1:50 UK Discoverer Mapping from OS vs. City Navigator NT

[Double J]

Considering purchasing a Garmin 800 Edge, but not sure what package to go for out of the above or are there more to consider (possible by free downloads)?

What would be more suitable for Audaxing and what are the main differences in packages?

Does OS cover all of UK and City Navigator only consider build up areas?

 

PS - You will probably guess from the above, this is all new to me.

[frankly frankie]

I don't know much about the OS package but City is very badly named - it's very detailed and accurate in both rural and town, and covers most of W Europe.  But not very pretty to look at.

The OS is obviously UK only but I *think* it includes an invisible 'City' layer to make the navigation work.

In the UK the free downloadable OpenStreetMap is pretty good too, as a map, though people report variable results with the autorouting (which I consider a very optional extra anyway).  Some downloads include contours, which City doesn't have (though there are ways around everything!)

[SlowCoach]

I've got the OS 1:50,000 Discoverer on a GPSMAP  62S. I got it because I wanted a GPS with mapping I could use when hillwalking as well as cycling. If it was for cycling alone, I think I would just have gone for open street map. It seems perfectly ok.

Don't trust the routing facility: it's very much car-centric. It seems to like to take you to the nearest node - and then from node to node before finally taking you to your destination from a node. It wants to send me on a 4 mile diversion because there's a street with a bollard in the middle (blocking the rat run, but making it a semi-nice cycle route). I am still learning how to use it, but have come to the conclusion that I'll devise my own routes. I use the gps for telling me where I am and giving me the map of the area.

If I turn the OS map off I have a string type map which may be City Navigator - that's ok for car use, but not for bike. I think, as FF says - this is wh\t the unit uses for it's routing.

[MattH]

With the OS map off you are probably seeing the basemap - these are installed on the Garmins by default, but only cover major roads and even those are very poor (very few data points so the roads appear very straight, and rarely coincide with the real road on the ground).

I use City Navigator for Audaxing and in the car. It works fine, and you do get all of Europe. It doesn't give you any inkling of what is around you though - only roads, water and woods.

[Kim]

City Navigator + the SMC contours layer is my cycling map of choice on my eTrex Vista.  Not too cluttered and the routing works, so usually wins over OSM for practicality.  As previously stated, the City Navigator mapping is in no way city-specific, it's just optimised for road based navigation.  Adding contours gives you the physical information that cyclists really care about.  Woods and water features and so on are a bit patchy.

OSM in the andygates flavour usually wins if I'm using towpaths or similar cycleable non-road routes, but routing is not to be trusted.  It's getting very pretty, but there are information overload issues in built-up areas.  Can't argue with free, though.

I also have the Topo GB maps, which are a sort of Garminised OS map.  They're by far the best for terrain and physical features (the contour resolution is higher than SMC's), and work nicely for walking or cycling in really remote areas, but don't provide any autorouting data.  I assume the Discoverer mapping is more akin to a paper OS map, but provides essentially the same sort of thing, plus routing.

I have all of the above installed in Mapsource, then create a combined mapset for uploading to the GPS.  Takes a while, but means you can quickly switch between the different kind of maps from the Garmin's menu as circumstances change.

The basemap is mostly useless.  Think of it as something to locate waypoints against, rather than a real map.


If you intend to use autorouting, I strongly recommend City Navigator and an hour of arsing about to get the SMC contour tiles installed in Mapsource (you only have to do it once).

[Teapot]

I have all of the above installed in Mapsource, then create a combined mapset for uploading to the GPS. 
[/quote]
Please could you explain how to create a combined mapset for use in the Garmin 705 when you have a selection of different map types in Mapsource and Base Camp?Does this involve using MapSetToolKit or can it be done using Mapsource/Base Camp without any other downloaded internet program?Do the SMC contours appear transparently on top of Garmin City Europe NT without needing to set parameters in MapSetToolKit?

[Kim]

It's simply a case of selecting some map tiles in Mapsource, selecting another map type, selecting more tiles, and so on - then uploading the resulting collection of maps to the GPS.

Only the SMC contours are usefully transparent, and will usefully appear on top, the other maps will opaquely overlay each other in arbitrary order, but that's okay because you probably only want one type of map at a time.

I don't know the 705, but on the eTrex, mapsets can be selected by selecting "setup map", moving to the "Information" tab, then pressing the menu button again to bring up a menu that allows you to bulk hide/show maps by type.  Show City Navigator and Contours, hide all the rest, and away you go.

(If you're doing this, I recommend not selecting the "Names" and "Voids" tiles from the SMC contours set.  The other maps will provide better positioned place names, and the voids can be confusing clutter.)

[Teapot]

It's simply a case of selecting some map tiles in Mapsource, selecting another map type, selecting more tiles, and so on - then uploading the resulting collection of maps to the GPS.

Kim,thanks very much for your reply.

[Double J]

Thanks all for taking the time out to give the excellent responses.
And there was me thinking it was only a decision about OS or CN.
Though, looks like I will probably avoid OS.
Any further responses appreciated, as likely to learn more here than from any manual.
Cheers 

[frankly frankie]

Seems to me that, if you love the beauty and utility of a OS paper map as so many people do, then the same thing on a 2x1 screen just isn't going to impress.  The Garmin maps work well on a small screen by design.
My first encounter with a Garmin map after a lifetime of OS and Barts was a nasty cold shock - but I very soon learned to appreciate the advantages - uncanny accuracy at road junctions (probably at least on a par with OS 1:10,000) and great depth of information when you need it (eg phone numbers for any shops hotels restaurants etc that are marked on the map) - and yet if you zoom out for an overview, a reasonably uncluttered display.

[deadhead1971]

I've tried pretty much all the mapping options on an edge 800, from various versions the free open streetmap maps, to the OS Discoverer and City Navigator.
I've written a few blog posts which might help you out, especially the ones with screenshots at different zoom levels.
A few people have commented that they've been quite useful in helping people to decide which way to go - no pun intended!

http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/2012/03/maps-comparison-city-navigator-and-os-discoverer/

[frankly frankie]

I've written a few blog posts which might help you out, especially the ones with screenshots at different zoom levels.
http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/2012/03/maps-comparison-city-navigator-and-os-discoverer/

Very useful page that, for anyone puzzling over this choice.

I notice the OS display really starts to fall apart at and below your zoom level of 500ft - which is close to the max zoom I ever use in practice.  300m is the absolute max zoom I use, but I'm much more likely to be on 120m or 80m - even if using the Vista in the car, 120m works best for me.

[deadhead1971]

http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/2012/03/maps-comparison-city-navigator-and-os-discoverer/

This is really good stuff and shows the reletive merits of both maps.

The pics do show how City Navigator is better when up close as OS 1:50 just melts into a fuzzy mess. But the video does show the strengths of OS 1:50 on the desktop. I guess it's horses for courses.

Don't know quite why but your PC loads the SD maps from the device at what looks like a useable speed. Mine is significantly slower.

AC

I have the maps stored on an 8Gb Sandisk Ultra micro SD card, if that helps (some cards will read/write quicker than others).
The PC processor speed will of course affect the responsiveness when viewing the maps via basecamp, and the amount of RAM, whether you have a separate graphics card etc. So many variables...