Garmin Maps! Which ones!

[+burtsbodgers]

Hi All

I have not seen anything lately so i thought i would ask.

 

Which Garmin Maps are worth having?

 

I have a Garmin Oregon with TOPO GB on and also OPEN STREET MAPs, But my problem is the footpaths are not marked all that well.

That is to say they aren't bad but are there better maps available?

 

Is the Garmin Discoverer 1/50,000 any better or do i save up my £s and get the 1/25,000 Bearing in mind that i dont live in but close to the Southdowns which would be included in the nearest map to me.

 

Also does anyone know if you can merge SD card maps on to one card, otherwise things could get expensive changing maps in the field, Micro SD cards are small and even in short grass can be quite a hunt!!

 

To anyone else reading this :

I would highly recommend the OPEN STREET Maps as these are free and are great but i would like a bit more detail.

 

I would be grateful of feedback before i shell out my hard earned cache

[+Stokesy]

I use an Oregon too, and bought the 1:50,000 maps of the national parks, and I much prefer using the GPS with OS mapping on it.

 

I've also just purchased the OS mapping for "Southern England and Wales" for about £120, which pretty much covers from Yorkshire down to the south coast; enough for my caching requirements!

 

I'm not sure 1:25,000 maps are available at the moment anyway.

 

I also have Open Street maps installed on the unit for urban caching, as OS maps are too cluttered in built up areas.

 

I don't think you can merge different types of maps onto one card, as they all need to have the same filename (someone will be along shortly to correct me if I'm wrong). The best you can have is one map on the card, and one on the unit.

 

I also carry a card with the Garmin TOPO maps on it, although I don't swap the OS maps for it that often now as I can swicth off the OS and rely on Open Street when I need to.

 

Hope this helps.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Someone posted a screen shoot in the NE Cachers forum of the Garmin Discoverer 1/50,000...

 

I'm most impressed, looks good, shows the footpaths etc to O/S map detail. (Yes, it is O/S!)

 

Why Garmin don't have that on their website -rather than the shot of the motorways! - I wonder who decides on their advertising/publicity!

[+agentmancuso]

I don't think you can merge different types of maps onto one card, as they all need to have the same filename (someone will be along shortly to correct me if I'm wrong). The best you can have is one map on the card, and one on the unit.

 

It is possible to store many different bits of mapping on a Garmin, but as only one can be named gmapsupp.img the rest cannot be read by the unit. It's a matter of preference whether connecting to the PC and renaming the files as needed is more or less hassle than hunting for dropped microSD cards in long grass.

[+agentmancuso]

I would highly recommend the OPEN STREET Maps as these are free and are great but i would like a bit more detail.

 

The long term solution would be to walk the footpath, and upload the tracklog to OSM, so the extra detail will be there for everyone next time talkytoaster updates.

[+purple_pineapple]

I would highly recommend the OPEN STREET Maps as these are free and are great but i would like a bit more detail.

 

The long term solution would be to walk the footpath, and upload the tracklog to OSM, so the extra detail will be there for everyone next time talkytoaster updates.

 

which leads me nicely to something I was pondering...

 

Can i use memory map on the PC to draw tracks, then save them and upload them to OSM? It seems I could cover quite a few footpaths in one go if I did this - which is way quicker than walking them!

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[+agentmancuso]

Can i use memory map on the PC to draw tracks, then save them and upload them to OSM? It seems I could cover quite a few footpaths in one go if I did this - which is way quicker than walking them!

 

Ha, yes, it would be a lot quicker, but it would led to serious legal trouble for the OSM people. Ordnance Survey (who license Memory Map at great expense to the latter) are obsessively protective of their copyright - Open Source maps must be your own work, not copied from anywhere else, and especially not OS!

 

(It's worth pointing out in passing that this is a disgraceful situation - Ordnance Survey are a civil service body i.e. servants of the people. The data that they so ruthlessly protect was collected at our expense and for our benefit, not for a bunch of corporate tossers to profit from. )

[+keehotee]

Can i use memory map on the PC to draw tracks, then save them and upload them to OSM? It seems I could cover quite a few footpaths in one go if I did this - which is way quicker than walking them!

