+Team Heather-Kat Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 (edited) Curious as to what other cachers use for mapping software. We currently use MapPoint 2001 and it is ok, but I have to do alot of manual stuff, I'ma computer nerd so that's ok with me . . . [A second, inappropriate question was removed by a moderator.] Edited January 23, 2004 by Keystone Approver Quote Link to comment
crr003 Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Memory Map 2004 Garmin MapSource Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 (edited) Garmin Mapsource Topo for my GPS and National Geographic Topo! for everything else. Edited January 23, 2004 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
+NCGrimbo Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Call me a super geek. I'm in the process of writting code for my PDA and compact flash GPS that will show me where I am and have the data from Geocahing.com caches so that I can be 100% paperless and only have to run one program. Quote Link to comment
+Nuwati Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Quake Map Maptech Terrain Navigator National Geo. Topo Mapsource Topo USA Mapsource Roads and Rec Ozi-Explorer Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 I use Mapsource Roads & Rec with my 3+ and MS Streets & Trips for all my trip planning. Quote Link to comment
+dino_hunters Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 I like expertgps. Its the best if you need topo maps or air photos. It covers the entire country. It downloads the maps as needed from the Terraserver & caches them on your hard drive. A great deal for only $60. If you go with other topo sw, your looking at $100 per State! Quote Link to comment
+flossmoor Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 DeLorme Topo 4.0 on DVD. It covers all 50 states for $99, or since I bought 3.0, $69. I rarely premap any of my cache visits, but if I want to get a better feel for the terrain, I'll plot in on the DeLorme software. I purchased the software for other reasons, and stick with it for the familiarity. However, there are a lot of great software packages available. Quote Link to comment
+tirediron Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Fugawi 3 & etopo for both laptop & pda and Mapsource/Metroguide 4 Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 National Geographi Topo for my computer. Mapsource Topo and City Select for my GPS. Microsoft Streets and Trips for the PDA. Quote Link to comment
+dino_hunters Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Delorme's All topo usa is good, but it lacks the detail of a good old USGS topo map. Quote Link to comment
+flossmoor Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 DeLorme's Topo 4.0 does make provisions for you to get online copies of USGS topo maps. I've never used this feature, but I think you get a few downloads free, and then pay for downloads thereafter. I agree, though: there is nothing quite like a USGS map. Quote Link to comment
+Team Heather-Kat Posted January 23, 2004 Author Share Posted January 23, 2004 Thanks for the replies - I use MapPoint if I want a map. EasyGPS to dump the waypoints. Currently saving the cache web pages individually to a folder on my CF card then transferring that in toto to my zaurus so I can have the maps and text to work with in the field. If I'm planning a long day of caching we'll bring along a laptop to sorta keep track of where we are by using real time tracking with MapPoint and the GPS. Also, using NetStumbler we can occasionally find a WLAN conection if we need to hit terraserver or the GC website. Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 I use ExpertGPS for a lot of my stuff. I also really like TOPO. But watch out. I have been trying to get an answer from them regarding support for the Garmin GPS 60C and 60CS and a USB connection. The tech support at TOPO is whacked in the head. If you are getting one of the new Garmins keep it in mind. Otherwise, TOPO is great if it supports your unit. JMHO. Quote Link to comment
Tahosa and Sons Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 National Geographics TOPO is one fine program. I use it quite extensively, as course material when I teach Land Navigation. And very handy for Caching for planting and finding. Scales can be varied, UTM's, And it can also be used to upload waypoints into your GPS. I'll even make a track log and make it a JPG for some of my cache pages. Or use a link like this one on some of my caches. Go to the thumbnails check out the map, and there are about 4 caches back in there someplace. Map shows approximate location of Gliddens Wares. Quote Link to comment
+Team Heather-Kat Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 National Geographics TOPO is one fine program. I use it quite extensively, as course material when I teach Land Navigation. I've been reading up a little on NG TOPO! and now after your post it seems even better suited to my needs. I wish the price was a little lower, but for the detail you're getting it seem's well worth it..... Quote Link to comment
+4agers Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 It is all via my PDA for me... I don't even bother with the computer anymore except for forums and getting my gpx files. Mapopolis (Actual mapping app) GPX to Mapplet (Automatically makes landmarks in mapopolis) GPXSonar (Lists all available caches) GPS Tuner (for honing in on the cache) When it comes to arial photos and topo maps I use LostOutdoors. It is pretty cool inside of GPS Tuner, but have to admit it is normally more trouble than it is worth. Quote Link to comment
Tahosa and Sons Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 I've been reading up a little on NG TOPO! and now after your post it seems even better suited to my needs. I wish the price was a little lower, but for the detail you're getting it seem's well worth it..... The cost was also figured in when I purchased NG TOPO, and I even have their first addition that I payed $50. for. But when I got my new GPS 2 years ago, my intentions was to get Garmins Mapsource, which was about the same price as NG TOPO. Well for the same money I can make maps of several scales, and do lots of stuff with them so I think I got more for my bucks. And if the batteries ever go dead in the woods the maps still work fine. Garmins map output: Delorme's Maps: Note where they have the trail, its totally in the wrong place, and the scales are even different than the standard 1:24k Map from Lions Ridge Cache - GC1F08 Quote Link to comment
