ridewithgps/OSM maps on micro SDHC & Garmin Etrex Vista HCX

[James Bondra]

Do any of you use the OSM maps loaded onto a SDHC card on a Garmin Etrex Vista HCX? I want to make a route on Ridewithgps and use Garmin Write to send to my gps. I assume that I will have to reduce the route to 500 points and will only get a breadcrumb track rather than  turn by turn directions that a Garmin route does or am I mistaken. The OSM maps show bike paths and other details that CityNavigator 2010 on DVD does not.

Thanks for any assistance

James Bondra
Business, Economics and Sport Management & Media Librarian
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY  14850
607-274-1962 (w)
607-220-4382 (cell)

[Brian Ogilvie]

I use the OSM maps (specifically, Lambertus's OpenFietsMap Lite version, www.openfietsmap.nl) with my Garmin Edge 800. On the 800, the maps provide true turn-by-turn directions. But I haven't used an Etrex Vista HCX unit for navigating. If it does turn-by-turn directions, I think the OSM/OFM maps should work with it. One limitation of the Etrex Vista is that it can have only one gmapsupp.img file, so you'll have to replace your current detailed map (if you have one). I'd use a new microSD card.

The only significant limitations I have found to the OSM/OFM maps, other than incompleteness in some areas, especially rural, are that they don't divide up the US by state (meaning that searching for town names can be tedious) and that they cannot route to street numbers, only names (you have to input a number when searching for an address but it won't actually use the number). Otherwise, they're quite helpful. For dirt-road aficionados (or phobics), the OFM Lite maps indicate which roads are dirt, which is very useful, especially when planning routes.

Brian

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Brian W. Ogilvie <bwog...@gmail.com>
Hadley, Massachusetts, USA
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[Bill Gobie]

I have been using OSM maps on an Oregon 600. It provides turn-by-turn directions when given a route file.

If you enter the turn instructions into your RWGPS route (create a cue sheet), you can download the Route gpx file to your computer. The Route file contains each turn as a waypoint. I run that file through BaseCamp, breaking the route into separate segments between each pair of controls so the limit of 50 waypoints per route is not exceeded. I tweak the routes as necessary because Garmin frequently routes differently than RWGPS. Then load the finished routes onto the gps. I also load the track (breadcrumb) file onto the gps.

My gps frequently routes differently in the field than BaseCamp, so I make the track visible and check each turn. Being a Garmin product, my Oregon often additionally neglects to sound an alert at turns, even though the display shows a turn arrow. This is not due to using OSM maps nor the 600; my old Oregon 450 with City Navigator maps does the same.

OSM maps contain some maddening errors. Mostly I notice connectivity errors at intersections, where the gps will route miles out of the way instead of going through an intersection correctly. For this reason alone I think it is a good idea to massage your route on your computer instead of downloading it directly from RWGPS onto your gps.

Bill

[Harald Kliems]

Hi James,
because I ride in an area including two Canadian provinces and three US states, I'm using a custom-generated bike map based on OSM data on my Vista HCx. Not all maps generated on the basis of OSM data are routable, but the overview in the OSM wiki will tell you which do: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download
If you're interested in generating your own routable map, you can follow the instructions on my blog: http://ride-or-pie.blogspot.ca/2012/05/creating-bike-map-for-garmin-devices.html

I usually create gpx tracks for my routes, and the Vista will beep at every turn of more than x degrees. If I use the Vista's routing function -- because I want to go to the next gas station, hotel or whatever, it will provide nice turn-by-turn directions. Data quality of OSM in the US varies a lot, as a lot of it was imported from Census data years ago and never much improved. I encourage everyone who uses OSM data and finds problems to either fix them yourself or at least create a note with a description of the problem on osm.org so that an experienced mapper can fix it. The area around Ithaca is not bad, though.

Cheers,
 Harald.