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Offroad Navigation Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Colorado' started by Stig, May 2, 2016.

  1. Jan 5, 2017 at 4:55 AM
    #41
    Gramps

    Gramps My walker is faster than your Prius!

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  2. Jan 5, 2017 at 6:55 AM
    #42
    Stig

    Stig [OP] Resident smartass

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    Tried to dabble in Google Earth last night.

    If I click on "add path" a large dialogue box pops up where I can name it and whatnot. If I keep that open, I can use the small area of the screen left to try and trace a route on the map, but the box continues to stay on top, blocking my view. As soon as I click ok and the box stops blocking the screen, then I cannot trace a road anymore. I'm guessing I'm doing something wrong since thats a really dumb way of that working.

    Doesn't seem right, but all the tutorials I've seen tell me to follow those directions. Also, once you click out of that box, you can't add to that path. So there must be a secret.
     
  3. Jan 5, 2017 at 7:03 AM
    #43
    TMFF

    TMFF Well-Known Member

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    Stuff and junk and things...
    Dual screens?
     
  4. Jan 5, 2017 at 7:13 AM
    #44
    Stig

    Stig [OP] Resident smartass

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    I ain't got those... It's just not very user friendly at all, so i have to be missing something.
     
  5. Jan 5, 2017 at 7:23 AM
    #45
    Martyinco

    Martyinco Well-Known Member

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    I should set up one of these 5 Galaxy Tab's I have sitting at work for my off road navigation :yay:
     
    CO MTN Steve and Stig[OP] like this.
  6. Jan 5, 2017 at 7:35 AM
    #46
    Gramps

    Gramps My walker is faster than your Prius!

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    I am running HEMA Maps. It's still in its infancy here in the US but it is the number 1 rated map app in Australia. For what I have done with it so far it's nice. What is lacks is the ability to download map sections to an external card. Once they fix that it could be really powerful.
     
    CO MTN Steve likes this.
  7. Jan 5, 2017 at 7:44 AM
    #47
    CO MTN Steve

    CO MTN Steve Well-Known Member

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    Go get them @Gramps, then teach us how to use them. :D
     
  8. Jan 6, 2017 at 4:15 PM
    #48
    KugelBlitz

    KugelBlitz Well-Known Member

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    Recently picked up a Samsung Galaxy Active 16 GB 8" tablet specifically to use for topo maps onboard. Currently using Gaia. It is supposedly a ruggedized tablet. Also picked up a HDTechDeck and Ram Mounts. It all seems to work well so far. Still learning how to use Gaia.
     
    camdenthekid, Gramps and Stig[OP] like this.
  9. Jan 6, 2017 at 6:38 PM
    #49
    Gramps

    Gramps My walker is faster than your Prius!

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    HEMA has released the update. Still a few quirks but they have fixed the cloud sync, changed the measurements to miles and ft, and now allow you to save to an SD card so you can keep space free on your tablet. :thumbsup:
     
  10. Jan 7, 2017 at 4:58 PM
    #50
    Stig

    Stig [OP] Resident smartass

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    Downloaded Gaia.. havent used it yet.

    But anyone know a good PDF viewer for geotagged PDFs? The CO MVUM and TOPO PDF's that they put out will show your location on the PDF, which is awesome.

    Whats not awesome is Avenza Maps now limits you to 3 maps of your own as well as wanting $25/yr for their app. It is not worth $25/yr IMO. Looking for an alternative.
     
  11. Jan 15, 2017 at 7:25 AM
    #51
    josh80

    josh80 Well-Known Member

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    Question for you guys...

    I am seeing a ton of great apps you all are recommending but I am more curious here as to what kind of GPS you are using with these tablets.

    Are there any standalone units you guys would recommend? Something like a TomTom for off roading.

    Thanks.
     
  12. Jan 15, 2017 at 7:48 AM
    #52
    Stig

    Stig [OP] Resident smartass

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    Many tablets have a standalone gps built in.

    When looking at a tablet, it will either say it has:

    GPS/Navstar GPS - works without cell or wifi signal
    A-GPS - utilizes cell signal to get a GPS location... Must have wifi or cell service.
    GLONASS - works without cell or wifi
    *A device designed for other overseas markets may have other types of GPS.


    As far as i know, the wifi versions of ipads do not have gps, the ones that are able to have cell service do. But check the specs online to be sure.

    Many Android tablets will have at least one of the three GPS types.

    Even if your tablet has built in gps capability, you may want an external one. The only one I've had was a friend's Bad Elf standalone GPS but my old tablet and it didn't want to communicate for some reason.

    Sometime the tablet with built in GPS will take longer for an initial lock (from when you turn on the location setting to the time it is first able to triangulate your location).

    A standalone GPS will usually provide quicker lock on and a more accurate position.

    I just turned off my wifi, turned on location, and my tablet took 5 seconds to first fix, using 13 satellites, can see 17 satellites and is accurate within 20ft. That's good enough for me. That's just the tablet itself, no external GPS.
     
    camdenthekid likes this.
  13. Jan 15, 2017 at 7:57 AM
    #53
    josh80

    josh80 Well-Known Member

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    Awesome thanks!
     
