Cap'n Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 Please help, I have just read some awful reports about the accuracy of Magellan's Mapsend Topo Maps on Amazon... I had just about decided on the Sportrak Pro, but now I'm Befuddeled!!! I Need the Topo software, but they say it's no-good... Who would you recommend as having the Best Topo Software for Massachusetts area... Garmin? I'm in a Dither, please help. Paul Quote Link to comment
+Cachetrotters Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 There are several other threads that talk of this ad nauseam. Magellan and Garmin both leave something to be desired. But it's the best you're going to get for your GPSr's for now. don Quote Link to comment
+geospotter Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 I must say that when I first saw the MapSend topo software I was very disappointed. I was expecting it to replicate what I had seen in the topo maps that I use. Not even close. And it can be very expensive (got mine dirt cheap on ebay). But having topo info, even a small amount, in the palm of my hand, along with my current position is pretty amazing. And while I hear of positions being off by hundreds of feet by some users, here in Mass. my positions seem right on the money. The best way to see if it is for you is to check with someone who has it loaded for your area. Try it out for the areas that you are likely to go and judge for yourself. geospotter Quote Link to comment
+Poindexter Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 The problem is that the topo's for either Garmin or Magellan receivers is that they are 1:100,000 scale. The USGS 7.5 minute quads are 1:24,000 scale and much much more detailed. Best to just print your own topo's which are freely available in digital form. Poindexter, www.geocities.com/fairbank56 (topo map printing help page) Quote Link to comment
Cap'n Posted February 1, 2003 Author Share Posted February 1, 2003 Hi again, I'm the one who is looking into GPS units for the F.D. Well, I've pretty much decided on the Magellan Sportrak Pro unit. I contacted Magellan,(Thales Nav. Co.) & they offered a Gov't.discount? of $236.50 ea for (5) units & ($66.00 ea. for the Streets & destiations & Map send Topo) & ($12.50 ea. for (5) see thru belt cases.) So, I have faxed our Dept.info to Magellan for a quote & will send them a check for the merchandise. If I end up being the IDIOT who researched for 4 weeks & ended up with useless Topo info. on the screen, WELL, you know what life will be like with the bunch of "little old ladies" I work with!!!! Geospotter, you & I have conversed before & you say you've had good luck using Topo In Massachusetts so that makes me feel A-LOT better.... Thanks to all for your help even thou some info still goes wizzin right over my head! Thanks, & keep it comin! Paul Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 I use the Garmin Mapsource topo. While it isn't perfect, I find it to be quite useful and worth the expense. Comparing the display with a local topo map, it appears to have a similar level of detail. The only thing missing are the trails and some dirt roads. My one quarrel with it is that it isn't up to date. There is a local highway that's been finished for 8 years, but does't appear on the map. A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away. -Barry Goldwater Quote Link to comment
+SearchRescueDog Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 USGS maps are the standard. One of the best software packages out there is MAPTECH. MAPTECH is a digital form of the USGS topos and allowing full gps integration as well as 3D terrain views. I have several other progams as well as TOPO USA and nothing even gets close to MAPTECH. Shop around for prices because they can very. Quote Link to comment
Cap'n Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 SearchRescueDog, Can you use Maptech with a Garmin or Sportrack Pro? I've been looking at it & it's really nice but I thought you had to use it with a laptop or a Palm Pilot etc.? That would exclude it from the present plans but I would personally like to own one. Paul Quote Link to comment
Cap'n Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 SearchRescueDog, Can you use Maptech with a Garmin or Sportrack Pro? I've been looking at it & it's really nice but I thought you had to use it with a laptop or a Palm Pilot etc.? That would exclude it from the present plans but I would personally like to own one. Paul Quote Link to comment
+writer Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Poindexter:The problem is that the topo's for either Garmin or Magellan receivers is that they are 1:100,000 scale. The USGS 7.5 minute quads are 1:24,000 scale and much much more detailed. Best to just print your own topo's which are freely available in digital form. Although I haven't yet received copies to test (part of the book research), I noticed that Silva was offering some line of software that had both 1:100K *and* 1:24K. I don't know if both scales are available for all areas in the US. They also claim that you can upload tracks from most GPS receivers with a dataport, if you want to create topo trail maps. Quote Link to comment
+SearchRescueDog Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Sorry- Did not read the post correct... No you cant (as far as I know) upload maps into the gps (although you can upload waypoints, routes, etc). I was under the impression you where looking for software to work withe the gps not load into the gps... Quote Link to comment
