Historical Topo’s

[Pappyb]

Hi folks,

Is there a way to get a historical topo loaded into a Garmin Oregon 450?  I downloaded some historical topo jpeg's from MyTopo and would like to be able to use them in my Garmin 450 for exploring old railroads and towns.  I haven't had any luck searching the subject so I figured I'd post the question.

Thanks
Jeff

[Boyd]

If it's raster data (such as a scan of an old map) then you can make a custom map. The size of this kind of map is limited however. For starters, see this: http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us/onthetrail/custommaps

There are also some other tools that may make this easier. Do a search for G-Raster or Mobile Atlas Creator for more info.

[foresterscott01]

A fairly simple project.  All you need to do is geo-reference the raster maps using either software or an online solution such as http://labs.metacarta.com/rectifier/ .  FreeGeographyTools has some other options as well.  After you do this then upload the referenced images (one at a time) into G-Raster (freeware download and very simple to use) to convert it into KMZ and drag the KMZ into your Garmin CustomMaps folder.  Garmin limits KMZ tiles to 100 total so use the re-scale option in G-Raster and pay attention to the number of tiles that each KMZ contains.  I usually put a numerical suffix after each of my custom KMZ's so I know how many tiles are in there.

Scott

[Boyd]

upload the referenced images (one at a time) into G-Raster (freeware download and very simple to use)

There's a free demo of G-raster, but the fully functional program costs $5.00. I don't use G-raster (I use GlobalMapper which is *definitely* not free  ), but from what I've read it is a real bargain at $5.00.

http://moagu.com/?page_id=155

[Pappyb]

Thanks for the Info guys!

I tried Google Earth and it wasn't too bad with a cropped piece (1 x 3 miles) of the quad but I can see that it would be a real PITA if I used a bigger piece.  I had to stretch and tilt to try and match up the features and I was dealing with a quad from 1903 so it could have been off just a tad.  Using the historical image from Google Earth helped allot because it was in black and white and easier to see landmarks.  It would probably be easier if Google earth was on terrain but I don't know if it can do that or haven't figured it out...I'm new at this!

I'll load the overlay tomorow and see how it works.

Thanks again!

[Boyd]

I'm not really familiar with MyTopo but was just looking on their site. It looks like if you buy Terrain Navigator Pro you can export georeferenced imagery. This would save you considerable effort and provide better results. If this is too expensive, there may be other places to download georeferenced imagery for less or even for free. For example, my state offers historical imagery for free.

[foresterscott01]

Boyd:

I also use GlobalMapper 12, as well as ArcMap 10.0 and Terrain Navigator, but most people don't have access to this expensive software.  Most of the time G-raster is all I need after exporting or obtaining a geotiff.  The free version does everything you would need it to, other than some cropping features.  You DO need a referenced map, however.

I'll probably contribute the $5 anyway because the software is ideal for custom maps and does a perfect job - I would recommend it even if you are using GlobalMapper.  There are also web links to free sources of raster imagery on the G-Raster interface.

Scott

[Boyd]

Well that was my point. If you find it useful, don't you think the author deserves a measly $5 for his effort?