Just need locations not street directions

DJAmbient · 08-10-05, 07:58 PM

Hi, I'm a new Axim owner and I have a simple GPS need.

Here's what I need:
- longitude and lattitude of where I am.

Here's what would be handy:
- a recording of way points to back track

Here's what would be cool but overkill:
- topo maps

Basically I need this to record locations for plant and mineral specimens in the wild. Way points would be kind of cool to be able to retrace the steps from specimen to speciment. Other nice things like altitude and direction would be nice or maybe the ability to log notes on a way point.

I really don't need any of the street map stuff at all. I figure all the CF or Bluetooth GPS gear will do their thing but what about the software? Is there something simple to handle the what's needed?

thanks - DanD

dlweston · 08-10-05, 09:08 PM

You might look at Outdoor Navigator (https://outdoornavigator.maptech.com...ator/index.cfm). It is $20 and includes all the topo maps you want to download. It it will fufill your needs. You can also look at my choice, Memory-Map Navigator (http://www.memory-map.com/). More advanced than Outdoor Navigator, but also costs more.

I just found BackCountry Navigator. I downloaded it last nught, but have not had a chance to test it. Still in development, but there is a beta version available. It will cost something eventually, but the beta is free. Topo maps and aerial photos are downloaded free from http://www.terraserver-usa.com/.

Conket · 08-11-05, 11:21 AM

It sounds like you need some serious stuff. Do you need geocaching feature that can be later exported out to a shapefile so you can project it on a polygon feature class? Have you looked at esri.com? It ain't cheap but it does things you need. Are you a GIS person?

HTH,

Cal

DJAmbient · 08-12-05, 08:59 AM

My needs are really are kind of basic. I'm a member of two groups a mineral one and a plant one. With the mineral group we are often out in the field trying to locate new or relocate old areas of mineral interest. There's nothing commercial about this, the group is a non-profit group of mineral enthusiasts.

It would be useful for us to have exact locations since provenance is a big factor in the data we want to assemble. So technically the long/lat is the only key thing. The way points would be nice if we want to return to a locality. You'd be surprised at how many 'lost' mines there are in just about every state. We are often working from maps and descriptions from the 1800's.

I do double duty on these trips and if I see a plant of interest to the plant group it's good to tag its location. So the raw data on location is all that is crucial at this point.

Of course I'm still waiting for my dream machine - a PDA built into a digital SLR that also records the gps data in the exif info. Not too much to ask for.
DanD

Conket · 08-12-05, 01:41 PM

I agree it's quite basic but am not sure there's an off-shelf product that can do that for you and let you disiminate its data files.

I admired your not-for-profit works but unfortunately, I cannot offer any helps up to this point. However, if you are able to collect lat&lons and need to process and/or convert them into a feature class, I'll be more than happy to do it for you. I can even convert them to TIGER format if you are using Census Bureau data. All needed is the lat&lons and the boundary shapefile which can be obtained free of charge from the local government (streets file if you want your waypoints). I believe 95% of localities in the States have digitized their map.

Last, you may want to contact ESRI.com and see if it gives out its ARCMap software to non-profits. In case you've never heard of it, ESRI to GIS is comparable to Microsoft in computer world.

HTH,

Cal

DJAmbient · 08-15-05, 09:13 AM

Hi Cal, thanks for all that info. It's a lot of food for thought that I'll have to research and digest! I also appreciate your offer for the technical help and may seek your guidance if I end up going down that path. I have some programming experience in Oracle but the ppc and coding for it is a new animal for me.
thanks,
Dan

Cdash · 08-15-05, 08:15 PM

I'll probably get flamed for this, but it sounds like a cheap handheld unit would do you. It would do waypoints and tracks that you could export into a dxf format that many cad programs can handle. I used this with a garmin III, to map our deer hunting area over a topo map and an aerial.

andy71600 · 08-15-05, 09:00 PM

Try looking at gps tuner.

08-15-05, 09:27 PM

go to GPStuner.com, you can track way points, view long/lat. import tracks to Google earth, and scan your own map and calibrate it, and view your track (or just use a blank map and create waypoints just like a handheld gps unit).

DJAmbient · 08-16-05, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by Cdash

I'll probably get flamed for this, but it sounds like a cheap handheld unit would do you. It would do waypoints and tracks that you could export into a dxf format that many cad programs can handle. I used this with a garmin III, to map our deer hunting area over a topo map and an aerial.

That is the simple solution for sure. Of course what I'm trying to do is minimize the amount of gear and battery powered devices. Always looking for that holy grail of convergent devices. I've got to schlep all the stuff around in a pack so space and weight are a factor. The Axim is already going to allow me to replace printed field guides and notebooks so another ideal is for it to do the gps stuff.

I took a look at GPStuner and it looks like it should meet my requirements.
Thanks for the assistance everyone. I'm going to start a new thread on a gps hardware question that I would also like some opinions on.

- DanD