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Garmin GB Discoverer


strumble

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Just installed Garmin Discoverer!!

I have been waiting for months and now:-

 

Very poor standards on the Oregon. :)

On inserting the Micro SD card the unit installed Software 2.70 when I had already had 2.80. I had to re-instal 2.80.

 

The Brecon and Pembrokeshire National Parks was my selection.

 

What the unit shows!!

 

3666ln1.png..2770ka6.png

 

2813pm2.png..3629fz2.png

 

Slightly better views.

 

3625sl9.png..3640tl3.png

 

3721uw2.png..3809ls7.png

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Yes, the images are very blurry.

The actual view when you are walking is even worse!

All screenshots appear better than the real image.

Compare these Discoverer screenshots [above] with Garmin TOPO GB screenshots in this post!

 

1225hr4.png..242ln5.png

 

155eq3.png..454rf5.png

Edited by strumble
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I thought the same but wondered if the screen shot imgs might have been compressed when you posted them. Sounds like that is not the case and they are really that bad on the unit.

 

Keep in mind the GB Discoverer maps are raster maps not vector maps (with the exception of road data) so they aren't going to be as clear as GB Topo. One thing you might want to try is turning off any other maps. I don't think that the raster maps would be transparent but if they are having other maps enabled might blur the maps.

 

It is also interesting that the screen shots on Garmin's site don't seem to be blurred the same way. Strumble, you didn't by any chance purchase the same region as shown in Garmin's screen shots? It would be interesting to see how your screen shots compare to Garmin's.

Edited by g-o-cashers
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I thought the same but wondered if the screen shot imgs might have been compressed when you posted them. Sounds like that is not the case and they are really that bad on the unit.

Yes, the screenshot does show the appalling standards

 

Keep in mind the GB Discoverer maps are raster maps not vector maps (with the exception of road data) so they aren't going to be as clear as GB Topo. One thing you might want to try is turning off any other maps. I don't think that the raster maps would be transparent but if they are having other maps enabled might blur the maps.

 

Yes, I tried that - no change.

I loaded CityNavigator Europe [some of it] to internal memory, so I have the choice of City Navigator, Basemap or Discoverer.

 

It is also interesting that the screen shots on Garmin's site don't seem to be blurred the same way. Strumble, you didn't by any chance purchase the same region as shown in Garmin's screen shots? It would be interesting to see how your screen shots compare to Garmin's.

 

No there are few regions available but mine is a different region.

 

Notice in the following screenshots how the roads are duplicated [in each case there is only one road but two are shown in different colours]:-

 

85166692gj9.png..28679665uc6.png

 

Notice how blurred these two screenshots are:-

 

60588997sv9.png..80437094zz8.png

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That sort of makes sense to me since you would be seeing the roads from the rasterized version of the OS maps plus the routeable vector roads maps which are based on Navteq data.

 

For example, in your upper left image the green road looks like it is part of the raster map and the orange road looks like the routeable vector road.

 

What does your enable/disable map screen look like? Do you have just one map for GB Discoverer or do multiple map layers show up?

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Basically, the only views that justify the use of Discoverer on an Oregon in this area of the UK are:-

300ft

500ft

800ft - with double roads

0.2miles - with double roads

0.3miles - Blurring

all other Zoom levels are of no use.

 

Basically the best for walking the local Coast Path would be 300 + 500ft.

 

337uy5.png..82551655eq3.png

 

Thank you for your interest.

If you want to use these screenshots on the Garmin Oregon Wiki, you can.

Edited by strumble
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I made contact [phone and email with images] with Garmin UK and after 48 hours have had no feedback from them. :unsure:

I sent them my screenshots and discussed the problem with them!

Their Ref:- oregon with discoverer (KMM11567036I15977L0KM)

Edited by strumble
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Just had a horrific reply from Garmin UK.

 

The software was made for walking and cycling use and therefore would need to be used at a closer scale of about 2-300 ft.

 

Compare the answer with the Garmin Adverts and their screenshots:-

 

http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/uk/c...n-gb-discoverer

 

 

 

When viewing your and their images at 800' and 0.2 miles they are totally different nice and clear on theirs not on yours. I would send them your images and say you are not happy as it appears the published pictures do not represent the reality. An issue for Trading Standards in my opinion.

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The images were sent to them and in their reply my images are shown in the attachment list!!!

 

The Brecon and Pembrokeshire National Parks was my selection. Other regions may have better results. The quality of the 'in-built' screenshot facility is good so it gives an accurate record of what is on my unit.

Edited by strumble
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Hi,

Those images are pretty wild stuff.

 

I spend a lot of time in the Mountains and the reason for the Oregon was the ability to use the OS maps.

 

To be of any use for mapping they would need to be able to zoom seamlessly from 2-3 miles (for orientation) and down to 100 for accuracy.

 

Seems I’m wasting my time, but thanks for the images they serve as a warning, all that glitters is not gold.

Regards,

 

Neil

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Do they have any DEM data in them allowing you to view them in 3D btw?

 

Regards,

 

-Andy

 

I can view in 3D but it a waste of time as the results are poor.

 

Hmm, disappointing.

 

I have to say that I'm a bit worried about Garmin's future mapping offerings. When I had a chat with a support specialist recently I asked about any plans to update TOPO GB and he pretty much let the cat out of the bag that the new Discoverer maps were the way they were going and that they had no plans to release a TOPO GB update.

