Need a volunteer

[rpowell]

To possibly help a programmer figure out if the maps made on this site can be used with his software app for the HTC incredible. This phone has standalone gps with out the need for cell service. What we need are some good topos to store on the phone. This software is Back country navigator and there is a forum that supports it.Currently he is charging a fee for extended use of this app(9.99). I have started a thread but dont have the answers to his questions.
http://www.backcountrynavigator.com/content/garmin-format-maps

Thanks

[Boyd]

Garmin has never documented their format and they consider it proprietary. A few people have studied the format and created compatible compilers however without Garmin's help. The most popular of these is cgpsmapper, and it has been used to create many (probably most) of the maps on this site. The cgpsmapper author recently announced that he is abandoning all further development of his compiler however.

If your programmer can make his application compatible with Garmin's .img file format, then most of the maps here should work. If you want to modify maps from this site, you would need each of the author's permissions. Although most of the maps are free, and many were made from public sources, they are still considered the intellectual property of their authors.

I have no way of knowing, but Garmin might not be too happy about somebody selling a program that can use their maps and proprietary format on another platform. They tend to "look the other way" when people like us publish free maps using their format. But commercial products might be viewed differently...

[rpowell]

Thanks for the reply. I just dont understand enough about the file compatibility issues. Maybe I could paint "Garmin" on my Droid incredible and send it to you to load maps on it.

[rpowell]

After reading my post, It sounded disrespectful,that was not the way I meant it. Thanks for your help.

[Boyd]

To understand Garmin's .img file format, a good place for your friend to start would be to read the cgpsmapper manual: http://cgpsmapper.com/manual.htm

OpenStreetMap has also documented it: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/IMG_File_Format

Again, these are attempts to discern the format through trial and error by third parties. Garmin does not sanction third party maps unless they were created by their partners. Garmin partners use a program called "Mapsource Product Creator" which is very tightly controlled. Garmin will not accept a partner that makes maps for any area that they cover themselves.