What do I need?

[DS Rider]

Hey everyone,
Firstly thanks for your help in my previous post abhibeckert and Goosefeather. I had a look at the OMS maps, and while i'll contribute to them later, for the moment they dont have enough information where i want it.
I'm totally new to the whole GPS thing, and think its best if i keep it simple for myself to start with.
I have a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx and i want to be able to auto-route directions, as well as record where i have been on tracks and trails for download to the computer later so it can be overlayed on a map. I need detail of sealed and unsealed roads, and hopefully tracks as well in areas around lake Frome, lake Eyre, Flinders ranges etc in SA. I'd like to be able to input gps coordinates and see them on the map/route to them too if thats possible.
I'm happy to pay for products if its easier, and provided they have the detail im after.
So what do i need? im excited about the mapping gps's but totally confused as to what gps mapping programs are compatible with what ive got and what will do what i want.

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.
DS

[abhibeckert]

Originally Posted by DS Rider

Hey everyone,
Firstly thanks for your help in my previous post abhibeckert and Goosefeather. I had a look at the OMS maps, and while i'll contribute to them later, for the moment they dont have enough information where i want it.
I'm totally new to the whole GPS thing, and think its best if i keep it simple for myself to start with.
I have a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx and i want to be able to auto-route directions, as well as record where i have been on tracks and trails for download to the computer later so it can be overlayed on a map. I need detail of sealed and unsealed roads, and hopefully tracks as well in areas around lake Frome, lake Eyre, Flinders ranges etc in SA. I'd like to be able to input gps coordinates and see them on the map/route to them too if thats possible.
I'm happy to pay for products if its easier, and provided they have the detail im after.
So what do i need? im excited about the mapping gps's but totally confused as to what gps mapping programs are compatible with what ive got and what will do what i want.

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.
DS

I'm not sure what products would have the best quality maps in that area. The iPhone app I have (Sygic) does have plenty of roads around there, but in my experience many of the roads on it were planned but never built, or once active but have been closed off thirty years ago. The software seems to know anything less than a major highway or city street is unreliable, because it will use every technique under the sun to try and route you away from minor roads (very frustrating!). I've found openstreetmap to be more reliable than sygic in the outback, even though there's a lot of stuff missing, at least anything on the map is guaranteed to actually exist!

Whatever you do, please do create gpx files and upload them to openstreetmap's website, so it can be mapped in (either by you, or someone else... I'd be happy to do it for you). Anything is suitable for openstreetmap, even if it can only be travelled on foot (as long as it's marked appropriately of course).

If something hasn't been mapped yet, I normally draw a basic outline of the route I want to head down in google earth, using the satelite photos if it's a real goat track, and then copy that over to my iPhone. Bing has released their satelite photos under a license that lets me download copies of it to my phone's GPS app, which aren't as good as google's photos, but good enough when overlaid by the track created in google earth.

Then I record my ride, and save it to my own set of gpx files. Every now and then when I've got nothing more interesting to do, I go through and search for anything I've been down that isn't on OSM yet and add it.

[DS Rider]

Originally Posted by abhibeckert

Whatever you do, please do create gpx files and upload them to openstreetmap's website, so it can be mapped in (either by you, or someone else... I'd be happy to do it for you). Anything is suitable for openstreetmap, even if it can only be travelled on foot (as long as it's marked appropriately of course).

When i get more familiar with what im doing i'll be adding to OSM for sure. Theres more missing than is mapped in my area which is why i'm looking for something else in the mean time. I will probably ask for some help with the gpx files and uploading to OSM when the time comes. next time i'm in the city i might try to see a copy of the garmin maps and check the content detail.
DS

[BigDogAdventures.com]

DS---this garmin mapsource software DVD is compatible with your 60CSX and will provide you with maps of all the US and Mexico. It will provide auto routing.
It will load the mapsource program on your computer also.

http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-city-n...-dvd-2012.html

Be sure and have a big enough SD card in your gps to load all the maps available. I think I have a 4 gb sd card in mine and it is really bigger than I needed.

You can buy pre-loaded SD cards that already have the maps loaded in them----I prefer not to do that so I can have mapsource loaded on my computer so I can plot routes, waypoints and manipulate track logs etc.----on my computer.

Also----your 60CSX is a fine gps---and will do all the things you first mentioned----------if you know how to use it of course.

BigDog

[abhibeckert]

Originally Posted by BigDogAdventures.com

maps of all the US and Mexico

He's asking for maps covering parts of australia where this is considered major road: