Pda Maps?

[+Shade & Jaded]

I was juat wondering if anyone is useing any map programs on there PDA, if so what kind? I'm kinda new to the PDA thing but I'd like to find a map program kind of like the map program thats on the Geocaching web site. A topo would be better, but beggers can't be chosers. I can't seem to find a program that I can export to my PDA. Any susgestions?

[+bigredmed]

Mapopolis dot com.

 

Download the program and county maps.

[+Gorak]

I've been using MS Streets & Trips on my PDA for about the last year. I'm just in the process of installing OziExplorer CE so that I can view my digital topo maps and other maps that I've scanned for use with my desktop version of Ozi.

[+Team Sand Dollar]

I'm using Delorme SA2005HH on a Palm 515 with GPS Companion. This will get you street level maps for around $39. You can add TOPO USA for topo maps for a bit more $99. I use this setup to get me to the area of the cache and the go back to may handheld for the find.

 

Team Sand Dollar

[+WalruZ]

you can demo mapopolis on the palm - download the map reader and a demo version of your county map. if you are using cachemate you can also download and install a export plug-in that lets you export your cachemate records to your address book, where they show up as icons on the map in your palm.

 

I did so, it was nice. you can select the 'route' option off the menu, choose your current location off the map and choose a cache as a destination. The software will give you turn-by-turn directions, which is great if you don't know the area you're in very well. When I have time I will probably spring for the $40 map pack so I can downloald all my area counties. I'll have to get an expansion card to hold them though. I considered getting the $200 package that adds a GPS to my zire 71 so i could see my progress on the map, but money is tight.

[+Gaddiel]

Pocket Streets. Works well for us. The only thing I don't like is that the maps don't have a scale on them.

[+Stunod]

I'm using Delorme SA2005HH on a Palm 515 with GPS Companion. This will get you street level maps for around $39. You can add TOPO USA for topo maps for a bit more $99. I use this setup to get me to the area of the cache and the go back to may handheld for the find.

 

Team Sand Dollar

I have this setup, also. Works well with a clip on GPS, too.

[+Renegade Knight]

I use MS Streets and Trips in conjunction with GPXSonar. I can export the cache waypoints as a pushpin file and see where all the caches are at a glance.

 

It's a good setup. Mapopolis does more but I don't need the more it does.

[+sledgehampster]

I use DeLorme Street Atlas 2005 Handheld as well. Save a little money and get a copy of 2004. It is just as good. I traded up with no real advantage. The back on route feature is a joke. Mapopolis routing on the palm is MUCH faster...

[+DrAwKwArD]

you can demo mapopolis on the palm - download the map reader and a demo version of your county map. if you are using cachemate you can also download and install a export plug-in that lets you export your cachemate records to your address book, where they show up as icons on the map in your palm.

Any ideas for those of us that cannot run palm OS 5.0? Right now I'm running 3.5 on my Handspring.

[+planetrobert]

you can demo mapopolis on the palm - download the map reader and a demo version of your county map.  if you are using cachemate you can also download and install a export plug-in that lets you export your cachemate records to your address book, where they show up as icons on the map in your palm.

Any ideas for those of us that cannot run palm OS 5.0? Right now I'm running 3.5 on my Handspring.

i use Quo Vadis from marcosoft.com GPSBabel will export your waypoints to this file type.

 

It is smooth and tracks via gps. nice app with a small memory footprint. i would have gone for mapopolis due to a couple features such as directions ond taht sort of thing, but i couldn't load waypoints into it as I have palm os v4.1

[+BigWhiteTruck]

I use Mapopolis and Cachemate.

Cachemate is nice because it gets the cache description, previous logs, hints, info, pretty much everything you need, right out of your pocketquery .gpx file. You can read the entire description of the cache, then hit "NAV" and now you have a gps-like screen with a pointer to the cache, speed, distance, etc. The best part of using mapopolis to cache with is the fact that cachemate can export caches to mapopolis as waypoints, then mapopolis can tell you how to drive there. Since mapopolis can interface with your palm-compatable gps as well, you can get real-time driving directions to the site. The palm actually speaks to me:

"Left turn, one tenths mile" etc.

My gps is a Globalsat BT308 reciever. It communicates to my palm pilot via Bluetooth wireless connection. 99% of time I am caching, my gps unit never leaves my backpack! And I've never printed out a cache page either, thanks to cachemate.

[+sledgehampster]

Disregard, brain cramp...

Edited October 15, 2004 by sledgehampster

[+Rainwater]

I use gsak and microsoft streets and trips. Gives me street level maps and has gps tracking ability. works great.

