shape file to GPS?

[DaveM]

Anybody here know anything about getting .shp (ESRI shape files) converted for use in a Garmin GPS? I have Nuvi 500 and a Mac. I've read some posts on guys loading custom maps into their Garmins, in particular via Open Source Maps. I'm a cartographer and have oodles of custom map data in .shp format that I'd like to be able to use with my GPS. Any tips on how to do this?

thanks,

Dave

 

[chrismc]

I've used this tutorial to create custom topo maps for my 60CSx. If you're familiar with ESRI or other GIS tools, you should be able to adapt the process from the freebie tools used (I use Global Mapper). http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/how-to-create-garmin-topo-maps/

I'd try working through the process once to get the full picture, then work on just adding custom shapefiles. You can add multiple maps on the GPS, and set some as "transparent" so that you can see through your shapefiles to your base map layer.

 

[sjester]

If you want to load stuff in to tracks and route memory use this

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mis/gis/tools/arcview/extensions/DNRGarmin/DNRGarmin.html

Use it a lot in wildlife and land mgmt work, not the choice to convert .shp to Garmin map format.