GPS setup ?'s

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FCAndrews71
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GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby FCAndrews71 » Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:14 am

My buddy isn't very good with anything tech so he sent me his GPS to setup for him. I've never messed with a GPS though. It's a Garmin Oregon 450. He wants to add 24k topo maps for his homestate of Michigan and where we hunt out of state in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. Would also like to get public/private boundaries for each state. The catch is, he's trying to get all this for free...

Is this doable for free? I found www.gpsfiledepot.com and that had all of the individual states he's looking for, but the property boundary files were listed at $100. If he decides to skip the property boundary maps and just has me load the topos for each state, how does the GPS display each file? Assuming a separate icon for each states topo in addition to the standard map that comes installed on the GPS?

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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby dirt nap giver » Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:43 am

I haven't found a free download for property boundaries. Ended up downloading Garmin Base Camp, OnX maps and bing birds eye. Heft price tag for it though.
As far as the files, you should be able to separate each state/area into separate files and download them into the internal hard drive (if it has one) or an SD card.
I highly recommend transferring the info back to the computer, then uploading the desired state/file before each trip.
An external hard drive is highly recommended to. This way if your computer crashes, you aren't up the creak without the paddle. Obtaining all the waypoints and maps is costly and time consuming. Would hate to have to do it over and over again, when a new computer or a crash occurs.

I don't know much about that specific GPS as I have never owned one, just info I have acquired for my 62s.
Hope this helps.
You tube DIY Sportsman. AKA Bowhunter 15. He has some great tutorials

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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby Horizontal Hunter » Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:54 am

FCAndrews71 wrote:My buddy isn't very good with anything tech so he sent me his GPS to setup for him. I've never messed with a GPS though. It's a Garmin Oregon 450. He wants to add 24k topo maps for his homestate of Michigan and where we hunt out of state in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. Would also like to get public/private boundaries for each state. The catch is, he's trying to get all this for free...

Is this doable for free? I found http://www.gpsfiledepot.com and that had all of the individual states he's looking for, but the property boundary files were listed at $100. If he decides to skip the property boundary maps and just has me load the topos for each state, how does the GPS display each file? Assuming a separate icon for each states topo in addition to the standard map that comes installed on the GPS?

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Here is a great primer for a newbie:
http://gpstracklog.com/handheld-gps-faqs

More good tips. I especially like the start up screen tip:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2068173

This is a great read on how to make custom maps and how to enable and disable them:
http://www.garmin.com/us/products/onthe ... fragment-2

My trails is a great map to add as it shows many biking and hunting trails on public land:
http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/53/

Here are some custom hunting waypoint symbols you can load into your GPS:
http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/691/

I don't know of any free maps that show property boundaries and ownership.

I hope that this helps.

Bob

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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby GloryDaysDesign » Wed May 27, 2015 6:26 am

Ok... here are a few questions...

What is the easiest way for me to always have updated Satellite imagery on my gps, as well as my onXhunt topo? I currently own a Garmin Oregon 600 (yes, just the 600). I am reading online that the Garmin Birdseye Imagery is very insufficient. But would this solve my issue of always having satellite maps on my unit? I really just want Pennsylvania, NJ, and Ohio satellite maps as of right now.

I have the ability to make custom maps which is what I see a bunch of people doing. I am fortunate enough to make a living teaching/knowing Photoshop....but can you only make custom maps of a maximum area? And once you make your "snippet/print screen" of the satellite map, is this the highest zoom-able clarity achievable?

Sorry for the confusing questions, I seem to make things difficult before I fully understand them.
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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby Horizontal Hunter » Wed May 27, 2015 10:22 am

I can't help with the Oregon and the Satellite imagery as I haven't any experience with either. I typically use the Trimble GPS Hunt app on my Galaxy if I want to see satellite imagery.

Bob

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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby KLEMZ » Wed May 27, 2015 10:52 am

GloryDaysDesign wrote:Ok... here are a few questions...

What is the easiest way for me to always have updated Satellite imagery on my gps, as well as my onXhunt topo? I currently own a Garmin Oregon 600 (yes, just the 600). I am reading online that the Garmin Birdseye Imagery is very insufficient. But would this solve my issue of always having satellite maps on my unit? I really just want Pennsylvania, NJ, and Ohio satellite maps as of right now.

I have the ability to make custom maps which is what I see a bunch of people doing. I am fortunate enough to make a living teaching/knowing Photoshop....but can you only make custom maps of a maximum area? And once you make your "snippet/print screen" of the satellite map, is this the highest zoom-able clarity achievable?

Sorry for the confusing questions, I seem to make things difficult before I fully understand them.



You can make nice Hi Resolution aerials into custom maps for your Oregon 600, using Google Earth Pro (which is now free). Any Google Earth aerial will work, so you can pick the image that gives you the best detail or contrast for your area, and then make that a map for your gps.

You don't use the screen shot or snippet tool on your computer..rather, GE Pro has a tool to save a Hi Rez image of what shows on your monitor, yet saves it at a MUCH higher resolution than a simple screen save would. In other words, you can save large areas with a single screen shot and have detail on your gps when you zoom in.

Do a search on making custom maps using Google Earth to align your maps. It is easy once you do it a couple times. One very cool thing with your garmin 600 is that you can have multiple images of the same area and toggle between them to suit your needs. And, you are not limited to only the most recent Google image of your area (like phone Apps)...you can use the best one that suits your needs.
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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Wed May 27, 2015 12:07 pm

Great info KLEMZ

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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby GloryDaysDesign » Fri May 29, 2015 3:54 am

Ok, I think I need to def use that GRaster.... I also think I am taking way too big of a map sample, as my Oregon 600 is saying that a map image is too big for the device... How accurate do you need to be when you overlay your selected area onto the original map in GMpro? I think my enormous map sample is causing me to have alignment issues.

