Jump to content

DEM data on Canada TOPO Now?


M3J

Recommended Posts

Can someone clarify...I didn't think we had DEM data on Canadian TOPO maps from Garmin yet. I see on the gpscity.ca website that Garmin has TOPO cards for different regions in Canada now and they claim it has DEM data. I scoured the Garmin site and didn't find mention of DEM data on the Canadian cards but maybe I just missed something.

 

I also see the Canadian TOPO on CD. I have an older Canadian TOPO CD but am now wondering, if they do have DEM on Canadian TOPO SD Cards, does the CD also have DEM data and is newer than what I already have??

Link to comment

The "new" cards have DEM data. The CD version does not. Maybe they will release a new version at some point.

 

Thanks...that's kind of what I discovered.

 

Funny though...I called Garmin and they said that since the SD Card info comes from the CD data, that the cards did not have DEM data. I called a few shops and they all say the cards only do, just as you indicated.

 

Anybody try one of the Canada TOPO cards yet?

Link to comment

Hopefully since they have released a new MG Canada, Topo Canada will follow. It would be nice to get up to date roads at the same time as DEM.

 

I've been tempted to get an Alberta card as the DEM is really cool from what I've seen on a 400t....but have not broken down yet. It is hard to justify with the old, out of date data and the crazy cost of the cards.

Link to comment

Hopefully since they have released a new MG Canada, Topo Canada will follow. It would be nice to get up to date roads at the same time as DEM.

 

I've been tempted to get an Alberta card as the DEM is really cool from what I've seen on a 400t....but have not broken down yet. It is hard to justify with the old, out of date data and the crazy cost of the cards.

 

Any idea if Stan is trying to incorporate DEM data in to cgpsmapper? If he does, I can certainly include it in the Ibycus Topo.

 

Dale

Link to comment

Any idea if Stan is trying to incorporate DEM data in to cgpsmapper? If he does, I can certainly include it in the Ibycus Topo.

 

Dale

 

I have not heard of anything.

 

I'll e-mail him and see what he's working on...

 

Basically what a DEM (digital elevation model) is, is a 'pixelated' representation of the terrain elevations (kind of like a bit map).

This means that a person (or a program) can easily ask the question "What is the elevation at point x,y"? As opposed to a contour map, where the elevation information is stored as a series of lines of constant elevation. These lines can be in any order, in any dimension (x, y and z), which can make it very difficult (although not impossible) for a program to figure out the elevation at a given point, but it does make it easier to render some information.

 

Dale

Link to comment

Any idea if Stan is trying to incorporate DEM data in to cgpsmapper? If he does, I can certainly include it in the Ibycus Topo.

 

Dale

 

I have not heard of anything.

 

I'll e-mail him and see what he's working on...

 

Basically what a DEM (digital elevation model) is, is a 'pixelated' representation of the terrain elevations (kind of like a bit map).

This means that a person (or a program) can easily ask the question "What is the elevation at point x,y"? As opposed to a contour map, where the elevation information is stored as a series of lines of constant elevation. These lines can be in any order, in any dimension (x, y and z), which can make it very difficult (although not impossible) for a program to figure out the elevation at a given point, but it does make it easier to render some information.

 

Dale

 

A much better response than mine :ph34r:

 

Thanks for teaching me something too!

Link to comment

Red90

 

So is new Topo Canada worth buying? I put in my pre-order yesterday but was wondering what you thought. I was hoping the cutlines and veg data would make it onto this new Topo. I can't view the screenshots that you posted on the Calgary Cachers forum. Thanks!

Link to comment

The preview on the Garmin site still seems to be showing the old version.

 

Yes, it definitely does.

 

They seem to be very wary of letting people know there are new version out there. The strangest marketing tactics I have ever seen.

 

If you want to see a specific area, let me know and I'll post screenshots. Coordinates are the easiest.

Edited by Red90
Link to comment

I got my copy of Topo Canada v4 last Thursday.

I have to say, I like the coverage in Ontario. The DEM shading shows features like the Niagara Escarpment, and I can even see features like the Credit River valley and Twenty Mile Creek valley. I dropped the GPS Quebec topo off my GPS for the BT Hike on the weekend and frankly didn't miss it, even though the Garmin Topo is still only 1:50000.

