When it comes to the cool factor, this is up at the top on my list. Custom Map 3d Relief Viewing in Google Earth You can also transfer the map to your device directly from Garmin Basecamp, allowing you to skip the manual file copy in Step 2. Note that custom maps are not routable ( more on routes versus tracks here). Once your custom map is open in Garmin Basecamp you can mark waypoints and draw tracks using it. The map will overlay onto whatever other maps you have loaded. Simply drag the KMZ custom map file that yo created in Step 1 into Garmin Basecamp to open it. I'm not going to deep dive into the features of Basecamp, but you can check out my article "What is a GPX File?" if you want to learn more. One of the cool things about these custom KMZ maps is that you can view them in the free Garmin Basecamp program. You can also plug in the device and delete the file when you're done with it. If you don't want to see it, you just return to this screen and disable it. When you're in that area the custom map will supersede any built-in maps that you have on the device. Once you've confirmed that the custom map is downloaded to you device, you're all set. You should see the file we created along with the map image. Want to load general free maps for entire regions on your Garmin GPS? Check out this article about downloading free OSM maps for Garmin GPS. You should see "Custom Maps" listed with your other onboard maps. Go to your map or settings page, then bring up the Map Setup screen. So this step might be a little different on every GPS depending on the interface. Once you've got the GPS plugged in, copy the KMZ file to the Garmin > CustomMaps folder.Īnd that's it it's on your device! Step 3: View the Custom Map on Your GPS If you can't get the Garmin to connect, make sure it's in USB Mass Storage Mode. Look for the three-pronged USB symbol on the screen that indicates the GPS is in USB mode. So plug your Garmin GPS into your computer, wait a few seconds, and it should appear as a disk drive called GARMIN. You are going to simply copy the KMZ file from step 1 onto your device. If you run into issues with your custom map (KMZ file) not working on your Garmin GPS, make sure that you haven't exceeded any of the limits found here on Garmin's custom map guidelines page. I've switched one JPEG tile off, and you can see it disappears from the display. The list on the left hand side is each JPEG image tile. Here's a KMZ that I've cracked open in Google Earth. Those coordinates are used by your Garmin GPS to overlay the images when you look at it on the unit. In the case of these custom maps, it's a series of JPEG image files that have a latitude and longitude associated with each corner. So what is a KML file? It's a collection of map presentation elements. What is a KMZ file?Ī KMZ file is a compressed KML file in a format specified by Google Earth. The KMZ file is the format that a Garmin GPS unit reads as a custom map. You'll be transferring this to your Garmin. Once you have the map you want, go to Print > Download KMZ Choose the scale and bounds of the map to save.Īfter that, note where the KMZ file is saved.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |