On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 12:00 PM, Richard Welty <rwe...@averillpark.net>wrote:
> i think a couple more notes are in order as part of a consumer's guide. > the following contains notes on Garmin & Android/OsmAnd options > > Garmin Pros/Cons > > 1) mkgmap produces useful maps from OSM data > Though at least with the currently autogenerated maps, things like maxspeed and address lookup doesn't make it over, which is ultimately what killed it for me when being able to look up addresses you know are mapped on a regular basis... > 2) in the automotive units, save location is an ok, > not great, but ok interface for recording short notes > on the fly > An annoying limitation being that two notes can't be worded identically. > 3) the note entry on the eTrex is a bit clumsy > 4) eTrex screens are a bit small and monochromatic, > not good units for driving usage > 5) the eTrex has an array of mounts; i can mount an > eTrex on my bicycle handlebars pretty easily > At this point, for a Garmin, I can't see a real compelling reason to not go with a Colorado, Oregon or VIRB Elite. > 6) many of the low end Nuvis in the past have had > a very cheesy power switch. one of the dead garmins > on the window sill behind me fell to that. > 7) most of not all Garmins still use mini usb instead > of micro usb. mini usb is going away for a reason, > it is a very poorly engineered design which fails > after a depressingly low number of disconnect/ > reconnect cycles. i've had two Nuvis die due to > mini usb connector failure. in order to get tracks > off a Garmin, you pretty much have to go through > a couple of disconnect/reconnect cycles (e.g. > disconnect from the car lighter plug, plug into the > computer, take the tracks, disconnect and put > it back in the car.) > Killed a nüvi 2555LMT that way...still have it in my glovebox as an emergency backup, but between that and not being able to do things like record notes easily in real time and get warnings that I'm speeding or about to cross a rumble strip or cattle grid (they're often not well marked in Oklahoma and quite startling when you hit 'em unexpectedly) or encounter a speed bump (again, same problem, particularly on privately owned roads) or toll archways/plazas/barriers. Osmand does a lot of the notification stuff, but you lose the ability to prefer/avoid carpool lanes (as compared to the garmin), and while Osmand will warn of an all-way stop (intersection node tagged highway=stop), it doesn't throw an icon to let you know why it just announced "attention." > OsmAnd Pros/Cons > 7) mechanism for entering notes clumsy by comparison > to automotive Garmin units > It requires too many button pushes, but a little practice makes no-look menu > use current location > Open OSM Note possible. Would be nice if this was simplified into a single button press, with the option to use a keyer like is used in OSMTracker (though unlike OSMTracker, make it so you can edit the keyer layout without having to hack around in an XML file manually). > 8) routing is a work in progress. for long trips, adding > waypoints liberally seems to be a good idea. the > current version of routing seems to not evaluate > some potential routes that it really should, even > over short distances. probably a bug, which leads > to 9: > Despite warnings on long-distance trips, I've noticed this is a far more noticeable issue where data is more complete. For example, I've gone from Pine Hill near Sapulpa, Oklahoma to City Park in Lake City, Colorado and Osmand threw a warning suggesting to add waypoints, but nonetheless, did pick an efficient route despite the relative lack of map data, and changing routes midway through to avoid a forest fire blocking the highway (it detoured us through Gunnison on the same route I picked on the paper map as a contingency without interaction once I made the turn). Meanwhile, in Tulsa, where many four-way stops and most traffic signals, turn restrictions and speed limits mapped, it sometimes loses it's marbles. Even on fastest route, for example, going from Mingo RV Park to the FedEx Office by the University of Tulsa, it will pick I 244 Westbound, exit at Yale southbound, turn right on 9th, left at the T intersection, right at Historic 66, and then arrive. If you ignore it, it'll insist you exit every time and head for 9th, until you get to Delaware Avenue (the best exit). Even then, it wants to take the ramp right from southbound Delaware Avenue to westbound 3rd Bicycle Street and then south on Lewis to approach FedEx from the west... > 10) decent automotive mounts for 7" tablets are out > there. i'm going to try one with the Nexus 7 for my > christmas vacation trip from NY state to NC. > I'd be curious how the N7 handles Osmand in horizontal mode and what mount you use, and how well it sticks in cold weather (my Dynex mount loses it's grip unexpectedly in cold weather, which is quite a surprise when I hit the start of a toll zone (with a rumble strip) and the the vibration from crossing the strip suddenly causes my N5 fly off. I'd also add... 11) Bizarre stylesheets! The "default" mode somewhat poorly emulates the Mapnik view. "Touring view" is easier to read, but the rendering of some ways is a bit on the fat side, with expressways (trunks) and freeways (motorways) appearing in a style not dissimilar to Billy Bob Brockali's overalls (http://www.showbizpizza.com/rae/characters/billybob.html), especially at spaghetti knot interchanges. The cyclemap view is about the closest to the source material. There's no map styles that would be familiar to North American users (who might not be used to the Ordnance Survey tribute style of mapnik or the odd European-style cyclemap that highlights routes, where Bike There! ( http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=38177) has basically become the map style of reference for North American cyclemap makers; the City of Manhattan has a style that largely emulates the old red/yellow/green/orange/blue/purple of the original Bike There style, though it combines the orange and red into just red, and the blue, purple and green into just green, giving it a less informative, more angry-fruit-salad look, http://bikemanhattan.info/?page_id=122).
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