It seems as if the youtube videos and tutorials online all create very small custom maps, compared to my multiple county selection.... I guess I am trying to limit my map creation time, although it seems to be a pretty simple process.

I also think I am a bit confused on GPS memory vs. Map Tiles. Can a GPS have 16GB of empty space (due to an SD Card), yet still not read a map because of exceeding Tile display compatibility?

Sorry for all these questions... This is all new to me, and being a pro Graphic Designer, I try to cut corners and wing it haha. I think I get the gist of it... I also think I may subscribe to the Birdseye imagery, just so I can use it rather quickly, but I also may create these custom maps to really dig deep into cyberscouting.
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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby KLEMZ » Fri May 29, 2015 10:13 am

GloryDaysDesign wrote:Ok, I think I need to def use that GRaster.... I also think I am taking way too big of a map sample, as my Oregon 600 is saying that a map image is too big for the device


g-raster will solve this problem. It isn't a matter of selecting too big an area, rather, the giant jpeg used to make the KMZ file needs to be split up into Tiles that the garmin can read. g-raster does this.


GloryDaysDesign wrote:It seems as if the youtube videos and tutorials online all create very small custom maps, compared to my multiple county selection.... I guess I am trying to limit my map creation time, although it seems to be a pretty simple process.


The more area you are covering with a screensave on GE Pro, the less resolution you will have in your pictures when you zoom in on your gps. Trying to cover several counties is doable, but the resolution may not be what you are hoping for. I find that having the altitude at 50,000 ft on GE Pro allows me to cover about a 70 square mile section (10X7) miles), at a resolution on my gps that is acceptable to me. If you need to see deer trails on your gps aerials you will need to save pictures at a closer altitude.


GloryDaysDesign wrote:I also think I am a bit confused on GPS memory vs. Map Tiles. Can a GPS have 16GB of empty space (due to an SD Card), yet still not read a map because of exceeding Tile display compatibility?


Memory has nothing to do with number of custom map tiles you can store on your gps. It is an arbitrary limit set by garmin..I don't know why. I would be surprised if 500 tiles of custom map aerials took more than 4G of memory on your sd card.


GloryDaysDesign wrote: I also think I may subscribe to the Birdseye imagery, just so I can use it rather quickly, but I also may create these custom maps to really dig deep into cyberscouting.


Probably not a bad idea.
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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby GloryDaysDesign » Fri May 29, 2015 1:37 pm

Great post, thank you so much for taking the time to answer so informatively. I really appreciate it.

When you are saving the map area you want as a jpeg (before importing it in as an overlay), what screen resolution are you saving at? I was picking the 4,000+ pixel option. Is this too much? I will screen grab this tomorrow if needed.

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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby KLEMZ » Fri May 29, 2015 11:40 pm

I have been saving images at the highest resolution and adjusting altitude to cover the section I want. I have not experimented with using lesser resolution settings yet.

I own the garmin 450 which only allows 100 tiles of custom map aerials, so I have learned to be very mizerly with the KMZ files I am making. You should make a few sets of maps of your neighborhood done at different altitudes and test drive them all on your gps to see what you need. Basically, the lowest acceptable resolution for navigating on my gps is what I shoot for.

Also, it is possible to crop out unneeded tiles on the edges of your maps if you need to maximize tile usage. This is done in GE, you open your KMZ and expand it to see all the individual tiles that make it up, then delete the ones you don't need, then "save place as".

And, it is possible to make a huge low resolution general map of your area yet have critical sections of it in higher resolution. to do this you need to make two separate KMZ files and then combine them into one KMZ file. And you need to set the draw order of the KMZ pix so the higher rez segment shows on top of the main lower rez KMZ pic. I would need to revisit that one in order to be more specific..but it can be done
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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Apr 23, 2016 3:42 pm

I've been able to add public land boundaries for free, haven't loaded it to the garmin yet, but it works on my gps app.

Download a pdf of the public land you want. Using paint crop out everything that isn't aerial or topo.

Using this free program convert the pdf to jpeg

http://pdf2jpg.net/

In Google Earth use the "add" then select "image overlay". Under link, click on browse and select your previously converted jpeg image.

You'll need to orientated the jpeg using roads, rivers, fields etc. Use the transparency slider to darken and lighten the image until you are certain everything lines up.

Now use the "add path" and phisically trace the outline of the public land boundaries (similar to making a pre-planned route). Once you have the boundaries traced, you can save the file (I emailed it to myself). The kmz file can then be emailed to buddies, imported to a gps app or imported to your garmin handheld. Back it up.

Sounds more difficult than it really is. The hardest part is orienttating the image on google earth.

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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Apr 23, 2016 3:48 pm

In a few hours I added over 10,000 acres of public land in two states to my gps app.

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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Apr 23, 2016 4:07 pm

Here's an example of the finished product.


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Re: GPS setup ?'s

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Sat Apr 23, 2016 4:12 pm

Dang KLEMZ, you really have a lot of knowledge about this stuff. I always feel like it's not quite clear enough for me to understand it for some reason. I wish you were closer. I would gladly pay you to hold my hand and show me everything you know about this stuff so I could understand it enough to use it. I usually don't have much trouble grasping things, but for some reason this stuff just doesn't quite click. It's just been an exercise in frustration for me.
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