Detail instructions on editing Garmin IMG Maps

[jedimaster]

Ok I have gotten several email regarding a po I made about being able to create and convert bluecharts to upload to garmin hand helds.

Here is what I am doing. Make sure you read the warning below.

 

It was definatly not easy to figure out but its not as hard as it seems. It took me several months to figure out the right combo of tools and how to actually get this to work because to my knowledge NO ONE on the internet has been able to directly or indirectly export and edit bluehcarts.

 

Yes I am tooting my horn because I am the man. hahaha

 

Here is a breakdown. Don't ask me where to get the programmes just go google them.

 

1) Open up Mapsource and load the bluechart for the area in question

2) Trace over the depth contours with the route tool

3) Save the route lines into a GDB file

4) Open up GPSMapEdit

5) Open up the Topographic IMG file for the lake your working on.

- The topo of the lake will serve as the bas map for your route lines...It would be easier to just use the bluechart img but they are encrypted and it hasn't been broken yet....

 

6) Click File then Add and select the GDB file with all the route lines.

7) Click on all of the route lines and change them from route lines to depth contours, major or minor it doesn't really matter unless you have a color gps unit then you should make the shllow one minor and the deeper ones major, I find it easier to read on my black and white one to make them all major contour lines

8) You can also edit the map, add whats his name areas, docks, gas stations, roads, launches etc...

9) When you done export this as a Polish File.

10) Then export it as a garmin IMG file.

11) Open up Mapsend and upload the img file to your GPS.

 

Now Bob really is your uncle and the Jedimaster is Bob.

 

Now for the legal warnings that you have already agreed to by reading this.

 

If you screw up your gps don't come and complain to me, its easy to mistakenly screw up the gps base map. Also if you accidentally move any features on the topo map your coordinates will be way off. Its very easy to unknowngly move a lake or move a road. Trust me I flooded Port perry several times. I had a killer water front house for a while though.

 

I would think you should use this as a structure finding tool and not a navigational tool, be careful when your on the lake. Don't sink your boat. I take no responisbility if you injure yourself or others by using this method. Nor do I even know if your allowed to edit maps so if you get busted don't come to me.

[LeXXington]

I will a test to the complication.

 

There are 1--------------------------00000000 programs that say they can do it..

 

There are 1--------------------------00000000 ways it suppose to work

 

I have been working on the for about 5 days and boy is it frustrating

 

Now if it works :)

[Tacklebuster]

maybe I am not really grasping what you are doing, but to me its no different than setting up all your waypoints, routes, tracks, etc, on mapsource, and then copying them onto your GPS. The difference is you are using routes/tracks to mark the contours. Nonetheless, its a good idea, and I didn't think of doing this, not sure I will, its one tedious task to outline the contours. I wish there was a way to take your own map image and put it onto the GPS, because all the bluecharts I have only cover the great lakes, no inland lakes.

[bbog]

Intriguing.... however step 11) "Mapsend" should read "Mapsource" unless you're doing some sort of Garmin to Magellan conversion.

 

I going to have a look at this - I just might have some bluechart data of inland lakes worthy of adding to my GPS.

[Terry]

I have been doing something like that to my topo maps for some time

 

but if you have the garmin blue charts why not just load them on you gps

[mikeymikey]

It's just a general guide on how to add your own custom map to garmin GPS.

 

If you want to add new streets to your map, this would be the perfect way to do it.

 

So many use for it.

 

 

Thanks for sharing!!

[cantermore]

Thats very cool jedimaster, would love to see a version for bluecharts, I tried Topo & it worked great, bluecharts failed but had to try

[jedimaster]

Busy all weeked didn't get a chance to answer the questions.

 

Why not just upload the garmin blue charts? Several reasons. Its damn expensive to buy all of the regions and if you fish in alot of areas it would be thousands to get them all. If you have 3 gps's your only allowed to upload it onto 2 of them. The unlock policy is really restrictive that way. Also if you have a paper map of a depth chart but want it on your gps you can use it as a guide for marking the depth contours. I was also able to use a different program to convert a jpg scan of a depth chart and convert it to a depth chart for my garmin gps. That was significantly more complicated but it worked out very well.

 

Step 11 should be mapsend, Mapsource does not allow you to upload individual custom created img files, at least I wasn't able to.

 

The diffrence between creating a bunch of routes and waypoints is you can only activate a single route line on a handheld gps at one time, so you could only see one contour line. This method allow syou to trace out the entire lake and have it viewable all the time. You need to convert the route lines you have traced over to depth contours for them to show up.

 

Yep a billion programmes say they will work but if you use the ones I mentioned it will work.

 

Yah I fixed a few streets on my maps as well, as some bottom structure, rock pillings, marker bouys etc... great if you fish at night and don't want to run into unmarked bouys.

 

I hope that answered most of the questions.

Edited September 4, 2007 by jedimaster