OpenStreetMap data

I've been trying out the OSM routable maps from http://garmin.na1400.info/routable.php. It seems to work ok around town, but doesn't traverse tile boundaries very well, so it doesn't work well for long trips. I grab an update every month or so, and it's improving over time.

The OSM dataset itself is pretty good, and I regularly contribute to it. It's the translation to Garmin's map format that has issues.

Thanks for the info. I downloaded about 4 tiles worth of data for my area and will probably put it on an SD card so I can play with it.

The data looked pretty detailed when I pulled it up on an online map. If translation to the Garmin format is the issue, then perhaps improvements to the translation software will yield better results in the future.

- Phil

Yes OSM isn't quite ready for US road trips just yet, but it's come a long way in the short year that I've known about it!

You probably already found the Garmin maps page on their Wiki, but here it is anyway:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Downloa...

Very cool projects, imo and not just road maps. Rest of world seems to have advanced more than US since they have the most need (no USGS )

Hi all I just downloaded some tiles for my area and I downloaded the installer.exe file and the zip file.. tho I'm not exactly sure how to install them into my garmin? can some one here shed a little light ???? thanks in advance.

Well, I took the GMAPSUPP.IMG file that was generated and emailed to me, and copied it to a folder called Garmin on the SD card.

The new OSM map appears under Settings>Maps but when I enable it and disable the regular 2010.40 map, most of the street detail is gone. The major roads are there but the side streets are not. When I disable both maps by unchecking them, the result is the same so it appears to just be displaying the basemap data, the OSM data doesn't appear to be contributing much of anything.

I can try downloading the data again but is there something else I could be missing here? When I looked at the data online, it appeared to be just as detailed as the Garmin data and my community streets were all there.

- Phil

Did you download OSM for the SAME area that you have City Navigator coverage?

If so, then

1) you have to deselect the CN maps in order to see the OSM maps. The CN maps have the highest priority. (Also, you need to think of the supplemental maps as opaque pieces of paper not transparent sheets.)

2) your CN maps likely have MUCH more detail that the OSM maps. The OSM maps would be particularly useful for a) area OTHER than those covered by your CN maps and b) for GPS unit that don't have CN maps.

have tried this it works but it slows down the redraw

Yup, and I disabled the CN map to see what the OSM map looked like for that area but it looked the same as it did when neither one was selected.

Looking at the OSM data online showed a lot of detail for my area but none of that detail was present on the GPS when the OSM map was selected.

- Phil

I requested another set of data and downloaded it again and it's working fine now. The IMG file was a lot smaller this time too. Either the server hiccupped when it built my data or I didn't have all of the tiles selected properly, or both.

Very nice. I'll be glad when they get the boundary traversals working better, this could really be a great thing.

Apparently they have cycle maps too.

Too cool.

- Phil

I decided to check out an area where my family roots come from: Meadows of Dan, Virginia. It's literally out in the middle of nowhere.

First, I looked at the area using the Garmin CN 2010.40 map. Most of the major roads I'm familiar with were shown, without a lot of additional detail.

Next, I disabled the CN map and enabled the OSM data. Holy Cow. The screen lit up with detail, rivers, streams, creeks, ponds, lookouts, etc... it was amazing. The OSM data was far superior to the Garmin CN data in this regard.

More commercial establishments are listed on the Garmin map, while other features are more plentiful in the OSM data. So, if you're sightseeing/touring an area, I'd highly recommend access to both.

- Phil

Just a couple of years ago, they were still trying to get the TIGER maps imported correctly. Nowadays, there's so much extra detail, it's almost too much. Granted, that only applies where someone has taken the time to contribute. Take a few minutes to check out areas you're familiar with at http://osm.org, and see if there's something you can add or fix.

Ok, here's a dumb question:

Is there a way to get all of North America?

Their server will only allow you to download a certain number of tiles and the prebuilt files which are available don't seem to cover North America unless I'm reading the LAT/LONG incorrectly.

It appears that I can get the Planet.osm data and build an IMG file myself but I'd prefer a more convenient method, at least for now!

To get the entire US, it appears that I need the data from approximately -124 to -56 degrees Longitude.

Looking at the following URL with prebuilt maps:
http://daveh.dev.openstreetmap.org/garmin/Lambertus/09-04-20...

I see the following options:
[ ] 500MB-lon_-78.93_to_154.16.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:17 496M
[ ] 500MB-lon_-83.72_to_-78.44.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:17 493M
[ ] 500MB-lon_-89.69_to_-82.97.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:17 499M
[ ] 500MB-lon_-95.98_to_-88.95.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:17 493M
[ ] 500MB-lon_-110.13_to_-95.71.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:16 495M
[ ] 500MB-lon_-165.59_to_-107.36.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:16 492M
[ ] 1000MB-lon_-84.02_to_154.16.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:18 1.0G
[ ] 1000MB-lon_-96.86_to_-82.62.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:18 1.0G
[ ] 1000MB-lon_-165.59_to_-95.05.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:18 1.0G
[ ] 2000MB-lon_-100.24_to_154.16.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:19 2.0G
[ ] 2000MB-lon_-165.59_to_-80.77.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:19 2.0G
[ ] 4000MB-lon_-165.59_to_154.16.gmapsupp.img 15-Apr-2010 16:19 2.7G

I'm assuming that the 2.7G file at the bottom which covers from -165 to 154 would include it, but I really can't be sure unless it wraps around to 154. If that's the case, it certainly appears to cover a lot more than I need.

Could someone shed some light on this?

I just picked up an 8GB SD card to use for such data so I do at least have the storage space for such a map in case I actually need it.

Thanks,

- Phil

You will just have build them a little at a time.

I went into Mexico through Mexicali today. This was my first time trying an OpenStreetMap. It displayed many street names accurately but was missing quite a few. Oddly, even the main north-south highway ( Hwy 5) was missing the name once I was south of Mexicali.

There was no address at my destination so I couldn't try routing while heading south.

Heading north back to USA though, I tried to enter a US address but it could find no city. This was odd since the Garmin North America map was also loaded. It wasn't until I was back on the U.S. side of the border that I could find a destination city.

The trip log did work though and I was able to back track my path to get home. So all was not lost.

And the price was right.

I wonder if the official Garmin map does any better. I've heard that it too is missing a lot of street names, and worse, missing a lot of streets period. But I wonder if the routing works correctly, especially if one's trip goes from one country to the other.