Garmin – OpenMTBMap.org – Mappe per Mountain Bike e Escursionismo basate sulle OSM

Map Updates 09 June

extremecarver — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:07:39 +0000

Ci spiace, ma questo articolo è disponibile soltanto in English e Deutsch.

Okay, the last map updates were a step in the right direction IMHO, but many of you were right that they were not "clean". I followed the route and decreased the map to three tiles now (main1, main2, mtb). Also routing offroad is now much more differentiated and in the tooltip of Mapsource (not on GPS for the moment, however I'm working on it...) and for every street type that could be unpaved, I take now mtb:scale/mtb:scale:uphill/ routes, tracktype, bicycle=no, bicycle=yes, bicycle=designated and sac_scale into consideration (about 150 different combinations for EACH road type, like path or unclassified) so that road classification is even better. Oh and riverbanks are back (was not nice to look at empy rivers, was it?)

n the mapsource tooltip you can identify which factors were taken into account as I put abbreviations into the name. These are much shorter this time, and on my Vista HCx in the routing page, very rarely does a roadname get stripped, on the map page while navigating even less often.

Routing over longer distances should work a bit better now, if the area is well mapped. I tried out a many routes that I know from the past and I was really astonished how closely or often better the route calculated is. Of course good mapping in an area is the key! - I calculated some routes around Garmin Partenkirchen in Germany, and hell, they must be a lot of fun on a mountainbike!

Oh and I nearly forgot to tell, Performance on GPS units when panning the map has increased tremendously, I found some hacks that even Garmin does not seem to know on how to change what gets drawn first, and panning/moving the map ist now a lot quicker (I'ld guestimate on averge 30-50% less waiting, smother moving without decreasing detail level)!

For downhill please enable shorter distance instead of faster route, and then more difficult runs (if more or less in the fallline to your destination) will be chosen. Also using mode bicycle sometimes produces very good results, In general car/motorcycle is better though. The main change with this map update is, that cycleways are not really required anymore to get somewhere, but tracks and pathes are well and often chosen. To get you understand the names, have a look at the abbreviation list:

Abbreviations used:

pri=primary / primary_link
sec=secondary
ter=tertiary
res=residential
min=minor
unsf=unsurfaced
uncl=unclassified
living=living_street
pdstrian=pedestrian
trk=track
pth=path
ft=footway
fp=footpath
brdlwy=bridleway
wy=way
rd=road
bywy=byway
serv=service

cy=cyclway
cwy=cyleway
bklane=cycleway=lane
bktrk=cycleway=track
opp=opposite
opptrk=cycleway=opposite_track
onwy=oneway
CW1=higwhway=* & highway=cycleway. (you should not tag like this).

rt=route
bk=bicycle=yes or simply bicycle therefor bkrt means bikeroute/cycleroute depending on way, mtbroute means mountainbikeroute.
mtb?? - i.e. mtb1:4 means mtb:scale:1 & mtb:scale:uphill4
xbk=bicycle=no
+bk=bicycle=designated

Current Issues: Tooltip on GPS does not show correct mtb:scale/mtb:scale:uphill information, the displayed symbols are correct.
Autorouting on GPS does not work over longer distances.

Le Migliori Mappe per MTB ed Escursionismo

extremecarver — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:36:11 +0000

Benvenuti su OpenMTBMap.org - Scaricate la mappa più popolare al mondo per la mountainbike! Oltre 4000 utenti al giorno visitano il sito per informarsi e scaricare le mappe che li guideranno sui sentieri più belli, invece di perdersi. Ecco spiegato perchè dovete credere nelle OpenMTBmaps:

6 Layout Differenti: Cinque layout ad alto contrasto, ottimizzati per i differenti GPS Garmin e uno per l'uso al Computer. Guarda la Legenda della Mappa o screenshots (computer) o screenshots (GPS)

Tipi di Strade/Sentieri? Chiara differenziazione tra tutti i tipi di strade. Le mappe forniscono informazioni utili per biker/escursionisti. Per es. frecce sulle discese dei sentieri ripidi.

Informazioni Rilevanti per MTB/Escursionisti/Ciclisti come fontane di acqua potabile, rifugi e punti di riferimento... Le piste ciclabili e i sentieri vengono visualizzate in modo chiaro insieme (e non al posto) alle strade, differenziandole per colore, per tipo e in ordine di importanza.

Navigazione - Calcolo Rotta Avanzato per MTB, ciclisti ed escursionisti. Potete pianificare le vostre rotte e tracce sul vostro computer usando la stessa mappa che avete sui vostri GPS. Tutte le mappe sono disponibili con Ricerca Indirizzo

Facile installazione su Garmin Mapsource, Garmin Basecamp o Qlandkarte GT per pianificare i vostri viaggi e tracce sul vostro computer.

