How to program in a waypoint having never been there.??

[Guest Hunter]

Hey gang..

My question is simple. can any of you GPS wizards stick a pin randomly in a topo and figure out the cordinates required to get there? I can mess around with rough guessing but never arrive where I want to be. Is there software that works or even something like a protracter or slide rule that Helps breaks up quadrants into minutes and second??

Thanks.

[Guest mcb]

If you are using a USGS 7.5 minute quad topo maps then you can get a special ruler that will give you the UMT grid point of a point on the map. I sure there are similar tools for other scale maps if you look.

 

Matt

[Guest zeta]

There's a special ruler called a DB stick that I used to use a lot for microwave path and tower site locations.

 

Another option is a drafting ruler, or any ruler that has a spread from 0 to 60 in even increments.

 

Using either ruler, pencils, straight edge, and a topo map you can calculate any point on the map.

[Guest Richard Amirault]

There may be another alternative....

 

If you have a CD-Rom street mapping program, most will give you the lat/lon of any point including anything 'off the road'.

 

If you need the topo map to find a particular geological 'feature' then that might be a problem, but I don't know what you have in mind.

[Guest Omicron]

If you go to http://www.topozone.com, you can view topo maps for pretty much the entire US, and they are constantly adding. I know there are also several other good topo sites out there. Anyway, the cool part about the site is that whenever you are moving your mouse pointer over the topo map, if you look down in the lower left of your browser (the status bar) you will see the cooordinates displayed. You can change formats from UTM, DD.DDDD, or D/M/S, and it's pretty accurate.

 

Hope this helps.

 

quote:

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Originally posted by Hunter:

Hey gang..

My question is simple. can any of you GPS wizards stick a pin randomly in a topo and figure out the cordinates required to get there? I can mess around with rough guessing but never arrive where I want to be. Is there software that works or even something like a protracter or slide rule that Helps breaks up quadrants into minutes and second??

Thanks.

---

[Guest Eli]

I've been using my Delorme topo map of the state of Vermont for several years now, and have found it's the best out there! I do A LOT of exploring with my mt. bike and modified 4wd truck.

 

It has GPS coords on the sides. You can just grab a ruler and figure them out. I usually get within 100 ft this way.

[Guest Omicron]

I just found a decent site for Canadian topo maps today. I'm heading towards Ontario right after my semester ends this year, and I'll be right by a confluence point I want to go hit. Here's the address:

http://toporama.cits.rncan.gc.ca/

 

It isn't as good as TopoZone, but it will still give you coordinates.

[+Sputnik 57]

I'm SOOOO glad we don't write with stone tablets and chisels any more. Can you tell I'm bored?

[+Anonymous']

Wow, digging pretty deep aren't you?

[+AtoZ]

I use either Nation Geographic Topomaps, or Garmin MapSource MetroGuide/Topo. But thought this is more accurate then using a topomap and UTM ruler it is still some what ambiguitious.

cheers

[+CO Admin]

moving to the proper forum