Gps 3

How to make custom maps for your Garmin GPS
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Downloading and converting USGS data

Download STDS tar.gz files from USGS web site in the Digital Line Graphics (DLG) - 24K format STDS.
You must register at this site but it is free.- USGS GIS data
Click on your state and county to find your local data.
You want Digital line graphs (DLG)-24K
The green buttons are free downloads but the band width is limited and download speeds are slow.
Hydrography = Water * Hypsography = Topos * Transportation = Roads

Unzip the downloaded files into a new folder.
Make sure "Tar file smart CR/LF conversion" box is unchecked if using Winzip (it's on the configuration-misc tab)
You should have a bunch of files that all start with the same four letter and numbers.
Example: You downloaded water data. All the files will be HY01****.DDF

To convert USGS STDS data into something useable you will have to use a free program called stds2mif.exe.
You can search the web and find it if it is not available here. - stds2mif
Unzip stds2mif.exe program into same folder as the unzipped USGS files.
Double click on stds2mif.exe to run it. It will pause and wait for you to enter some info.
Base STDS file name is the same as the first four letters of your USGS files. Example = HY01
Base output file name is the same as the first four letters of a file. Example = HY01
2 digit suffix in example above = 01
HY01.mif and two other files are created in your folder.

The .mif file can be imported into Ozi-Explorer, but the file will have neatlines around the border.
In Ozi, go to - File * Load from file * Import * From Mapinfo MIF files.
Save the imported data as an Ozi track file and you are done converting unless you really hate the neat lines around the border of your data.
Other programs may be able to import the .mif file but I am not familiar with which ones can or can't.

Optional: This step is only necessary if you hate the neatlines around the border of your data and you want to remove them. To remove the neatlines use a free program called Mapscan. You may have to find it on the web. I do not have a link for this program.
In mapscan - Open Vector * .mif files
Remove the neatlines
Export Vector * .shp Arcview files

Ozi can import .shp files
In Ozi, go to - File * Load from file *Import ESRI shapefile * Polylines and Polygons
Datum = NAD27 Conus * Grid 17 * N * UTM
Save the imported data as an Ozi track file.

Using cGPSmapper to create maps and Sendmap to upload maps
Once you have your Ozi track files you then can convert Ozi track and waypoint files into a Garmin .img file. This .img file can then be uploaded into your GPS. cGPS is the program that can do all this but it is quite involved. I will tackle this next.


Download the free version of cGPS mapper Unzip the cGPS folder under your main Ozi_explorer directory like the picture above. Also download Sendmap 0.017 from the - cGPS mapper web site and unzip it to the cGPS folder. There is a newer version called sendmap20 but I have not tried it. Stick with the old version until you get it all working.


Create a folder under the cGPS folder called mymap. Download these three files and place them in your mymap folder. File1 - File2 - File3 Rename tracks.bat.txt to tracks.bat Rename Loadmap_tracks.bat.txt to Loadmap_tracks.bat.txt
You will have to open tracks.txt file in a text editor and change the file names to actual Ozi-Explorer tracks and waypoints files on your computer. Example: The bold file path and name dupont.wpt is an actual Ozi waypoint file on my computer. Change this to a Ozi waypoint file on your computer. ;RGN20 Waypoints [WPT] Type=0x0d00 RgnType=0x10 FILE0=C:\Program Files\OziExplorer\Data\dupont.wpt [END-WPT]
Leave the heading intact for now until you understand how to change things. [IMG ID] ID=10000000 <--image file name Name=Tracks.. <--Name of map in GPS 8, must be 8 characters, periods count as characters.. Datum=W84 TreSize=2000 RgnLimit=1024 Levels=2 Level0=22 Level1=21 Zoom0=0 Zoom1=1 Zoom2=2 [END-IMG ID]
If you do not have any of the other types of files such as roads, trails, etc, just delete those sections. Keep a backup copy of the original file intact so you can see how to add roads, trails, etc at a later date. Example: Delete the section below if you do not have any Arterial Roads ;RGN40 Arterial roads-medium [PLT] Type=0x04 RgnType=0x40 Label= FILE0=C:\Program Files\OziExplorer\Data\road1.plt [END-PLT]
Once you have your track.txt file edited with the actual tracks and waypoint files on you computer, save the file. The process works like this. You will double click on the tracks.bat file to start making your map. The tracks.bat executes the cgpsmapper.exe file and reads in the data in the tracks.txt file. You will see a DOS window open on your computer when the tracks.bat file is executing. It may take a while if your tracks and waypoint files are huge. Be patient and wait for the process to finish. When it is finished a message appears at the bottom of the DOS screen that says "File: 10000000.img is ready to use" Now you will se that file 10000000.img has been created in the mymap folder. See my screenshot above.
The next step is to upload your map to your GPS using the Loadmap_tracks.bat file. You may have to open this file in a text editor and change the settings. I have my Garmin GPS serial cable connected to COM1 on my computer. If you are connected to some other COM port, change the file and save it. If you use USB to connect to your GPS, you cannot use this version of Sendmap. Sendmap20 is able to send using USB but I have never tried it and so you are on your own.
Turn on your GPS but turn the GPS off function on so that your GPS is not searching for satellites indoors. Connect the GPS to your computer using your serial cable. Double click on the Loadmap_tracks.bat file. It will open a DOS window and then start to download your map. You will hear your GPS make a beep and the screen will change. When it's done the screen will say 100% done.
You should now have a new map in your GPS. Go into setups and find list of maps and turn on your new map. If you are outside the region of the map you will not see it. If you are inside the region you should see your map. If you are inside the new map region and you drive outside of this region, your background hiway map will automatically take over when you cross the boundary.

	Here's what a custom map screen looks like on my Garmin Map76CS. The brown solid lines are roads. The brown dotted lines are trails. The blue lines are water. Waypoints become part of the map image and not like a regular waypoint. They cannot be deleted, they are part of your map. The program that captures Garmin GPS screens shots is X-image and can be downloaded at the Garmin web site.