Free maps for Garmin eTrex 10?

[MontgomeryB]

Since it is obviously possible to load very good

, does anyone happen to know good sources of free topographic maps? I mean true topographic maps with contour lines, terrain info, etc., not just standard openstreetmaps.

[+HHL]

For US areas: http://gpstracklog.com/2009/09/free-gps-topo-maps.html

For EU areas: http://freizeitkarte-osm.de/garmin/en/index.html

 

Hans

[Pacific NW]

You probably already have discovered this, but the 8MB of internal memory is the big limitation of the eTrex 10. The closer you get towards using up the minuscule 8MB of memory, the less space you will have for waypoints, track logs, geocaching GPX files, POI files, etc. Staying at or below 6-7 MB is a safe bet. Just something to be aware of. Another option is loading caches as POI files -- you won't get the paperless detailed logs and hints (caveat: you can use GSAK for cramming some of that into the Notes field), but you will at least have a dot for placement of the cache on the map screen.

 

One way to find out how much space the maps you want load will take up: Connect an SD card to your computer, open Garmin's free MapInstall utility, and select the tiles you are interested in. The utility will show how many MB it will take at the bottom of the screen.

 

Personally, I find it ridiculous that Garmin used to include up to 24MB of internal memory for the older black & white screen GPS models, but capped the eTrex 10 at 8MB. An SD card slot would have been an easy remedy. Not everyone needs lots of bells and whistles.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Pacific NW

[+Red90]

Personally, I find it ridiculous that Garmin used to include up to 24MB of internal memory for the older black & white screen GPS models, but capped the eTrex 10 at 8MB. An SD card slot would have been an easy remedy. Not everyone needs lots of bells and whistles.

 

The Etrex 10 is not intended to be used with detailed maps. The 8 MB memory was just to allow a base map. You were intended to buy a 20 or 30 if you wanted detailed maps.

[MontgomeryB]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm aware that 8 MB is rather limited space, but after seeing that youtube piece, I loaded a 6MB topographic map to my etrex 10, and I was really impressed. The map covered only 24 by 48 km, and of course, I have to load a new map every time I go to a new area, but usually that 1100 square km is quite enough for one trip, and the details on the map were amazing. On my Garmin, I was able to see paths and ditches, which were not visible on 1:25000 topographic paper maps.

Smaller than 8 MB IMG-maps, covering the whole Finland are freely available from the net, and curiosity whether the similar kind of maps from other areas would be available, made me open this thread.

 

Thanks for the links HHL! I believe that now I have to study some map chopping.

 

I'm also aware that any modern (more expensive than the etrex 10) navigator can handle large, detailed maps, but mine is etrex 10, which I have been carrying with me as an “if everything else fails, I can get out of the forest” tool. (Never have used it yet for that, though). I had my first geocaching experience about a week ago, when I found out that it is possible to use topographic maps with etrex 10. Now I believe that I'm kind of hooked with the new hobby, and I'm truly excited that I can use my “does not support any maps” etrex 10 for that.

 

What comes to those GPX files, I'm not yet premium member, and therefore, I have no idea what is the content of an official GPX file. However, I downloaded some LOC files, converted them to GPX files, and manually added some extra info, such as nearest parking space, altitude, etc..

My self made GPX files are now clearly visible on the map on my Garmin, and by clicking them, I can see all of the info I entered into the files. The size of my GPX files varies between 1 and 1.3 KB, which is not too bad IMO.

Edited November 23, 2015 by MontgomeryB

[+gpsblake]

Like I discovered, you can put very small maps into an Etrex 10. About 2 rural counties worth and still have enough room for geocaches. But most online maps are too big of chunks to use for that purpose, I had to go to Garmin MetroGuide v8.0 to make them small enough, that was the last map series designed to be used with the original Etrex Legend (8MB memory).

 

The Etrex 10 would be a much better unit if they simply put in 128MB of memory, and that cost of adding that would only be pennies per unit at the most. I suspect they don't because it would eat into the sales of the Etrex 20.

[alandb]

As you said, I suspect Garmin's motive for crippling the Etrex 10 with so little memory has little to do with cost and more to do with differentiating it from the more expensive models which they would much prefer to see you buy.

Edited November 27, 2015 by alandb

[Nmw]

You should check out the osm extracts at http://extract.bbbike.org as you can define your own size by resizing a rectanlgle or polgon over the area to keep the extract within you limitations. I am unsure if the type of map suits you but there seems to be a variety of choice for a Garmin type extract.

http://extract.bbbike.org/extract-screenshots.html

Edited December 20, 2015 by Nmw

[+cliptwings]

I have an etrex 10 and use maps from the following site: http://www.gmaptool.eu/en/content/maps-garmin-fenix

 

They are not topo maps, and are very primitive "stick figure" road maps, but they are very accurate and include trails. I initially downloaded them for my Garmin fenix watch, but they work well on the etrex 10 and don't use up very much memory. Therefore, you can upload a lot more area onto the GPSr. If you try this, there is one thing to remember. For the detailed maps to show up on the etrex, you must replace the base map (gmapbmap) file with the new detailed map file and change the name to gmapbmap.img. Works great for me!