+jonboy Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 I have both TOPO! and Terrain Navigator and prefer TOPO! because I can edit tracks and draw better tracks with TOPO!. With Maptech you cannot change a track once it is saved, so that if I made a track depicting a trail and find an error, I have to do the whole thing over. The feature I like best on Maptech is the ability to layer in or out data, but this can be done with TOPO! by right clicking to delete tracks you want to hide, and then merging the file back if you want it to show again. I grant that this is more cumbersome than the toggle layering system on Maptech. I have created data files of hiking trails for our SAR unit and started doing it for Maptech, which was initially my favorite of the two programs, but I found it too slow and cumbersome. We operate in NY/NJ and there are just too many trails to want to name and save each one individually, which is what I have to do with Terrain Navigator. One thing Maptech can do that TOPO! can't is print out an exact replica of a USGS, complete with margin data. This is very good if working with other organizations using USGS topos, but you would need to have a wide body printer, and who would take one of those out in the field? My answer is to have a complete library of both, but if I want trails shown, I use TOPO!. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 quote:Can you use Maptech with a Garmin or Sportrack Pro? No, you need their proprietary mapping software. Mapsource in the case of Garmin. Not sure what the Maggie version is. A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away. -Barry Goldwater Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Both Garmin and Magellan topos are adequate to the task. They have to strike a balance between maps that are useful vs. taking too much GPS memory. Neither had a real advantage over the other. I cache with evil Magellan users and we take turns on who's topo is better in any given situation. Wherever you go there you are. Quote Link to comment
boydg Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 jonboy, TOPO! is the National Geographic product, right? Quote Link to comment
+jonboy Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 TOPO! was started by Wildflower and bought out by National Geographic. It was at one time known as Topo Scout. Maptech , the maker of Terrain Navigator mapping software was bought out recently by SILVA. These two mapping software programs are roughly equal in quality, with each having it's own pros and cons. The maps on the Delorme mapping program are definitely inferior, if a lot cheaper. You can manage and store waypoints with these programs, but what I like is to print out a topo with the waypoints and hiking trails shown. Nobody sells a program with accurate trail data, so I make my own .tpg files, which are saved tracks, to display the trails. I have posted most of these files on the mapXchange portion of the TOPO! website, but I have made revisions and corrections to those files which I have yet to post. Quote Link to comment
+SearchRescueDog Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 Does TOPO use USGS maps for it's base? My main use of MAPTECH is for SAR and it is the fact that I can just pull up any quad and print an area map (no not full quad, on 8.5x11). The main point is that the data is USGS. Are TOPO's base maps USGS as well? Quote Link to comment
yeahright Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 Yes, the Nat'l Geo. / Topo! maps are the USGS maps. They've added features like printing just a section you choose, with coordinate markings on the borders, create a route and they generate an elevation profile of the path. The Garmin MapSource Topos only have 30 meter contour resolution unlike the 10 foot contours of the USGS maps. At first I was quite disappointed, but now I realize a 10 foot contour resolution would create an extremely cluttered GPSr display (along with previously mentioned need for economy of filesize). I've gotten used to it, and now think it was a good move. The USGS map sections are still the best for taking a hardcopy along. Faster, Better, Cheaper Pick any two. Quote Link to comment
+Searching_ut Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 National Geographics TOPO (Went by other names prior to being purchased by NG) is in fact scanned USGS TOPO maps at the 1:100,000 scale and 1:24,000 scale. From what I've been able to tell, they are very accurately indexed. I'm not sure what the source is for the maps less detailed than 1:100,000 Garmins TOPO maps are pretty much 1:100,000 scale USGS maps derived as vector graphics from the metric version of the USGS maps. They seem to have lost very little in accuracy or detail in the conversion to vector graphics. Magellans TOPO is based on a 90m DEM. It's hard to say what the scale is, but they appear to be fairly close to 1:100,000 scale. They are generally somewhat less detailed or accurate when compared to the 1:100,000 scale USGS maps, but not by a lot. I personally find it somewhat hard to navigate with these maps in a stand alone mode (Printed on paper) as the errors make it more difficult to visualize the terrain. You see strange stuff like contour lines running through lakes, misplaced geographic items like ponds and streams, and other such errors. When used as intended in the GPS unit however they generally seem to work fairly well for displaying your location in such a manner that you can quickly identify your position on a real USGS quad. For what it's worth Jeff Quote Link to comment
+Poindexter Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 quote:Originally posted by yeahright:The Garmin MapSource Topos only have 30 meter contour resolution unlike the 10 foot contours of the USGS maps. Iv'e never seen a USGS Topo with 10 foot contours, only 20 and 40 foot. Which quad do you have with 10 foot contours? I'd be interested to see it for myself. Quote Link to comment