 

Ha, yes, it would be a lot quicker, but it would led to serious legal trouble for the OSM people. Ordnance Survey (who license Memory Map at great expense to the latter) are obsessively protective of their copyright - Open Source maps must be your own work, not copied from anywhere else, and especially not OS!

 

(It's worth pointing out in passing that this is a disgraceful situation - Ordnance Survey are a civil service body i.e. servants of the people. The data that they so ruthlessly protect was collected at our expense and for our benefit, not for a bunch of corporate tossers to profit from. )

 

So - for the sake of argument - how would that differ from me using a licensed copy of Memory Map on my pda, and walking the path shown on the screen - then uploading the resultant tracklog to OSM?

I'm still using the OS mapping, even if I've produced the tracklog myself.

My OS license (purchased via Memory Map) has no restrictions on use of tracklogs generated - so how do they differentiate between logs produced on foot via satellite, and logs traced on pc at home?

[+purple_pineapple]

Another question from me!

 

Do the OSM maps have POIs on as well? Or rather, waypoints? The reason I ask is that by loading the maps, I seem to have gained some! However, I'm still getting to grips with the new Oregon, so I may be wrong...

 

On the same subject, I have managed to load a lot of child waypoints into the oregon as waypoints rather than POIs. I'd like to delete them, but if I do it in bulk rathher than 1 by 1 (a tedious process) I'll lose all the other waypoints, some of which are useful! As I don't know where they came from, I don't know if I can put them back (see first question!)

 

I do like the field note ability of our new toy though!

 

Dave

[+agentmancuso]

So - for the sake of argument - how would that differ from me using a licensed copy of Memory Map on my pda, and walking the path shown on the screen - then uploading the resultant tracklog to OSM?

I'm still using the OS mapping, even if I've produced the tracklog myself.

 

There is no restriction on using mapping; there are fierce restrictions on copying it. When you create a tracklog, you do so via satellite and GPSr; the fact that you happened to be following a route which also happens to be displayed on an OS map is (legally) a coincidence, though I'm sure OS would argue otherwise if they thought they would get away with it.

 

how do they differentiate between logs produced on foot via satellite, and logs traced on pc at home?

 

With some difficulty, in practice. But knowing them as I do (I used to run an OS mapping agency) Ordnance Survey will be watching the Open Source Mapping project very closely for any sign of copyright infraction. In the old days, when OS paper maps were genuinely world-class documents, deliberate errors were incorporated into the mapping at regular intervals, as a means of proving derivation from copyrighted material; any other mapping brands repeating the errors were evidently infringing copyright. In 2001, the AA were fined £20million pounds following a court battle that hinged on the presence of these deliberate errors on AA mapping. The licensed mapping used by Anquet & Memory Map etc will contain these same deliberate errors!

 

A more probable & immediate source of difficulty in the current case is the admission on public forums by mappers that they have copied OS material - difficult to prove absolutely, but potentially enough to convince a judge to shut down Open Source Mapping.

[+agentmancuso]

Do the OSM maps have POIs on as well? Or rather, waypoints? The reason I ask is that by loading the maps, I seem to have gained some!

 

POIs, yes, probably, depending on the unit. My Vista Cx now shows a dozen or more POI categories filled with OSM POIs, under headings such as fuel, shopping, community etc.

 

Waypoints? No, not to my knowledge anyway.

 

On the same subject, I have managed to load a lot of child waypoints into the oregon as waypoints rather than POIs. I'd like to delete them, but if I do it in bulk rathher than 1 by 1 (a tedious process) I'll lose all the other waypoints, some of which are useful! As I don't know where they came from, I don't know if I can put them back (see first question!)

 

I use both GSAK and/or Anquet to get round problems like that.

