Is Mapsend Topo of any value?

[Schmacker]

I have been anxiously awaiting my copy of MapSend Topo, but when it

arrived and I installed the software, I was severly disappointed.

 

I was hoping to use it to plan future backpacking trips, etc. so the

first thing I did was to see if I could search for some of the trails

I have been on that approach the Appalachian Trail. Well.....

 

I can't find ANY trails! Not even the AT! What's up? Am I missing

something? What good it it to have all this elevation profile

capability on the Meriplat, if it doesn't know anything about the

trails I want to hike?

 

And then I decided to try to get the software to plot a route for me,

thinking it would give me driving directions similar to MapQuest on

the internet. NO! a simple straight "as the crow flies" line from

waypoint to waypoint.

 

Then I attempted to search for a couple of addresses, mine in

Jacksonville, FL and my son's in Charlotte, NC. It would not find my

address. It has the street numbers wrong for the section of the

street I live on, but it did find the street. Woopee!! It wouldn't

even find my son's street in Charlotte. It is on the map, but the

search wouldn't find it.

 

I must be doing something wrong, or is this software a complete waste

of time and money?

 

PLEASE HELP!

 

Frustrated!

Schmacker

[+dwmurphy]

Like when I zoom in with my MAP330 and find I'm making a track 35 ft off of the road. Or when the road I'm on is too new for the database and it looks like I'm driving out through some field going cross country.

 

FYI my Mapsend is plotting my house position as being around the corner of my street. (I have 3.00A version)

 

I do believe your expectations were too high. Where did you get the information that this software would do all that you wanted it to do?

 

I'm not Lost, my GPS says I'm right here....no over here......no over here.

[JaegerWolf]

its only designed for an estimate of where you are, not for driving your car under no visibility conditions. Its not worth the 149 that magellan charges for it.

[+leatherman]

You can get Mapsend Topo for $67.

 

If you do not extend your expectations unto others, you will not be disappointed by the stupid things they do.

Mokita!

[Ruprex]

There's some here-say that magellan is revamping the software. I'd take it back and wait a few more months for the new version to come.

 

God was my co-pilot but we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him.

[+Searching_ut]

I'm afraid there aren't really any topo mapping products that are great for trails, other than maybe very limited area versions.

 

Most topo maps come from USGS surveys that are generally at least 20 years old. They show terrain fairly well in most cases, but tend to get bad in areas when it comes to man made things.

 

For the areas I hike out west, I'd say about half of the trails that have been around forever are on the maps, but many of them have had quite a few changes since the map was made making them tough to navigate by.

 

For what it's worth

 

Jeff

[JaegerWolf]

I got it for 67.00, but if you look at magellan's web site, its 149.00

[georapper]

yeah, if you read the forums before buying the mapsend topo, you would have known that it basically was a piece of junk. your expectations were way to high. amazon.com had it for sell for $69 + magellan was giving a rebate of $50, so the bottom line would have cost you $20 plus amazon shipped for free. for $20 the piece of junk software is ok. i've been reading the forums for the past 6 months and realized that the mapsend topo is not what most people expect it to be.

[+Jamie Z]

Wow.. Mapsend seems to be taking a bad rap here.

 

For me, it's the best software I can upload to my Meridian, and only rarely have I found the roads to be incorrect. Even many trails I've walked/hiked have been on my screen.

 

You say the AT is missing? I suppose I could check myself, but I find that really hard to believe... but you'd know better than me.

 

And the half-dozen or so times I've used the address feature, the Meridian has gotten me close enough to the actual address so that I can see where ever it is that I'm trying to go. Only once in my recollection did it point me to a spot several blocks from reality. It shows the address to my apartment to be right on. When I stand on my doorstep, it tells me I'm about 60 feet away.

 

Yes, it's not perfect. I wish it were better. But I've found the maps to be exceedingly helpful far more often than they've steered me wrong.

 

Jamie

[Schmacker]

Please check, I looked in the Great Smokies Park and saw no signs of ANY trails and I know that place is covered with them.

 

I'm perfectly willing to admit that I'm doing somthing wrong, but what........?

 

Thanks

Bob

 

Even many trails I've walked/hiked have been on my screen.

 

You say the AT is missing? I suppose I could check myself, but I find that really hard to believe... but you'd know better than me.

