Technoleros

BaseCamp is software to view and organize your maps, waypoints, routes, and tracks and send them to your Garmin device.  It works very similar to MapSource.  BaseCamp displays topographic map data in 2-D or 3-D on your computer screen, including elevation profiles. Then you can view and rotate the maps from any angle.

Features:

• View 24K or 100K topographic maps and other topographic data.
• Displays maps in 2-D or 3-D, including elevation profiles.
• View and rotate maps at any angle.
• Create waypoints and routes on your computer and transfer maps, waypoints, routes, tracks and geotagged photos between your computer and device.
• Transfers satellite images to your device (with the purchase of BirdsEye Satellite Imagery subscription).
• Shows animated playback of routes and tracks over time.
• Supports geotagged photos.
• Easily organize data into folders.
• Prints full-page, color maps.
• Exports user data for viewing in Google Earth.
• Includes advanced geocaching support; can import data from geocaching.com.

Changes made from version 3.0.1 to 3.0.2:

• Eliminated error messages at startup with blank SD cards.
• Fixed several printing related issues.
• Fixed issue when hovering over the 3D view after turning off lines or areas.
• Fixed issue when importing a KML file that didn’t contain any visible ground overlays.
• Fixed issue with track and route join.
• Fixed issue with track and route insert.
• Fixed issue with geotagged photos on devices not being read.

System Requirements

• BaseCamp requires an IBM-compatible PC running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later operating system or any Intel-based or PowerPC G4 or later Mac OS.
• Microsoft.NET framework 2.0 SP1 is required. A current version of .NET will be installed if needed.
• A video card that supports OpenGL version 1.3 or later is needed to view 3-D terrain.
• If you experience problems when interacting with the map views, please make sure that you have installed current video card drivers.

It has been four months since Garmin has updated it MapSource Windows-based mapping software.  MapSource is included with the purchase of a Garmin map on DVD or CD. Features include:

• Back up important trip data separately from your Garmin device.
• Plan routes from the convenience of your computer instead of on your device.
• Create, view, and edit waypoints, routes, and tracks.
• Plan extensive or complicated routes, in which you travel to several locations in an order you specify.
• Transfer waypoints, routes and tracks between your computer and your device.
• Transfer selected map from your computer to your device.
• Find items, addresses and points of interest included in the map data.
• View your maps in detail on your computer screen.

You can even download a MapSource tutorial at http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapsourceTutorial.html.

Changes made from version 6.15.7 to 6.15.11:

• Improved performance for custom draw elements.
• Made sure waypoints of type ‘Geotagged Photo’ don’t crash MapSource.
• Allowed the import and export of unlock codes.
• Made sure unlocking changes get propagated without needing to restart the application.
• Phone numbers that were imported from gpx files were not written back out again. This is now fixed.
• Added support for enhanced map security.
• Fixed unlocking issue.
• Implemented Asian 6-level address search.
• Improved trimming performance for some Asian map products.

From the Minnesota DNR web site:

This extension was built to provide users the ability to directly transfer data between Garmin GPS handheld receivers and various GIS software packages. Using this program a user can use point features (graphics or shapefile) and upload them to the GPS as Waypoints. Line and Polygon Graphics or shapes can be uploaded to the GPS as Track Logs or Routes. Conversely, Waypoints, Track Logs, and Routes collected using the GPS can be transferred directly to ArcView/ArcMap/Google Earth/Landview and saved as Graphics or Shapefiles.

This program has a real-time tracking mode that allows users to follow their progress on the ground within an ArcView View Document, ArcMap Data Frame, or Landview Map. This real-time track log can be saved as either points or lines as a set of graphics or in a shapefile.

Functionality Highlights

At this time DNRGarmin contains (but is not limited to) the following functionality:

Download Waypoints/Tracks/Routes – Download waypoints, tracks, and routes from Garmin GPS and save as ArcView Shapefiles or Graphics

Upload Waypoints/Tracks/Routes – Upload waypoints, tracks, and routes to Garmin GPS

Real-Time Tracking – Collect real-time locational information and store as graphics or shapefile

Waypoint to Point – Converts Waypoints downloaded from the GPS unit into a point shapefile or graphics

Track to Point/Line/Polygon – Converts a Garmin Track log to an ArcView graphic or shapefile

Point to Waypoint – Convert Point shapes or graphics to a GPS Waypoint

Line/Polygon to Track – Converts a line or polygon to a Garmin Track

Point to Line/Polygon – Converts Point themes to Lines or Polygons

Add Documentation to Features – Adds basic documentation to ArcView themes including Name, GPS Model, Date, Agency, etc. – ArcView 3.x only

Calculate Shape Attributes – Calculates Area, Perimeter, Length attributes for features. ArcView 3.x/9.x

Calculate CEP – Determine Circular Error Probability rings for Error estimation. ArcView 3.x/9.x

Image Hotlinking – Create hotlinks between images and GPS data.

USB Connectivity – Speed up your downloads by a factor of about 10 with USB connectivity option!

Projection Engine – Built in Projection Functionality using Proj.4 Cartographic Projections Library http://www.remotesensing.org/proj/ by Gerald Evenden

Click here to go to the DNRGarmin web site