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New to openstreetmap. Going to Thailand in 1 day and want to upload maps to my Garmin Montana 600. Downloaded Thailand maps and uploaded to gps. Can't search any features (city's, streets, etc) or route between waypoints. Am I missing something? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Addition/update:

Thanks for the response. I feel like a complete newbie with this now. I tried searching cities (on the GPS) and I can find the cities. If I create a route between two waypoints that I uploaded onto the GPS it shows the route on the map (even showing the route around a roundabout, but as soon as I ask the gps to "route" the selected route it tells me "Route Calculation Error: Maps do not have routable roads in the Area." Also, when I search for any other points of interest or shopping or lodging information on the GPS it says "No Results Found". However, when I search the maps in Basecamp on my PC I can find all points of interest etc and I can do routing. Maybe I should just trust my tuk-tuk driver and leave the technology at home?

Oh by the way I used http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ to download the map. I chose generic routable. I once did it including a typ file and once without. I once downloaded the exe fiel and once the zip file and extracted to the sd card. I tried both basecamp and mapsource to upload the maps. Maybe I should try uploading to my old etrex vista, but then I can upload only a small portion as it does not have expandable storage. If all else fail, is there an option to use my Samsung Galaxy S3 phone?

asked 08 Aug '13, 18:49

nam_gecko's gravatar image

nam_gecko
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edited 08 Aug '13, 21:18

aseerel4c26's gravatar image

aseerel4c26 ♦
32.6k18248554


Not all Garmin maps are "routable" and not all have "address search" (if that is not a device problem, could also be). Use another one - search the page (browser search function for "route" and "address"). Try http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ (AKA "lambertus") - it is quite popular, has a greed box in the "routable" column and address search works. Update: That half working routing sounds like a device (compatibility) problem (maybe a setting?). The map in principle is routable, otherwise your device could not show you the route...), but something weird happens, sorry, don't know what.

On top there could be problems in our base data: it may be that in some regions address data is missing in the OSM data. However, cities should mostly be in. Try with big city names first. Also it may be that routing does not work at some places because of connectivity problems in the OSM road network (two near road ends which are not connected logically). You could report such connectivity problems to the OSM community (if you spot the location where the problem is) with the "notes" feature on http://www.openstreetmap.org/ (bottom right menu).

Please tell us here which solution worked, if you found one. Have a nice trip to Thailand! Update: By the way: checking that map quality/completeness is important in case you want to somehow rely on it (e.g. for hiking) and it is a good idea to always have a simple paper map as backup.

Update: Yes, if your Garmin fails, use your Galaxy - may be more comfortable anyway (however battery will drain quite fast - I guess not more than some hours of full use). Be sure to switch on "GPS" in the device settings of course. You have lots of software using OSM for Android- e.g. try OsmAnd, although it has possibly not the easiest to use interface due to many options. You can download a map (hopefully also one of Thailand) in OsmAnd, so you do not need a internet connection on your phone while you are in Thailand.

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answered 08 Aug '13, 19:35

aseerel4c26's gravatar image

aseerel4c26 ♦
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accept rate: 18%

edited 08 Aug '13, 21:44

Turns out I just don't know how to use my "relatively new" GPS. I think the maps are fine. I guess I'll find out when I get to Thailand.

(09 Aug '13, 06:43) nam_gecko

There is another very significant problem when doing any search that involves spelling on the map of Thailand. There is no agreed upon way to translate Thai into English. The two languages are very different and not even Thai speakers agree on the correct transliteration of Thai to English or vice-versa. I work on the OSM maps in Thailand and this problem arises again and again. For example, the city I live in, Chang Phuak, is spelled variously on signs and other places as Chang Phuak, Chang Puak, and Chang Phueak. So how should one code the name of this city? Good question.

To make matters worse, many streets are completely unmarked. Furthermore few houses in rural areas display any visible addresses so the data in that area is very, very sparse. I'm always amazed when I return to the U.S. and find everything marked with big bold redundant signage.

All that said having been said, except in regions where no OSM mappers reside the OSM maps in Thailand are generally at least as accurate as commercially available maps. I've done some comparisons with Garmin's 2012 map of Thailand and found it full of errors in my local neighborhood of Chiang Mai.

I have quite a bit of experience with OSM maps in Thailand and Cambodia on Garmin GPSrs and can say that the routing functionality in the Lambertus maps (use link above) works pretty well for me most of the time. It isn't perfect but we're working on the OSM data constantly so over time many of the errors that currently exist should eventually be resolved.

I hope this helps.

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answered 06 Sep '13, 04:44

AlaskaDave's gravatar image

AlaskaDave
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accept rate: 16%

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question asked: 08 Aug '13, 18:49

question was seen: 13,360 times

last updated: 06 Sep '13, 04:44

NOTICE: help.openstreetmap.org is no longer in use from 1st March 2024. Please use the OpenStreetMap Community Forum