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Delorme, National Geo Or Microsoft??


Iowa Tom

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Hopefully this is not too much for one post but here goes. I sure would like any opinions about which is better for GPS and travel use: (1) Delorme's newest Earthmate that comes with a GPSr or (2) Microsoft's newest Streets and Trips that also comes with a GPSr.

 

Also any opinions about which of these is the better product for geocaching etc. would be appreciated: (A) DeLORME 3-D TopoQuads 2.0 for individual states or (:lol: Geographic TOPO! Shaded Relief State Series?

 

Lastly, any thoughts about the Streets & 3-D Views Expansion Pack as an accessory to NG Topo software? Seems like the DeLorme might have that capability already.

 

I wonder what Santa uses? <_<

 

Happy Holidays!

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As far as the Delorme or Microsoft products that include a GPS, I do not like them, the GPS is not a stand alone unit, You would be better being the software "without" the GPS and using and Garmin or Magellen GPS with the software.

 

re topo maps, the National Geograpins maps are scanned USGS maps, You cannot get any better than that, I have not used the 3D expansion for my NG because I am waiting to see if santa brings the expansion pack, I did see it last spring at the NG office and it looked very good.

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Hey JohnnyVegas,

 

Is there something about the Delorme or Microsoft software that you don't like other than the little GPSr they come with? I thought about using the little GPSr that comes with them because I have no holder for my Magellan. It's also big enough to block a significant part of my window. I also find that my GPSr interferes greatly with AM radio reception if placed on the dash. I wonder if the other units do that as well?

 

As far as scanned topos go, I think that both softwares are the same. Descriptions of the two are at http://gpsnow.com/3dtquad.htm and http://gpsnow.com/ia.htm. I cannot tell for sure but it sounds like the NG flythrough might be better than the DeLorme.

 

Thanks for the response.

 

Hope that Santa finds his way to your place with an expansion pack. I wonder if it shows a flythrough down your chimney? <_<

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As far as the Delorme or Microsoft products that include a GPS, I do not like them, the GPS is not a stand alone unit, You would be better being the software "without" the GPS and using and Garmin or Magellen GPS with the software.

That depends. If you have a laptop with a serial port, maybe. But, if like me your laptop is all USB, the Earthmate is much nicer than trying to use a serial GPS (which also needs batteries, the USB recievers from Delorme, and I assume M$ don't). I used to try using my Etrex with S&T and got sick of the serial->USB adapter crashing my computer constantly, as well as the amount of batteries I was chewing up. Now I'm running Delorme's Street Atlas software with their Earthmate GPS for 'in vehicle' navigation, and saving my hand-held GPS (and it's batteries) for "in the field".

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I'm doubtful about how useful such a combo would be in the field. I'd hate to take my laptop cache hunting -- I could trip and fall on top of it (crunch), slip into a stream (splash), get rained on, bet mugged by a techno-gadet starved bear :D etc.

 

Then there's battery life, sceen clarity (they're very hard to read outdoors), extra weight and bulk, and how do you type on the keyboard in the rain with no where to sit down.

 

That having been said, I like using MS Streets & Trips to plan a day of hunting. I download the Pocket Queries and import them into to S&T as pushpins. Then I can visually see all the area caches, zoom in, determine the driving route, etc. It can be had for less than $25.00 at Wal-Mart so it's not a huge investment.

 

What's even better is that the 2005 version includes Pocket Streets, so you can export an area map and all the cache push-pins to a PDA if you own a Pocket PC.

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The only time I ever need a laptop for auto navigation I used my legend and Mapsource nRoute. It worked nice but I hate having to lug a laptop with me in the car. Later on my mother in law bought a streetpilot III and I used it every chance I got. The problem was that whenever I was looking for a cache I would have to punch in the coordinates and delete them when I was done. that made random caches hard to do.

 

Now I have a 60cs. I keep all the caches in there so it makes easy work of caching in a strange area.

 

In reply to your question I would save the money that the other programs cost with the gps and get an older version of S&T. I should have bought it at Sam's club last year when it was only $15 anyways the streets should be close enough for you and you can just use your existing GPS. As for battery life they have power/data cables cheap online.

 

Joe Smith

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Hey JohnnyVegas,

 

Is there something about the Delorme or Microsoft software that you don't like other than the little GPSr they come with? I thought about using the little GPSr that comes with them because I have no holder for my Magellan. It's also big enough to block a significant part of my window. I also find that my GPSr interferes greatly with AM radio reception if placed on the dash. I wonder if the other units do that as well?

 

As far as scanned topos go, I think that both softwares are the same. Descriptions of the two are at http://gpsnow.com/3dtquad.htm and http://gpsnow.com/ia.htm. I cannot tell for sure but it sounds like the NG flythrough might be better than the DeLorme.

 

Thanks for the response.

 

Hope that Santa finds his way to your place with an expansion pack. I wonder if it shows a flythrough down your chimney? ;)

If you want a TOPO map, nothing holds a candle to the National Geographic product, but it is not a good product to use if you are looking for street maps.

 

I do not really have a problem with Micro Soft of Delorme software, I use Micro Soft Streets and Trips on my PC and my Pocket PC. I have never heared of a GPS

interfering with and AM radio, this sounds like a problem with the Radio.

 

The problem with the Microsoft and Delorme products that include a GPSr is not the software, it's the GPS. It is not a stand alone item. I use a Magellan Meridain Gold mounted on my windshield and I have never had a problem with it.

 

If the Garmin Geko 201 has a data port that would be a better choice if you want a small GPS, it's plenty small and it is a stand alone unit.

