Compile a garmin map

General talk
1

Hi I’m a new in OpenStreetMaps, but I did map a lot of outdoors in Armenia especially in mountain areas. I was using e-Trex Legend HCX along with several not very famous mapping programs but they still helped me with creating my own multilayer map with different types of objects and zoom levels. Later when I got an e-Trex-30 it would no longer support those object types and I can only see the polyline type objects. By now I have hundreds of very unique and useful tracks and other objects which I’m unable to use with my new device for a full power, because of compiler problem (making a proper *.img file). My question is: is it possible to upload that objects into OpenStreetMaps and get it back in a proper garmin *.img file?

2

Please take a look at mkgmap: http://www.mkgmap.org.uk/
That’s the tool we commonly use for creating Garmin maps from OpenStreetmap data.

3

Not direct. The process is as follows:

  1. tracks can be uploaded to the osm database. See http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Upload_GPS_tracks
  2. this tracks are then visible for everybody. They can’t be converted directly into any objects (highways or other objects), but they are the basis to draw such objects in an editor.
  3. So everybody can open in an editor (I use josm) regions in which such tracks are and can draw with the tools of the editor objects and tag them. Tagging means to define the properties of the object (p.e. is it a small path or is it an Autoroute.).
  4. Very soon (normaly some minutes) the objects defined in step 3 are in the database. If one is interested only in a map of a very small area it is possible to download this area p.e with josm and continue with step 5.
  5. But normaly one is interested in a map much larger. After one ore two days the new objects are availabel in the data extract from geofabrik http://download.geofabrik.de/ . One can download this dataextracts and render the map with mkgmap as mentioned from Bernhard Hiller.

If this process is to complicated to perform, nevertheless upload your tracks to the database. They may help other people to create objects.