Importing routes into Comand Online NTG 4.5

[rjhfandclf]

Hello,

I recently acquired a 2011 'facelift' C220 Sport with Comand Online NTG 4.5.

I do NOT have (and certainly don't want) a smartphone of any sort, so don't use probably the main reason for 'online'. However, after some initial reluctance, I now find the Comand system very good, and use the SD slot readily for music. However the Navi is much frustrating me with its apparent programming inflexibility. It may be that I am just being an 'Oldie'!

Prior to this I have always used Garmin GPS (both for car and hand-held walking), to both of which I have always been able to download extra POIs and routes with great ease - created either in Garmin Basecamp or Google Earth. I have searched everywhere, but cannot find any obvious way of doing this with MB Comand (without using a particular range of mobile phones - all of which I consider an invasion of privacy!)

Using the obvious SD card, I've tried to import .KML, .GPX, .KMZ, and have even tried using the MB POI Loader programme to convert to Personal POIs (although I have no idea how odd this might appear even if accepted in Navi), but Navi refuses to recognise any of this.

The only thing that I can think of that I may have failed with is in trying to load from the SD card when it says it is importing information to Personal POIs - 'this might take several minutes'. I have left it for about 10-15 minutes, but nothing further happens. To be frank, if it DOES take that length of time to import a route file then it is useless anyway.

Am I 'pushing water uphill with a rake' or is there some nifty trick I am missing? Any help would be much appreciated - thanks.

 

[st13phil]

I did start to look at this a year ago. I saved a route I'd driven to the SD card and took a look at the data file. Although it's close to the standard GPseXchange (gpx) format, it uses some non-standard Mercedes-Benz extensions which renders any standard gpx file unreadable by COMAND.

I experimented with reformatting a gpx file created with BaseCamp (I'm a long-time Garmin user) and had some success, but it was a bit hit and miss so I'd obviously not got all the formatting correct. I may have another crack at it and if I have success I'll post back in this thread.

 

[rjhfandclf]

Thanks for your comments, Phil; I didn't think I could be the first to have encountered this issue. I will be interested to learn if you come up with anything further - but I suppose what I find so silly is, why do MB do this? - what is to be gained from making usability/flexibility so hard? ... nothing financial as far as I can see.

I'm off to France shortly (and just had to pay for a complete map update as no-one had previously bothered since new!), so I will be very miffed if I have to rely on maps and perhaps my old Garmin.

Thaks again - Robin