Offline cycling using Osmand

[PeeWee]

Hello all. I am new to Osmand and am experiencing some problems using
it. I have some questions which I hope you can answer. First of all I
want you to know that I really think Osmand looks very promising for
bicycle navigation (As far as I can judge on my limited knowledge of
Osmand). I am familiar with OSM and mapping in the OSM database. I am
also an experienced Garmin recreational GPS user (Oregon 400t). On my
Garmin I use the Routable Openfietsmap (Benelux and Germany). I have
recently bought an Anroid device (Samsung Galaxy Gio) and have started
to look into the possibilities of navigation. Right now Osmand looked
my best option because:

1. It uses OSM data
2. Has the option of using offline maps (I have no permanent internet
access when I am on the road)
3. Has settings for bicycle
4. Uses vector maps

I am using Osmand version 0.6.5. The questions/problems I have are:

1 Routing settings
What are the best settings for off-line bicycle navigation (both using
pre-defined tracks and turn by turn navigation to any found address)

2 Routing problem
When I am at home (connected to my wifi) I can search and find an
address. When Osmand makes a route tot this destinations this look
pretty OK (selecting the YOURS routing service). When I am off and
deliberately take a different route Osmand starts to recalculate but
fails to find a proper route to the original destination. I am
thinking that the routing service(Yours) only works online. Is that
the case and is this the reason why I have this problem?

3 Current position when riding
I have set my position marker at the bottom of the screen. When I
start riding sometimes the map displayed stays fixed which causes my
maker to leave the sscreen (as long as I keep riding). Then a blue
arrow appears. If I tab that the map changes so that the marker is at
the bottom of the screen. I would like my position marker to stay at
the bottom. How can this be arranged?

4 Application mode sometimes changes
Every now and then when I start Osmand it seems that the application
mode has changed form “Bicyle” to “Default” . I have no idea why this
happens. Any suggestions as to how this can be fixed?

5 Future possibilities
As far as I have know there is are no “dashboard” information like:
Trip distance, speed, average speed, Elevation gain/loss etc. Are
these planned features?

6 Alternative to Osmand
Now that you know what I am interested in do you think Osmand is the
best/only option or are there alternatives? I have seen this site
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Android but find it hard to find
the application that suites me best. Right now Osmand seems best. I
have also tried Oruxmaps. This has some interesting features Osmand
does not have but…. does not use Vector maps, OSM data (address, POI
etc.).

Looking forward to your reactions

Cheers PeeWee

[PeeWee]

Hello all. I am new to Osmand and am experiencing some problems using

it. I have som questions which I hope you can answer. First of all I

want you to know that I really think Osmand looks very promising for
bicycle navigation (As far as I can judge on my limited knowledge of
Osmand). I am familiar with OSM and mapping in the OSM database. I am
also an experienced Garmin recreational GPS user (Oregon 400t). On my
Garmin I use the Routable Openfietsmap (Benelux and Germany). I have
recently bought an Anroid device (Samsung Galaxy Gio) and have started

to look in the possibilities of navigation. Right now Osmand looked

[Robert Grant]

Osmand works best following a gpx track when offline. Navigating to a selected point off line requires the Osmand routing service, not Yours. This is experimental and may not work every time. Remember this is still a beta program. Even so nothing else is available for gps navigation without data connection.

If we want more features like speed and slope in large font we need to pledge funding to the developers. They have yet to really approach the performance needs of cyclists.

--
Robert Grant

[PeeWee]

Robert Thanks for your reply

I just found this site explaiing a lot more on how to use Osmand

http://code.google.com/p/osmand/wiki/HowToArticles?wl=en#How_To_Download_data

Turned out I did not do all the things right. I will have a better
look at how things work.

Cheers PeeWee

[Robert Grant]

Just a few tips.  If you desire the turn by turn street name information page, you'll need to use the Cloudmade routing service with a data connection.  OsmAnd routing for off line use will not provide this, but for cycling you'll likely just listen to the voice navigation prompts.  Also, to create a "navigate to" point, use the long press on the desired position, then move your finger so that you press inside the position box you just created. This is not quite the same spot on the screen as where you long pressed.

Sometimes the vector maps will fail to display, this may require a restart of the phone.  On other occasions the voice prompts fail.  This is normally fixed by just reselecting Directions.  If you briefly see something like "Error occurred while calculating route," ensure you have the Osmand routing service selected, then restart your phone.

As I said earlier, this is a beta program, restarts are the common solution to unstable behavior.

Thanks for the link.  It's been a while since I read the instructions myself.  They become more clear after months of using Osmand.
--
Robert Grant

[zaatlob]

" Even so nothing else is available for gps navigation without data
> connection."

Not really true. Navit works completly offline.
But the size of the apk is 3 x as big and the indexes of streets and
cities isn't anywhere near as good of that from osmand.

[Robert Grant]

Good point about Navit, but it can't follow a gpx track. Osmand is still the best app for cyclists.

On Jul 11, 2011 2:34 PM, "zaatlob" <zaa...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Robert Grant]

Good test today using latest build featuring new icons and text to speech.  Off line routing worked really well with no restarts required.  Used "Navigate to Point" off line routing to three different destinations in Athens, GE.  Excellent performance.  Bravo!

On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 6:39 AM, Robert Grant <rgran...@gmail.com> wrote:

Good point about Navit, but it can't follow a gpx track. Osmand is still the best app for cyclists.

On Jul 11, 2011 2:34 PM, "zaatlob" <zaa...@gmail.com> wrote:

--
Robert Grant

[Robert Grant]

Notice some new icons in latest build, including tts. Just tested off line cycle routing in Athens. Very impressive! No restarts or reloads required to 3 destinations without using gpx tracking or data connection. Great work. Thanks.

[PeeWee]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

@ Robert: Good to hear you are getting more enthusiastic. What build
are you using? I use 0.6.7 10-7 master (that’s what it says when I
launch Osmand)

Just for fun and out of curiosity I have tried the Osmand routing for
the last days going to work and back. I think I understand the app
better every day. It just take some time to understand all the
settings.

When I leave home/work and start Osmand it takes several about 5
minutes before I get a GPS fix. I guess this is not an Osmand but a
Samsung Galaxy GIO issue. Is there any way to get a quick GPS fix?
(I have rooted my Samsung Galaxy Gio but don’t know if this helps)

I have also downloaded GPX files (Tracks) and loaded those in Osmand.
Works OK. I even get voice navigation. Very nice.

The offline Osmand routing service works OK but is not as good as my
Garmin. No surprise because there are hardly any routings settings in
Osmand. Osmand sometimes proposes bridleways for cycling. Not a very
good idea (unless you like training on your mountain bike). I think/
hope future routing settings (paved/unpaved/ no U-turns etc. ) and a
better routing service will make Osmand a no 1 bike navigation tool.

Is there any way to customize the maps shown. Although the current one
is not bad at all I just wonder if there are more map lay-outs to
choose from. The setting “ Map> Tile map source” allows me to pick
some options but it does not seem to change anything when I look at
the map. Am I doing something wrong?

Cheers PeeWee








The

[Robert Grant]

More feedback on offline routing--although the features work well, I also think the bicycling option should be divided further into road bike and mountain bike. The occasional off road routing is a no go for my racing bike.

Another common issue:  error calculating route, not enough memory. This typically occurs when planning a trip over 25km. Is there a way to fix this in settings?

[Pavol Zibrita]

Nope, this is unfortunately the problem of the current implementation that is still in development, it consumes proportional memory when calculating to distance.
So calculation for long trips will result in this error.

Regards,
Pavol