purchasing southern africa map for Garmin

[Yannis]

after a bad download on my GPS, the original map desappear, so i need a new southern africa map routable for my GPS Garmin

thanks
Y

[ydv]

Free OSM maps for Garmin you can download from here: Free worldwide Garmin maps from OpenStreetMap

If you will like it, please contribute in adding roads/POIs.

Cheers!

[ornery]

I tried this......I guess I'm the most complete idiot, but I downloaded as per instructions to an SD card, put it into the GPS and the thing didn't even recognize it was there.

I'm pretty sure it's me doing something wrong, but I just don't have the computer language to understand the process.

Now preparing to buy the maps from Garmin.

[Surfy]

What is the difference form openstreetmap and tracks4africa?

@ornery: you can buy tracks4africa, but i didnt know if they are the openstreetmap source or something better or less god...

Hope someone can clear that stuff here

[ornery]

I tried downloading all of the crap I was supposed to download The thing is, I was trying to copy it to an SD card...got that done. Put the bloody card into the GPS and the sucker didn't do a thing!

I guess us "old school" guys are stuck with a map and a compass

I'll buy the Africa maps if I have to, just another darned expense that I DON'T need...by the way, it's another trip to Africa. Taking the kids and wife for an extended holiday. They've never been out of the US so this will be a BIG adventure for them. No Moto's this time, just a car rental and a lot of family adventures.

Rented a nice little beach house in Keurboomstrand

I'll keep trying this map thing until I figure it out....that's me! Old "never say die"!

Cheers! Bill

[Surfy]

You have to look how the SD Card is formatted, have to look what format the Garmin Device need.

Maybe you have to reformat.

Then you maybe have to activate the additional file inside of the garmin device. I`m shure, you find some howto`s in the www.

[Walkabout]

Originally Posted by ornery

I tried this......I guess I'm the most complete idiot, but I downloaded as per instructions to an SD card, put it into the GPS and the thing didn't even recognize it was there.

I'm pretty sure it's me doing something wrong, but I just don't have the computer language to understand the process.

Now preparing to buy the maps from Garmin.

If you look in the forum for navigation, maps etc = Navigation - Maps, Compass, GPS - The HUBB
you can find a sticky thread that gives full instructions about how to download OSM.

As for tracks4africa, it seems to relate to only that continent, logically, whereas OSM covers the world, more or less.

[ydv]

What is the difference form openstreetmap and tracks4africa?

Level of detail varies, different POI. I am looking now a route from Brazzaville to Windhoek. Congo, DRC and parts of Namibia are better covered in OSM, while T4A is better in Angola and other parts of Namibia.

You can compare two by opening two windows:
Africa Map
OpenStreetMap
Zoom in the area you are interested in and compare side by side.

[TonyTea]

If you just copy the maps onto the SD card the Garmin may not recognise them - have you created a folder called Garmin to put the maps into - some of the Garmins need that... Also see what the map .img file is called - it needs to be called gmapsupp.img probably (Garmin have the most maddening file systems...)

Tony

[WarthogARJ]

There's a few options here.
Tracks4Africa needs a license, but it's not very expensive and is very good for areas where you don't have any coverage from other GPS maps.
There are various options.
You can download or buy on an SD card.
And buy a one-off or get a lifetime subscription.
The one-off is ZAR 790 (about USD100).
Welcome to Tracks4Africa

Then there's Garmap (not GARMIN).
Garmap South Africa Garmin GPS Navigation device - maps software tool
I think it's better than Garmin South Africa.

And then there's the other options already mentioned.

What you should be able to do is put in an SD card to your PC and download a map to that.
Or to your computer and then to the SD card.

So you can have several map systems, each on a different SD card.
You obviously need to label them...:-}

So you just swap them into your GPS when you want that map system.
I do that.

When you look at time and petrol and other costs, paying for two GPS map systems is peanuts.

If you've got an SD-type GPS and some way to plug an SD card into your PC there is no special format.
The Garmin reads the standard SD format.

If you're in South Africa why don't you just stop by an outdoors store that sells Garmap and they'll help you set it up.
Or call the local support number for Garmaps or Tacks4Africa.
They are both helpful groups of people.

Alan Jarvis

[frenchian]

For SA and Namibia I've found T4A vastly superior to the Garmin maps - much more detail, including all of the smaller dirt roads that you may or may not want to travel. If I'd known I wouldn't have bothered with the Garmin maps - maybe they'll be useful in later countries.

[WarthogARJ]

Yes I think the Tracks4Africa are pretty good too.
But note that the Garmaps are not by Garmin.
They are a local product.
Are updated more frequently and better detail I believe.

So if you are going to travel all Afrika then and only get one set of maps then Trax4Af is the best. But I think for South Africa Garmaps is better.

Obviously the best is get both as I suggested.