[+burtsbodgers]

 

I've also just purchased the OS mapping for "Southern England and Wales" for about £120, which pretty much covers from Yorkshire down to the south coast; enough for my caching requirements!

 

I'm not sure 1:25,000 maps are available at the moment anyway.

 

 

The 1/25,000 maps are available but only for select areas such as Snowdonia, newforest and south downs cairngorns etc

but are the much more detailed than the 1/50,000 ?

Yes i understand that they should in theory have twice the detail but does it show on the oregon in the field?

 

I would hope that the tracklogs that can be uploaded would be of use but i am afraid that with the insuficient detail on the map that i have, that we always seem to wonder from the paths we are supposed to be following.

This would then lead to incorrect mapping for the Open Street Mapping, and anyone following these track logs would then be reinforcing the incorrect data.

So its a bit of a catch 22 situation!

 

My main problem is that when we go out caching for a random set of caches in an area you dont always stick to the paths and there are unmarked paths or more like tracks, that we follow and the rest of the team are always accussing me of getting them lost! So i blame the mapping that i am using!!

 

I would also like to know if the auto routing on the 1/50,000 is any good, as i currently us my oregon as a satnav as well.

 

so if any of you could leave some comments it would be good

Thanks

[+Simply B]

I would hope that the tracklogs that can be uploaded would be of use but i am afraid that with the insuficient detail on the map that i have, that we always seem to wonder from the paths we are supposed to be following.

This would then lead to incorrect mapping for the Open Street Mapping, and anyone following these track logs would then be reinforcing the incorrect data.

So its a bit of a catch 22 situation!

[...]

so if any of you could leave some comments it would be good

Thanks

I've recently started adding rights of way to OSM around my area.

Before going out I check the Definitive Map that's maintained by the council (for Cheshire it's all online on their website, looks like W Sussex would still involve a visit to the council offices to see ye olde paper mappe). I then use the markings on the ground while out walking to confirm the detail. I then draw on the OSM map using my tracklog that I know follows the ROW. I can also feed back to the council any issues such as missing signs or blocked paths, that around here do get acted on promptly.

Dare I say it, I've actually spent more time and had more enjoyment doing this recently than I have going caching ...

 

Here's the Cheshire info, the page has a link near the top to their online mapping: Cheshire Definitive Map. You might want to see if/when W Sussex intend to do something like it.

[Jester1970]

 

I've also just purchased the OS mapping for "Southern England and Wales" for about £120, which pretty much covers from Yorkshire down to the south coast; enough for my caching requirements!

 

I'm not sure 1:25,000 maps are available at the moment anyway.

 

The 1/25,000 maps are available but only for select areas such as Snowdonia, newforest and south downs cairngorns etc

but are the much more detailed than the 1/50,000 ?

Yes i understand that they should in theory have twice the detail but does it show on the oregon in the field?

 

I

Thanks

 

It's not that the maps have twice the detail, it's that there is more room to include detail which cannot be included on a 1:50,000 map for reasons of clarity. You will find on these maps that (amongst other things) walls and fences may be included, and that pylons are marked exactly where they are on the ground. On a 1;50,000 map pylons appear as a black line with little V shapes coming off the line. These are marked at a standard interval, and do not represent an actual true position of a pylon on the ground. The only place you will find one for definite, is where the line changes direction.

[+agentmancuso]

Dare I say it, I've actually spent more time and had more enjoyment doing this recently than I have going caching ...

 

I've got the same problem.

[+burtsbodgers]

Well...........

 

I have taken note of what the replies have been

and ordered the 1/50,000 south of UK discoverer maps. I will report back and leave a review when it arrives!

thanks for the replies.

[+burtsbodgers]

Well the Garmin discoverer 1/50,000 maps arrived yesterday.

 

first impressions where not that great, the maps look just like the paper versions which is nice, but only at wider zoom levels. Anything under 200ft starts to get blurry and the closer the blurrier.

the maps are also quite slow to build 6 seconds from first selection, 9 seconds to zoom out to 0.5miles.

the image seems clearest at 500ft to 800ft and does allow you to see the footpaths nicely, but i think it could prove iffy when zooming in from that distance to look for a cache.

