Getting maps to GPS receivers

All GPS manufacturer map programs upload maps to your GPS receiver in similar ways. Although the user interfaces are different and the commands vary, you load a map onto a GPS receiver by using the same basic process.

1. Run the map program and zoom in on the area that you want to upload to your GPS receiver.
2. Choose which parts of the map you want to upload to the GPS receiver. This usually means selecting one or more rectangular areas on the map. Depending on the program, you either draw a rectangle that defines the areas that you want to upload, or you select grid squares that appear on the map that correspond to the areas you want to upload.
3. Connect your GPS receiver to your PC. You use a special cable for this data transfer connection. To read more on connecting your GPS receiver to a PC, go to Chapter 9. If the GPS receiver uses a memory card to store maps, you can skip this step.
4. Set the communications parameters in the map program. This comprises the COM port, baud rate, and other settings that are needed so that the GPS receiver can successfully communicate with your PC. This is usually a one-time setup, so you don’t need to repeat this each time you want to upload a map. Again, you can skip this step if your GPS receiver uses a memory card.
5. Upload the map to your GPS receiver. The program extracts the information that it needs from the map data CD-ROM and builds a custom map of the area that you select. When this process finishes, the program either starts uploading the map to the GPS receiver or saves the map to your hard drive where you can copy it to a memory card (if applicable).

How long building a map takes depends on the size of the area that you select, how much map detail you want to include, and how fast your PC is. This can range from a minute or less for small areas (such as a metropolitan area) to five or ten minutes for a large map (such as one that includes many different states). For example, when using Lowrance’s MapCreate, it takes a little under five minutes to create a 26MB map of the state of Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle on a typical PC that’s been manufactured within the past several years.
How much time it takes to upload a map into a GPS receiver also depends on the size of the area you select and how the receiver stores maps. If you’re uploading a large map from a PC via a serial cable, it can take hours to transfer the map between a PC and your GPS receiver. GPS receivers that support Universal Serial Bus (USB) communications are much faster. For GPS receivers that use SD or MMC memory for storage, after the map has been created and saved to the memory card, it’s just a matter of inserting the card into the receiver.
After you purchase GPS receiver map software, be sure to check the manufacturer’s Web site every now and then to see whether updated releases of the PC software are available. You may be able to download upgraded versions of the program with bug fixes and enhanced features. Keep in mind that when you download the program, updated map data doesn’t come with it. Some GPS receiver manufacturers use different methods for stemming software and map piracy. Both Garmin and Magellan use unlock codes on some of their map products that require you to visit a Web page and get a code to activate the program. Some map products (notably nautical charts) have multiple regions stored on CD-ROM, and you need to purchase an unlock code for each region you want to access. In addition, programs commonly link the serial number of a GPS receiver to a map, meaning that the map will work only with the GPS receiver that the map was originally uploaded to.