75 replies to this topic

[Old Crow]

    I began using Delorme's Earthmate For Mobile app on my iPad2 because the subscription to it comes with the Inreach Explorer I bought last summer.   It was a snap to start using and I like how easily it downloads detailed North American maps and how it interacts with the Explorer.

 

I was also happily surprised to see the Earthmate app works well with the iPad's built-in GPS receiver*.  If you have the Explorer up, it uses the GPS signal from the Explorer. If not, it reads the iPad's GPS signal.  That's very handy, particularly if you like to keep the Explorer in your pack and use the iPad in the truck.  It's very nice to have a zoomable offline map of anything from the interstate highway system to backcountry two-track (and showing your position on it) in easy reach.

 

I don't try to use it as my only navigation aid.  I use a Garmin Montana in Automotive mode for its routable street maps to get to the area and in Recreational mode (with 24K topo map cards) on the trail.  (It also has a Marine mode for Bluecharts but I've not used it yet.) 

 

Despite all the electronic aids, I also have paper maps of some sort when my wife is traveling with me.  She LOVES to mark up the map or map-book page with our route as we go.  And I've got to admit I like finding those long after the trip.  Looking at them instantly brings back memories of the area, if not of the day we were there.

 

-OC

 

PS- Here's a Youtube clip with basic info about using the app:

 

 

 

 

* Note: wifi-only iPads don't have a GPS chip built in.

[Riverrunner]

I use "you need a map" on my iPad.  Free, no downloading of maps needed, and no need for phone service.  I have built in GPS and it work really well. 

[Shadyapex]

Well, now I'm really glad I bothered to post my little ode to Topo Maps as I now have a couple of new options to explore. The Earthmate and the You Need a Map both look super interesting, thanks for posting guys. I've done some superficial looking on itunes and their respective websites but will do more research soon. There are so many options these days,,,,,,

But as much as I like the digital world I still love paper maps. Aside from their tactile directness I haven't found an app that can compete with the brain's ability to interpret both detail and the broader perspective at the same time. You can zoom in on a device and see all the detail you want or you can zoom out and see the big picture, without the detail. But with a paper map I think you can see both with much more precision than with any digital device, any that I've used, anyway. So cool to have both available,,,,,,

[Foy]

I find the digital resources to be wonderful, fascinating, and fun to use.  I'd never dream of relying solely on any hardware, software, atmospheric, topographic, or vegetation conditions allowing for navigation in the field, however. 

 

There is simply no complete substitute for conventional paper maps, a compass, and the ability to use them.

 

One would think that digital mapping software would include setting options allowing for zooming out without losing detail.  As mentioned above, that is my principal pet peeve about digital. 

 

Foy

[Advmoto18]

+1 Foy!

 

I guess I will always be old school...

 

Give me a map and I will orienteer.  Compass is my backup.

 

US Topo updated CONUS coverage in 2012 and will be updated on a 3 year cycle.  The PDF file of the map is free for download from various sites.

 

Before departing, I download and print the maps I need (and think I may need) and compare them to the latest imagery from Google Earth (which is typically about a year old).  I will make pen/ink changes to the topo as necessary.

 

While not suitable for navigation, if available, I find a MVUM is a great quick reference as well.

 

However, I still carry a Garmin Foretrex 201 and an inReach SE for backup and emergencies.   And, I now use a Garmin Montana for navigating the BDRs by motorcycle.  It simply saves time when blasting down trails and reaching a junction.  But, i will always subscribe to Yogi Bera's advice, "when you come to a fork in the road, take it"!   After all, one is never lost, just momentarily disoriented!

[PaulT]

One would think that digital mapping software would include setting options allowing for zooming out without losing detail.  As mentioned above, that is my principal pet peeve about digital. 
 
Foy

Paper maps are always zoomed in to the max. Digital displays have a limited number of pixels. To see a wider area, details must be thrown on the floor as you zoom out to cover more area with those pixels. Advantage: paper.

Digital displays can have more up-to-date information. Advantage: digital display

Solution: have both. You carry both GPS and compass to determine your position. Right?

Paul

[ski3pin]

<snip>. You carry both GPS and compass to determine your position. Right?
 

 

GPS unit is in the truck but rarely goes with us afoot. The traditional hierarchy of land navigation tools for mountaineers - in order of importance - is map, compass, altimeter, GPS unit. I do not trust my life to something that runs on batteries.

[PaulT]

GPS unit is in the truck but rarely goes with us afoot. The traditional hierarchy of land navigation tools for mountaineers - in order of importance - is map, compass, altimeter, GPS unit. I do not trust my life to something that runs on batteries.

What non powered altimeter do you carry?

My father-in-law has one velcro-ed to his dashboard that came out of his Cessna but it is somewhat heavy & large to hand carry plus requires listening to aircraft band for current ground level barometric pressure.

Paul

[Foy]

Solution: have both. You carry both GPS and compass to determine your position. Right?

Paul

 

Both? Technically yes, but only to a very limited degree.

 

If we spent the kind of time afoot which Ski and The Lady do, we'd probably acquire a modern handheld GPS unit, as the one I got in 1996 is just a bit outdated now.  And it would serve only as a backup, as constantly maintaining position on a USGS 7.5' sheet is mandatory (to me) when hiking/backpacking/fishing miles away from the truck and/or in totally unfamiliar territory.  Accordingly, the only digital aids we have aboard the truck is whatever GPS capabilities our smartphones and tablets have built in.  And we practically never use that--used it exactly twice on the 5,000 mile NC to MT round trip in July--and those times were to aid in street navigation in Kansas City, MO and Casper, WY. 

 

Foy

[ski3pin]

What non powered altimeter do you carry?
 

 

Thommen Altimeter