Topics

Does anybody have experience with custom maps on the Overlander?

My understanding is that custom maps work when using "Drive" mode but they don't work in "Explore" mode.  Is there any way to use them in Explore mode?

If you come along this post because you're having problems with the Overlander. Start by updating GPS firmware to the current version. That may resolve some issues that you're having.

I'm a Windows person and have some questions about Mac...

I've got 3 versions of a map that I convert using Garmin MapConverter.  I bundled them all into a zip file. Users unzip the file then double click each of the maps to install them.

Is it possible to automate it so that all three maps are installed via one user action?


Next question...
I've got multiple TYP files that display the map differently depending on what the user wants. The Windows version of the map has an installer that prompts the user then copies in the TYP file that they want.

Is there any way to do this on a Mac? Perhaps run a separate command utility after the main install?  Can the Garmin map files be overwritten directly?

I'd like to avoid creating an new GMAPI file with the entire map in it. Could it be a GMAPI file with just the TYP and XML file in it?

On May 22/23, Garmin released updates for Basecamp and MapInstall. There's a bug in the new software that prevents third party maps from being installed.  It wasn't intentional, they just didn't test for it.

The solution is to uninstall Basecamp 4.7 and MapInstall 4.2, then install a previous version of the apps. Both apps need to be uninstalled. If you update to BaseCamp 4.7, it breaks the older version of MapInstall.

After you install MapInstall, you need to turn off automatic updates.

BaseCamp 4.2.5 can be downloaded from Garmin here https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=7161.
I couldn't find a download page for 4.6.2 or an older version of MapInstall. I have version 4.0.4 and it worked for me.  Does anybody know where they can be downloaded from?

How do you install a custom map onto a Garmin GPS that doesn't have a USB port?

A GPSMAP 7607 has an SD card slot but no USB. If MapInstall is used to install a map into an SD card, it puts the map into the Garmin directory with GMAPSUPP.IMG as the name. The 7607 doesn't recognize the file. I think it needs to go into the Map directory with the name of the map as the file name. Is there a way to make MapInstall use the new format when installing to an SD card?

Thanks in advance.

Some GPS receivers display the names of the split map files instead of the parent map. If the map isn't split, it displays the name correctly. Is there any way to fix this?

I can no longer download GeoTiff NED data using the "National Map Seamless Server"(links from the California.xls file):
http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/100k-quad-lists-and-dem-links-for-each-state/

I've been trying randomly over the last several weeks. It always says that there are 2 or more requests ahead of me and times out before finishing. I have a feeling that the service has been shut down and no longer available. Does anybody have any insight?

I need the GeoTiffs for Dem2Topo. Is the only option to convert ArcGrid to GeoTiff? Are there any other ways to get the GeoTiff data? I downloaded some ArcGrid files from the National Viewer and the files cover 1/4 of the area. I really prefer the larger files.

Thanks

Is there a difference between a gmapsupp.img created by MapInstall vs. an img file created by cgpsmapper?

For all intents and purposes, can I rename a cgpsmapper img to gmapsupp.img?

If I export a cgpsmapper img from GPSMapEdit, is the TYP file embedded in the img?

I'm using Tiger as my street data source but the classification attributes don't provide enough detail. A two lane residential road has the same classification as a six lane thoroughfare. Is there another data source that provides more detail on the type of street or speed?

I've got a topo map that has grown larger than GpsMapEdit can handle in a single file. I'm trying to solve the problem by using two source map files then merging them together into a single mapset. It almost works but there's a region of the map on a segment of the merge line that doesn't render correctly and sometimes crashes BaseCamp when I zoom into it.

The Steps
Trail data is in one map file and size isn't an issue with it.
Trail data map is copied into two files then programatically trimmed into east and west.
Topo data for east and west are kept in a separate files and merged into the respective trail map.
"Split Map to Files" is used on east and west. Output files are placed into separate directories.
[This is where I discovered that the Trim feature isn't perfect. It doesn't cut all lines on the trim boundary. The result is a few overlapping split files. The correct split file is large and full of data while the file with the extra data is small because it only contains a few lines. The split feature itself is cuts the same lines correctly but I end up with overlapping files]
Programatically copy the split files out of east/west into a common directory. If a duplicate file exists, it uses the larger file.
All of the steps to build the mapset after this are the same as I've been doing previously.

It seems like this should work but I'm obviously getting something wrong.

Based on observation, the Split Map to Files names the output files based on geographic coordinates. The west and east boundaries of my two maps are on whole number longitude lines to make sure that the split files line up. When I trim the map I wasn't sure if there should be any sort of gap between east and west or if they should actually share the line. (ex. Setting them both to 117 or one to 117 and the other to 117.00001).

This is what it looks like. The merge line is the left side of the white rectangle. When I zoom in it renders correctly once I get to levels 0-3.





