GPS mapping software: On your computer, it’s a trip-planning tool. Calculate distances and bearings and build routes with the click of a mouse. You can choose sections of the map to upload to your GPS. Shown: Streets and Trips Canada, a detailed Canadian street map database from Magellan ($149.99 US).
like having a dog-eared old chart with its invaluable pencilled record of previous trips. Except this information is stored electronical- ly and can be instantly transferred from user to user, map to map.
Make your own Maps:
Cartography for the People You can use your GPS and computer together to build your own maps and add information to existing maps. Start by putting an old-fashioned paper chart on a flatbed scanner. Programs like GPS Utility allow you to overlay your waypoints, routes and tracks over the scanned map. Then you can play around with the colours, add notes and print the map. I could take my stored info from the West Coast, for example, and use it to build a personalized series of coastal charts. Best of all, you don’t need to wait for those GPS companies to discover Canada. You can use your scanned maps to generate new waypoints, tracks and routes for your GPS. You begin by calibrating your scanned map by mouse-clicking on two or three map points and entering their real coordinates. Then your computer calculates the location of all the other points on the map. All you have to do is click the mouse to create new way-
40 Summer 2003
A homemade map: Using the free program GPS Utility, a GPS track is overlaid onto a scanned chart. You can calibrate the chart and use it to build new routes, then upload these routes to your GPS.
points, build routes or outline tracks, which can then be uploaded to your GPS. Say I want to weave my way between the inner and outer reef offshore of B.C.’s Nootka Island. I can scan the chart for that area, click on all the shallow regions I need to avoid, trace a safe track through the reef, and upload this information to my GPS. My GPS map screen won’t show the complete marine chart, but it will display an outline of the reef by showing everything that I have saved as a waypoint, route or track. This works, and it’s also a lot cheaper than buying electronic charts.
W
ith these tools, GPS is doing for desktop mapping what the personal computer and laser printer once did for publishing. You can still navigate by ten-cent photocopies and the seat of your pants. But with GPS you get the bird’s-eye view of your place on the planet and the power of having all your wanderings stored in an elec- tronic database, ready to make new maps and build new outdoor adventures.
Buying a GPS To do most of the functions described here, the only GPS features you need are a map screen and the ability to hook up to a computer. Most units now have these fea- tures. Price will most likely be determined by the size of the memory and the display. Your main concern is to get enough memory. If you want to download maps into your GPS, if and when they’re available, at least 16 megabytes of free memory is ideal. Higher-end units use removable memory cards. This option isn’t necessary if you have sufficient built-in memory, but useful since some GPS companies sell maps preloaded onto memory cards. You could carry multiple cards on long trips.
A colour screen is a nice perk. You pay for it in up- front cost and batteries, however, and the colour can wash out in bright sunlight.
Make sure the hardware of your GPS works for you.
Try the control keys. Take it outside to make sure you can read the display clearly in sunlight. Also consider water resistance and battery life. Check online for advice and reviews of the model you’re considering.
Links
www.gpsinformation.net: A wealth of gear reviews and FAQs.
www.gpsnuts.com: General information.
www.gpsy.com: GPS info for Mac users, plus a great resource library.
www.easygps.com: Easy GPS, a simple free software program for managing waypoints.
www.gpsu.co.uk: GPS Utility, a free program that lets you manage and map GPS data.
www.oziexplorer.com: OziExplorer is one of the top software programs for managing and mapping GPS data.
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