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Maps....a question......


CheesePeople

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Hi, we are new to all this and enjoying very much!

 

Thinking of investing in a Garmin 60CSx - does anyone one have some other advice re this? We are in Uk and upgrading from eTrex unit

 

The real question is, If i buy the above unit should I pay extra for TOPO maps of downlaod an opensource map online? Is it worth pay the extra? Whats the best map to download for 'free' as i see others have done this.

 

Thanks !!

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Thanks for the responses. Im still a bit confused really....I have looked at the site you mention and all looks good.....so will these 'free' maps work well and are they very accurate? What if you are looking for maps that include roads and OS?

 

As you are from UK, what GPS unit do you recommend?

 

Thanks !!

 

UK-wise. TOPO is good for road navigation.

If you want footpaths, Ordnance Survey is your friend.

Strongly suggest you take a look at Talkytoasty's FREE maps.

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As you are from UK, what GPS unit do you recommend?

UK-wise. TOPO is good for road navigation.

If you want footpaths, Ordnance Survey is your friend.

Strongly suggest you take a look at Talkytoasty's FREE maps.

 

TT's maps are from the OSM Open Street Map project. TT does all the work to fit onto a GPS.

 

Major roads, most minor roads are shown with footpaths and tracks. There are some parts of the country that are 'thin' on the ground, but you can always add to the project with your own tracks.

 

The 60CXs is the unit other are judged by. I have one, and upgraded to an Oregon for the Garmin Discoverer maps and Paperless facility. (The 60CXs will do 'semi-paperless' if you use GSAK and a 'macro')

 

I use the Garmin Discoverer maps -Ordnance Survey- They cost, but are worth it.

 

Worth a read is www.follow-the-arrow.co.uk written by one of the UK reviewers, with a section on GPS's and Paperless caching.

And UK cachers can be found over in the UK and Ireland side of these forums < link!

 

Choice is down to: What do you want to do, and cost.

Do you want basic, with just the arrow to point towards the cache, or 'Bells and Whistles' with all the cache page available on the unit and 'auto-logging' of your finds?

 

(It is possible to do paperless with a basic unit and a PDA or mobile phone.)

 

Edit to add:

To really get the most out of paperless caching, it's best to bea Premium Member and make the most of Pocket Queries, so you can load more caches in to the unit. If you buy a new Garmin, if you register it through the site: http://www.geocaching.com/garmin/freetrial.aspx you can get a free 30 day trial. (Or 30 days increase to your already paid subscription) Works out around £18 to £20 per year for PM

Edited by Bear and Ragged
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Hi, we are new to all this and enjoying very much!

 

Thinking of investing in a Garmin 60CSx - does anyone one have some other advice re this? We are in Uk and upgrading from eTrex unit

 

The real question is, If i buy the above unit should I pay extra for TOPO maps of downlaod an opensource map online? Is it worth pay the extra? Whats the best map to download for 'free' as i see others have done this.

 

Thanks !!

Although the 60CSx is a tremendously reliable and accurate workhorse (I own one, too), the paperless feature of later Garmin models is truly something to think about. Other models mentioned like the 62s, the Oregon 450 and the brand new and reasonably priced eTrex (10, 20, 30) line are all top tier GPS receivers that I would consider over the 60CSx. You'll be very pleased with the 60CSx but paperless is hard to beat.

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In a word yes!

 

The toasty maps are based on Open Street Map which relies on users adding the mapping, so some areas are better than others. Check your area out here.

 

There is nothing better than having OS maps on your GPSr and being able to see all the ROW and field boundaries etc :)

But.

Spending the money on a GPS now, and using TT's free maps, may give you a chance to save for the OS maps at a later date.

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I would look at the GPSMAP 62 line and the Oregon line of GPSr. The only reason I would steer you this way is for the paperless Geocaching feature on these units. It is a feature that makes life and geocaching easier.

 

Jay

 

I second that on the GPSMAP 62. I've had my 62st for about two weeks now and the accuracy is incredible. In places that my Colorado 400T would get 3 bars such as in thickly wooden hilly areas the 62 keeps five bars.

 

Another good place to get Open Street Maps is http://openmtbmap.org/download/#map-downloads-by-gwdg and velomap.org . You can download separate EU countries or for 20 Euro you get all of Europe. I chose to get all of Europe.

Edited by GermanyBert
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Hi, in the UK openstreetmap has quite good coverage; you can see what is mapped in your area here: openstreetmap.org

These maps, for the UK, can be downloaded here: http://talkytoaster.info/ukmaps.htm

And for the rest of the world, they can be downloaded here: garmin.openstreetmap.nl

 

I admire your optimism but if you want to venture off the public road OSM is hugely inadequate in our neck of the woods.

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Maybe you could take a little walk and fix that. OSM relies on regular people to mark the trails.

 

Are you suggesting that I should use OS maps that I already own to follow footpaths so that I can upload GPS tracks in order to allow others to get mapping FOC. There appears to be a flaw in your reasoning ;)

 

On a more serious note the tracks that I uploaded years ago have not been incorporated into the OSM mapping so WTH should I waste any more time or effort marking trails?

Edited by uktim
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Maybe you could take a little walk and fix that. OSM relies on regular people to mark the trails.

 

Are you suggesting that I should use OS maps that I already own to follow footpaths so that I can upload GPS tracks in order to allow others to get mapping FOC. There appears to be a flaw in your reasoning ;)

 

On a more serious note the tracks that I uploaded years ago have not been incorporated into the OSM mapping so WTH should I waste any more time or effort marking trails?

Well don't use OSM then!!

 

Bit selfish if you ask me...but each to his own :)

 

 

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Maybe you could take a little walk and fix that. OSM relies on regular people to mark the trails.

 

Are you suggesting that I should use OS maps that I already own to follow footpaths so that I can upload GPS tracks in order to allow others to get mapping FOC. There appears to be a flaw in your reasoning ;)

 

On a more serious note the tracks that I uploaded years ago have not been incorporated into the OSM mapping so WTH should I waste any more time or effort marking trails?

Well don't use OSM then!!

 

Bit selfish if you ask me...but each to his own :)

 

Look at it this way. If they'd used the stuff I had uploaded I might think it was worth the effort of uploading more.

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