 

It will be interesting to see how this pans out since most outdoor shops won't even touch the Colorado or Oregon and only offer the basic mapping handhelds which will only run with traditional MapSource products.

 

I guess Garmin is diverse enough however to make a mistake in the outdoor market because they are diverse enough with professional, aviation and marine products but it will be a real shame if the other units start to disappear.

 

Lets hope that the OpenStreetMap Garmin maps start to mature a bit in the meantime.

 

Regards,

 

-Andy

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There are screenshots at 300ft above/below this posting [#17 +#10]

I will do the screenshot of 3D later.

 

Thanks, I hadn't realised those were done at 300ft! If that's the 'best' that Garmin say it gets, it's p1$$ poor. I had high hopes for OS mapping on the Garmin, but they have been dashed! Firstly they dropped the coverage down to area's that are not comparable to where I cache, and now it seems the quality is questionable.

 

J

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That is the problem with raster maps. They only really work at a very limited range of zoom levels. IMO, they have always been a bad idea. I've tried using them for years on an iQue and it is just a PITA and not worth the hassle.

I agree . . .

but there are some regions where only good raster maps are available.

 

Regards

Anton

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Hi Anton,

 

I take your point, but there is a significant, well, but.

 

The UK is one of the most highly and detailed mapped countries on Earth.

 

Other vendors have without too much difficulty been able to incorporate accurate OS mapping at the 25K resolution for some time.

 

So, Garmin coming quite late to this party, seem to have made a rather poor fist of the job.

 

None of this is consolation to Struble and other potential buyers though.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

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Having spent hours trying to find a way around these ‘blurry’ views I have now noticed that I bought the software with these criteria:-

 

Each card contains :

• 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 OS mapping for the area selected

• 1:250,000 and 1: 1,100,000 GB basemaps

• Full Navteq Road Network / Address Database / POI Database for all of GB

• Turn by Turn navigation (signed not audio) + POI navigation

 

I can actually see all four maps at the different zoom levels and I think these are causing overlap problems/conflicting!

 

 

What I now see on Garmin’s website that they only mention:-

 

Each card contains 1:250,000 scale routable data for the whole country for turn-by-turn directions to your chosen destination. Once there, your 1:25,000 scale OS Explorer Map helps you explore the trails, roads and rights of way, with rich landscape detail and a variety of destinations. The mapping is fully searchable, meaning you can search for and follow routes to your choice of facilities and attractions.

 

Have they removed the 1:50,000 + 1,100,000 maps because they were causing problems???

 

I cannot get any views to match Garmin's!

http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/uk/c...B1D7B85DD8FEFDB

I'm still having double roads.

Still waiting for Garmin UK:(

 

1pontsticill300ftvq3.png...3pontsticill800ftio2.png...8pontsticill12ba3.png

 

11pontsticill5ei5.png...13pontsticill12sv1.png

Edited by strumble
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Just received a call from Garmin UK.

The initial screenshots were seen and were the same for them! He could nothing to improve them, so it is not my unit or software.

I could not understand how the quality was so good on the Oregon on the Garmin Website?

Strumble,

 

It may not help you, but I'm pretty sure if you were so inclined to seek your money back as the product is "not as described".

 

Regards,

 

Neil

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It may not help you, but I'm pretty sure if you were so inclined to seek your money back as the product is "not as described".

 

Regards,

 

Neil

 

The results are not as good as I expected, but like TOPO UK it has some advantages on the Coast Path etc.

I think I will keep it but am still waiting for a software fix or an option I have missed so far!

 

Some screenshots at 120ft and 200ft Zoom!

 

11120dw4.png.. 13200ns3.png

 

15120nx4.png.. 16200xd0.png

Edited by strumble
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Some screenshots at 120ft and 200ft Zoom!

 

Thanks for posting these screenshots, all very interesting and I appreciate the time you've spent uploading them.

 

Because they are raster images each scale map will look their best at only one zoom level. I have had a thought, after seeing on the Garmin web site they use metric scales for some of the OS maps. It might be interesting to see if you can get a better image with metric rather than imperial.... just an idea!

 

I want to get the National Parks at 50k (not interested in 25k maps at all) but I can't find it for sale anywhere. The GPS training site mentioned above has a bundle available, but I can't mind anywhere that stocks a good selection of GB Discoverer. Wiggle has a few, but not what I want.

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I'm actually a little relieved to see the issues with the GB raster maps. I was having trouble justifying spending more on 6 or 8 GPS map chips than on plane fare for my upcoming trip to Scotland. I'll just go with my old City Nav maps and paper OS maps.

Ken Z

Boulder

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Just received from Garmin :cry::D:rolleyes:

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin Europe.

 

In response to our discussion last week I have some further information for you.

 

Thank you for your feedback on the GB Discoverer mapping. This mapping is a new format of mapping which works differently to other maps as it has both an image layer and routing layer. Our software engineers are currently working on an update for the Oregon to improve the way that it displays the image layer and also hide the additional routing layer from the display. This will not have any detrimental effect on the functionality of the mapping and should enhance the display of the GB Discoverer mapping. We anticipate that the update will be released by the end of February, however we hope to release a beta version of the software sooner.

 

Thank you Garmin UK, you are listening to your customers.

Edited by strumble
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