Free maps for Garmin

[RW]

Numpty question coming up?

I have read about 3/4 of this thread, but got very confused.

I've just downloaded an OSM map of France - and it's worked.  That's good, but this afternoon I accidentally downloaded a map of New Zealand - had I read the context of the thread a bit more I'd have realised what I was doing.

When I put the French map onto my Etrex having renamed the file as per the instructions, a dialogue box told me I already had a file of the same name, and did I want to overwrite it.  Yes - I've got no plans to go to NZ in the near future.  How do I get round this when I try to download a map of the UK?

[andrew_s]

What sort of Etrex? A CSx with the maps on an SD card?

On a card, the file with the maps in is always called "gmapsupp.img" (that's the only file that the Etrex will read maps from), and this will also be the name of any ready for use file that you download - hence the "overwrite?" prompt when you copy in a new file.
If you've already got French maps on the card, rename the gmapsupp.img file to (eg) FR_gmapsupp.img before copying the UK gmapsupp.img file onto the card.
The French maps are then sitting on the card ready to be used if you rename the two files appropriately.

[RW]

Thank you - that worked.

[Wowbagger]

I've just being toggling between UK & Germany maps, having both on the SD card.

Is there any way of renaming them without connecting the Garmin (in my case a Vista HCX) to a computer, or can I do it whilst out & about?

[andygates]

You can't do it with the GPS, that's for sure.  If your phone takes the same size card, you ought to be able to do it in that (it's just a little computer, after all).  Regular swapsies might suggest two cards and a wallet to me, just to de-faff the whole gig.

[RW]

Andy, I think you've provided the answer to my next question.  I think I wrongly assumed you could put two maps on the same card, with different names.  Is this not the case?  I've done that and now can't see any map apart from the base map - so do I need two cards with separate maps?

[fuaran]

The etrex will only use maps on in a file on the card called "gmapsupp.img", all other img files will be ignored.
I think some of the newer models (eg Oregon, Dakota) can use multiple img files.

If you have the maps installed in Mapsource, you can use that to combine them into a single mapset. Note you need to select them all at once, then send to the device. If you upload a new mapset from Mapsource, it will overwrite any maps already there.

[RW]

Is mapsource different from City Navigator?
Sorry I'm being *very* slow.

The background to all of this.  I have a vista HCx - which works fine with City Navigator downloaded from a DVD from the pc.  I bought my partner a legend HCx and was a bit miffed when I found I couldn't put City Navigator onto it, hence, the search for a cheap or free alternative.  So far, I've got a uk map and a french map downloaded on separate cards and they both seem to work in the device.  It would be nice to make the whole thing a little more seamless though.

Is there a single OSM map of Europe?  What are the differences between the various downloads that are on the interenet?  Is open cyclemap worth bothering with and where can you find it?

Sorry, that's a lot of fairly basic questions I'm afraid.

[fuaran]

Mapsource is Garmin software, that can be used for viewing a variety of Garmin map products, including City Navigator, Metroguide, Topo GB etc. Or OSM maps in Garmin format.

There's a variety of ready made OSM Garmin maps to download, this page lists most of them: OSM Map On Garmin/Download - OpenStreetMap Wiki
They differ in the areas they cover, how often they are updated, whether they include MapSource installers, if they are routable, plus some have custom styles to highlight particular things, eg cycle routes, or mapping errors, or include contours etc.

I recommend the maps here: Worldwide routable Garmin maps from OpenStreetMap
It covers the whole world, you can select all of the tiles you want, then it will generate a map set for you. It includes a Mapsource installer or a gmapsupp.img file.

Opencyclemap is mostly just an online map, which highlights cycle routes etc. See OpenCycleMap.org - the OpenStreetMap Cycle Map
I see they are now also selling Garmin maps on SD cards which highlight cycle routes etc. AFAIK these are not available to download anywhere.

But there's other Garmin maps which highlight things useful for cycling. One listed on the download page above, or there's Andy Gates' Munky Map, or Openmtbmap Openmtbmap.org – Mountainbike / Bicycle/ Hiking Maps based on Openstreetmap

[Auntie Helen]

You can't have different map names on the Oregon either. I've solved the problem that Wow has by buying a second SD card. You CAN have two maps on the go at once on the Oregon - one on its memory, one on the SD card - but I seem to need three for my Germany tour so I've bought another SD card (a larger one this time as the complete Europe mapping I want to use is 2.1GB and my current card is 2GB).