+creagerstonefamily Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 You should also check out iGage's AllTopo maps. Their sets contain every single USGS topo map available for each state, GPS software, viewer, and map seamer. If anyone's interested in them or their Weatherproof paper, contact me privately and we'll talk about where to get the cheapest price. :-) Quote Link to comment
+jonboy Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 Topograffix sells ExpertGPS for $60. This is an advanced version of EasyGPS, which is free. Caches from geocaching.com can be downloaded directly to this program. With this program you can download an online 1:24,000 USGS depicting the location of the cache, or an aerial photo. You can also click on the cache to view it online at www.geocaching.com. I use this in conjunction with TOPO!, I download caches to ExpertGPS, then transfer them to TOPO!, it will also communicate with MapTech. It does not communicate with Garmin's Mapsource program. If I want to download caches without tedious typing of coordinates, I transfer the coordinates from ExpertGPS to my GPSr, then download from the GPSr to Garmin's Mapsource. I don't use the Mapsource Topo CD for anything but to load maps to my GPSr, but I do use the Mapsource Metroguide USA CD to locate my caches on a road map and figure out an efficient way to drive from one to the other. You can get a road map from Mapquest, but it will only show one location, I want all the caches I'm going after shown on one map. Quote Link to comment
Big W Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 I have Magellan mapsend topo. For the most part here in Atlanta it is right on.(95% of the time) Personally I would not by the Sportrak Pro. One reason the memory is not removable. I like having the Platinum with the removable memory. Plus I can buy cards up to 128 mb where as the Pro has built in memory of 24mb...My plan is to buy several cards and load maps of where I go most often. I am not sure about this but, I think the screen on my Platinum is bigger than that of a Sportrak pro. Which is nice because I can see more data on my screen.. Granted most people buy the Sportrak pro because it does pack a lot of stuff into a small unit. This why my dad brought it. Go with removable memory. Oh yeah..With the new firmware 4x I can save waypoints onto the card and not he internal memory of the Platinum. Have not try this yet, but I shall.. Good luck... Quote Link to comment
Cap'n Posted February 8, 2003 Author Share Posted February 8, 2003 Hi Gang, Thank's for all your expertise!!!!, My new Sportrack Pro arrived yesterday & I was all excited until I read a Post about the 4.02 Version of Firmware. Naturally I did'nt know what Firmware was! So, I investigated the unit & discovered it had Version 3.01 installed,=@%***?? again I was in a Dither! My New Pro w/ old stuff in it---what to do??? Once again I searched the forum & found another web site to Magellan w/ the the new Version 4.02 there & waiting for me to download. Well, (with the help of my son's), I now have a new Pro w/ New 4.02 Firmware installed. Good feeling & I owe a lot of it to you guy's for your invaluable assistance. So, please bear with me if I have any more foolish questions..... Thanks again, Paul Quote Link to comment
USN Retired Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 I have had no problems with my topo. Go Navy Quote Link to comment
boydg Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 I'm USN(Ret), too. Howdy! ----- ~ Boyd CTIC(SS/NAC) USN(Ret) Quote Link to comment
Cap'n Posted February 9, 2003 Author Share Posted February 9, 2003 Hi, Well, I downloaded the New Version 4.03 successfully to my new toy & all is fine. Thanks, Paul Quote Link to comment
+DA Family Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 If money is no object(yea right) check out a Trimble GPSr. They are the units we use for Mapping out wells and biohazards for a local Health Department. We use them along with ESRI software (Arcview) GIS. we also have a 48" color printer. Would love to have this setup for Geocaching but have to settle for a Garmin. Quote Link to comment
dsandbro Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 quote:Originally posted by DA Family:If money is no object(yea right) check out a Trimble GPSr. They are the units we use for Mapping out wells and biohazards for a local Health Department. We use them along with ESRI software (Arcview) GIS. we also have a 48" color printer. Would love to have this setup for Geocaching but have to settle for a Garmin. Yeah, technology is moving fast in this area. With MrSid software and ESRI ArcPad you can load all kinds of digital images into a Trimble GPS unit -- 7.5 minute USGS tops, DOQ's, aerial photos, geodatasets, historical maps, etc. and lots of them, not just a small area. Switch back and forth in the field or layer them up (topo lines and GIS data atop a DOQ image is great). Like you said ...if money is no object... ======================================== Friends don't let Friends geocache drunk. Quote Link to comment
+Hiemdahl Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 I use the Fugawi software (www.fugawi.com) since it can read virtually any digital mapping software. As far as digital maps, I prefer the NIMA CADRGs and CIBs. Much more accurate (and up to date) than the commercial products. Quote Link to comment
yeahright Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Answer to Poindexter ... All I've ever seen in CT are 7.5 minute Quads with 10 foot contours. Granted, Connecticut is a small area. Some older USGS maps are available. Check the bottom of this map section for details. http://docs.unh.edu/CT/roxb55sw.jpg Faster, Better, Cheaper Pick any two. Quote Link to comment
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