I want to create a Google Map and Upload it to my Magellan GPS. I also want to distribute that map (free)?

Question

The software that comes with the GPS device is pretty basic. It seems like it only has major highways on it. The route I am creating is part on-road part off-road. National Geographic provides TOPO maps but they are expensive and really don’t fill the bill either since I need streets in my map occasionally.

With Google maps (or Yahoo maps for that matter) I could use the satellite imagery to help me create the route, but then I want to upload the finished route to my GPS. It would be a plus if I could then post the route I make on a website.

The GPS is a Magellan Triton 500, if that makes any difference. I am reluctant to spend another couple of hundred on software packages only to find they don’t help. I've used Google Earth too, but again don't want to get into the premium service. There has to be a way to create this easily without spending more than time.

Answer 1

Is it too late for you to return the Triton?  I ask that in all seriousness.  That is the worst GPS receiver I have seen since I started following those products five years ago.  There are plenty of Triton horror stories on the internet.

The only way to get map data to your Triton is through Magellan's VantagePoint program.  One thing you can try is creating your route in Google Earth and saving it to a KML or KMZ file, then see if VantagePoint can send that KML/KMZ file to the Triton.

The Triton is harder than most GPS receivers to work with because VantagePoint is the only program that can be used to send data.  Magellan has refused to share the program's code or info about how the Triton communicates, so this has prevented third-party developers from developing their own free open-source programs to transfer and convert data for the Triton.  There are some difficult workarounds for creating your own maps for Magellan Meridian and eXplorist GPS receivers, but that's because those GPS receivers can communicate via other programs, and in the case of the eXplorist, shows up as removable storage on a PC.  Garmin and TomTom developed web browser plugins for having routes sent from Google Maps and Mapquest to their receivers.  Magellan's tech support and engineering are so lackluster or don't care enough about their customers to develop such browser plugins.

Magellan hasn't even come up with a firmware revision yet that will let the Triton autoroute and provide turn-by-turn directions.  Magellan hasn't released a new version of their DirectRoute maps in nearly two years.  So if Magellan even released a new version of DirectRoute, you wouldn't be able to use the maps to get directions out of the Triton.