Topo! maps on Garmin GPSr

[+Zen Cooker #1]

It's well known that the downloadable NatGeo superquad maps are really nice. Supposedly they can be loaded onto a Magellan GPSr only. However...

 

NatGeo says that the only reason that their maps can't be loaded onto a Garmin GPSr is that the Garmin map format is proprietary. However, on Garmin's own site they give instructions to take a .jpg map image, load it into Google Earth, georegister it, then save it as a .kmz file, which can then be viewed on a Garmin GPSr. (I've done it a number of times).

 

Does anybody know of a way to convert the downloaded superquad .pdf to five separate .jpgs? If this could be done then .kmz files could be created from the individual map images and could be viewed on a Garmin GPSr. If you don't have a complete solution, do you have at least a partial one?

Edited May 25, 2010 by Zen Cooker #1

[Ken in Regina]

What about doing screenshots of the PDF and saving them as .jpg files? That's probably way too simple so I'm likely overlooking something important.

 

When National Geographic says the Garmin map format is "proprietary" it doesn't mean they can't produce maps that would work on your Garmin device. It just means they don't want to pay Garmin a license fee for the documentation and tools they need to produce Garmin-compatible maps. Garmin will gladly license the necessary stuff to anyone.

 

Here's an example of someone who is doing Garmin-compatible topo maps.

 

...ken...

[+ADTCacheur]

What about doing screenshots of the PDF and saving them as .jpg files? That's probably way too simple so I'm likely overlooking something important.

 

When National Geographic says the Garmin map format is "proprietary" it doesn't mean they can't produce maps that would work on your Garmin device. It just means they don't want to pay Garmin a license fee for the documentation and tools they need to produce Garmin-compatible maps. Garmin will gladly license the necessary stuff to anyone.

 

Here's an example of someone who is doing Garmin-compatible topo maps.

 

...ken...

 

It would be cheaper to buy the topo maps sold on Garmin's website for all of canada then to buy 1 province from them. Also they only have 2 provinces out at the moment.

[Ken in Regina]

It would be cheaper to buy the topo maps sold on Garmin's website for all of canada then to buy 1 province from them. Also they only have 2 provinces out at the moment.

Of course it would be cheaper. But that says nothing useful.

 

The decision is not nearly as simple as comparing the purchase price. The two products are not the same. The Backroad GPS Maps have so much more trail coverage than the Garmin topos. Check the first three images near the beginning of this review to see the stark difference in coverage between Backroad GPS Maps versus Topo Canada v4 and Ibycus' Topo for the same area.

 

http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/3545-review-...pbooks-gps-maps

 

Additionally, more of the backroads are routable than Topo Canada and some of the trail systems are routable (none of the trails in Topo Canada are routable). They have a lot of POIs in the Backroad GPS Maps that aren't in the Garmin topos. And they have a large custom POI database for recreational and geographic features that Garmin doesn't have.

 

The Backroad GPS Maps have the same information in them as the paper versions. People buy the paper versions instead of topos, or as a companion to paper topos, because of all the extra information.

 

Most people only do their offroad recreational activities in limited areas so most won't need all of Canada. Or even all of a specific province. The Backroad GPS Maps are broken out into the same regions their paper mapbooks cover so you can get just what you want at a price that is quite reasonable for the information you are getting. (Garmin also understands that and sells Topo Canada in pieces.)

 

It's not a question of what the Backroads GPS Maps cost versus Topo Canada. It's a question of getting the information you need at a price that you think is fair. I think the price for the Backroad GPS Maps is fair for the information they provide.

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

...ken...

[+Entropy512]

 

NatGeo says that the only reason that their maps can't be loaded onto a Garmin GPSr is that the Garmin map format is proprietary. However, on Garmin's own site they give instructions to take a .jpg map image, load it into Google Earth, georegister it, then save it as a .kmz file, which can then be viewed on a Garmin GPSr. (I've done it a number of times).

 

Does anybody know of a way to convert the downloaded superquad .pdf to five separate .jpgs? If this could be done then .kmz files could be created from the individual map images and could be viewed on a Garmin GPSr. If you don't have a complete solution, do you have at least a partial one?

NatGeo probably hasn't updated their tech support answers to reflect the very recent development of Garmin Custom Maps.

 

A workflow that would probably work:

GIMP to rasterize the PDF (load it in GIMP, tweak the DPI to get the desired resolution, save as PNG)

If the map is "collared" you will want to crop these

You can potentially do some editing of the PDF (removing legends and such to produce something more readable on the GPS) by loading the PDF in Inkscape instead of GIMP. You'll probably have to use Inkscape's "ungroup" function 4093297427342869 times before you can do anything useful though.

MAPC2MAPC to georeference and tile the resulting PNG

[+coggins]

Gosh, if you want TOPO.pdf files you can get them for free at the USGS wbsite.

Edited May 26, 2010 by coggins

[+splashy]

OR, you could try

http://mobac.dnsalias.org/index.html

See the youtube item