HOWTO: Load aviation waypoints onto a Garmin handheld GPS

by Kareem Shehata, 2007-08-30

Introduction

Garmin handheld GPS units are great little devices, and often come with lots of preloaded data. While they aren't designed for aviation use, they can be a great reference for pilot navigation or even a backup to actual aviation GPS units. John Bell has written a comprehensive guide to using cockpit GPS, which isn't a necessary first read it is recommended that you know some of the GPS basics before getting started. This guide is not intended to do that, nor is it intended to show individual functions of a GPS unit. Rather, the goal here is to demonstrate one technique to load waypoint data onto a Garmin device so that it can be used.

Disclaimer

The contents of this guide are given as a reference only. None of the techniques, instruments, or data given is certified for aviation or any other purpose. Use of any instructions, data, techniques, or examples is entirely at your own risk without any warranty of any kind.

Equipment List

Here's a list of the equipment I used. You will likely need something similar. Note any differences, as it may affect the actual procedure.

Garmin Vista C
Standard mini-usb cable
PC running Windows XP (required for Mapsource - let me know if you get this to work on any other OS, should be doable with gpsbabel)
Garmin Mapsource software (6.13.1 used in this guide)
Garmin xImage software
Graphics editor application (MS Paint will do, only needed if you want different map symbols)

Symbols

What's the point of a moving map display if it doesn't use the right symbols? Lets fix that first. I've drawn a few of the symbols myself, which you may download as examples or use for personal (i.e. non-commercial) applications, or you can go ahead and make your own. To be usable on both MapSource and the GPS units, the images must be 16x16 pixel full-colour BMP files. Note that magenta is the transparency colour (i.e. any pixels set to magenta show up as transparent on the maps, whereas white will block out the background).

#	Symbol	Description	MapSource Filename	xImage Filename
0		VOR	000.bmp	Waypoint Symbol 000.bmp
1		VORTAC	001.bmp	Waypoint Symbol 001.bmp
2		VOR/DME	002.bmp	Waypoint Symbol 002.bmp
3		NDB	003.bmp	Waypoint Symbol 003.bmp
4		DME	004.bmp	Waypoint Symbol 004.bmp
5		TACAN	005.bmp	Waypoint Symbol 005.bmp

MapSource Setup

To get MapSource to use the new symbols, just replace the files under "My Documents\My Garmin\Custom Waypoint Symbols", with the names set as per the table. The next time you start MapSource, the new symbols will be loaded. MapSource supports 16x16 or 24x24 pixel symbols.

GPS Unit Setup

Loading the symbols onto the GPS unit requires just a few more steps, but with Garmin's xImage software, it's pretty straightforward.

Make an emtpy folder for the symbol files
Plug the GPS unit into the PC through a USB cable, and make sure the PC recognizes it correctly. If Windows prompts you for a driver, deal with that appropriately. This won't work if the drivers aren't set up properly.
Start xImage
Choose your device from the selection screen (should only be one option)
Choose "Get images from the GPS"
Choose Image Type "Waypoint Symbol", and then click Select All to get all of them.
Point xImage to the folder you made
You should now have a folder with a bunch of .BMP files, most of which just look like small blue circles with a magenta background. Save a copy of these somewhere, as they are the original symbols from the unit.
Dump the new symbols (named appropriately) into the folder
Launch xImage again, and select your device
Choose "Send images to the GPS"
Choose Image Type "Waypoint Symbol", and then click Select All to get all of them.
Again point xImage to the folder with the updated files
The GPS unit should now be updated with the custom symbols. If there were errors, check that the files meet the size/depth specs.

Getting the waypoints

Now here's the good part: actually getting the data and putting it onto the unit itself. There are many sources of data, but by far the easiest is P. Tomblin's navaid website. Simply go there, fill out which area to use, and which types of points, and you'll end up with a .GPX file.

The GPX file itself, while conforming to the standard, isn't perfect for our use. Specifically, the symbols will all be wrong! There's an easy fix for that though. Just bring the .GPX file up in a text editor and use the good old "Find and replace" feature. Notepad will do, as with just about any other editor. The table below lists the changes that I used. The same pattern can be used for any other symbols. I elected not to use VFR or IFR reporting points, but you may find them useful. This could likely be made into some kind of a script, but I haven't bothered doing so yet.

Type	Find	Replace
Airport	<type>AIRPORT</type>	<sym>Private Field</sym>
VOR	<type>VOR</type>	<sym>Custom 0</sym>
VORTAC	<type>VORTAC</type>	<sym>Custom 1</sym>
VOR/DME	<type>VOR/DME</type>	<sym>Custom 2</sym>
NDB	<type>NDB</type>	<sym>Custom 3</sym>
DME	<type>DME</type>	<sym>Custom 4</sym>
TACAN	<type>TACAN</type>	<sym>Custom 5</sym>

The last step is to actually load the data onto the gps itself. There's a few ways to do this. MapSource is the easiest, but GPSBabel can be used as well. In any case, I'd suggest something along the lines of the following:

Make a backup of the data on your GPS unit first!
Optionally, clear out the existing data from your GPS unit. This must be done on the unit itself, neither MapSource nor GPSBabel will erase any data, only overwrite.
Load the data into MapSource. Just start MapSource, goto File->Open, change the format to .GPX, and then load your file.
Check that everything you expect to be there, is in fact there! If it doesn't show up in MapSource, it won't end up on the GPS.
Download the data to your GPS device as usual
Double check that the waypoints are on the unit

Using the waypoint

Now that you have them on there, what can you do with them? Well, as mentioned in the intro, this document won't go into great detail on the use of GPS, but here are some ideas:

Bearing and distance to any of the waypoint
Groundspeed and track
Moving map display, with track line to destination

A handheld unit can make navigation a whole lot easier, but there are some key things to consider. First and foremost, it will not and cannot replace good pilot navigation. Despite the GPS, you still need to plan your route properly and fill out a flight log. The GPS just makes it a little easier to get there. Second, it will not replace radio navigation aids. If you filed a flight plan saying that you're going to follow V98, a handheld GPS won't help you - only the VOR or a proper aviation GPS will do that.

TODO

More symbols of course. The ones here are what I use, but feel free to submit others
Categories. I don't find the categories feature of MapSource useful because my GPS doesn't use them, but it would be cool to automate that into it
Notes. The notes field on the Vista is limited in length, so it cuts off some crucial data. Would be nice to somehow squeeze that in there. Possibly with some more advanced find/replace?
Airspace. From what I understand, it's possible to make custom maps for Garmin units. It would be really cool to have airspace maps, but that's a much larger undertaking. Any volunteers? :)