Garmin Custom Maps

[jolly47roger]

Just seen this press release:

Go Digital with Custom Maps

It is now possible to save all your favourite maps – whether they are of a piste map for skiing, a local nature reserve or a theme park – onto one easy-to-use Garmin GPS handheld. Custom Maps is a free and simple process that works with existing paper or digital maps, allowing the user to upload and access them wherever and whenever they want.

“Custom Maps can be used by anyone wanting to bring their favourite locations to life,” said Product Manager, Andrew Silver. “Potential users include birdwatchers, visitors to parks and gardens, walkers and cyclists. It is truly up to the individual what maps they use and how they use them. It’s even possible to share custom maps, making it easy for others to see routes or places of interest you’ve found.”

It is also possible to download maps online (subject to relevant copyright laws) to find anything from mountain bike trails to ski runs. You just have to make sure that whether you are using paper or digital mapping it is to scale.

Through a few easy steps, Garmin’s Custom Maps can bring the details, labels and landmarks on a user’s existing paper or electronic map to a compatible Garmin Oregon®, Dakota™ or Colorado®, outdoor GPS handheld. Compatible with both PC and Mac, this free service complements the excellent mapping products already on offer for Garmin devices, including Garmin GB Discoverer™ which gives the user Ordnance Survey mapping as well as turn-by-turn directions on selected Garmin handhelds.

Before you begin converting your existing maps to Custom Maps, be sure to install the latest software for your device. Connect your outdoor handheld via USB and visit http://my.garmin.com for the fast and free software update. Once software has been updated, the simple steps can begin.

The first step to creating Custom Maps is to save your existing map in JPG format, either by scanning a paper map or converting a digital file. The second step is to georeference your new map image, which can be done easily by using Google Earth to line up key landmarks with those depicted on the map. The final step is to save your Custom Maps to your Garmin device and you’re ready to go explore. To see these steps in further detail, to find and share maps with other users and to join discussions about Garmin Custom Maps, visit www.garmin.com/CustomMaps. Custom Maps should only be created from maps that are in the public domain, for which you hold the copyright, or that you have permission to use from the copyright holder. The original map’s accuracy in scale and illustration is also an important factor in creating quality Custom Maps.

The power of Custom Maps is exemplified through paper and digital maps labeled for specific events and purposes, such as a marathon or bike race, a leaflet for a nearby park that lists trailheads or a nature reserve that has viewing points or hides marked out.

Custom Maps represent the latest breakthrough from Garmin, which has spent 20 years developing technologies and innovation to enhance peoples’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. For more about the Oregon, Dakota and Colorado families of outdoor handhelds, visit www.garmin.co.uk/onthetrail

This seems to mean that any raster map can now be added to these units - within the limitation of 100 1024x1024 tiles in total.

[jolly47roger]

I have expanded my MAPC2MAPC tool (www.the-thorns.org.uk/mapping) to create Garmin Custom Maps from a calibrated map (e.g OZI .map and .png files) or you can calibrate the image yourself

[gatorguy6996]

Good to see you here JollyRoger. I noticed you'd received pretty good feedback on your software in another forum. Obvious you're putting a lot of time into this.
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Garmin 1695 / 255 / 760 w/MSN - Droid w/Google nav + Navigon - Navigon 8100T - Dakota10 - GPSMap76C - GeoMate Jr.

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