| Author | Messages | |
Jay Erickson
Member Sponsor
 | | 02/20/2010 1:48 AM |
 Alert | I've had a plan in place since I got my rig to eventually mount an HP tablet (I'm liking the new TM2's with intel cpu's and faster graphics) for:
navigation,
jukebox,
picture storage/preview,
movies while camping (and weather goes to pot),
telescope remote control,
star chart viewing,
vehicle service manual files,
computer control of radio scanner,
email & web surfing (if possible),
self spotting camera (but certainly last priority on list),
As far as navigation goes I'm using a delorme solution of GPS unit PN40, Topo8 & annual imagery library subscription. The handheld unit is pretty cool in that it allows you to have topo, satellite & overhead photographic imagery on it however it really sucks as an in-city gps unless you set up your points/routes in the PC software ahead of time.
It does geocaching very well now that they updated the firmware as I just log onto geocaching.com and download caches straight to the unit, can see the comments left for the cache and even mark the outcome of the search, then when I get home upload it all.
However, I would not recommend the unit for anyone that is even slightly technophobic. There was a function last week I tried to do and my friend made fun of me because I had to scroll/click like 70 times only to have the outcome be 'route calculation failure'.
That will be a moot point once I get the software running on the tablet.
You may wonder why I still hang in with this unit, well one thing it does exceptionally well is create tracks of where you have been and I don't mean it does the tom-tom thing and place your icon on the nearest road, if you stray off the road or just head off cross country so does your track. I love exploring and don't always have a destination in mind but usually when I'd get home I'd forget to note interesting places. Now I can pull up the gps tracks and see exactly where I was, the time, speed, orientation all that jazz. Pretty cool. There isn't hardly a mile of the nearly 20k miles I've put on my rig that isn't tracked now.
If I had it to do all over again and tablets were as well powered as they are now, I'd have skipped the handheld unit and just bought the tablet, software and some kind of usb gps for it.
I have a champagne vision for what I want but it's taking awhile on my beer budget to slap it all together so some compromises had to be made. | |
Traded in all my project vehicles for my 2009 Xterra, not an ounce of buyers remorse. | |
| Danny Stevens
| | 02/20/2010 6:42 PM |
Alert | Hey Craig how much is your Overland Software program and when will it have the ability to mark your own trail or new roads/trails. It would be kewl to allow others to upload new trails from Oregon Wash etc....... to let us all view with trail raitings?
Cheers
| |
2003 D II
Peg Leg with Snorkel!!! | |
| Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 02/20/2010 11:09 PM |
Alert | Danny,
The software is $39.95. Map-packs are $24.95 to $39.95 depending on how many maps are in the pack (E.g. Rhode Island doesn't cost the same as WA or OR). Satellite Imagery is $39.95. The US Wide map-pack which only includes 1:100k and 1:250k maps (no 1:24k maps) is $99.95.
I recommend you get the map-packs for your local states (WA/OR), the satellite imagery, and the US wide map-pack. The satellite imagery is good for zooming out further. The US map-pack is nice if you travel outside of your home state since it insures you have at least a 1:100k map to keep your bearings. The 1:24k maps are what rock on the trail though.
As for the features... Everything you listed is already supported. Simply press the "record" button to record your track. Press the "waypoint" button (lollipop) to record a waypoint. Everything is stored to disk as [currentdate].gpx. You can upload those GPX tracks here to our "library" or attach them to any post in the forums.
If a friend emails you a GPX track, you have two ways you can get it to show up in Overland Navigator: 1. Save it to the "My Tracks" directory, or 2. Put it on a USB Memory stick/Memory Card/CDROM or other removable media and simply insert the media while Overland Navigator is running. Overland Navigator will automatically display an file with a .gpx extension that it finds on the inserted media.
We don't have a trail rating system here, but Overland Navigator does have standard trail difficulty rating symbols that you can drop into the track.
http://spatialminds.com/Overland-Navigator-Software/M/B001TM05D0.htm | |
My Overland Adventure Blog | |
| Tom Thomas
| | 04/20/2010 10:51 PM |
Alert | Just a quick update......actually there's nothing to update :(
I did use the Nuvi for awhile, but felt it was limited. Maybe it's outdated on the roads it shows, and maybe if I would've bought a card for it I'd like it.
I think I'm gonna pick up a used netbook off craigslist ($200ish) and buy Craig's program, but then I'd need help with what to buy for city navigation.
Welp, that's the plan.
Now though, how many gigs, whistles and stuff do I need?