I have not had the chance to hunt with it yet., but the paths show up very clearly while looking for caches and series to work out routes to them.

at this stage it is just a shame that when you zoom right in it looks like a low quality photo that has been zoomed in on and pixelates.

The routing seems to be bit out, sending me the longer routes when local knowledge produces shorter ones however this could be down to the time on road setting rather than the distance on road.

On the hole its better the Garmin Topo but whether its worth the extra still remains to be seen, but too have the path networks on there will hopefully help.

I will report back soon.

[+Alibags]

I have the Garmin discoverer 1/50,000 map on my Dakota and I agree with bertsbodgers' impressions. In addition, here are a few of my own.

 

It looks as if the OS map is an overlay and navigating is done on the actual road map hidden beneath. I think this is verified by the fact that the Southern Region maps, which I have, actually include the entire UK to streepmap level, looking rather rather like the Metroguide maps. The overlay runs out at about Nottingham.

 

If you have track up enable, the labels (caches, some roads and POIs) are all displayed the right way up, but the text that is part of the OS map is rotated along with the map image.

 

On the Dakota at least, your current position is marked with a ruddy big arrow head. If you zoom out enough for optimum map viewing, on a busy map, this arrowhead can obscure the detail you would like to see, such as the start of the trail. I don't know if this is configurable, but I would prefer to see a little dot, like you get when navigating on memory map on a PDA.

 

Sometimes when trying to find a cache in thick woods, I find it's easier to use the map page, zoom right in and refer to your scribble (track log) to get an idea of where the cache is in relation to where you have been searching. If you zoom the OS maps in to 30 feet, the screen is basically illegible. It would be nice to be able to swap to the basic map (ie disable the overlay) as you can swap between maps on an Etrex. perhaps I need to send this as a wishlist request to Garmin.

 

All in all, I would rather have than not have the OS maps. They certainly help when locating start of the footpath or finding out that your cache and dash is actually a climb up a steep hill. Having OS maps on your GPS seems to be the holy grail of features, so it certainly impresses your mates at the event (just don't let them zoom in!).

[+Birdman-of-liskatraz]

Just wonders if anyone knows of any supplier offering an Oregon bundled with the Southern UK Disoverer maps rather than the National Park ones.?

[+rutson]

Well the Garmin discoverer 1/50,000 maps arrived yesterday.

 

first impressions where not that great, the maps look just like the paper versions which is nice, but only at wider zoom levels. Anything under 200ft starts to get blurry and the closer the blurrier.

the maps are also quite slow to build 6 seconds from first selection, 9 seconds to zoom out to 0.5miles.

the image seems clearest at 500ft to 800ft and does allow you to see the footpaths nicely, but i think it could prove iffy when zooming in from that distance to look for a cache.

I have not had the chance to hunt with it yet., but the paths show up very clearly while looking for caches and series to work out routes to them.

at this stage it is just a shame that when you zoom right in it looks like a low quality photo that has been zoomed in on and pixelates.

The routing seems to be bit out, sending me the longer routes when local knowledge produces shorter ones however this could be down to the time on road setting rather than the distance on road.

On the hole its better the Garmin Topo but whether its worth the extra still remains to be seen, but too have the path networks on there will hopefully help.

I will report back soon.

 

Which GPSr?

[+agentmancuso]

Well the Garmin discoverer 1/50,000 maps arrived yesterday.

 

first impressions where not that great, the maps look just like the paper versions which is nice, but only at wider zoom levels. Anything under 200ft starts to get blurry and the closer the blurrier.

the maps are also quite slow to build 6 seconds from first selection, 9 seconds to zoom out to 0.5miles.

the image seems clearest at 500ft to 800ft and does allow you to see the footpaths nicely, but i think it could prove iffy when zooming in from that distance to look for a cache.

