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I don't think MapEdit (as linked to above) is even a mapping program, is it? Sometimes people refer to GPSMapEdit as "MapEdit" - is that what you're thinking of?

Yes, I think you're correct - at least in regards to the link being wrong - my bad. I may have gotten confused in reading posts elsewhere on this forum which simply have referred to MapEdit. BTW, the list above was compiled from stuff that I read here at GPSFileDepot. There's tons more open source stuff here.

Dear mavens of mapping,

So I'm thinking about making maps for my Garmin CO and OR, and by the looks of things, this is the place for helpful and encouraging words, tutorials and knowledgeable advice. For the time being, I'm thinking that the maps that might be made shouldn't be limited due to software constraints, that they could be in raster and/ or vector formats, routable, include POIs and any other functionality afforded through the GPSr.

With an ever-increasing plethora of free spatial data available from so many sources, the mapping possibilities are quite exciting while the pitfalls of getting those maps onto the little Garmin have yet to be explored by this neophyte.

After reading through many posts and skimming the tutorials, there forms a rather long list of mapping applications, some of which are geared for only one purpose while other programs can handle a lot more heavy lifting - but can one program do all of the lifting? Is there more than one choice for the same function and if so, which one shines above the others? What are your top picks and must haves?

• cGPSMapper - Authoring, editing and conversion - free/$30/$300
  
  Dem2Topo - DEM to vector contours - free
  
  FWTools - Open Source GDAL/OGR and other tools - free
  
  Global Mapper - Looks powerful & versatile - $350 (cheaper if bundled with cGPSMapper)
  
  GPS Babel - Conversion and transfer - free
  
  GPSMapEdit - Visual authoring - $65
  
  gpx2img - Coversion gpx to img - only available to beta testers
  
  G-Raster - Convert calibrated KMZ overlays - $5
  
  MapEdit - Image map editor - $15
  
  MapSetToolkit - Creates MapSource preview files - free
  
  Mapwel - Visual authoring - $90
  
  NSIS - Creates setup files - free
  
  PostGIS - Open Source spatial enabler - free
  
  Topo Process Beta - Tool that helps create maps fast - free

Thank you very much for your thoughts and comments!

Kelly

That explains it - I was zooming in and missing!

Thanks for the note.

Kelly

How do I rename it once it's in the 400t? The file that I see in the unit is named ME Trails, the file I overwrote was named MAINE-topo.....where is it named gmapsupp.img?? Thanks.

Just curious... where did you find that map file named ME Trails?

I just tried looking for Maine Trails from trails100. After downloading and installing it - but when I try to view trail100 in MapSource - Zoomed Out to Region - all I see is a pale yellow rectangle with tiny text in the lower right hand corner: Map Created With Http://cgpsmapper.com

Brian - Saved tracks and waypoints can be located on your Oregon under Drive:\Garmin\GPX.

Kelly

Hey Boyd, thanks for the tip - can you point out further reading on this subject?

One of the things I've been playing around with is setting up various user grids wherein specific values for the central meridian are entered for each coordinate system (ddd mm.mmm); e.g., W68d30.000'. Invariably, the next time I'm looking at this field the last place has changed; i.e., 30.001' - as an example. But there are times, when it stays put at 30.000'.

Now mind you, I'm not trying to make a silk purse out of my CO or OR, but to just better understand their limitations. In conversations with another surveyor on the subject of setting up SPC on Garmins, limitations due to Garmin's rounding rules may have evolved somewhat from those rules used 10 years ago or more.

Thanks!

That worked fairly well.

Do you know if the coordinate for the point of insertion for the symbol in the dxf is the coordinate of the waypoint? When I compare the UTM values of the waypoint in 1) the Garmin unit, 2) MapSource and 3) AutoCAD, I noted the following:

1) E554150 N4912561 (Garmin)
2) 19 T 554152 4912561 (MapSource)
3) E554152 N4912561 (AutoCAD)

Why would there be  a 2 meter difference in the easting?

What is the best means of getting waypoints from my Garmin Colorado and Oregon into AutoCAD?

I've got AutoCAD version Land Desktop 2004, MapSource Version 6.15.7 and Terrain Navigator Pro version 7.5.

Thanks for any advice.

Yes! - Thank you    and thanks to Jerry W. too for supplying the very same link in working around Garmin's inability to properly display Transverse Mercator settings whose latitude of origin is somewhere else than the Equator.

Also thanks to Jerry for the tip in multiplying the zone's scale factor, false easting and the work-around false northing by 3.28083333333 in order to get the display in feet!

Does anybody know if it's possible to bring Tides to the forefront on the OR 550 and CO 400i?

In order to find the tides on the OR, you've to navigate from the Main Menu>Where To?>scroll nearly to the end of the list>Tides>choose from the list of nearby stations>go to the map view>touch the station> and then finally view the tide table.

At least on the CO, the tabular data is presented one step earlier with the graph as an option, but still there quite a drill before getting the answer.

Is there anyway to cut to the chase?

[feet]

Just curious - have any Garmin users ever successfully coaxed their receivers into displaying their state plane coordinate system?

I've been playing around with Maine State Plane Coordinate Systems on my CO 400i and OR 550; e.g., NAD27 East Zone and NAD83 East Zone.

Issues encountered along the way:

Despite having user defined units set to feet, the field Location (selected) insists on displaying meters.

Despite having user defined Latitude of Origin set to their respective NAD27 and NAD83 values with their corresponding False Northings at 0, the field Location (selected) insists on displaying meters from the Equator. Trying to trick it by supplying a negative number (for example -4834972.8m) resulted in unsatisfactory results.

In short, it appears from my experiments thus far that the Garmin units mentioned are incapable of properly displaying MSPCS values after having gone through the procedure of Setup>Position Format>Position Format User Grid>User Grid>selecting the only projection for Transverse Mercator that's offered; i.e, UTM>and then filling in the various fields with their appropriate values. Trying to tweak the UTM offering into compliance was a bust.

However, abandoning SPCS's settings for UTM Zone 19's (False E 500,000m, False N 0m, Long of Origin 69 and Lat of Origin 0), the field Location (selected) looks most agreeable (in meters), even though user defined units were still set to feet.

Unhappily, it looks to have been short lived 

Great answer Boyd - thank you very much for the reply.

Ditto to all the kind remarks! and kudos to all contributors!!

Thanks seldom sn.

So it doesn't require a separate program; e.g., xImage?

When the Oregon arrives, where shall I'll go looking for that unit's internal setting?