[+Rusty O Junk]

I’ll agree that Mapsend falls way short from what I had expected when I ordered it. The big shortcoming was the lack of trails as Schmaker said. Some trails are on the maps but not many. I find at times when driving down the road and it puts me out in the pucker brush off the highway it’s usually a lack of satellite reception. Move the gps to where it gets a better view of sky and give it a few minuets. It’s not a replacement for a paper map but I wouldn’t be without it. Maybe if Mapsend gets this bad of a rap there is something better, but what?

[georapper]

i'd buy mapsend topo for at most $20. it's not worth any more that that.

[+Cachetrotters]

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) running from Mexico to Canada through CA, OR, and WA, and passing by 2 miles west of the house, is not on the MS Topo either. It does not measure up to 7.5 quads, but is certainly better than a plain ol' base map for elevation and small roads.

The Merigreen has no detail in its small map, so I find MS Topo useful, if nothing to write home about.

I also understand the horizontal resolution is supposed to be 90 meters. If so, a lot of information could get lost.

[+headmj]

I think it is excellent and I think that most of the folks here want a silk purse for the cost of a sows ear. The software works well in my magellan and it has some extraordinary detail in places where the base data had the detail. NONE of the uploadable map software has the detail of the 7.5" USGA maps. Even NG topo relies on uploads from users for most of its trail information. I own Mapsend and Maptech Terrain Navigator. Together they give me what I need for a fair price.

[+infosponge]

I've been happy with the product so far (over a year of constant use).

Yes, if the underlying TIGER/LINE data is screwey, the roads will be screwey, but in general those of you complaining that a road is 35 feet off should measure how wide a road is and give it some thought. The caveat that it's "close enough for government work" should be followed here...the public road data was made to help with the census and (unfortunately) not as a GPS-grade data set. A project is under way to revise that baseline data, but it's going to take time.

[+Genius Loci]

I've been using MapSend Topo for nearly a year, and have found it very adequate for DRIVING. I live in the suburban Chicagoland area and the road and street info works pretty well - especially considering the TIGER base (as infosponge pointed out). Before I bought it, I read a review stating that the TOPO edition of MapSend has as much road info as the Road edition.

 

However, as far as topographic information goes, I do agree that it's pretty useless. The physical feature information is not detailed enough for hiking as far as I'm concerned - especially the contours. Admittedly, here in Illinois, the terrain is pretty flat, but contour lines for my area in Mapsend are just about non-existent. The drainage info is fair (though there is no indication for swamps) and trails are also completely lacking.

 

Because they have named the software TOPO, I had hoped for more topographic information, and was disappointed on that account. However, it works pretty well for road travel. I really think Magellan needs to give this software a new name- TOPO is completely misleading.

 

However, I don't believe there are any other maps that can be loaded into your Magellan GPSr. I don't think that the Garmin folks have it any better for topographic information, either - has anybody else compared software for both lines as far as topo info goes?

[+dwmurphy]

Since most screens are small, if the full topo detail may be too cluttered for the user to read? If I load up a region that has a large city, the screen has to be zoomed in quite a bit to be readable. I will admit I'm running the highest setting on map detail which has a lot to do with things. I will still keep my Topo software since it has the Mapsend Streets built in. I wish Magellan would let us upload files to them to be integrated into their next software product.

 

I'm not Lost, my GPS says I'm right here....no over here......no over here.

[+Firefishe]

This is for those keeping track of this project.

 

Well, that clinches it! It's time for up-to-date, Topographical Maps based on *current projections* (as much as can be made possible).

 

I'm adding this to my list of things to put into the software component of my GPSR project.

 

How about real-time updating on the GIS website that is going to go with this?

 

--Still workin' on it..

--Firefishe (Stephen Brown)

 

P.S. I'm working on a new website devoted to this project.

 

[+Groundhound]

Certainly there are some disappointing limitations to Mapsend Topo, the lack of trails being the biggest IMHO. Only the first mile or so of the AT at its start in GA (Springer Mt.) appears.

 

On the other hand, the topo resolution seems OK given the limitations of screen size. On my Sportrak Pro at maximum zoom, the major topo lines appear every 40' with minor lines every 8'. On the PC screen at maximum zoom, major lines appear every 100' and minor lines every 20'. The topo accuracy is not good in areas where bulldozers have been busy in the last few decades.

 

As far as tracking to one side of a street, keep in mind that the street lines are essentially without dimension in terms of width. At best, the lines only represent the center of the right of way. So if my track shows me to be 35' to the side of a two lane road, I wouldn't consider that a significant error. Some newer roads are not accurately drawn in places, or don't appear at all.

 

[This message was edited by Groundhound on December 28, 2002 at 08:29 PM.]