[+Rainwater]

I use gsak and microsoft streets and trips. Gives me street level maps and has gps tracking ability. works great.

[+Rainwater]

I use gsak and microsoft streets and trips. Gives me street level maps and has gps tracking ability. works great.

[+Rainwater]

I use gsak and microsoft streets and trips. Gives me street level maps and has gps tracking ability. works great.

[+CompuCash]

Man! there is a BAD echo in here!

 

[+Rainwater]

sorry, I'm on my pda at the moment and things just are not working right

[+planetrobert]

Man! there is a BAD echo in here!

 

you could say that again

[Keystone]

I am moving this topic to the "GPS Units and Software" forum.

[+NightPilot]

Cache-n-Dash, Mapopolis has a version for Palm OS3 & 4. Try this link. It may run a little slowly on an older device, but it works, and many people seem to be running it on older devices.

[+planetrobert]

Cache-n-Dash, Mapopolis has a version for Palm OS3 & 4. Try this link. It may run a little slowly on an older device, but it works, and many people seem to be running it on older devices.

I think that he meant that cachemate will only export for palm os5 version of mapopolis.

[+SixTen]

you can demo mapopolis on the palm - download the map reader and a demo version of your county map. if you are using cachemate you can also download and install a export plug-in that lets you export your cachemate records to your address book, where they show up as icons on the map in your palm.

 

I did so, it was nice. you can select the 'route' option off the menu, choose your current location off the map and choose a cache as a destination. The software will give you turn-by-turn directions, which is great if you don't know the area you're in very well. When I have time I will probably spring for the $40 map pack so I can downloald all my area counties. I'll have to get an expansion card to hold them though. I considered getting the $200 package that adds a GPS to my zire 71 so i could see my progress on the map, but money is tight.

WalruZ,

 

I seem to be having some difficulties with viewing the waypoints on the mapopolis maps...if you get a minute could you explain to me exactly how you exported/imported and/or view them on the map?

 

Thanks!

SixTen

[+NightPilot]

With the older versions, you can use GPS2Maplet, which is actually a better method of dealing with user waypoints. Putting waypoints in the Palm address book is a bad idea. Mapopolis listened to someone who thought it was wonderful, and now realize the problems, because of the complaints from other users, and reportedly plans to do away with that abortion and go back to maplets or something similar. Mapopolis on PPC has always used maplets. It's only the Palm OS5 version that puts everything in the address book. I detest it.

[+DrAwKwArD]

With the older versions, you can use GPS2Maplet, which is actually a better method of dealing with user waypoints. Putting waypoints in the Palm address book is a bad idea. Mapopolis listened to someone who thought it was wonderful, and now realize the problems, because of the complaints from other users, and reportedly plans to do away with that abortion and go back to maplets or something similar. Mapopolis on PPC has always used maplets. It's only the Palm OS5 version that puts everything in the address book. I detest it.

I'd be interested to know how this works. I must say though.. exporting directly to the mapping software from cachemate sounds great. It can't get much simpler than that.

[+NightPilot]

You don't actually export to the mapping software. You export to the Palm address book, and Mapopolis searches the Custom1 field for the lat/lon. You enter the cache name (or part of it) into the Find field in Mapopolis, and it finds the lat/lon. In theory, this works well, but if you export a couple of hundred caches, you wind up with that many entries in your address book, and clearing them out is a PITA. I don't think Cachemate does exports to maplets in OS3 or 4, but I don't know for sure; I've never tried to do it with an older model. I sometimes use an M105 for caching, but I haven't tried to do any exports on it - maybe I should try it sometime. I have never tried to run Mapopolis on the M105, because I don't have enough memory on it. 8MB is really tight for a lot of caches plus Mapopolis, since my home county map is > 6MB alone.

[+DrAwKwArD]

I don't think Cachemate does exports to maplets in OS3 or 4, but I don't know for sure; I've never tried to do it with an older model. I sometimes use an M105 for caching, but I haven't tried to do any exports on it - maybe I should try it sometime.

Allow me to answer that for you. It works up to the point where you tell Mapopolis you would like to find the cache. It doesn't appear to recognize the coordinates from address book. It tells you "please enter a valid address."

 

I would entertain any ideas to get around this. You say maplets may be the answer. How so?

[+NightPilot]

You would need to read the Mapopolis OS3/4 manual. I don't have an older Palm to try it on, so I don't have access to maplets, because the OS5 version doesn't support them, it uses 'Geomarks' instead, which are simply addressbook entries. You should be aware that Mapopolis has announced that it won't be making any more maps available for any OS prior to OS5 in the future, and the development of the program has gone as far as it ever will. Lots of companies seem to be abandoning older OSs, just as Microsoft is abandoning support for older Windows versions. Time moves on, and things become obsolete.