Thanks, Tom. | | | |
| Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 04/21/2010 9:22 AM |
Alert | Tom,
Most likely the reason the Nuvi doesn't show the roads you want is because their road database is based on 1:100k map data. Overland Navigator goes down to the 1:24k maps. Those maps are very rich and detailed, but because they are USGS topos some of them are 20 years old or more. In practice, this means that the 4x4 trails usually show up with every last little squiggle of a turn showing. As do waterfalls, mines, marshes, old cabins, radio towers, and all sorts of other cultural information. It makes the trip really interesting. The forests don't change very fast so the USGS topos work pretty well there.
Assuming Windows XP I'd get a system with at least 1gb of RAM, 1ghz processor, and enough storage space for the map-packs you'll install. With Vista or Windows 7 I'd bump the RAM and processor speed up a bit. Speedy graphics cards don't help Overland Navigator so don't spend money there.
When planning disk space, insure you have enough for the host operating system, other applications, and the Overland Navigator map-packs. A 1:24kl map-pack for a state the size of Oregon takes up just under 5gb. The full US 1:100k map pack takes up just under 15gb. The global Satellite imagery takes up just under 20gb. The software itself is a couple of MB, so you don't have to plan for that.
95% of my customers run Overland Navigator on regular netbooks and are very happy. Depending on your budget a few "Nice to have" options to consider include:
- Touchscreen that can be operated with a finger instead of a stylus
- Sunlight visible screen
- Ruggedized or semi-ruggedized hardware
- Solid State Hard Drive (SSD)
GPS: I recommend the GlobalSat BU-353. It sells for about $35 and has the same SIRF III chipset as the Garmin 60CSx and other high end consumer GPS models.
Craig
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My Overland Adventure Blog | |
| Alex Kogan
Member Sponsor
| | 04/21/2010 12:24 PM |
Alert | | Biggest problem with USGS 24k map I find is that they do show lots of detail but also lots of false positives: roads that don't exist anymore, roads that are blocked/gated off, roads on private property etc. Naturally street navigation maps won't have those. You can get 24k topo for garmin but I couple time been in situation then using navigate-to feature under topo maps tried to send me driving down foot-trails. (prob some kind of internal miss-classification). Also 24k in most cases is too much detail for small screen for general situation awareness. | |
1992 Montero overland eqpt
1997 Land Cruiser family mover (it's alive!) | |
| Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 04/21/2010 1:27 PM |
Alert | Yes, 24k topos on small screen, such as a Nuvi, is essentially unusable.
Offroad, I haven't seen one GPS or piece of software where the navigate-to functionality works. Like you, I've had some crazy results come back. The underlying data just isn't accurate enough for it to work. Personally I think when planning a trail run you are usually considering enough other variables that the only way to *plan* a trip is to start with paper maps or a verbal/written description of the route. Using that, I create a track in the computer using a mouse, or obtain a digital track from someone else, and then download it to the GPS/Overland Navigator. I use paper maps from the local land management agency or Green Trails and always carry them as a backup.
The GPS/Overland Navigator is useful for the following:
- Showing your position relative to the track. This makes it very easy to follow your route.
- Providing you at a glance information on what's nearby as you drive around (handheld GPS units are poor at this). The map is always centered on your location.
- Allowing you to record your track/bread crumb trail if you are *exploring* w/o a track or off your planned route.
- Providing you good information to easily find yourself on a paper map should you need to plan an alternate route.
The problem Alex describes about having too much or incorrect road data can be a problem with any topo based GPS. I personally scan the paper maps from the Land Management agencies, geo-register them, and get them all setup for use in Overland Navigator. This allows me to switch back and forth between USGS topos and the land management agency map inside the software. This is how I navigated last year at the Quilomene Dead Echo tour. It was the first time I *wasn't* easily turned around there. It's a notoriously easy place to get confused. I haven't made this feature available to others yet, but will in a future version.
Craig
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My Overland Adventure Blog | |
| Dale Avery
| | 04/21/2010 9:57 PM |
Alert | Craig, Do I understand you correctly to be saying that you are scanning, for example, the BLM surface and mineral ownership maps? Wow! Would that information ever be valuable! A good example from my perspective would be to use those data to locate public surface ownership on BLM/USFS lands where I could setup a campsite, or access a stream or river for flyfishing. Please let me know when you complete that work, if that is what you are doing. Dale | |
After 35+ years running on four wheels, I've gone to the dark side and am playing on two.
2002 BMW F650GS Dakar dualsport
2006 BMW R1150RT sport touring bike | |
| Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 04/22/2010 1:03 AM |
Alert | Dale,
No, you misunderstood my post. I scan whatever map I need for each trip I go on. For example, for the Quilomene trip I scanned the Department of Fish and Wildlife's Quilomene road map. Actually, Nate scanned it, I just geo-registered it.
Craig
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My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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