os maps on garmin

[+Lorri-Ann & Kev]

Hi All,

 

is there anyway of downloading OS maps onto a garmin etrex vista hcx thanks in advance

[+pklong]

Hi All,

 

is there anyway of downloading OS maps onto a garmin etrex vista hcx thanks in advance

 

Nope, sorry you are out of luck

[+The Blorenges]

If you you have Mem Map on your PC come to the Mega Event and find out about paperless caching. Won't solve your problem of not being able to get the maps onto the Garmin but you can do lots of other things beside.

 

Chris (MrB)

[+agentmancuso]

Hi All,

 

is there anyway of downloading OS maps onto a garmin etrex vista hcx thanks in advance

 

Not quite OS detail, but very useful mapping containing contours, major summits & trigpoints available here from the SMC.

[+talkytoaster]

Hi All,

 

is there anyway of downloading OS maps onto a garmin etrex vista hcx thanks in advance

Not quite OS detail, but very useful mapping containing contours, major summits & trigpoints available here from the SMC.

And if you want FREE UK maps which include the SMC data, you can find them here: http://www.ukgeocachers.co.uk/garminoverlays/index.php

 

Regards,

Martin

[+agentmancuso]

And if you want FREE UK maps which include the SMC data, you can find them here: http://www.ukgeocachers.co.uk/garminoverlays/index.php

 

Regards,

Martin

 

That looks very handy, assuming you're microSD card is big enough! My vista Cx came with a 64mb, which is far too small. The good thing about the SMC set is that you can choose the areas you need if you have a small card or it's nearly full already.

[+agentmancuso]

... My vista Cx came with a 64mb, which is far too small....

 

That prompted me to have a look at the cost of a bigger card - less than a tenner for 4GB, which is more than enough for the mapping overlay above and anything else I'll ever need. Thanks for that Martin.

[+talkytoaster]

... My vista Cx came with a 64mb, which is far too small....

 

That prompted me to have a look at the cost of a bigger card - less than a tenner for 4GB, which is more than enough for the mapping overlay above and anything else I'll ever need. Thanks for that Martin.

Be careful as 4GB cards are usually MicroSDHC ones and may not work in Garmins, best off with a 2GB MicroSD card instead.

 

Regards,

Martin

[+agentmancuso]

Be careful as 4GB cards are usually MicroSDHC ones and may not work in Garmins, best off with a 2GB MicroSD card instead.

 

Regards,

Martin

 

That's one I owe you - just caught the order in time!

 

Cheers,

 

Bernie

[+Grizzly Pair]

To get decent maps on a Garmin you need to buy TOPO, not as good as OS maps which you can buy from memory map but better than the maps that are supplied with the GARMIN.

[+agentmancuso]

And if you want FREE UK maps which include the SMC data, you can find them here: http://www.ukgeocachers.co.uk/garminoverlays/index.php

 

Regards,

Martin

 

Now downloaded & installed without further trouble - very useful it looks too.

 

Thanks,

 

Bernie

[+Happy Humphrey]

The openstreetmap.org map is pretty good: better than the SMC maps as it includes contours, streets and even some footpaths. I've easily loaded it into a Legend HCx (similar to the Vista). The only downside is that it doesn't do routing (unlike some Garmin maps), and has no POI (also unlike some Garmin maps). But if you don't need that stuff then it's excellent for caching.

[+agentmancuso]

The openstreetmap.org map is pretty good: better than the SMC maps as it includes contours, streets and even some footpaths. I've easily loaded it into a Legend HCx (similar to the Vista). The only downside is that it doesn't do routing (unlike some Garmin maps), and has no POI (also unlike some Garmin maps). But if you don't need that stuff then it's excellent for caching.

 

The SMC map had contours, trigs & many summits, all of which appears to be included in the overlay set. I like the look of the much improved street level detail and railway stations etc. I never use routing anyway, but I'm not sure what you mean by 'no POI'?

[+Happy Humphrey]

The openstreetmap.org map is pretty good: better than the SMC maps as it includes contours, streets and even some footpaths. I've easily loaded it into a Legend HCx (similar to the Vista). The only downside is that it doesn't do routing (unlike some Garmin maps), and has no POI (also unlike some Garmin maps). But if you don't need that stuff then it's excellent for caching.

 

The SMC map had contours, trigs & many summits, all of which appears to be included in the overlay set. I like the look of the much improved street level detail and railway stations etc. I never use routing anyway, but I'm not sure what you mean by 'no POI'?

The POI (Points of Interest) set that comes with some Garmin products (City Navigator, or whatever the current name is) includes things like cash machines (ATM's), restaurants, hotels, filling stations, airports, railway stations (and a whole lot more).

 

Even if you're out geocaching and don't expect to be needing such things it turns out that they're rather useful from time to time (in my experience). Although more so with routing added: you tend to use them in towns and cities when on foot, and the GPSr will then give you directions - much better than blundering around trying to follow a straight line. You can overlay the SMC contours on top which probably gives you the best compromise.

[+roolku]

is there anyway of downloading OS maps onto a garmin etrex vista hcx thanks in advance

 

Yes there is, see http://moagu.com/ (thanks go to chizu for pointing it out to me). However the effort involved for the small benefit of having maps that are slowly drawn make the mentioned alternatives in this thread the better option in my eyes.

[+agentmancuso]

The POI (Points of Interest) set that comes with some Garmin products (City Navigator, or whatever the current name is) includes things like cash machines (ATM's), restaurants, hotels, filling stations, airports, railway stations (and a whole lot more).

 

The Open Source Mapping does appear to have included a lot more of this detail than I'd expected - churches, cemeteries, petrol stations, railway stations, bus stops, even pubs. What doesn't appear possible is searching these things by category. Oddly, different symbols appear onscreen at different zoom rates, with most not appearing till 120m.

[+studlyone]

It was pointed out to me last night (thanks MrB ) that some of the links on the free map data page were broken. they have now been fixed and will allow you to visit the openstreetmap.org site which is the repository for the mapping data. As cachers we all have the ability to upload our track logs to make the mapping data more accurate as it is an opensource project.

 

http://www.ukgeocachers.co.uk/garminoverlays/index.php

 

Ian

Edited July 30, 2008 by studlyone

[+agentmancuso]

It was pointed out to me last night (thanks MrB ) that some of the links on the free map data page were broken. they have now been fixed and will allow you to visit the openstreetmap.org site which is the repository for the mapping data. As cachers we all have the ability to upload our track logs to make the mapping data more accurate as it is an opensource project.

 

http://www.ukgeocachers.co.uk/garminoverlays/index.php

 

Ian

 

I've signed up for that, having noticed that my street is missing!

 

The 'Contours' version works, with POI, on my etrex Vista Cx.

 

Bernie

[+rutson]

I've signed up for that, having noticed that my street is missing!

 

Well add it then

[+agentmancuso]

Well add it then

 

Done! Or at least the .gpx upload is.

 

And more to follow.

Edited July 30, 2008 by agentmancuso

[+Happy Humphrey]

Yes there is, see http://moagu.com/ (thanks go to chizu for pointing it out to me). However the effort involved for the small benefit of having maps that are slowly drawn make the mentioned alternatives in this thread the better option in my eyes.

That looks very interesting...have you actually tried it out? It looks like the maps would be OK as long as you're not travelling much faster than walking pace: so it could be the "Holy Grail" for ramblers and geocachers, i.e. full-colour OS Maps on a Garmin handheld!

 

Perhaps there's even the possibility of overlaying the OS maps on a Nuvi satnav display (although that still sounds unlikely to work if it slows the map drawing down too much).