I have not had the chance to hunt with it yet., but the paths show up very clearly while looking for caches and series to work out routes to them.

at this stage it is just a shame that when you zoom right in it looks like a low quality photo that has been zoomed in on and pixelates.

The routing seems to be bit out, sending me the longer routes when local knowledge produces shorter ones however this could be down to the time on road setting rather than the distance on road.

On the hole its better the Garmin Topo but whether its worth the extra still remains to be seen, but too have the path networks on there will hopefully help.

I will report back soon.

 

Interesting feedback, thanks for that.

 

The blurring beyond a certain zoom level suggests that the 1:50k are raster images derived directly from Landranger data - the same problem occurs with PC mapping such as Anquet .

 

Is a screen shot a possibility I wonder?

[+burtsbodgers]

Well the Garmin discoverer 1/50,000 maps arrived yesterday.

 

first impressions where not that great, the maps look just like the paper versions which is nice, but only at wider zoom levels. Anything under 200ft starts to get blurry and the closer the blurrier.

the maps are also quite slow to build 6 seconds from first selection, 9 seconds to zoom out to 0.5miles.

the image seems clearest at 500ft to 800ft and does allow you to see the footpaths nicely, but i think it could prove iffy when zooming in from that distance to look for a cache.

I have not had the chance to hunt with it yet., but the paths show up very clearly while looking for caches and series to work out routes to them.

at this stage it is just a shame that when you zoom right in it looks like a low quality photo that has been zoomed in on and pixelates.

The routing seems to be bit out, sending me the longer routes when local knowledge produces shorter ones however this could be down to the time on road setting rather than the distance on road.

On the hole its better the Garmin Topo but whether its worth the extra still remains to be seen, but too have the path networks on there will hopefully help.

I will report back soon.

 

Which GPSr?

Oregon 300 as in original post

[+burtsbodgers]

Well the Garmin discoverer 1/50,000 maps arrived yesterday.

 

first impressions where not that great, the maps look just like the paper versions which is nice, but only at wider zoom levels. Anything under 200ft starts to get blurry and the closer the blurrier.

the maps are also quite slow to build 6 seconds from first selection, 9 seconds to zoom out to 0.5miles.

the image seems clearest at 500ft to 800ft and does allow you to see the footpaths nicely, but i think it could prove iffy when zooming in from that distance to look for a cache.

I have not had the chance to hunt with it yet., but the paths show up very clearly while looking for caches and series to work out routes to them.

at this stage it is just a shame that when you zoom right in it looks like a low quality photo that has been zoomed in on and pixelates.

The routing seems to be bit out, sending me the longer routes when local knowledge produces shorter ones however this could be down to the time on road setting rather than the distance on road.

On the hole its better the Garmin Topo but whether its worth the extra still remains to be seen, but too have the path networks on there will hopefully help.

I will report back soon.

 

Interesting feedback, thanks for that.

 

The blurring beyond a certain zoom level suggests that the 1:50k are raster images derived directly from Landranger data - the same problem occurs with PC mapping such as Anquet .

 

Is a screen shot a possibility I wonder?

If i had the no how! not sure

if any one can explain how to i will, i am not that techie but reasonable.

[+Stokesy]

Well the Garmin discoverer 1/50,000 maps arrived yesterday.

 

first impressions where not that great, the maps look just like the paper versions which is nice, but only at wider zoom levels. Anything under 200ft starts to get blurry and the closer the blurrier.

the maps are also quite slow to build 6 seconds from first selection, 9 seconds to zoom out to 0.5miles.

the image seems clearest at 500ft to 800ft and does allow you to see the footpaths nicely, but i think it could prove iffy when zooming in from that distance to look for a cache.

I have not had the chance to hunt with it yet., but the paths show up very clearly while looking for caches and series to work out routes to them.

at this stage it is just a shame that when you zoom right in it looks like a low quality photo that has been zoomed in on and pixelates.

The routing seems to be bit out, sending me the longer routes when local knowledge produces shorter ones however this could be down to the time on road setting rather than the distance on road.

