[talk-au] Australian maps for Garmin devices

[stevea]

A simple and unabashed plug:  the Garmin GPS 60CSX is a champion of a hand-held unit, what might be considered a benchmark standard for OSM-based, mkgmap-created .img files as a loaded (onto microSD card) base map.  I've been using mine almost continuously since the mid-2000s and despite newer devices being available for over 15 years since, I'll stick with this this GPS forever, it seems.  I easily solar-charge its two AA NiMH batteries while "out in the field" for ANOTHER 18-24 hours of usage as its microSD card captures almost unlimited data (there are some tricks to "burping" the node queue and POI buffers, such apparent limitations aren't, really, as simple data hygiene habits manage to overcome them).  Accuracy is as good as 3 meters (sometimes 2 m with a clear, horizon-to-horizon sky view and as many as 12 satellites of reception).  With its microSD card slot (though maxed at SDHC, therefore 16 GB and realistically no .img file larger than 4 GB) it is a wonderful receptacle for mkgmap .img files and I proudly and for many years marveled (and continue to marvel) at the fantastic feedback loop created by using these. I used Lambertus' / Dave's http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl site from [1], which unfortunately doesn't produce such images as "frequently and freshly" as it did about a year ago.  But being able to add POIs and trails / paths which I later upload to OSM, allowing the next edition of the downloaded map (and mkgmap-created .img'd into my Garmin) to contain those data, and so on and so on...the map keeps growing up and up.  Use and improve the map, see your improvements on your handheld device the next time you update the map...ain't that the way it should be?  It is!

Dave / Lambertus has provided this service for many years, proving much more than a "proof of concept" that this can be done:  it's BEEN done, and done well!  The steps to make mkgmap-created .img files both use open-source tools and are not terribly complicated, although the trend has been to ask for donations for the work to manage and maintain sites to provide these data updates, I see that as perfectly understandable and donate when I can.  Please support these efforts as you can, too.

In my opinion, this is one of the best examples of OSM data being "real-world data right in your hand, constantly improving in a feedback loop:"  both directly usable and improving at the same time as we upload to OSM the fruits of our wanderings with our GPS devices.  I, as part of OSM, am proud of all who have built and use this important toolchain and encourage all who benefit by it to continue to support those who sustain it.  This "wheel has been invented," we sure get a lot of mileage out of using it!

Such maps ARE routable, the Lambertus site does both an older routable style which suits older GPS units and a newer style with its own typ file with larger tiles that work better in units with µSD card slots.

Perhaps someone would like to point to, update, maintain, improve or "manage" (in the sense of a wiki editor "shepherding" a wiki or wikis) OSM's associated wikis about these.  They do seem to change over time, availability comes and goes and the associated services are important to many, and ultimately, the quantity and quality of data in our map.

Thank you for reading.

[1] https://wiki.osm.org/wiki/Garmin.OpenStreetMap.nl