Keep the Show on the Road! Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Tara This is a follow up to your question under General Discussion…. Since this section deals with road trip planning, I feel more comfortable in discussing products used to do that. I strongly suggest that anyone planning a road trip scout the back issues of American Road. They have been everywhere and then some. As for Delorme, they produce excellent CD or DVD based digital maps. Their main consumer map products are Street Atlas USA and Topo USA. The big difference between the two is that TOPO USA contains contour data….very useful in finding old road routes, but probably not necessary for typical trip planning. I prefer the Delorme products over Microsoft’s Streets and Trips, but both are good products. The SPOT device is fairly new. You buy a hand held SPOT that is a GPS and can also send a signal to a satellite. You pay a modest annual charge and they will post where you are automatically on a map….I think every 10 minutes. Beamerchef here uses one and could provide details. I sometimes travel alone with my wife at home. With the SPOT she can track me. And since I am inclined to go places on abandoned roads where there is no cell phone signal, I can also send a rescue message via satellite if I get stuck. I think it would also be sort of fun if you were on a major trip and friends wanted to follow your progress. When I did the Miami to Puget Sound Hypotenuse Trail on two lane roads last year, friends could have logged into the SPOT site and known where I was. It also serves as a nice route descriptor because the track is displayed as you go along. My comment about doing trip folios or postings for clients that display on Google Earth was prompted by thoughts of a friend who has a digital camera, loves to take trip pictures, and share them with friends and family….but is uninterested and too busy to become a computer pro. I was thinking someone might serve as the pro, but I’m not sure the charges would justify the time it takes. Have fun! Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaraTravels Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Dave: This is fantastic! I think Delorme's Street Atlas USA would be the way to go for me. I will definitely be checking out American Road's back issues - sounds like I've got some homework to do (the fun kind, though). The SPOT device sounds amazing and your idea that I lease them out as a part of my custom trips is a great one. I would get the GPS kind so they would have an all-in-one service they can use. I like the fact that you can send out a "help" message to a satellite in the case where you don't have cell-phone service. I'm planning on adding videos and photos of all of my road trips going forward on the site. It's a something that's a little more personal and also helps those who aren't big readers (would rather be shown via video/photo). I'm going to do some how-to videos as well. Thanks again for all of your help! You really know your stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleS Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I have a SPOT because I'm ride a dirt bike by myself a lot. With SPOT you can send an "OK", "Need Help" or "911" to an email address or cell phone. Track mode it send out your location every ten minutes. There is NO test mode for 911. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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