Garmin maps - tell me straight

[theopental]

Hi

I have an eTrex Vista HCx

Apart from a few niggles Im happy with it

I paid a few pounds extra as it had mapping functions

I appreciate I need to pay extra to get some maps

The thing is Im not sure what the point is

The Garmin UK base map for over 100 pounds gets slated regularly for not being sufficiently detailed
I need bridleways and footpaths to be reliably mapped - I get the impression they are not

Id also like to use it for street nav'ing
The Garmin city maps seem OK at best

Please help

Is the mapping function of aqny use and if so what maps would you rec?

[DSum]

I use the MapSource Topo GB maps on my Vista HCx.

I know people have criticized these maps, but they are amazing in most respects. Contour information is great, and road routing is good too.

But paths and bridleways are not well shown - not at all in many cases. Quite often part of a path is shown, and then it disappears further along.

I found a FAQ on the Garmin site (I think), but I can't find it again at the moment. But it said that the reason for the inadequate footpath information is that the maps supplied to them by the Ordnance Survey are analog rather than digital, which would be much better. So it's all the OS's fault, or so Garmin would have us believe, and I suspect it's true.

For walking I usually do what I used to do with my old basic eTrex (which has no maps) and use the Grid Reference information to cross-reference to a paper map. But having the map display on the eTrex makes things a bit easier.

[theopental]

Thanks for the answer

My post was inspired by reading about the new cycling units, especially the 705, with mapping

I use my etrex for mountain biking

If I could get bridleways on it it would be perfect
With memory map etc its pretty good though

But as the mapping seems a feature of the 705 I was wondering what I was missing

The mapping function on mine seems a waste of money if the software doesnt do it justice

Theo

[rickwiggans]

I believe that part of the detail issue is that the topography has been supplied by the OS, and this is, to my mind, very good. The road and track detail has been supplied by Navtech, and overlaid. Presumably this was a cheaper way to put the system together for Garmin, since they already have the Navtech data. Hence the maps do not show things like churches, pubs, mast etc etc

[philpugh]

[DSum]

I think the idea is that the OS supplied them with raster mapping, i.e. something like the printed large scale maps, rather than actual digital mapping. Presumably then Garmin (or whoever) have to run some sort of software on this to convert it to a proper digital format with layers etc., so that the maps can successfully be displayed at all scales. For some reason the footpaths seem not to be consistently shown.

[philpugh]

That could be a explination I guess - but it's still digital really - it's just that it's not very usable for extraction of data. Might explain the poor footpaths - which are broken lines on the maps. These would test any s/w used to extract the information. However the information supplied by the OSGB in this form would still be very accurate.
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Phil

[philpugh]

[quote="theopental"]
The Garmin UK base map for over 100 pounds gets slated regularly for not being sufficiently detailed
I need bridleways and footpaths to be reliably mapped - I get the impression they are not
[\quote]

Check for yourself at Garmin's web site

Use the MapSource map Viewer at RHS to check an area you are familiar with. It's missing most of the paths I walk in the Derbyshire Peak District
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Phil

[theopental]

Thanks for the link

I honestly hadnt realised I could look at it there

The maps are as you describe

I wont be bothering

Its a shame

I feel as though I have completely wasted my money buying a mapping unit as the maps are inadequate

[missing_user]

Fugawi maps contain more detail than TOPO and can be loaded to Garmins!

[philpugh]

Which maps are these? I know Fugawi can work with Garmin IMG files an (if they are unlocked) transfer them to a GARMIN GPS. There are quite a few uswer made IMG files availabe on the web.

Or can FUGAWI convert certain other mapping to IMG format?
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Phil

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