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If you're using a Garmin 'outdoor' gps system, and you're interested in a reliable and 'free' alternative for the Garmin topomaps you have to buy, then read on.

The alternative is the open source OpenStreetMap project which allows you to install maps on your gps in a perfectly legal way. But in this article we also look at the status of this project (for Belgium). Our conclusion is that there's still quite some work to be done to get the Belgian map at the level of detail required to make it fully dependable in all possible circumstances.

It depends upon what you want to use your gps for. For routing it might still be a bit early, but if you're a typical GR hiker, the current state of the OSM map might be just what you need.

Open Source, OSM and Garmin: an interesting and cheap combination

As a hiker and a PC user you're familiar with Google Maps and Google Earth. It looks as if they're the only mapping and routing programs available. Yet, there are alternatives. Ever heard about OSM?

OSM stands for OpenStreetMap, an open source alternative for geographic programs such as Google Maps.

Open source means that it's about a programming initiative that is based upon the free work of voluntaries from all over the world, working together via the internet towards a common goal. The result of their work is 'free', which means that there's no commercial license to be paid for using the products resulting from their efforts. It's their way of reacting against the expensive commercialisation by companies that try to monopolize the market and tie up their customers into their products. They promote the use of true industry-standards providing a cheaper and more efficient way of sharing knowledge and efforts.
For most of the commonly available commercial programs, there exist open source alternatives that are as good and that come all 'for free'. You don't have to pay for them, unless you want to contribute something out of your own free will. Examples of such open source programs are Linux (open source alternative for Windows or MacOs), Open Office (alternative for MS Office), Mozilla Firefox (alternative for MS Explorer), Mozilla Thunderbird (alternative for MS Outlook), GIMP (alternative for PhotoShop), Joomla! (alternative for MS Expression Studio or Dreamweaver) ...
Commercial programs tend to evolve through the continuous availability of new versions and releases, but so do the open source programs.

OpenStreetMap (to be found on www.openstreetmap.org) is a quite recent open source initiative, and that means that there's still a lot of work to be done. You can see that by looking at the map of Belgium. Some parts are already very detailed, but other parts still need a lot more detail. That doesn't mean that the maps can't be used already and that they are rapidly becoming a very good alternative for the 'commercial' maps.

Garmin loves to make you believe that on their devices you can only install maps that are sold by them (or at least by parties approved by them). That way you only buy maps that are published, controlled or approved by them and on whom they can make money. It's a clever tactic and in itself there's nothing wrong with that ... if it weren't for the fact that it's perfectly possible to adapt any other maps to their gps systems. There's nothing wrong with that either, because when buying their equipment you also paid for the use of the software that makes the gps function. And as long as you don't violate any authors and/or copyrights by using those other maps, you're not violating their rights. It's not difficult to understand that Garmin won't inform you on that aspect, but a well-informed user can benefit from it, without engaging in any illegal activities or damaging anyone's rights.

When buying your gps system you've probably bought your first map at the same time, and you installed it (p.e. the Garmin Benelux topomap). It's a good quality map, and if you don't wander elsewhere you probably won't need any additional maps.
But if you also hike in other countries and you have to buy a new map for each new country, you'll finally have invested quite some money in all those maps. Or maybe you got into trouble by the complicated installation procedures of Garmin, or by changing to a new PC, or by installing a new disc, ... you might want to try something else.

OSM maps give you the opportunity.

OSM on gps

Preparing a map that is usefull for you and that can be used on a gps system, is a complicated technical process. Not only the contents of the map are important, but the map file has to be perfectly adjusted to the requirements and procedures of the gps software. You won't be able to use functions like routing or tracking if things don't match perfectly.
Although there exist industry standards that are supposed to make maps, tracks, routes, poi's ... perfectly interchangeable, every gps supplier thinks it's necessary to add their own version to those standards. Sometimes this results in some interesting additional functionality, but overall it only makes it more difficult to use a map on a particular supplier's system. Unless you're a computer or gps expert, you'd better not try to do that. So, as a customer you become fully depending upon your supplier who obviously prefers to execute that technical process himself and to make you pay for it.

Fortunately there's the open source world that tries to counter those practices. And that's precisely why - in the field of digital mapping and gps - the OSM project was started.
Within this project an army of volunteers is drawing the maps and adding content to them. There's also groups working on subprojects that adapt those maps to the existing gps systems. A lot of open source software has been developed for only that purpose. but despite all industry standards it's still a difficult complicated process that is far beyond non-technicians like ourselves.
So, the logical next step was to ensure that this process (just like it works in the commercial world) could become user-friendly and easy. And this next step is exactly what we need.

Doing a little surfing on the internet we came upon this initiative: 'Free routable maps for Garmin brand gps devices'. http://garmin.na1400.info/routable.php is a website that allows you to convert OSM maps into maps that can be used on your Garmin gps system. It's written in English, but - if necessary - you may scroll down to find links to manuals in other languages. Right-click the link for your language and you can open it in a separate window or tab, enabling you to easily switch between the two websites.

The manual is good. Even if you're not technical you'll understand how to do it.

Above the global OSM worldmap you'll notice a menu that allows you to choose a particular country. The map will then focus on that country. The country map is made up of several parts (tiles), and if you agree to the tiles shown, you may immediately download the files you'll need. The download contains several files, but you'll only need the file osm_routable_mapsource.exe .

