Jump to content
American Road Magazine
Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

Gps And Maps


black85vette
 Share

Recommended Posts

I did a couple of searches and read past posts on the use of GPS and map software. Thought I would throw in some of what I have been doing. I primarily use DeLorme Topo software because the drawing interface is so good and the layers make it great for storing lots of information. I currently have layers for; 1. all the alignments of Rt 66. 2. My field notes for roads, bridges, sites, and information. 3. Photos to show each location. 4. Because I like to find very early, non-paved and sometimes abandoned sections. I have recently added a layer with aerial images of places I am exploring that are off road or abandoned. So I now have the ability to have all my tools with me in the field without the need for Internet connections.

 

Just recently I figured out a way to use GPSBabel to export the DeLorme format to .kml which is used by Google Maps. After that I learned how to embed a Google Maps app in a website. That made it possible to share maps with anyone without the need for DeLorme Software in a web interface.

 

I currently have a DeLorme PN-40 & LT-40, 2 Garmin Etrex, a Garmin GPS-60 and an iPhone with GPS for backup. So if anyone has any interest in DeLorme, GPS, Google Maps or other geek related topics I would love to hear from you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A timely post from my point of view since it restarts a GPS conversation just when I may be in the market. Rick, my use might be a bit different than yours. I imagine I've described it in a post around here somewhere but here's a quick review. My primary use of GPS it to feed back to me, via voice, a preplanned route while I'm driving. I prefer DeLorme software for plotting but they offer no GPS units with voice and the laptop-in-car method seems awkward to me. So I lay out my route with DeLorme Street Atlas, export it to a GPX file, import the file to Garmin MapSourse with CityNavigator maps, tweak and download to a Garmin Quest.

 

Two things cause me to think about a new unit. One is that the built in antenna seems to have quit working. That's not a huge problem in a car since I have an external antenna but it rules out (or at least makes difficult) using it as a handheld on walkabouts. The second is that maps compatible with the Quest are no longer produced. When you're usually following eighty year old roads, that's another not huge problem but I do sometimes use the GPS for help finding motels, diners, and such and having out of date listings isn't all that good.

 

So, any guesses what Garmin unit might be closest to my Quest? I realize that touch screens are "in" and I'll have to give up the push-buttons I've grown accustomed to but I NEED down-loadable routes & voice guidance and I WANT walkabout functionality. City Navigator, the current Garmin street map product, says you can plot and download routes to certain GPS units but, when I've looked at descriptions of specific units, all I've found were references to downloading way-points. Any insight would be appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am also a long time fan of DeLorme TOPO USA and Google Earth but I think I could learn some things from you!

 

I have used DeLorme for years and was an "early" adopter of their GPS products. I use their wired GPS with my netbook for a "big" view, and have the first generation PN-20, which is slower than later versions (like yours) but OK if you preload your route and don't use it for planning routes. On cross country trips I leave both on and then save both tracks for future reference and for geo tagging photos. I might upload the tracks to Google Earth one of these days!

 

I uploaded some DeLorme routes to Google years ago, but have forgotten now how I converted formats. Your advice will be useful in the future! Incidentally, you can also apply transparent overlay scans of old maps (e.g. USGS) for really good route ID on Google. (see the US99 section here). I change them to one color and use transparent GIF's if the images are too complex.

 

I may want to map the National Parks Highway this year. It went between Chicago and Crater lake, via Bismarck, Spokane, and Tacoma. In the last couple of years I have had success just using Google as the base map, especially because I can "see" the old route. I am not critical at all of Delorme, but necessarily they show only today's roads. That's a problem for me.

 

What are your reasons for using DeLorme as your "base?" I am not challenging your approach, but rather wondering which way to go myself. For example, could I create the base maps in Google, and convert the KML files to GPX (or whatever) for Delorme, then use the resulting GPX files to plan and track my route on Delorme?

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Denny;

 

I have not found a single device that suits all my needs so I use several more specialized devices.

 

1. For motels, food, Starbucks, and other essential travel info I have used Streets & Trips and DeLorme but as you pointed out you end up having to buy new versions to get current information so I prefer my iPhone for that with DeLorme as backup. I like using Google because I can search for something like Walmart and it will use the GPS to find the one closest to my current location and then plot a route to it.

 

2. The way I travel I have not found in-car voice guidance systems useful. A lot of Rt 66 is chopped up and I end up back tracking and following dirt trails to get to isolated sections. I don't seem to be able to drive from point A to point B on a single route. When I do need voice guidance it comes from my wife looking at DeLorme on the laptop. It works out well. She says; "Honey, you need to turn left in 3 blocks" but never says "You are off the route, re-calculating". :-) I use the LT 40 with the laptop for general navigation.

 

3. For my handheld I use either the GPS 60 or PN 40. The PN 40 has basemaps for the US and then I download the Topo maps for the states I will be in. I can also set waypoints for key locations to help navigate. I find the screen too small to be really useful for general car navigation.

 

Dave;

 

I ended up with DeLorme mostly because I wanted a Topo based software and the DeLorme Topo USA was the cheapest package I could find. I wanted Topo because we not only follow old 2 lane roads but also dirt one lane mining trails and old wagon roads in the Rockies. After using it I found that it had a lot of advanced features. The layers and drawing features are great. That was why I started using it to document my travels. DeLorme has the ability to attach a local URL to a note or pushpin. That means I can have a push pin marking a location that pulls up a picture, a note, a word document or web page associated with it. I can type a quick note and just hit enter and that is placed at my current GPS location. This keeps a record of my observations on the map exactly at the location I am at the time.

 

I have drawn in Google and find it clumsy to draw and edit. DeLorme has features like dragging around an area and changing properties of all elements at one time. It also has many more line attributes than Google like dotted or dashed lines. So on my laptop my lines show paved, dirt, or undrivable by the type of line.