[tom_e]

You can't have different map names on the Oregon either.

Er, you can.

I think earlier firmware versions might not have had this, but anything updated more recently has.  I have two different main maps in mine which switch with profile.

That said, multiple SD cards would still be a really easy way of getting the job done.

[frankly frankie]

The background to all of this.  I have a vista HCx - which works fine with City Navigator downloaded from a DVD from the pc.  I bought my partner a legend HCx and was a bit miffed when I found I couldn't put City Navigator onto it, hence, the search for a cheap or free alternative.

But then one of you will be a 2nd-class citizen.  The OSM France coverage is very variable - some areas (eg around Bordeaux) are meticulously mapped, but most rural areas are sparse to nonexistent.

An alternative (OK not free and obviously you don't really want to give Garmin any more money) is to buy a 2nd City Navigator on SD - this is quite a bit cheaper than the DVD version and is not locked to a single GPS.  You can't use it on a computer but then you already have the DVD for that.

[Auntie Helen]

You can't have different map names on the Oregon either.

Er, you can.

I think earlier firmware versions might not have had this, but anything updated more recently has.  I have two different main maps in mine which switch with profile.

That said, multiple SD cards would still be a really easy way of getting the job done.

How does this work then? Do they have different filenames? It sounds like a good update if so. I have recently done the firmware update (was just fiddling with the elevation plot on a track just now to see if I like it) and would love the chance for multiple maps.

Just one question though; if I have more than two maps covering the same area, does it screw up the routing for the gadget if I ask it to find the way home? Or will it just use one map?

[RW]

But then one of you will be a 2nd-class citizen.  The OSM France coverage is very variable - some areas (eg around Bordeaux) are meticulously mapped, but most rural areas are sparse to nonexistent.

An alternative (OK not free and obviously you don't really want to give Garmin any more money) is to buy a 2nd City Navigator on SD - this is quite a bit cheaper than the DVD version and is not locked to a single GPS.  You can't use it on a computer but then you already have the DVD for that.

No - she'll be the 2nd class citizen!  You're right, the area around our house - near Agen has virtually nothing.  I've got a lot to contribute to the maps if only I knew how to. 

Can you save tracks automatically to a pre-loaded SD card? 

[tom_e]

How does this work then? Do they have different filenames?

Yes - you can have several .img files in the garmin directory at once.  None of them need to be called gmapsupp.img.  You can then go into the maps setup and see all of the maps listed, then enable or disable individual map sections. 

The sections in map setup don't quite correspond to the .img files, but blocks within them of some kind, so it's a bit of a pain to line up.  That's why I'd suggest using profiles so you only have to do this once.

Just one question though; if I have more than two maps covering the same area, does it screw up the routing for the gadget if I ask it to find the way home? Or will it just use one map?

I enable/disable so there is only one map covering an area at once.  I assume it can only route within one map at once, but I haven't tried to find out.  There's certainly no point in having it try to draw two maps at the same time.

Having to enable/disable maps of the same area is why I suggested the multiple SD card solution wasn't actually a bad idea...  less potential for confusion, and a spare 2GB card is not expensive now.

[bikefish]

A useful map aggregator is gmaptool from a Polish site. Antyong.com has some good, simple mapping tools...

[Auntie Helen]

tom_e, thanks for the advice - I have renamed two maps and they're sitting in the same directory and both showing. Works really well

[inc]

 the area around our house - near Agen has virtually nothing.  I've got a lot to contribute to the maps if only I knew how to. 

Can you save tracks automatically to a pre-loaded SD card? 

The OSM site has all your answers. You can set your Garmin to record your gpx trace to your card, it will do this in addition to the inbuilt memory. This track is preferable for upload to OSM as it is  clean i.e. no commercial Garmin information POI's etc.

[RW]

The OSM site has all your answers. You can set your Garmin to record your gpx trace to your card, it will do this in addition to the inbuilt memory. This track is preferable for upload to OSM as it is  clean i.e. no commercial Garmin information POI's etc.

I'm sure the OSM site has - but if I understood those answers....but I don't and I'm still asking daft questions.
I think my daft questions weren't ever so clear.

I've set my Etrex - that's the one with City Navigator downloaded onto a blank sd card - I've set it to record my traces to the card.

My question is this - If I buy a garmin SD card with mapping on it - can you also set that to record the track.