On the hole its better the Garmin Topo but whether its worth the extra still remains to be seen, but too have the path networks on there will hopefully help.

I will report back soon.

 

Interesting feedback, thanks for that.

 

The blurring beyond a certain zoom level suggests that the 1:50k are raster images derived directly from Landranger data - the same problem occurs with PC mapping such as Anquet .

 

Is a screen shot a possibility I wonder?

If i had the no how! not sure

if any one can explain how to i will, i am not that techie but reasonable.

 

Try this

 

Go to the Setup>Display> and then turn screen shot on. A press of the power button will then save the current screen shot. You can then access this bitmap image by connecting the Oregon to your computer and finding it in a folder called 'scrn.'

 

This web site is also useful for the novice Oregon user

 

https://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/Geocaching

[+Stokesy]

Worth having a look at this forum discussion too....

 

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?...pic&t=73252

[+rutson]

Which GPSr?

Oregon 300 as in original post

 

Doesn't say this in the original post...

 

Anyway... which f/w version?

[+burtsbodgers]

Which GPSr?

Oregon 300 as in original post

 

Doesn't say this in the original post...

 

Anyway... which f/w version?

Sorry i eat humble Pie while typing, oh **** i just dropped a crumb in the keyboard

3.20 just upgraded the other day

Edited September 9, 2009 by burtsbodgers

[+rutson]

That rules out that theory then! My CO 300's rendering of GB Discoverer maps improved greatly moving to β2.96 which listed it as an (the?) improvement. I *think* the same improvement went onto the OR around v3.1.

[+burtsbodgers]

right i have the captured screen shots But how do i get them on here!

when i click insert image it asks for the URL? HTTP

told you i wasnt that techie

[+keehotee]

right i have the captured screen shots But how do i get them on here!

when i click insert image it asks for the URL? HTTP

told you i wasnt that techie

 

You'll need to upload them somewhere first (Flickr, Photobucket, wherever) - or to your own Geocaching gallery.

Upload them to one of your own caches, then click on the image when it's uploaded and get the URL. Paste that into the IMG tags on here, and voila......

[+burtsbodgers]

Tried to upload the pics to here but it would not allow me too, something about dynamic tags!

but the pics can be found here: www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=0b21e418-da97-4d63-8822-bcbfe0085803

 

i dont know how the linky things work either

or at GC1W3FM

[+burtsbodgers]

As you can see by the pics as you zoom in past 300ft they become more blurry, and at 30ft they are a complete mess.

above 0.5nm they revert to a street atlas image which is no use at all, but is aimed at auto sat nav uses.

 

the pics show a series so you can get an idea of the way round.

 

Unfortunately i did not get them quite in the right sequence but hopefully they make sense.

[+Alibags]

Just wonders if anyone knows of any supplier offering an Oregon bundled with the Southern UK Disoverer maps rather than the National Park ones.?

 

The GPS training guys who were at the Mega event do. The bundle deal brought the price of the maps right down... and they do part ex on your old GPS

[+Alibags]

As you can see by the pics as you zoom in past 300ft they become more blurry, and at 30ft they are a complete mess.

above 0.5nm they revert to a street atlas image which is no use at all, but is aimed at auto sat nav uses.

 

the pics show a series so you can get an idea of the way round.

 

Unfortunately i did not get them quite in the right sequence but hopefully they make sense.

 

This thread in the main forums goes into some depth on this subject. Most of it has gone over my head so I am still reading and digesting it.

 

What the thread seems to say is that it is possible to set up your devices (not sure if this is a setting, a firmware update, a model or as a result of installing Topo thing) so that when you zoom in below 800 feet, which seems to be the optimum for the Disco maps, the map view switches over to Topo (or was it basemap?). You read the thread and see if you can make more sense of it then I can!!

[+Stokesy]

I've been using the OS maps on the Oregon for a few weeks, and although I admit there are some "blurring" issues when zooming in, for the purposes of navigating a route, or getting yourself onto a PF to head for a cache, they are spot on.