[+njload]

I have MS streets and trips 2004. How do I sync to my Tungesten E. I boxed a section of the map and right clicked and exported but it does not look like a pda file format.

 

Any Help appreciated

[+Jeeters]

I use Mapopolis on my PocketPC. I tried MS Streets and Trips once, but it was too slow to be usable when the map was stored to my SD card. The map needed to be in RAM in order to get any decent panning/zooming speed.

 

Mapopolis has no such problem. I have about 20MB of contiguous counties all stored on my SD card. Mapopolis can load them all up and lets me zoom and pan with no performance problems whatsoever.

 

The Mapopolis makers also have a free GpxToMaplet utility they which will covert a .gpx file into a 'maplet' (.mlp) file which can be used to see all the cache waypoints of your pocketquery in Mapololis.

 

My one and only gripe with Mapopolis is there's no way to specify how much street detail you want for a given zoom level. As you zoom higher and higher, it hides more and more streets. So if you're zoomed high enough such that you can see both 'point A' and point 'B' on the screen at the same time, you often can't tell if there are any roads that easily connect the two together.

Edited October 19, 2004 by Jeeters

[+DrAwKwArD]

I just used gpxtomaplet to convert a gpx to maplet file for mapopolis. Does anyone know how to upload an .mlp file to my pda? Am I missing a conversion program or something? Thanks.

[+njload]

I still would like an answer on how to download a map file from MS streets and trips 2004 to my tungsten E. I also could not upload an mlp. file.

[+Hard Oiler]

I still would like an answer on how to download a map file from MS streets and trips 2004 to my tungsten E. I also could not upload an mlp. file.

The answer is simple - you can't. Streets and Trips won't export to Palms - only Pocket PC's. Of course you could complain to MS.........

[+Alan2]

My one and only gripe with Mapopolis is there's no way to specify how much street detail you want for a given zoom level. As you zoom higher and higher, it hides more and more streets. So if you're zoomed high enough such that you can see both 'point A' and point 'B' on the screen at the same time, you often can't tell if there are any roads that easily connect the two together.

 

There's a More Detail (+) and Less Detail (-) at the bottom of the screen on my PPC that controls what you want to do. I also assign these functions to two of the hardware buttons so I can control it more easily. I assign the other two buttons to Zoom In and Zoom Out.

[+NightPilot]

ISTR that someone has made the .mlp files work on a Palm by simply renaming them to .pdb. I may be recalling incorrectly though, so I take no responsibility for what happens. I'll try to poke around the Mapopolis forum on GPSPassion and see what I can find.

 

Edit: The Mapopolis manual, which explains how to use maplets, is here.

Instructions on converting .gpx to .mlp is here.

Mapopolis for OS3/4 does search the address book, so the Cachemate export should work there also.

Edited October 20, 2004 by NightPilot

[Phoenix2001]

Another mapping program for Palm OS or Windows CE is PathAway.

See:

http://pathaway.com/

 

I'm not a user because I was just looking for a program to download tracks and waypoints from my GPS receivers. I almost went with PathAway but GPilotS finally added the functionality I needed. I tried the PathAway demo over a year ago.

Edited October 20, 2004 by Phoenix2001

[+DrAwKwArD]

Mapopolis for OS3/4 does search the address book, so the Cachemate export should work there also.

This is from the readme file for Map. Export:

 

"MapopolisExport 1.0

Mapopolis export plugin for CacheMate

 

This plugin allows exporting of waypoints to Mapopolis for Palm OS 5.0 and

later"

 

I was successful in renaming the .mlp to .pdb and it hot-synced to my palm. I could even detect the file in my directory. But no where did it show up in mapopolis. Back to square 1!

 

Thanks for checking though. It looks like I'll have to invest in new hardware in order to geocache w/maps. I may look into getting Street Atlas down the road.

[+Jeeters]

My one and only gripe with Mapopolis is there's no way to specify how much street detail you want for a given zoom level. As you zoom higher and higher, it hides more and more streets. So if you're zoomed high enough such that you can see both 'point A' and point 'B' on the screen at the same time, you often can't tell if there are any roads that easily connect the two together.

There's a More Detail (+) and Less Detail (-) at the bottom of the screen on my PPC that controls what you want to do.

Doh! For some iditiotic reason, I'd never tried those before. Works great! Thanks.