+Team Heather-Kat Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 It is all via my PDA for me... That's the direction I am headed, totally on my Zaurus, as of right now tho I need a wifi cf card and I want to get a cf gps card also. I am just now exploring what is available for the Zaurus, there seems to be some goof stuff, being that it is Linux the choices are a little more limited, but when found they are often times as good as or better than PocketPC/CE/Palm offerings. Currently we are a little complicated, I store all the GC data permanently on a desktop machine that plays the role of household server, do the lookups, retrievels, data manipulation and GPS loading on a laptop connected via WiFi....with the WiFi CF card and CF GPS unit I can do all of it no matter where I am ( I am working on a map of my area that has WiFi hotspots on it....via netstumbler)but until then it's gonna be a work i progress. I think I am going to buy NG's TOPO however.... Quote Link to comment
+The Four T's Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 These are the applications used by The Four T's. QuakeMap - Great for checking out cache locations prior to heading out. This is our most-used application for geocaching! The aerial photos are extremely helpful, as are the topo maps. It has a great function for locating the nearest geocaches anywhere on a map. We use this feature before we head out to anywhere new MS Streets & Trips - Great for getting driving directions to intersections close to a cache. Can also connect the GPSr to laptop and track our actual location on the street maps. Very useful for navigating in unfamiliar areas Mapsend Streets & Destinations USA - This is the only app that will upload maps directly to the Magellan GPS GPX Spinner - Use this to customize the waypoint icons and labels before uploading them into the GPSr. Not the easiest app to use, but indispensible once you are used to it! Quote Link to comment
+reveritt Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 I am new to geocaching, but have spent as much time as practical in the woods all my adult life. I haven't tried all the available software, but I did use DeLorme Topo 4.0 for a while. It's OK for large area maps, but doesn't give the detail I want for hiking. I moved up to DeLorme 3-D TopoQuads. This software uses the same interface as Topo 4.0, and uses the same vector-based rendering of large area maps. At a certain zoom level, however, TopoQuads switches from vector rendering to a raster scan of an actual USGS quad map. The map joins are ostensibly seamless, but in fact the seams can sometimes be seen when zooming in. This is a limitation of the paper maps. In my experience, it is impossible to join two quad maps at the edges without some minor discontinuities, which result from the map projection. The advantage to DeLorme Topo 4.0 is that it covers the entire country in one CD. DeLorme TopoQuads requires that you buy a new CD for each state. Some smaller states (e.g. RI and CT) are combined on one CD. Some larger states (e.g. PA) require two CDs. Topo 4.0 can render in 3-D, and can show you a vertical profile of a route that you enter. There are limited drawing and labeling tools. This software has an interface to talk to a GPSr, but I have never used it. Go to http://www.delorme.com for a demo. Quote Link to comment
+GeckoGeek Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 Call me cheap, but I use USAPhotoMap. It has both topo and satellite photos. The only downside is you must download what you want. But for free (actually donation-ware) what do you expect? It will talk to your GPS and you can up/download waypoints, tracks, routes, etc. Quote Link to comment
+Zinnware Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 I use MapSource for maps in my Garmin, but for nothing else. I use ExpertGPS for managing and planning my geocache day. It has Aerial photos that are very useful and access to topo maps. What is neat is you can flip between the topos and aerial maps. You can see all the geocaches in the area on both the topo and aerial maps after you download the waypoints in .gpx or .loc files obtained from Geocaching.com. You can also navigate in the car with it but it does not do street routing. You just see where you are on the map as you drive along. I use Delorme's Street Atlas 2004 for navigating to the cache via car. It provides Street Routing and voice navigation (I use a laptop). Sometimes I use Delorme's Topo USA to see terrain. It provides a 3D perspecive view of mountian areas and also provides street routing. Once out of the car I just use my GPS. Zinnware Quote Link to comment
+Lone Duck Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 MS Streets & Trips MapSource Roads and Rec Delorme Street Atlas Delorme Topo Quote Link to comment
+NightPilot Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Mapopolis on the Palm for road & street mapping, and the base map in my Legend for handheld. I haven't seen the need for anything else. A topo map isn't that useful down here on the Gulf Coast, where there are no hills, much less mountains. Quote Link to comment
+BigBirdNL Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 (edited) CacheMaps for all online maps (50 supported) OziExplorer for offline maps TomTom and oziCE for PDA maps Edited January 31, 2004 by BigBirdNL Quote Link to comment
trout_fisherman Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 I use a Garmin E-Trex and Fugawi uk Quote Link to comment
gm100guy Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 I use the following mapping programs for here in Ontario Canada. Softmap topo maps with gps interface Mapopolis on my palm S&T on my laptop sometimes Lowrance base map on gps Quote Link to comment
+Volwrath Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 At home: Delorme Street Atlas USAPhoto maps Mapsource Metroguide At work: Arcview (w/State of Tn DRGs) Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 Street Atlas (both v9 and v2004) LostOutdoors.com for photo & topo maps The reason I still use v9 of Street Atlas is that it loads much faster than v2004, doesn't have the memory problems, and interfaces with G7ToWin. The latter lets me pop up hundreds of caches on a map in a matter of seconds. With SA2004, it's a multi-step process involving saving and importing files. Quote Link to comment
+gallahad Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 MapSend v.4.20d Quote Link to comment
+Warriorrider Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 MapSend Streets & Destinations MapSend Topo National Geographic Topo USA PhotoMaps Quote Link to comment
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