.

Once I get within 300ft of a cache, I switch to the compass (after checking the hint) so the map is irrelevant.

[+Stokesy]

I've just though of an issue I do have with the OS maps though.....

 

With the OS map enabled, when I select a cache and hit GO, it seems that the unit is navigating (i.e. distance to desitination displayed etc), but the Magenta line that usually joins your location to your destination isn't there.

 

If you go into Settings, and disable the OS map, then go out and back to the map the line is there on whatever base map it defaults to (in my case TalkyToasters maps), then go back into Settings, and enable the OS map again, then go back to the map screen, it appears....usually.

 

Any ideas ?

[+rutson]

Are you using latest firmware?

[+burtsbodgers]

I've been using the OS maps on the Oregon for a few weeks, and although I admit there are some "blurring" issues when zooming in, for the purposes of navigating a route, or getting yourself onto a PF to head for a cache, they are spot on.

.

Once I get within 300ft of a cache, I switch to the compass (after checking the hint) so the map is irrelevant.

 

Which maps are you using? the 1/50,000 or the 1/25,000? as this may make a difference.

 

i have not got my head around the compass since my legend as it always seem to go all over the place when you got close. and you always seem to be recalabrating it on the oregon every time you switch it on!

[+burtsbodgers]

As you can see by the pics as you zoom in past 300ft they become more blurry, and at 30ft they are a complete mess.

above 0.5nm they revert to a street atlas image which is no use at all, but is aimed at auto sat nav uses.

 

the pics show a series so you can get an idea of the way round.

 

Unfortunately i did not get them quite in the right sequence but hopefully they make sense.

 

This thread in the main forums goes into some depth on this subject. Most of it has gone over my head so I am still reading and digesting it.

 

What the thread seems to say is that it is possible to set up your devices (not sure if this is a setting, a firmware update, a model or as a result of installing Topo thing) so that when you zoom in below 800 feet, which seems to be the optimum for the Disco maps, the map view switches over to Topo (or was it basemap?). You read the thread and see if you can make more sense of it then I can!!

this thread had excited me some time ago, but i lost it the maps they are talking about are the 1/25,000 and there have been many updates since then.

I would have liked these maps to have been a finished article rather than a work in progress as they seem to be.

i would also like to not have to change between maps if i can help it

[+Stokesy]

I've been using the OS maps on the Oregon for a few weeks, and although I admit there are some "blurring" issues when zooming in, for the purposes of navigating a route, or getting yourself onto a PF to head for a cache, they are spot on.

.

Once I get within 300ft of a cache, I switch to the compass (after checking the hint) so the map is irrelevant.

 

Which maps are you using? the 1/50,000 or the 1/25,000? as this may make a difference.

 

i have not got my head around the compass since my legend as it always seem to go all over the place when you got close. and you always seem to be recalabrating it on the oregon every time you switch it on!

 

I'm using 1:50,000 maps.

 

I never calibrate the compass, as I find it unreliable, but the "pointy arrow" works fine to navigate to the cache provided that your moving towards the box. Only when you are stationary does it get wobbly.

 

9 times out of 10 you get into the general area and find the cache. Under tree cover this can be more difficult though.

[+Stokesy]

Are you using latest firmware?

 

@Rutson.....As soon as I clicked "Add reply" I just knew you were going to say that

 

To be honest, I'm not sure, but I think I'm up to date. Don't have the GPS with me to check either.

 

Edited to add.....I'm definitely up to 3.10 as I have the averaging function on there, maybe not to 3.20 though

Edited September 9, 2009 by Stokesy

[+burtsbodgers]

Had a worrying experience with the map this morning.

While cycling to work with the gps mounted on the handlebars, i managed to cycle off the map.

I had the zoom at 60 yards and was only doing about 18mph at the time, i used a cut through and the map could not cope. I did not have it locked on road so that should not have caused the problem, but the most worrying part was the map would not refresh. I continued along a straight road for nearly half a mile, before i zoomed in frustration out and then the map rebuilt itself.

this has made me wonder whether the same would be possible when walking at closer zoom levels, and how much of a problem will it cause.