Second question -
Reading the OSM site it looks like there's lots of jiggery pokery involved in sending them your tracks.  I'm cycling on a lot of roads that don't appear on the map and it seems obvious to me that if I just send them a track it could be anything - I could be walking across a field or whatever.  What I don't understand is how to do the stage that translates that track to something useable.

[frankly frankie]

Can you save tracks automatically to a pre-loaded SD card?  

No personal exerience but I've read that you can - the card isn't write-protected  

And that's a good point re saving tracks for mapping to OSM - this really is the best way to do it.  Using the 'Save Track' facility on the older models won't work - OSM rejects trackpoints that aren't timestamped.

[frankly frankie]

Having to enable/disable maps of the same area is why I suggested the multiple SD card solution wasn't actually a bad idea...  less potential for confusion, and a spare 2GB card is not expensive now.

Kind of easy to mislay though - and difficult to label them!

And might foul up your user profiles if you switch to a profile and the card doesn't have a matching map?

[frankly frankie]

Reading the OSM site it looks like there's lots of jiggery pokery involved in sending them your tracks.  I'm cycling on a lot of roads that don't appear on the map and it seems obvious to me that if I just send them a track it could be anything - I could be walking across a field or whatever.  What I don't understand is how to do the stage that translates that track to something useable.

Its actually really easy and rather addictive.  I've added about 2500km to France in the last 15 months.

I find you do have to split your tracks into short chunks before uploading, or they get downsampled too much.  They must be timestamped (this is just a crude way of screening out drawn or map-generated tracks).

You upload it and then, after about a minute, you can 'edit' it.  You have an option on the edit page to convert your track to a 'way', which I usually do, then it's easy via a drop-down to assign a road type, number, name to it.  Obviously you also have to split it, edit out any rubbish bits, and join it to existing stuff on the map and so forth.  In the wiki there's a page of useful keyboard shortcuts for these and other operations, which I have printed out and stuck on the wall near my PC.  The most difficult thing I find is drawing large roundabouts (mini-Os are easy).
After the edit your work is visible in one version of the online map, within 5 minutes, and this filters through to other versions of the map over hours, days and in some cases weeks.

[tom_e]

Reading the OSM site it looks like there's lots of jiggery pokery involved in sending them your tracks.  I'm cycling on a lot of roads that don't appear on the map and it seems obvious to me that if I just send them a track it could be anything - I could be walking across a field or whatever.  What I don't understand is how to do the stage that translates that track to something useable.

There is no automatic conversion.  Essentially you use the GPS track as a background, and a human being (normally the one who made the track) then traces over it in a sensible way to create the OSM data.

To put it another way - GPS tracks are normally pretty noisy, and as you say if you don't know what happened you can't assume anything at all about what they mean.  Don't worry too much about uploading a track with mixed data - others will be pretty cautious about using it without knowing what it is.

The online editor requires you to upload the track via a web interface first.  This is very easy.  The offline editors you just have to load a .gpx file into them.

Either open the online editor and click to not save changes live, or use an offline one and don't upload the results.  Then you can poke around, edit on a whim and generally get a feel for what the data should look like without saving anything.  You won't harm anything that way, and can see the common structures are fairly simple.  Next stop is the wiki to look up how to tag most things.

[tom_e]

Having to enable/disable maps of the same area is why I suggested the multiple SD card solution wasn't actually a bad idea...  less potential for confusion, and a spare 2GB card is not expensive now.

Kind of easy to mislay though - and difficult to label them!

Yer, but some people find physical objects less confusing than software settings.

And might foul up your user profiles if you switch to a profile and the card doesn't have a matching map?

I think it defaults to all maps enabled.  So if you can arrange cards so you always want everything on the current card you'll probably be alright.  Maybe.  Not tested...

[fuaran]

Can you save tracks automatically to a pre-loaded SD card?  

No personal exerience but I've read that you can - the card isn't write-protected  

But how much free space is there on the preloaded SD cards?

And that's a good point re saving tracks for mapping to OSM - this really is the best way to do it.  Using the 'Save Track' facility on the older models won't work - OSM rejects trackpoints that aren't timestamped.

I agree with this. Plus you can set it to record 1 point per second (I think this is worth doing for OSM), without worrying about running out of space.
And another tip: make sure "Lock on road" is turned off. Otherwise your recorded tracks will be useless for OSM, as they will just be a copy of your current map.