Calling any GPS gurus

Looking for somebody with a sound knowledge of GPS systems, Mapsource, Mapwel or Oziexplorer, to advise or even implement a project that I have in mind but dont have the knowledge to undertake.

I can give a more in depth appariasal of what Im after if anyone is interested in taking it on…

Cheers

You might wanna try
Here

Out of interest, what are you trying to achieve?

Oh, this[/url] may help as well…

Raster images, KMZ overlays, autovectorization Im afraid its all gobbledegook to me!!!

What Id like to do is to create a digital map from a paper map of an area of Nepal. Then using data from a GPS that has been physically taken along a route through that area Id like to download that info to a number of gps units for people to use to navigate along that route (if that makes sense or is indeed possible)??!!

I've used GPS Tuner for using scanned maps, but Oziexolorer etc are all the same kind of thing.

All you do is scan the map in, click on a few points and enter their coordinates and you have a map. As long as your gps devices can load the maps that's the first bit done. Have a look to see what the software supports in the way of devices.

Do your route and save it as a GPX. Copy GPX and map onto other devices and job done.

It will all be a piece of piss. Just buy some software, buy a device and take it one step at a time.

Thanks, sounds easy!!! If I then have a map with 'real' coordinates and I know the route anyway do I need to physically go along the route or can I create it on the map and use that for others to follow?

Curious as to why you've mentioned OziExplorer and MapWel as (assuming we are talking Garmin units here) all you need to do is extract the GPX file from the origianl unit using Mapsource and then e-mail it to the other people who can then use their own version of Mapsource to upload the GPX to their own GPS).

OziExplorer can be used to overlay the GPX file on a scanned [raster] map and will run on PCs or laptops or PDAs/Smartphones running Window Mobile. Mapwel is used to convert raster maps to vector maps for uploading onto Garmin GPS units so it depends on what type of GPS the end user will have.

In case you didn't know, you
(1) can scan paper map (usually in TIF or possibly PNG format),
(2) geo-reference them using OziExplorer (I do something similar in Memory Map) – this involves clicking on a variety of spots on the map where you know the co-ordinates and assigning a co-ordinate to that spot
(3) load up the original GPS file (typically a GPX file or MMO for Memory Map – OziExplorer will propbably have it's own format) which will overlap correctly on the scanned map

BTW: I used Mapwel once and uploaded a fairly small area to my Garmin Legend. The resultant file was far too big for the Garmin to be able to re-draw quickly enough to keep up with my riding speed. Having said that, trekking in Nepal will be somewhat slower than my riding.

Please excuse my ignorance, Ive only ever used my Garmin for recording distances, altitudes etc.

So if I have a GPX file of the route on say an Etrex would this be adequate for others to follow with no prior knowledge of the route and with no base map of the area. Would this be the tracback option on the Garmin. How does the unit indicate the correct way at an intersection etc.

Once again sorry for my very limited knowledge on this subject.

Having said that, trekking in Nepal will be somewhat slower than my riding.

It will also be riding with some ex pro riders so should also be fairly fast!!

do I need to physically go along the route or can I create it on the map and use that for others to follow?

You can just draw the route onto the map.

You don't need a map, as such. The GPS will show a line/point you at the next waypoint. A map is nice though.

would this be adequate for others to follow with no prior knowledge of the route and with no base map of the area

In theory yes but I'd rather have a back up map in case the GPS breaks, batteries run out etc. It would also depend on how complicated the route is to follow. I went trekking in Nepal many many years ago and route finding was really really easy because there was only ever one obvious route to follow. (This was in the Khumbu area)

Its quite a complicated route with many trails leading off with a big potential for going off course which is why Id like to get as much detail in as possible, including a paper map and gps route.

So, are you thinking of a handlebar mounted GPS with a detailed map on screen?

Or a GPS breadcrumb trail to follow on screen (with no on-screen mapping) backed up by a paper map?

What types of GPS unit will you have access to?

Ideally a Gps with a detailed map on screen also backed up with a paper map, but if that is too hard / functionally slow then a GPS breadcrumb trail backed up with a paper map

As I will have to purchase a number of new units Im looking for the most cost effective device really and have seen the Garmin Etrex H on Amazon for just under £70, but not sure if this is up to the job or not?

Garmin Etrex H is a bit limited on memory capacity so you may struggle if this is a multi-day route and it won't have any sort of basemap.

Garmin don't appear to do any "off-road" basemaps of Nepal so you should do some research to see whether anyone else does. (There's a good chance that if a Garmin-compatible off road map of Nepal exists , someone on the Groundspeak forum will know about it…see link in my first post)

NB:I think you can still follow a breadcrumb trail on a larger capacity unit like a Legend even though you don't have that areas basemap installed

I'd take the breadcrumb trail, download it to a computer and then convert it into a route – reduce the number of waypoints to cut down on the memory requirements.

I'd then setup the GPS Units – I suspect a Garmin eTrex H, would be up to the job – with the correct grid units (I'm not sure what coordinate system they use in Nepal, but it should be easy enough to discover), and then give each participant the GPS and a copy of the paper map.

They will then be able to follow the route using the GPS and cross reference their position with that on the paper map as required.

I personally wouldn't get involved in trying to load scanned map images onto GPS units.

HTH
stw@mtbperthshire.co.uk if you need any more details.

Geoff