 

I don't use routes or tracks to mark my travels. Partly because some of the places I go do not show up as roads on the map. Instead I use colored lines set to be transparent and simply draw over the road. This makes them easy to work with in other formats such as .gpx or .kml since they are simple lines and not routes. The other reason is that 66 may have as many as 4 or 5 alignments over its lifetime through an area. St Louis is very complicated and does not lend itself to routes or voice guidance. The 66 map on my website reflects this method.

 

As far as roads not being on the map, I have a subscription to the DeLorme aerial image library and download the sections I will be driving. Then I just draw my lines over the trails and dirt roads by eye. This gives me an accurate line to follow when I drive.

 

Finally I like the integration that DeLorme has with the PN40. It is so easy to upload maps, waypoints, aerial images and keep the GPS synced with the software. That integration alone was worth moving from my GPS 60 over to the PN40.

 

I have found GPSBabel to be essential in working with map formats. It can convert from almost any map / gps format to just about any other. It can read and write in the DeLorme .an1 format so it is very useful to me.

 

Regards,

Rick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rick,

 

I already used some of your insights to improve my trip planning techniques. Thanks!!

 

I have used Delorme TOPO USA since the first edition but not taken advantage of all its capabilities. Your comments added to my tool kit. For example I have never added a URL to a photo, and I can see how that could be really valuable.

 

I like to do "then and now" shots, and I have hundreds of "then" images. I can now see how I might place waypoints at the "Then " sites, and add a full sized then image. When I get to the waypoint on the road I would have the image handy for taking the "Now" photo. With the netbook I could easily get the right angle and perspective.

 

I'll tap your expertise in the future. Thanks!!

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like to do "then and now" shots, and I have hundreds of "then" images. I can now see how I might place waypoints at the "Then " sites, and add a full sized then image.

 

Exactly. Then you can put your "now" photos and "then" photos in separate layers so you can turn them off and on as you need them. Makes the screen less cluttered. Rather than waypoints I use map notes. They show up as a text box with a pointer. I don't have to open them to see what the photo is. The note has a description in it so I can click on the one I want. Experiment with it and see what you think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I feel like the old curmudgeon on this GPS topic. Feel free to delete this if it's not appropriate.

 

I've used a GPS only a few times (borrowed from my neighbor). Every single time it's got me more bungled up than w/o a GPS. Sure, I can use it to get to Boston, but jeez - when I get off the interstate, the roads are so congested and twisting that the GPS can't keep up. Once I came off the Interstate into downtown Boston through the tunnel. Came up and GPS said "signal unavailable - please wait". The tall building had cut off the satellite signals I guess.

 

Then once I used it to get to Hartford Hospital. Well, GPS got me to Hartford no problem. But it doesn't see the bus blocking the lane I'm in, or the "road closed" sign, or the construction and detour - and then goes into "recalculating route" while I keep driving into no man's land.

 

I guess I could see using it on a cross country drive, just to keep track of interstates and highways. But I can do that with a $10 road atlas.

 

Tom in CT

a/k/a President, Luddites International.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Faulting a GPS receiver for not seeing a bus doesn't seem entirely fair. Printed road atlases rarely see them either. :)

 

I apologize for the flippant tone of that comment but I happen to be a fan of GPS receivers. They certainly have limits and faults but most things do. My first GPS did little beyond telling me where I was and where something else was relative to that. I thought that was pretty useful when I was in a strange land. It couldn't even guess at how to get to that something. My current GPS can guess at how to get to point B. By pre-plotting a route I can even have it try to make that connection via, for example, the modern equivalent of the 1913 Lincoln Highway. I'm not about to hand my GPS unit complete control of my steering wheel but I do appreciate it relieving me from stopping to study a map as often as I otherwise might.

 

Tom, I'm thinking you might not really be a luddite but rather someone who expects a lot from technology and is disappointed when it doesn't quite deliver.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<snip>

Tom, I'm thinking you might not really be a luddite but rather someone who expects a lot from technology and is disappointed when it doesn't quite deliver.

Truer words have never been spoken. As a retired network manager I've been known to be caught in "analysis paralysis" way too many times. It's likely my lack of patience with the GPS is due to my wanting it to be "perfect", and not leave me guessing (or worse).

 

Funny example: I'm driving in downtown Boston; GPS is "acquiring signal". I pull over and park; see a guy with an iPad. Ask him to look up Fenway Park. He punches it in the pad, and in a few seconds I've got step by step directions for getting there.

 

I faithfully copy down the directions, thank him heartily, and head out. First street comes up and I prepare to turn right. But it's a one way street to the left. I backtrack and manage to get on the street. Next turn comes up, and I prepare to turn left. But it's a one way street to the right.

 

Turns out the iPad was giving me WALKING directions - not driving directions.

 

Oy.

 

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like the old curmudgeon on this GPS topic. Feel free to delete this if it's not appropriate.

 

Tom in CT

a/k/a President, Luddites International.

 

Tom; I think any honest opinion posted without a personal attack is appropriate. I assume the GPS you used was one of the in car, dash mounted types. I have zero experience with those. Several of us use a GPS feeding a laptop with mapping programs on them to navigate and document our travels.

 

I also use an iPhone that has a GPS. I like it for navigating around town because it can use triangulation on cell towers when it can't get a GPS lock. Also, like the iPad, it always has a map available even when you are not using the GPS so I don't need to carry and unfold a paper map. Mostly I use a GPS when driving to confirm where I am or where I am going. I never use one to tell me where or when to turn. I like to preview my route and memorize key intersections and turns on the route and the GPS is just a security blanket and not a necessity.

 

BTW; I am also a network geek. I work for a large hospital system in Network Services.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...