[+Stokesy]

Had a worrying experience with the map this morning.

While cycling to work with the gps mounted on the handlebars, i managed to cycle off the map.

I had the zoom at 60 yards and was only doing about 18mph at the time, i used a cut through and the map could not cope. I did not have it locked on road so that should not have caused the problem, but the most worrying part was the map would not refresh. I continued along a straight road for nearly half a mile, before i zoomed in frustration out and then the map rebuilt itself.

this has made me wonder whether the same would be possible when walking at closer zoom levels, and how much of a problem will it cause.

 

I've had a similar problem when using it in the car (if I'm out on business I normally load in some caches along a route, and if something catches my eye I'll take a look!).

 

I assume that the unit can't cope with constant quick refreshing of the map, so it gives up.

 

I just switch it off and turn it back on again, seems to work.

 

I've never experienced it while walking though.

[+purple_pineapple]

Had a worrying experience with the map this morning.

While cycling to work with the gps mounted on the handlebars, i managed to cycle off the map.

I had the zoom at 60 yards and was only doing about 18mph at the time, i used a cut through and the map could not cope. I did not have it locked on road so that should not have caused the problem, but the most worrying part was the map would not refresh. I continued along a straight road for nearly half a mile, before i zoomed in frustration out and then the map rebuilt itself.

this has made me wonder whether the same would be possible when walking at closer zoom levels, and how much of a problem will it cause.

 

we've noticed it in the car as well. To be honest, I'm not even certain if the map will auto-scroll - and we often have to zoom out and in to get it to refresh.

 

Oh, and this isn't with the OS maps - we're using OSM...

 

Dave

[+Stuey]

so how do they differentiate between logs produced on foot via satellite, and logs traced on pc at home?

 

Logs traced on a pc at home don't have valid time stamps on them, so when you try to upload traced tracklogs they get rejected by the system. Real time tracks with the proper time values are accepted and can then be used to create OSM map data on their web site.

[+agentmancuso]

Logs traced on a pc at home don't have valid time stamps on them, so when you try to upload traced tracklogs they get rejected by the system. Real time tracks with the proper time values are accepted and can then be used to create OSM map data on their web site.

 

Interesting - I didn't know that. I'll have to give it a try.

[+The Patrician]

Tracks saved into and then exported from Anquet as gpx format don't seem to retain the time stamp. I use GPS Utility to put a valid timestamp back into them before uploading to OSM.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

[+keehotee]

so how do they differentiate between logs produced on foot via satellite, and logs traced on pc at home?

 

Logs traced on a pc at home don't have valid time stamps on them, so when you try to upload traced tracklogs they get rejected by the system. Real time tracks with the proper time values are accepted and can then be used to create OSM map data on their web site.

 

Thanks - didn't know that

 

Easy to fake though....column CJ if you open the .gpx in excel.

[+keehotee]

so how do they differentiate between logs produced on foot via satellite, and logs traced on pc at home?

 

Logs traced on a pc at home don't have valid time stamps on them, so when you try to upload traced tracklogs they get rejected by the system. Real time tracks with the proper time values are accepted and can then be used to create OSM map data on their web site.

 

Thanks - didn't know that

 

Easy to fake though....column CJ if you open the .gpx in excel.

 

On a similar note..... I occassionally use raster to vector tracing software in my work - does anybody know if the OS personal use license would extend to me producing my own vector maps for my own use on a gps?

Edited September 11, 2009 by keehotee

[+agentmancuso]

does anybody know if the OS personal use license would extend to me producing my own vector maps for my own use on a gps?

 

I don't know for sure, but a couple of things come to mind:

 

- many electronic licences contain 're-engineering' clauses of one kind or another, which might at a stretch be applied to raster to vector conversion.

- on the other hand, if it is strictly, rather than just 'officially', for personal use, they'll never know.