per second. Also wont have to worry about running out of space on it.
Tomorrow I plan to test it out and make sure the DNX6180 can work well with it (no size limitations I hope). If there is a size limit I can try to partition it to a smaller size.
Right now I have 8MB in FAT, and around 59.4 GB in exFAT.

Thanks to your help I have the base map updated, and the time zone map updated. I found the most recent JCV files and downloaded them, 1.6GB download for two files. Wow.
I added cars/beachballs etc, from my Nuvi to this SD card I am building for the DNX6180 too. Just wanted to see if they will work, and why not if I have so much extra room on the card.

I have nothing in my PNX folder but found out they are phone numbers for looking up points of interest. Supposedly so you can enter a number and find the place from its number. Kind of backwards, I don't think I will ever use that feature if it works that way.

This DNX6180 has lifetime live traffic, I see there are different versions and read that version 2.80 was the newest for North America (it goes up to 4.40 but all the updates past 2.80 are for other countries).

Now as far as backing up my favorites, I hit a dead end there. My unit doesn't have any GPX files. It must save Favorites to another folder. It might be a .db file. I found one called user_strings.db and was viewing it in a program I downloaded (SQlite) but it still looked confusing to me. I will have to look into that more.

The larger 64GB SD card with the speed rating of 10 works well, no problems. Edit, I am now running an 8GB card and it all fits.
I put what was in my original SD card PNX folder in the PNX folder of the new SD card. Probably dont even need it.
The spell function used in points of interest and other places is still slow but always was anyway, I believe it is just a design flaw since it has to search a lot of files to give you a suggestion when you type a letter or two in.
My Favorites are still in there after updating everything, I'm planning on writing down all my favorite addresses in a notebook and then I will try a reset to see if anything seems to change like the spell function slowness.

I am happy to say that I do have the current North American 2022.25 map working in my Kenwood DNX6180. This would not have been possible if it were not for this forum and the users/moderators on here. So thanks!

If I did not remove and install a larger SD card, I would have had to learn about map compression or would have had to download a map someone else modified. The couple of guys that posted on here about there DNX6180's must have used modified maps or the older maps may have been smaller back then. I still want to learn about map compression and how to use Basecamp $ Mapsource so I will look into them in the future.
Also I would like to learn about how the PNX files are made (I hear they are specific to each map set? if I am wording it correctly).