Any ideas? Has anybody merged two split maps?

Are there any tools that can be used to manipulate MP files from a command line?

I'm looking to automate the following GpsMapEdit commands:

• Trim Map
• Split Map to Files
• Split Roads at Nodes
• Export MP Lowrance map

Garmin Express is a new app to install map and gps updates. It will also allow you to install your GPS' updated street map onto your computer for use in Basecamp. The map won't show up in MapInstall. After installing Express, Basecamp displays an error because it can't find msvcr90.dll. Reinstalling Basecamp resolves the error.


http://software.garmin.com/en-US/express.html

I created a map of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and off-roading in San Diego County.

http://www.sandiegotrailmap.com

My appreciation goes out to GPSFileDepot and the forum users for their help.

Lee

I created the attached palette file that has the standard 256 Garmin colors. It can be used with programs like IconXP to create custom xpm graphics.

The same colors as in the link below. The colors are a lot easier to select when the palette is only 8 squares wide because it does a better job of showing the progression. When displayed 16 wide like on the web page you need to zig zag your eye back and forth to see the next darker or lighter color.

http://www.deltadelta.de/garmin_colours/

I have a large map and would like to re-purpose it to other devices like iPhone or Android smartphones.

OruxMaps supports Garmin IMG files on Android but the labels don't display well. All labels display regardless of TYP file settings and there isn't a progressive display to limit the number of labels that display so it turns to soup. Labels overwhelm the map. Road labels are displayed horizontally instead of with the road and they add to the confusion. Orux has settings to control the label for object type - poi, line, polygon but it's all or nothing for the class and still displays too many labels.

I've found a few apps on iPhone and Android that support derivatives of OSM format as a custom offline map. My plan is to write a converter from MP to one of the formats. OSM would be easy and then it could be converted to other formats with converters that already exist. sqlite db seems to be the best final format so I might write a converter directly from MP to sqlite.

Are there any converters that already exist? Has anybody converted their MP map to a smartphone?

The apps I'm looking at are:
Locus Maps -Android
OsmAnd -Android
Galileo Offline Maps -iPhone

Even after reading the CGpsMapper manual it took a bit of time to figure things out so I thought I would share my findings. Please reply if I got anything wrong or missed a juicy detail.

CPreview is a command line utility (included with CGpsMapper) that creates the preview map and search indexes used by Garmin BaseCamp and Mapsource.

Mapset Toolkit is a GUI that calls CPreview to create the preview map and search indexes. It then compiles the preview map using CGpsMapper.

CPreview is used by first creating a "preview control file" with the details of your map set. It is a text file similar in format to the MP file. Having the details in a text file is helpful if you're building a map multiple times so you don't have to type it into MapsetToolkit every time you update your map. MapsetToolkit temporarily creates a preview control file in the mapset directory while it is running. If you're fast, you can select the pv file, copy and paste into the same directory to snatch a copy of the parameters used by MapsetToolkit. This is how I figured out that I needed the zoom entries. The manual details it in the FAQ section at the end instead of with the CPreview section.

The [IMG ID] section of your map file should contain:
POIIndex=Y
POINumberFirst=Y
POIZipFirst=N
Numbering=Y

Each [POLYLINE] to be indexed must have a value defined for each of the following fields:
Label=
CountryName=
RegionName=
CityName=

CPreview is executed with the control file as a command line parameter. The input to CPreview is your compiled map IMG and IMG.IDX (IDX only if you have a version of CGpsMapper that supports searching). The attached sample preview control file contains the required entries with comments.

Example command line where pv.txt = your control file:
"cpreview.exe pv.txt -r" - Standard search.
"cpreview.exe pv.txt -m" - Wildard search. Bigger indexes.

CPreview will create:
[Map Filename].mp - The preview map that needs to be compiled with CGpsMapper.
[Map Filename].TDB - Map index used by BaseCamp and Mapsource
[Map Filename].reg - Registry entries needed by BaseCamp and Mapsource.

CGpsMapper versions that support searching also create:
[Map Filename].MDX - Translation table?
[Map Filename]_MDR.IMG - Map search index. Used to search for POIs, etc.

[Map Filename].mp must be compiled using CGpsMapper to get [Map Filename].IMG

All IDX files can be deleted after CPreview completes and preview map is compiled.
Registry values must be imported for the map to work in BaseCamp or MapSource. If you move the mapset files to another directory or create an installer, you can edit the registry file or use it as a template for your installer script.

What else?

I'm using CGpsMapper Pro(no routing). Street name search works in Mapsource but not BaseCamp or on the GPS. "Map data is not available" is displayed on the GPS when I select the search or intersection icons. POI search works for in MapSource, BaseCamp and the GPS.

Is there anything I need to configure for the map or the streets that should be indexed? I'm using GpSMapEdit and the address tab is disabled with "Enable indexing for this object" checked but grayed out.