"custom map" 62s

[errol62]

Hi guys, new member to this site (and to gps/geocaching). Ive read some interesting stuff so far, however, I haven't seen any thing about making "custom maps" for garmins (eg 62s). One of the reasons I got it was that i could (I thought) scan my existing paper maps, georeference them, then load them on to my 62s to use while hiking etc. Battling to get this to work...a further complication is that the scanned map uses the Cape datum, not wgs84...

 

I have Arcmap, basecamp, photoshop cs3, surfer8 and coreldraw x3 avaliable. Can anyone explain how to go about taking my scan (.tif) through the stages required to get it in to a format that will work on the 62s?

 

Thanks.

[+briansnat]

This is better off in the GPS forum where the experts lurk.

[+Red90]

Yes, you can, although it is fairly limiting. See here:

http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us/onthetrail/custommaps

 

Vector style maps are much better to use on a GPS. There are a lot of free, pre-built maps here: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/

[+WaylessWood]

The limits of custom raster maps for Garmin units that support them are ok, if you don't need large coverage areas available all the time. I've got a good number of local hiking trail maps scanned and loaded on my Oregon 450. I can switch them out as needed, but you must have a computer to do that.

 

There are a number of application s that support creating Garmin custom maps. I find Google Earth to be difficult for all but the smallest of maps. I've used MAPCTOMAPC to calibrate scanned map images. It supports a wide variety of map datum. The trail maps I use have grid overlays with coordinates, so calibration is not too difficult in this case.

[+myotis]

If you live in any of the 37 states My Trails http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/53 cover, another option you have is after you scan and calibrate the map, trace the trails and mark waypoints and send me the file of the tracks and waypoints. I can then add it to My Trails and then you don't have to worry about switching out maps. You can also send me tracks once you hike the trails.

[+cliptwings]

I gotta add my 2 cents. I am a very happy owner of Topofusion software. Yup, it's expensive at $65 or so, but it is very simple to use and adds all kinds of maps to my gpsmap 62s. I specifically use topographic map overlays for rural and mountainous areas, and high resolution photo maps for suburban and city areas. The developer is very sensitive to users' needs for geocaching, biking, hiking and the like. By the way, I have no connection to topofusion.com. I am just a very satified user.

[+Entropy512]

I believe the 62s also supports BirdsEye, so you might be able to use custom JNX files: http://gpsunderground.com/forum/garmin-general-discussions/5863-garmin-jnx-file-format-hacking.html

 

I'm not sure if the firmware patcher supports the 62 series, it may only be valid for Oregon/Dakota.

 

I've been able to use gdal and map2jnx to put massive quantities of aerial imagery from New York GIS onto my Oregon 300.

 

gdal is nice for changing coordinate reference systems and projections, however I only have experience with:

1) Manually georeferencing a map to WGS84 using the three-point technique, hoping it is in a compatible projection or the area covered is small enough for the projection not to matter

2) Pre-georeferenced GeoJP2s and GeoTIFFs (easy peasy)

3) Manually georeferencing a not-to-scale map using thin plate spline (rubbersheeting) techniques (multiple -gcp options to gdal_translate followed by the -tps option to gdalwarp) with mixed results

 

Edit: myotis, any chance of getting a plain 'ole .img download of My Trails? At 16MB, most people will probably throw the whole thing onto their unit rather than select tiles in MapSource.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Entropy512

[+myotis]

 

Edit: myotis, any chance of getting a plain 'ole .img download of My Trails? At 16MB, most people will probably throw the whole thing onto their unit rather than select tiles in MapSource.

 

I take it you mean besides the Window and MAC instalers, also make a compiled My Trails.img that can just be placed on your GPS? If so, I do not plan on doing that. Making the MAC installer is a pain already and I don't do that every time. If you do it that way, you do not have the map in MapSource. I have a MapSource file called My Trail.gdb that has all the maps selected, I open it and then send to GPS. It only takes a couple of minutes.

 

I've got Birds Eye. Its nice to look at on my GPS at home, but it has NEVER been useful to me in the field.

[Vibramhead]

I gotta add my 2 cents. I am a very happy owner of Topofusion software. Yup, it's expensive at $65 or so, but it is very simple to use and adds all kinds of maps to my gpsmap 62s. I specifically use topographic map overlays for rural and mountainous areas, and high resolution photo maps for suburban and city areas. The developer is very sensitive to users' needs for geocaching, biking, hiking and the like. By the way, I have no connection to topofusion.com. I am just a very satified user.

 

I completely agree. I've used TopoFusion for several years, and just bought a 62s and started tinkering with custom maps. TopoFusion is by far the easiest means of making a custom map. It automatically georeferences it, and gives you a choice of many different map layers, e.g., aerial photos, open streetmap, landownership, USGS topos, MyTopo, etc. TF also does a nice job of matching up your photos with GPS tracks on a map, even if your photos don't include location data.