  14. Jan 15, 2017 at 10:53 AM
    #54
    acidchylde

    acidchylde Well-Known Member

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    The base app is still free as far as I can see, but it does have the 3 map limit. If you want more than three, you have to get the subscription which is $30 a year. This is compared to the 'pro' subscription at $100 a year.

    There aren't really any alternatives. GeoPDF is a proprietary format (as opposed to the more generic 'geospatial pdf') created by TerraGo. You can look into their software but last I knew it was more expensive and overkill. The only other way to view them I know of right now is Adobe's viewer (requires 9 or higher, may require a separate toolbar download, and of course may or may not be available on particular devices/OS versions). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geospatial_PDF

    Short of that, you'd have to convert them to another format rather than using them directly.


    There's a few factors at play there. All devices will take longer to establish a fix depending on how long and how far they are from their last known location. If your fire up your GPS here, then turn it off and drive to Moab, it will take longer to get an initial fix than if you leave it on the whole way. It may also take longer if you leave it off for a few/several days. The 'initial fix' involves downloading a 'quick check' of 'is the copy of the almanac I have still current' and if the answer is no it takes longer to download a new current version. If the copy it has is still current, it can get a fix much faster. Beyond that, yes, it's a question of the receiver chip and antenna system, and standalone units will generally perform better than integrated, A-GPS (which means assisted btw, as in cell or wifi network coverage) aside. These days the difference isn't nearly as noticeable as it used to be.
     
    Stig[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  15. Jan 15, 2017 at 11:06 AM
    #55
    Stig

    Stig [OP] Resident smartass

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    So if i convert them to a different format, do you know if there is another preferred format that would continue to work with the Geo/gps positions with a free viewer?

    I don't want to add waypoints or anything, just have the map up with it showing the current gps spot.
     
  16. Jan 15, 2017 at 11:23 AM
    #56
    acidchylde

    acidchylde Well-Known Member

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    That would largely depend on which free viewer you're using and what it supports. GeoTiff is the most common georeferenced image format, but it's not something that's used on mobile because the files are typically pretty large. The 'new' JPG2000 format supposedly supports geospatial information, but it's not widely used yet as far as I know. Most of the apps I know of have their own utility for importing and exporting data, and basically do internal 'black box' conversions from known input sources/formats to their internal proprietary formats (for example, loading your own imagery onto a Garmin GPS unit that supports that).

    What it really comes down to is raster vs vector support. There's lots of vector formats out there, but only a couple of raster which are required for images. The MVUM maps are probably vector data in the pdf, but to convert them you'd have to rasterize them unless you have one of those high-level programs from TerraGo or Avenza. I don't know if Adobe can export a raster image format and preserve the geospatial info. I don't think it can - I always have to just rasterize (or export the image from within) the pdf and re-reference it.

    The short answer is that you may have to convert format, lose the info, and re-reference it. Gaia gets mentioned a lot in here, and here's a forum post they have on the topic: https://help.gaiagps.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/239613568-Importing-geo-pdf-s
     
    Stig[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  17. Jan 15, 2017 at 11:29 AM
    #57
    Stig

    Stig [OP] Resident smartass

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    Interesting... Why can't it be standardized and easy.
     
  18. Jan 15, 2017 at 12:28 PM
    #58
    MonkeyProof

    MonkeyProof Power Top

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    I've been using ViewRangerGPS on my Samsung Tab4 and couldn't be happier. I use the desktop version to create routes/tracks and POI's to follow on the tablet. Importing/exporting .gpx files is very easy. ViewRanger also makes it easy to automatically record tracks without much user input which is great. Plus the option of downloading maps for offline use is great. My only gripe is the default POI icons suck, there isn't a whole lot to choose from. There's an option of uploading other icons but I haven't figured it out yet. @Airdog has also been using ViewRanger for a while now maybe he can chime in with his own experiences with it.



    11934639_1135908893104423_1603820444_n(1).jpg

     
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  19. Jan 16, 2017 at 8:36 AM
    #59
    acidchylde

    acidchylde Well-Known Member

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    a) because nobody would make money
    b) it is, pay your $30
    Pick one. :)

    Most 'standard' formats are either old ones that a company has made enough money off of (after becoming established and widespread) that they no longer care or that they still make money off of through licensing (did you know that jpg isn't free?). Almost all of these mapping programs are pretty standard/interchangeable when it comes to GPS data, because .gpx (and other variants like KML and JSON) are extremely simple and primarily cover your data. Base maps, on the other hand, have to be put together and kept up to date by somebody and stored/accessed efficiently and with whatever they can throw in to distinguish themselves from everyone else. There's a reason almost all of the early GPS/backcountry navigation companies have gone away (like Delorme being bought by Garmin most recently) - there's just no money in it because everything is 'free' on the internet. And the free stuff has to be subsidized by the pay stuff. Avenza wasn't making enough money, so they had to start charging somewhere.

    Now, as for why the NFS decided to use a proprietary format to distribute data... well it's what the government does. MrSID, shapefiles...
     
    Stig[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  20. Jan 16, 2017 at 7:15 PM
    #60
    Stig

    Stig [OP] Resident smartass

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    Do you know any app that would open and work with a KMZ file vs the PDF? They have the KMZ files online as well. Just noticed that while I was pulling one up.
     

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