Free Open Street Maps (OSM)

That's cool. Next time I go to visit my sis in Costa Rica, I'll sure install that on my device. Even if they're not complete, these maps are better than what Garmin offers, which is nada, nothing.

Simon

how do you install it?

This is good stuff. I will have to explore this map.

The link above is a little confusing, this link is more direct.

http://garmin.na1400.info/routable.php

I've used this site before, the menu narrows down your search to the area of interest but fails to highlight all sections of that area.

What I did after selecting an area was to click on additional sections to be added to my selection. This required the search engine to generate a new file and it asks for your email address to send you the link to the new file.

Seemed to work well.

thanks

You select the maps you want and include your e-mail address.
The return e-mail will give you the files you need for installation.
I just ran the programs and the map installed in the nuvi disc.
You then go to the map info page of your nuvi and select which map you wish the unit to load; the OSM or the garmin map.

I am going to give these a go, thanks.

thanks for the fyi

That's very interesting. I'll have to check it out.

Hoory for open street maps! I'm hoping one day all maps and updates will be free or only a few $s. Perhaps the cell phone GPS software will help accelerate this.

Amen! After all isn't the gps signal and maps free for all?

I looked at open street maps a few years back, but was not aware of the developments since then - very nice. Will be checking this out and bookmarking the site.

Thanks!

I will definitely be checking this out.

Dito

Did any one try this Map.

I install a new copy every 2-4 weeks, but that's primarily because I contribute changes. It's in pretty good shape around me (Portland, Oregon metro area). A lot of the US was initially filled in from TIGER data, which is very rough. Where people with actual ground knowledge have worked on it, though, the maps can be very good. I switch between OSM and Garmin maps to compare them.

Thanks. I never knew about this. Will have to try it on my next trip.

Yes, I took maps from this series on my recent trip from Moscow to Ulan Bator by trans-Siberian railway.

The maps in each Russian city on our route were remarkably detailed (and in English). The maps in Mongolia much less so, with perhaps a few dozen streets in the capital city (ballpark a million population). Still, it was far, far better than that offered on Garmin Worldmap.

My biggest criticism of the Russia maps was that they did not interact very gracefully with the "what displays at what scale" functions of my Garmin Etrex Vista HCX.

Also one map tile (somewhere near Labrador, I think) apparently had a bug in it from the point of view of the Garmin software--I had to omit it or the download and install went catastrophically wrong.

But if you are going somewhere "out there" beyond Garmin normal coverage, and think Garmin Worldmap far too little detail for your purpose, and have some time to invest in understanding how this all works, I strongly suggest it.

Personally, I liked the flexibility provided by taking the extra time to learn and install the couple of pieces of software required to do tile assembly on your own PC. The site works much faster in simply downloading tiles, and you don't have to restart from scratch if you just want to add or subtract one tile.

I have downloaded some of the Euro maps to my SD Card and I’m having fun with them. There not perfect but still usable.
Click here to get your maps

*****please backup your maps before installing new map(s) as they might overwrite each other*****

I don't usually load US tiles, but I regularly load and update the maps for some overseas cities. Works very well. The really nice thing is that if you sign up for a login, you can fix map errors yourself, and don't have to wait the 2+ years for a Navteq update. Also, thanks to DorkusNimrod for pointing out that any number of map .img files can be dropped into the \Map folder on the SD card of a Nuvi 1xxx. Makes it very convenient to load an try various OSM tile groups without disturbing the other maps.

Or, use the gmapsupp file name, and put them on a card...

Besides the SD card, the \Map folder trick also works on the root of the internal Nuvi drive of a 1xxx. Just create the \Map folder and copy the OSM map .img files there. No need to name the file gmapsupp.img, etc. Any name will do, as long as it ends in .img, and no worry about overwriting your existing gmmapprom.img or gmapsupp.img files.

Sorry, this does not work on a 7xx.