OziMC is an add on software to OziExplorer.
OziMC does NOT work with the Lowrance Mapcreate 5 or Mapcreate 6 CDROM
This means OziMC cannot be used for GPS Receivers like iFinder series which need Mapcreate 5 or 6.
It allows the user to create maps that can be uploaded to the Global Map series of Lowrance / Eagle GPS receivers.
OziMC is still in the Beta stage, however it is fully usable in it's present form. The program is constantly evolving. New functionality is being added frequently and it's hard to keep up with the improvements, so it would be even harder to keep up to date any review of it. There are, however, a few
things that remain constant about this program:
- It is the only program of its kind. There is no other combination of software and hardware that would allow an average user to create and upload maps of any part of the world to a GPS receiver .
- The program does not come with any regional maps. It is up to the user to obtain the source maps. The maps can be obtained from various sources or simply scanned and calibrated by the user.
- It is not magic and it is not for everybody. In order to create good uploadable maps, there is some work required. It is not hard, but tedious. It requires hours of sitting in front of the computer and drawing lines from point to point to point to .... you get the picture.
Many, including myself, consider the final effect to be well worth the time invested.
The best source of the detailed information about the program can be found in the program's help file and on the author's website. For now, let me just say that it simply works. The proof of it can be seen in the screenshots below.
Original, LEI maps (Wiatron, ON, Canada)
OziMC enhanced maps (Wiatron, ON, Canada)
Original, LEI maps (Westree, ON, Canada)
OziMC enhanced maps (Westree, ON, Canada)
Original, LEI maps (Quebec, PQ, Canada)
OziMC enhanced maps (Quebec, PQ, Canada)
Original, LEI maps (Madrid, Spain)
OziMC enhanced maps (Madrid, Spain) by Carlos Puch
Original, LEI maps (Burlington, ON, Canada)
OziMC enhanced maps (Burlington, ON, Canada)
As seen in the above screenshots, by using OziMC, it is possible to edit, remove or add to the original LEI uploadable map features.
It is not possible to change the features in the base map built into the receiver. Features can be added, but not removed. The built in base map covers the USA and parts of Canada and Mexico. Newly created / uploaded features will be displayed together with the base map features. However, if a SmartMap is used, at zoom levels of 15 kilometres and closer (detail level set to High), the base map is not displayed by the unit and only SmartMap features are visible.
Currently, OziMC does not allow the user to edit or create NavAids. Hopefully that functionality will be added in a near future.
Before you ask; Because most of the maps were created using copyrighted materials, I can not share the data. However, there is no problem with sharing the information about the sources of the maps used.
Some data in the vector form can be easily transformed into Lowrance uploadable maps. To read more about it, see the article in the "LEI Tips and tricks" section of this website. The article describes, in few steps, how to utilize free vector data from USGS in order to create Lowrance uploadable, topographical maps of the USA.
Some of the sources are:
QVN maps - Maps of various regions of Canada, Europe, Africa, Mongolia
TerraServer - satellite pictures of various spots around the globe.
Geography Network links to various other sorces
To find out more about the OziExplorer and OziMC programs, go to the source:
To find out more about the GM100, check the review on this website.
August 05, 2000
Links update Aug. 03