Curve di Livello basate sui dati eccellenti di viewfinderpanoramas.org. Una qualità maggiore nelle regioni montuose rispetto alle SRTM3 usate normalmente

Participare? Mappe Incomplete o sbagliate? Potete participare ed aggiungere le mancanze su OSM. Io aggiorno le mappe ogni settimana, così ogni settimana le mappe diventano migliori e più complete! Unitevi agli oltre 300.000 mappatori in tutto il mondo per aggiungere strade o correggere gli errori da soli.

Buona Documentazione perchè tutto quello che volete e di cui avete bisogno per poter usare le mappe si trova qui su OpenMTBMap.org. Come Iniziare e Scarica le mappe

VeloMap: Se pedalate principalmente su strada o usate una bici da corsa, vi fornisco le mappe simili VeloMap. Le VeloMap sono orientate alle strade adatte alle biciclette e alle piste ciclabili. Visualizzano meno dettagli e sono veloci da capire.

Chi può usare le OpenMTBMap?

Le mappe offerte qui al momento sono usate principalmente dagli utenti sui GPS Garmin e dai mountain bikers in generale, ma non è necessario avere un GPS Garmin per utilizzarle. Qlandkarte GT, un visualizzatore di mappe opensource e disponibile gratuitamente, può visualizzarle in tutti i modi, e anche se non avete un GPS Garmin o non avete acquistato una mappa Garmin potete installare il programma Garmin Mapsource sul vostro computer e divertirvi a calcolare rotte come non avete mai fatto prima. Oltre ai programmi di terze parti come Glopus o Garmin Mobile XT possono essere usati per visualizzare le mappe OpenMTBMaps sui vostri PDA o telefoni.

Informazioni su OpenMTBMap.org

Ho iniziato a lavorare ad OSM perchè ho intravisto la possibilità, per la prima volta nella storia, di avere delle mappe fatte dai mtbbikers per i mtbbikers. Tuttavia non c'era ancora una struttura per classificare le strade, così ho sviluppato il tag mtb:scale così come molti altri attributi per OSM. Ma difficilmente la gente li usava, così ho iniziato a creare mappe che visualizzavano questi attributi, e dopo pochi mesi ho creato OpenMTBMap.org per rendere le mappe scaricabili da tutti.

Attualmente circa 2000-5000 visitatori unici frequentano OpenMTBMap.org tutti i giorni (misurati tramite Google Analytics).

Openstreetmap ci dà la possibilità di creare veramente delle mappe orientate per la mtb – come nessun altro fornitore abbia mai fatto. Quindi ti chiedo di partecipare al progetto come hanno già fatto più di 300.000 persone nel mondo!

Map Updates again, tonight / tomorrow

extremecarver — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:52:13 +0000

Ci spiace, ma questo articolo è disponibile soltanto in English e Deutsch.

So after testing a bit more with the maps of yesterday, even though the routing worked over longer distances, the major feature of the OpenMTBMap - to guide you to the nicest ways was more or less lost. I went back to the style-files that I used when first offering maps on here (they had quite good routing AND worked over longer distances) and reworked the rules from ground up.

Even though technical routing based on grades and scales would provide the nicest routing, I have backed back and give preference to bicycle and mtb routes. The maps of 10.05 were the most extreme leaning towards technical assesination only, and well routing over 5km often didn't work. It's sad, but Garmin algorithms will not work if there are no more or less straight ways or at least ways leading towards the destination with high priority.

Setting up the routing parameters will be even more vital for the maps of the next updates. I figured out the following useful settings (go on and experiment further...)

MTB scenic - don't route over too long distances - well mapped area (this includes mtb:scale and/or mtb routes)
Car/Motorcycle, no avoidances, move slider 1 or 2 steps to prerfer highways, faster time
MTB general
Car/Motorcycle, no avoidances, leave slider in the middle, faster time
MTB Downhill and Hiking (maybe better settings possible)
Car/Motorcycle / Bicycle / Pedestrian, shorter distance, no avoidances, leave slider in the middle
Bicycle scenic
Car/Motorcycle / avoid toll roads / leave slider in the middle or move towards prefer highways. Attention the more towards prefer highways you set it, the more efforts are done to reach a cycleroute
Bicycle quick
Car/Motorcycle / avoid toll roads / shorter distance.
Bicycle quick - other possibility
Bicycle / shorter distance / avoid toll roads not activated.

In General routing works now over as long distance as yesterdays update, but detours are smaller and in general nicer ways are chosen. If Routing fails and you need to get somewhere whithout being able to set via points, you can try with "shorter distance" caculation which should autoroute even through heavily mapped cities (actually the better a region is mapped, without sufficient bicycle/mtb routes the more difficult it is for the routing engine to get over longer distances, Enabling "shorter distance" instead of "Faster Time" gets you to your destination quite well (though then also big streets are chosen quite often). Due to the way the maps are setup, setting your GPS to "shorter distance" should generate routes that are much quicker. "Faster Time" calculates nicer routes, but will take much more time.

