Maps for Garmin based on OpenStreetMap
Known issues
Garmin maps format is not public, so map generation process (done with mkgmap) is based in reverse engineering. As format has not been completely deciphered yet, there's still a number of problems affecting the maps. They have the advantage that data on them are most probably more up to date than commercial ones, although in some areas coverage is lower. Another great advantage is that anyone can complete or correct missing or wrong data. Below there is a list of known issues regarding the use of the maps.
- Address search: in order to find a given street using 'Search by address' option of the GPS it is necessary to type the name of the street exactly as it is on the map, e.g. 'Calle de los Derechos Humanos' (Human Rights Street). It may be a problem for languages like Spanish or French, in which the name of the way is preceded by the type of way: Avenida de América, Paseo de la Castellana, etc. as it will be difficult to know how the name of a street is in the map: it may be Calle Derechos Humanos, C/ de los Derechos Humanos, Avenida América, etc.
To avoid this, some changes are introduced that let you omit the type of way and also particles before the main part of the name. For the examples above, typing “Derechos Humanos”, “América” or “Castellana” will be enough. Some irrelevant words common at the end of street names, like Avenue, Street, Road (English), Strasse, Weg (German), kalea, bidea (Basque), etc. are also removed. - Roundabouts exit number: if a way entering a roundabout shares a node with an exiting way, that exit is not taken into account for the 'Take exit # to the right' instruction, although on screen it is correctly displayed. In fact, it is caused by errors in the data used to generate the map, and must be fixed on OpenStreetMap data.
- Advanced functions: some advanced functions, such as lane indication, on screen speed limit display, crossing search, etc. don't work.
- Topographic maps on MapSource: contour lines behavior in MapSource is quite variable, some times they are displayed and some times they are not, without a known motive, just showing the number that indicates the height but not the line. However, although they are not seen, they are there and can be used, for example, to calculate a route profile (Edit menu->Route Properties->Show Profile...). On BaseCamp and QLandkarte GT this problem doesn't occur.
If you detect any other problem in the maps, other than those due to errors or lacks in OpenStreetMap data, please use the comments at the en of this page to report it.
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Comments (57)
Topic: Problems
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Franz (Regensburg, Germany)
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to the problem with invisible contour lines on topographic maps: they just have the same color as the background, change the color in the type file and they'll be visible
ReplyPermalinkFlag002nd February 2013 11:31pm
Hello,
big thanks, excellent maps. I just returned from Tenerife, having used the Canary Islands OSM+IGN contours on the Oregon450 with the latest beta firmware.
One disappointment is that bus stops are "invisible" - have no icon, hence appear only as dots (only bus station - Estacion - shows the bus icon). I guess this is a Garmin limitation, since I found they only have one POI category for both whereas OSM has two separate ones. Any ideas how to work around this?
For my purpose (hiking), ... Read More
Admin:
Thank you very much for your valuable comments.
Bus stations and bus stops have different garmin codes and so they can have different icons. The problem is that bus stops code is the same for tram stops and taxi and I couldn't imagine an icon to represent all of them.
Regarding the other suggestions, I try to show as much (useful?) information as possible, but perhaps it result in a nice map to view on a bigger screen, such as nuvi's or a PC, but too much information for a smaller device. I would really appreciate if you send me your TYP (use the "Contact" link in the left menu) so I can see your improvements.
22nd January 2013 9:30pm
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