Cdn Geoquester

Very typical of the news media.

Sure they are allowed, as long as the managers of the park don't find them! I have talked with a friend of mine who is a warden in Jasper he said it isn't a problem yet, so there is no policy that he knows of specific to geocaching. Though geocaching is considered a form of litering in his opinion. There are caches in Banff National Park, many provincal parks in Alberta have caches, a few provincal parks and in Nova Scotia, that I know of. A dog got into my cache and scattered it all over the place. There was no food or other fragrant item in the cache but it was still pulled apart. The effect on wildlife is something that should be considered when placing a cache in a natural area.

TanknSimon once said, <snip> Indeed, it was sad - it was the first time that we did not find a cache that was not there. <snip> The first time you were unable to find a cache that was not there? I have never found a cache that was not there! Just joking with you.

Etopo maps for sale. I don't need the maps anymore. $ 60.00 cdn each plus actual postage. I have the Calgary CD and the Rocky Mountain Parks CD. Contact through geocashing.com or at sailquest@hotmail.com All Etopo maps are 150 DPI, raster images for use on there own as an image file or with an external software package like OziExplorer, Memory Map or Fugawi. All CD-Roms come pre-calibrated for use with OziExplorer, Fugawi and Memory Map. Calgary Maps, follow the link for a description: Calgary Maps Rocky Mountain Parks Maps, follow the link for a description: Rocky Mountain Parks

I browse the posts every once and a while.

I like it just the way it is. Maybe a few more sub cat. under the Canadian forum would be nice.

I use OziExplorer and E Topo maps. They work seemlessly together and are great when I need the detail of a 1:50 000 or 1:250 000 map. I also use Garmin Mapsource with the Enhanced Canada base map (in Alberta it has 90% of all the back roads used in the Oil & Gas and Forestry industries, so I find it very usefull while driving and planning driving routes. I have tried Softmap but am not a fan. See the other threads about Softmap.

I use the files available from the US dept of defence as well, for use with OziExplorer. The elevation sample that is available for free is on a scale of (about)1:250 000 or 30 sec arc. From the OziExplorer web site: Level 1 and level 2 Data The data available to the public is called Level 0 and has a 30 arc second spacing. Other higher resolution data called Level 1 and Level 2 is not available to public but can be used in OziExplorer if you have it by making sure the DTED path name ends in a 1 or a 2 ( example dted1 ) depending on the level you are using. OziExplorer uses the last character in the path name to determine the files to search for ( .dt1 or .dt2 ). Note the use of Level 0 data does not require a special folder name. Here are some instruction to follow when you are on the page. Downloading When you open the web page you will see a map of the World with many options. Just below the map of the World select the "Recenter and Zoom In" option Click on the map of the World to select the area you want to download or use the Find or Define AOI tab options in the lower Frame to search or specify the Latitude/Longitude. There is a limit on the amount of data you can download at one time. When you have the area selected click on the NIMA Coverages tab, a new frame will be shown. Make sure just the DTED Level 0 box is ticked. Click on the Download/Order tab, a new frame will be shown. More than 1 dataset will be shown, only use the "Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED®)" table Level will be DTED Level 0 Format must be Military Specification (any other format will not work). Platform should be Windows (this will produce a .zip file, if you select Unix you will get a .tar file) Press the Download button immediately to the right of this table. You will be presented with instructions in a new browser window, follow these. It is suggested you download the files to a folder called Elevation DataDTED located under the folder where OziExplorer is installed. Good Luck!!

In Canada where we don't have the topos that can be uploaded to the GPS, I think Ozi gives us the best software and options.

At the time the GPS option was not available. This was in May. You are right, the cost per map is much less, but I use the added features of OziExplorer/Etopos and find it well well worth the added cost.

I purchased Softmap from maptown.com and installed and used the software for a couple of days - though I knew after about an hour that it is garbage. You cannot do any editing or personalization. I called up Maptown and complained, they agreed that the Softmap software is not worth the money and would allow me to return it for a credit (not usually allowed). I went back to using OziExplorer and E topo maps. This in my opinion is second to none. I don't know what cannot be done with OziExplorer and would highly recommend it to everyone.