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That having been said, I like using MS Streets & Trips to plan a day of hunting. I download the Pocket Queries and import them into to S&T as pushpins. Then I can visually see all the area caches, zoom in, determine the driving route, etc. It can be had for less than $25.00 at Wal-Mart so it's not a huge investment.

 

Sams Club has it for $23 and change.

I bought it....but now I have no clue how to load the detailed maps into the Legend.

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Hi, Iowa Tom

 

Where are you from? I too am from Iowa. :o

 

The following is from a good deal of checking that I did before I bought some Xmas presents--also from other remarks I have seen in the fora. MS S&T is a good mapping software for route planning, etc. However, when you hook up a GPS on a laptop, for instance, all it shows is your location on the map. It does not "track" your route. Delorme Street Atlas does the same, except it does track your route, and gives you voice cues on upcoming turns, etc. It you get off route, you can click a button, and it will recalculate your route and get you back on track.

 

None of these mapping programs will allow you to upload the maps to the GPS. ;)

 

GeoForse

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I run a PDA with Delorme both Pocket streets and Topo 3d V.5. The maps are completely uploadable to a PDA and can interact with Garmin products. There is a transfer option to move it to the PDA or GPS. Or you can save it and then copy it to the device. I use mostly the Topo wich works great as a street planning software as well as a Geocaching product. No switching maps, no switching computers or laptops. Just drop a waypoint find the closest street and plan the trip from start to finish. Its that simple. It allows me to track my hikes, gives me voice commands on the road, and if i'm out and about and someone says "lets go caching" I just punch in the waypoint coordinates and it puts me ontop.

I started reading this forum to see if there was anything better for me out there, but after 3 hrs of scanning this forum i've come to the conclusion that I have the best option. No problems transferring waypoints, maps, even someone elses log files. I can plan on the fly. Just the other day my boss asked me to go to a conference that was starting in an hour. No problem punched in the address of the hotel, started a trip plan from finish to start and reversed it and off I went. A half hour later I was walking in the door of the conference. With time to chat and get coffee and snacks.

I read the isssues with standalone gps units and I just don't see the reason for having a unit that only does one thing. I can jump on the net and get waypoints from Geocaching.com or even if it was e-mailed to me or as in the past given to me over the phone.

The only downside I have is weight. I use a Dell Axim X5 wich is probably one of the heaviest PDA's out there, but it offers 2 memory card slots. One for the CF gps unit and one for maps, waypoints and even downloaded html files. I don't think any other PDA can say that. I also use a OtterBox for outdoor protection. I can hang it from a belt loop or a pack strap or mount to my bike. Its still lighter than a laptop.

Sorry its a long winded response but I thought you might want to know this guys opinion.

Edited by edsax
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is Mapsource the only uploadable prog to the Legend?

Officially, yes. You must use Mapsource. Unofficially, the Mapsource software has reportly been hacked, and you can upload user-created maps. I haven't tried it myself, but it has been discussed in the forums

I assume you're referring to the cGPSmapper program. That's not a MapSource hack.

Hack - This growing use of the term "hack" is to refer to a program that (sometimes illegally) modifies another program, often a computer game, giving the user access to features otherwise inaccessible to them.

 

cGPSmapper does not in any way utilize MapSource.

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I assume you're referring to the cGPSmapper program. That's not a MapSource hack.

Hack - This growing use of the term "hack" is to refer to a program that (sometimes illegally) modifies another program, often a computer game, giving the user access to features otherwise inaccessible to them.

 

cGPSmapper does not in any way utilize MapSource.

I stand corrected. I didn't intend it as a purgorative. Thanks for the info PS. I'll be more careful next time.

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>I have the Axim X3, and I have MS Streets and TRips loaded, and sections of local maps.

 

Check out Mapopolis. It's far superior to Pocket Streets and there's a utility available to import gpx files into it. I use an HP iPAQ h4355 pocket pc with bluetooth and an i.Trek bluetooth GPS. Mapopolis gets me to the cache site and Oziexplorer loaded with USGS 24k topo's and caches loaded gets me to the cache with a "goto" function as good as any GPS display.

Edited by Poindexter
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GixxerUT

 

I don't use an Etrax. I use a CF gps unit. I download either by transferring to my SD card from my PC or I go online with the axim and just veiw the page from Geocaching. In the feild this page is veiwable since IE will save it in the memory. I just pull it back up.

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GixxerUT

 

I don't use an Etrax. I use a CF gps unit. I download either by transferring to my SD card from my PC or I go online with the axim and just veiw the page from Geocaching. In the feild this page is veiwable since IE will save it in the memory. I just pull it back up.

thanks for responding

since the previous post, I have upgraded to premium, and now with the pocket queries and easyGPS, I am officially paperless!

We went on a little mini-vacachen yesterday, and we love using the PDA for guidance.

We also bought the NG Topo, and imported the caches to the maps and printed for general reference. It helps for routing out the searches along the way.

I guess if upgraded to Topo for PDA, then there would be NO papers.

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Why don't I see anything about Memory-Map? This program is wonderful. It gives me the use of a wide array of maps (marine, aerial, topo, etc.). I can even use scanned paper maps (which the program lets you calibrate). I can use many of the map formats available out there. I can even download maps from the internet. (Some $1 per USGS quad, some free.) It lets me tie into a Pocket PC (for moving maps) or a GPS. With a Garmin and Magellan, I can transfer waypoints, etc. to the unit from the program and when I come back at the end of the day, I can download my recorded tracks and see where I went. With elevation data, I can look at 3D views of the area I will be in (and decided if that is REALLY where I want to go!). Just a thought, but it is definitely worth checking out.

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