 

Couple observations:

 

1) The DVD somehow they put 5.2 GB on it. It installs to 6GB. You are NOT going to put the entire country on your GPS without some trickery here. Even though your SD Card might be big enough, you're going to run into the 4GB max file size limit on a Colorado.

 

2) The map set is not lockable. This surprised the heck out of me -- there is no need to enter serial numbers or unlock online.

 

3) Road coverage seems to be somewhere between CN2008 and CN2010. There is a highway extension near Brampton, Ontario (410 to Mayfield) that was opened last fall. It appears on the map. The Red Hill Creek expressway, built earlier - does not show up. The roads are based on DMTI, NOT Navteq. The routing is a little 'iffy' in places with a few freeway onramps not routing properly - ie Exit Eastbound QEW to Third Line in Oakville, GPS will route past to Dorval, then suggest a U-Turn to get to Third Line from westbound lanes instead.

 

4) Running City Navigator 2010, Topo Canada v4 and the built-in TopoUSA 2008 on a Colorado 400t, running maps on "High Detail", and zooming out past 1.2km - this was the first time I saw my Colorado struggle to draw the map - got a 30 second redraw at one point on the weekend. Setting the GPS to "Medium Detail" seems to correct that issue.

 

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the product, as I can finally see those really cool shaded maps on my Colorado, and it's available just 4 months after the Colorado was deemed a "legacy" device by Garmin :lol:

Link to comment

I dropped the GPS Quebec topo off my GPS for the BT Hike on the weekend and frankly didn't miss it, even though the Garmin Topo is still only 1:50000.

 

You do not need to. You can use both. The DEM shading will show with other maps being visible.

Edited by Red90
Link to comment

I dropped the GPS Quebec topo off my GPS for the BT Hike on the weekend and frankly didn't miss it, even though the Garmin Topo is still only 1:50000.

 

You do not need to. You can use both. The DEM shading will show with other maps being visible.

 

Yup, I know that, I just dropped it to save some space on the internal memory. I'll probably put it back later, once my Ontario Trails map stabilizes a bit more. Weekly map reloads sucks [:lol:]

Link to comment

I dropped the GPS Quebec topo off my GPS for the BT Hike on the weekend and frankly didn't miss it, even though the Garmin Topo is still only 1:50000.

 

You do not need to. You can use both. The DEM shading will show with other maps being visible.

 

I'm doing that right now... running 2009 North America NT with the DEM shading and I must say, it looks very nice!!!

 

Now if they can only show the caches on the screen at the same time you run the 3D mapping

Link to comment

That is perfect. Thank you.

 

We have certainly come a long way in a few years.

 

Just for something a bit more local for Tequila (and because Topo's always more impressive out west, while Ontario is typically ... meh).

 

Here's some screen shots from my Colorado in Rouge Park, on the east side of Toronto:

 

1bd352cc-e668-46af-a062-ad426ed39c2e.jpg6f07e4a2-fcc6-41c7-8741-af4ca493ed5c.jpg

 

And look! 3D mode! in Canada!

b5d78df3-0782-495b-bc31-2df279ac8704.jpg

Link to comment

Is anyone using the Ibycus Topo draped on top of the v4 DEM? To do this is there a certain order the maps have to be selected to load? I want to have the v4 turned off but still have the shaded relief with the Ibycus maps. TIA.

 

Yes, my Nuvi 5000 screenshot above shows ibycus maps with the DEM shading from Topo Canada. You simply turn on Topo Canada and whatever other map you want to see and it will show with the shading.

Nuvi5000_Ibycus.jpg

Link to comment

Is anyone using the Ibycus Topo draped on top of the v4 DEM? To do this is there a certain order the maps have to be selected to load? I want to have the v4 turned off but still have the shaded relief with the Ibycus maps. TIA.

 

Yes, my Nuvi 5000 screenshot above shows ibycus maps with the DEM shading from Topo Canada. You simply turn on Topo Canada and whatever other map you want to see and it will show with the shading.

Nuvi5000_Ibycus.jpg

 

Thanks Red90

 

So with both Topo Canada v4 and Ibycus Topo turned on, the Ibycus Topo is automatically go to be displayed on top of the Topo Canada? What makes IT more important. Will it be automatic or is there an order that they have to be selected when downloading the maps to the unit for this to work?

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...