If you opted for the standard selection of tiles, the files have been prepared in advance and you'll get them right away. But you can also make your own selection of tiles by using the checkbox on top of the map. In that case you'll need to enter your e-mail address and you'll be notified by e-mail when your files are ready for download. This may take several hours because preparing your personal selection takes quite some processing capacity and you're not the only person asking for that service.

When we requested a map we also had to enter an e-mail address, even if we only asked for the standard country selection. Maybe this is because the OSM maps are constantly being updated with new data added from all over the world, and that even standard country selections require frequent updating (but that's only a personal guess).

Once you downloaded the file to your PC, you double-click it and a setup procedure will start (OSM World Routable Setup). This procedure prepares the map for use by the Garmin MapSource program. Depending upon the speed of your PC the procedure may take some time, but it's almost fully automatic.

When the setup is finished you simply close it. Now open the Garmin MapSource program. Click on the map selection button and you should see your OSM World Routable map along the other maps you have installed. Click on the OSM World Routable map and it will appear on your screen. It's as simple as that! The map is now ready for use like any of the other maps you have installed in the program.

To install the OSM map also on your gps system you must use the transfer function of the MapSource program. Select the OSM map. Under the Maps tab in the left part of your screen will appear a list of all the parts (tiles) that make up your map. Underneath check the box 'Include data for route calculation'.
Connect your gps to the PC, switch it on. In Mapsource click on the instruction 'Transfer' – 'Send to device ...'. The Mapsource program will recognise your gps system and show a window where the element 'Maps' is checked. Click on 'Send'. The map is now sent to the gps system. Depending upon the size of the map this may take some time.
If you send a complete country map this way, then make sure that your gps has a separate removable memory card. The map will exceed the standard memory capacity of your gps device.

When finished you'll get a message saying that the map has been transfered completely to your gps system. Disconnect the gps and check if the OSM map is really there and ready for use. Normally that will be the case.

The above procedure proves that it's not so difficult to install non-Garmin maps on your Garmin gps. Most important: you don't have to pay for it, and you don't have to get out of your chair.

WATCH OUT:
Once you've installed an OSM map in Mapsource and on your GPS system, you can't just go on installing additional OSM maps in the same way. A new OSM map will replace a previous one, and that's probably not what you want ...
But there's a solution for that too. A good subject for a later article.

There's still work to do on OSM

The OSM open source project has started 5 years ago. It's a huge job to map the world starting from scratch. And it all depends upon volunteers.

Anyone interested can actively participate in the OSM project, and that's necessary because the more people participate, the quicker the work will progress.

On http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/NL:Main_Page you can learn more about the project and about how you can participate yourself. You can surf to other pages where you can follow the status of the Belgian map. You can also see overviews of what is currently being added to the OSM worldmap. At almost any moment someone somewhere in the world is adding something to the project. It's great to see how this is really a global project with people participating from every corner of the world ...

Currently the maps differ very much as to the amount of details that are registered. Even for Belgium there's still lots of places where even the official street patterns have not been drawn on the map, let alone the small unpaved hiking paths. But on the other hand a city like Antwerpen is already very complete ...
There's also a lot of difference between the countries. The map of the Netherlands is much more detailed compared to Belgium.

If you're interested and you're fond of hiking, you might put your hikes to use for the OSM project. With the track information you can register on a gps system, you may start to add missing paths, special places, busstops, etc ... to the map. There's lots of possibilities and there's loads of work waiting for you ! You don't feel up to it because you don't have time, or because you don't understand the technicalities of it all? You can still contact others that are involved (via the website mentioned above). They'll be happy to use your track information.

Isn't it too early to use OSM maps in a gps?

This is a good question. Are the current OSM maps reliable enough to go hiking? The answer depends upon what you want to do.
Also keep in mind that it's never a good idea to go hiking with only a gps to depend upon. It's always wise to have a paper map and a trail description, even if your gps has the most detailed Garmin map.

To simply register your hiking track you don't even need a special map in your gps. If you do have a map installed, it really doesn't matter how detailed it is. So, even the most basic OSM map will do.

If you prepared a hiking track and loaded it into your gps, it might as well show on an OSM map. After all, you only need to follow the track ... Sometimes it may seem as if you're walking in a blanc area, while somewhat further on the track you'll get to see a path and the edge of a forest. But no matter what your map shows, your gps will always be able to provide you with all necessary hiking info such as the remaining distance, speed, altitude, distance covered so far, time left, ...

The only situation where an incomplete OSM map might be a problem is when you want to use the routing or the orientation functions on your gps. The system can only use the information that's available on the map, and if roads, hiking paths and relief information are lacking, you may have a problem. In that case your gps will calculate a route that is of no use at all. It will propose a route based on the nearest roads that are registered on the map, and if those roads are many miles away, you won't like it ... Or if you enter the coordinates of a particular spot while there's no relief information drawn on the map, you might get into dangerous situations ... So, before you decide to use an OSM map for those purposes, make sure to verify the level of detail on the map.

Let's hope the OSM project keeps progressing at a good pace ! For our hiking needs (hiking a GR trail, follow and register tracks) it already is a handy and cheap alternative.