Gps file depot.
They are free, created and updated by users and volunteers across the World. There’s no limit to how much detail one can map, and I think the Europeans are well ahead of us.Open Street Map (OSM) is the most used and globally recognised source for maps. The OSM site contains many tutorials and experienced users are more than willing to answer questions.
GPS FILE DEPOT. HOW TO
So why not post an article encouraging your many readers to join OSM and start mapping around their homes by foot, bike, or auto? It’s a great way to learn how to use a GPs, to create more detailed maps that you can actually use, to explore your neighborhood, get some exercise, and to benefit other GPS users. While we noted a few glitches, the maps were mostly dead accurate. My wife and Inavigated a month long road trip using OSM maps exclusively.
GPS FILE DEPOT. FREE
So now I have both free topo maps (from Ibycus) and routable street maps (from OSM)on the Dakota. And other OSM users run sites dedicated to making this data available to Garmin users. Once I had loaded the data from the GPS to computer and then to Openstreetmap’s in-browser editing screen, it was easy to map all the missing features. So I set out on my bike to map every foot and bike path, park, body of water, etc. Happy with my Stockholm Openstreetmap experience, I decided to see what was available for my home in Canada. (I should note that Stockholmers are invariably polite and almost all speak English, but I was loathe to ask directions, since these would invariably involve Swedish street names, which are invariably long and incomprehensible to me.) The Dakota flawlessly followed OSM data to provide me with efficient routes to my destination, and frequently located pedestrian routes avoiding roads. And it was supplemented by hundreds of POIs which made finding restaurants, etc, exceptionally easy.
I found the map to be incredibly detailed and accurate. I downloaded the Stockholm map (already in Garmin format) and easily transferred it to the Dakota. This is the user-built street mapping equivalent of Wikipedia. Since I was unlikely to visit Stockholm frequently, I was unwilling to pay for commercial maps. I thought having a street map on the Dakota might help me navigate my way around the city. While I bought the Dakota primarily for mountaineering and backcountry skiing, my first real test was a ten day conference in Stockholm. This spring, based on your recommendation, I upgraded from my old Geko to a Dakota and I’m very happy with it. Here’s a story idea: with Christmas coming, lots of people will have new GPSrs and maybe some of them will discover they don’t have as many uses for them as they thought they might. Pretty cool, huh? Now grab a map and get outside! There are other procedures you can use if you don’t have one of these models and just have a. This works as of Oregon firmware version 3.10 and Colorado beta version 2.94. img file to WhateverNameYouWant.img and simply drag it into the Garmin folder. Garmin is adding drag and drop capability to their newer handhelds, so you can rename a. If you don’t have MapSource, you can get it for free. GPS File Depot has installation instructions for PCs and Macs. If you have MapSource, many will self-register.
GPS FILE DEPOT. INSTALL
There are a couple of easy ways to install these maps. You can also experiment with adding terms such as map, topo or contour to your search. It’s always worth searching for the name of the area you are looking for + Garmin + img (the file extension used by these maps). Sometimes a map creator posts a map to his own website, and you won’t find it in one of the above repositories. I’m hoping this trend expands to the entire US, especially since Garmin seems to put a low priority on trail data. Southwest trails – covers Arizona and New Mexico, with plans to expand to Utah and Nevada.Northwest trails – covers Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, British Columbia and Alaska.UPDATE: This site is no longer available.Ī new trend has community mappers creating transparent trail maps that layer on top of topos. Mapcenter – The best repository of international maps, although you’ll see more highway maps than topo maps.If your state isn’t listed, be sure to check out the regional maps before giving up. GPS File Depot – The best source for US topo maps, this site also includes a limited selection of international maps, forums, and tutorials.We’re also beginning to see transparent trail maps that can layer on top of topos. Detailed 1:24,000 scale topo maps are available for most states in the US, as well as for some foreign countries.
If you’re a Garmin owner and aren’t aware of all the free maps available for your unit, you’re in for a treat.