Setting "Avoid Toll Roads" when using the GPS for bicycling is not so important in cities, you might find that routes are better with it off. Once you route outside of cities, escpcially into mountaineous regions, you will have to activate it, in order not to be guided from one summit through the valley to the next summit....

Essentially in most regions first the nice ways are mapped, now autorouting will work very nicely, as people start to map ways just to get them into the map but not because they find them nice to use, the routing calculation gets more difficult.

Oneway streets are still disrespected.

Deutsch:

Uebersetzung kommt wenn das ganze so bleibt, und ich nicht wieder alles umkrempel.

About the upcoming map updates

extremecarver — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:28:55 +0000

Well thanks to Qlandkarte GT it is now possible to view even more information from OSM on your computer screen. I will add tracktype and sac:scale information to the OpenMTBMaps. There is one catch. While the additional information will be displayed on most GPS units (at least on Vista HCx and 60CSx) - it will not be shown in Mapsource.

Qlandkarte GT however will display the Overlays. Note that because I don't want to increase the tile number too much tracktype will only be shown outside of tunnels and bridges (here you should not need tracktype anyhow). And sac:scale will be shown in preference to oneway streets (an unlikely combination too).

Installation of Qlandkarte GT in Ubuntu x64 did run very smooth BTW - took me bout 15 minutes. For instructions read on here: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/QLandkarte

While I got Qlandkarte GT running on Windows XP 32bit after the hassle of adding gdal to system path (I used the free tool Redmond Path for this as for all of the progs I have to add to Win system path) which is not done in standard installation (Qlandkarte complained on startup that gdal.fw cannot be found), I have not yet suceeded in Windows 7 RC x64. I think the problem is that fwtools is only compatible with 32 bit systems. Will try compiling the necessary programs by hand. (yikes).

Now for the autorouting. I have heard and experienced myself many complaints that routing over larger distances with the maps of 10.05 did not work over distances as small as 5-10km inside cities (contrary it worked pretty well on the countryside). Even though the routes that did calculate where really nice IMHO, i will try to get the routing working for longer distances again with the next map updates. This is a bit of conservative step back which I regret cause routes on the countryside were so nice with 10.05 maps but I will have to increase the priority of normal roads a bit.

I will likely too implement one way streets but recommend using the GPS or Mapsource in Emergency mode if route calculation fails because of oneway streets (Emergency setting is quite nice insofar it behaves more or less like car/motorcycle but disrespects any turn and access restrictions)

Look at and Upload the OpenMTBMap.org now from any Platform – Thanks to QLandkarte GT

extremecarver — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:15:39 +0000

O.k. I don't think many of you have look into Qlandkarte GT Sourcecode every day so noone could have spilt the news already. A few days ago I got in contact with Oliver, the Author from Qlandkarte GT (I had been in contact with him before - but that was because I had probs compiling Qlandkarte and there were no Binaries yet) and I asked him whether he could adapt the rendering engine.

And less than 36 hours after some more talk I can present you a screenshot taken with the latest Qlandkarte GT (compile from SVN for now if you want) of the OpenMTBMap. So all Linux and Mac Users can from now on enjoy the OpenMTBMap and send it to their GPS (needs compiling driver too for now) without any need to resort to Windows. And for everyone that aked for precompiled gmapsupp.img, sorry won't come. Just use Qlandkarte GT (installing a map needs nothing more than opening the .tdb from within Qlandkarte) from now on.

Here are two Screenshots (click to open fullsize image in 1520x954).

OpenMTBMap.org with DEM Data

And here one example of why I consider QlandkarteGT the best progam for planning! You can put the OpenMTBMap as an overlay over your existing Geotiff Rastermaps. Great to see eventual shortcomings in the OSM data and to find out where you should go next for mapping. The raster maps displayed on the following screenshot is copyrighted by the LVA Bayern.

Visit QlandkarteGt here: www.qlandkarte.org/

Note that it will be compatible with the upcoming v .13 or you can get it now already if checkout SVN. Also if you've read down till here - maybe you fancy helping Oliver by writing code so that Qlandkarte GT will support autorouting in future too.

Qlandkarte GT is much more than a simple viewer for OpenMTBMap.org however. In effect it's the best program (except expensive heavyweights like TTQV or Oziexplorer) for displaying Raster maps. Meaning you can view and rotate any of your scanned old paper maps, ...... But you will get most out of it when you start putting a transparent OpenMTBMap.org over your rastermaps.... and put SRTM file behind to view all maps in 3D view (which is actually in my eyes by far the best 3D view available compared to other progs).

To activate the correct rendering of OpenMTBMap.org in Qlandkarte go to Settings --> Garmin maps --> and activate the "Bitmap" checkbox. Note that the current maps still display with some errors. This will be corrected by the next map update.