Which Map Option Best?

Submitted: Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 15:58
ThreadID: 110895 Views:2092 Replies:7 FollowUps:6
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Looking for some advice / experience with options around maps and more specifically electronic maps, the positives and negatives and which has been best suited to off road purpose, best support etc. Am considering the Hema 7 but have read some negatives and with price comparison to other Tablet based options would be interested to gather opinions from experienced folks. Thanks
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Reply By: Member - Rosco from way back - Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 16:35

Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 16:35
Take a squiz at this mob ..... http://off-road-gps.com/

They seem to sell reasonable quality Chinese GPS units which, together with Oziexplorer and a selection of topo maps should get you started.

Arguably a more attractive proposition cost wise, than Hema.
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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 16:47

Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 16:47
Hi

Keep in mind the HN devices come with Hema maps of various types/areas, which may or may not need to be purchased anyway - so price difference may not be as significant as it may seem at first glance. Plus Ill have guess and say HN better quality unit, but maybe it isn't...Just food for thought.

Also maps are a bit overpriced - $59 for a set of old 250K maps you can download free Here. ..though advantage in having them delivered ready to go I suppose, but a lower price would be seem more reasonable.

Cheers
Greg
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Follow Up By: luxtourer - Friday, Jan 30, 2015 at 22:08

Friday, Jan 30, 2015 at 22:08
Hello Greg
Without wishing to butt into Rosco's post, I saw your link to the GA site, but wondered whether you had been able to do anything useful with the zone mosaics that can be downloaded from GA. Some of these are nearly 1GB in size, and by the time I enlarge an area of interest in them, the map has become quite blurred, and hence pretty useless. Have I missed something?

Thanks
John
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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Friday, Jan 30, 2015 at 22:35

Friday, Jan 30, 2015 at 22:35
Hi

A consequence of the original scale of the map (250K) and also resolution of the image. Keep in mind that zooming in on a digital raster (pixelated image) map is the same as holding a paper map closer and closer to your face. You wont get any more detailed - what you see at ~ 100% zoom is as good as it gets. Basically to get more detail/clarity for the area you are looking at you need to get a larger scale (100K, 50K, 25K etc) map (if available).

Cheers
Greg
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Follow Up By: luxtourer - Sunday, Feb 01, 2015 at 13:29

Sunday, Feb 01, 2015 at 13:29
Didn't explain that properly - I was having a problem with the software for looking at the large zone mosaics, not the maps themselves. Have since had another search, and found a program Erdas ER Viewer, that can properly handle zoomed regions from the mosaics, with full clarity.
Cheers,
John
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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Sunday, Feb 01, 2015 at 13:38

Sunday, Feb 01, 2015 at 13:38
Hi

I have no problem with mosaics in OziExplorer on the PC.

Cheers
Greg
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Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 17:46

Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 17:46
HEMA maps (& GPS) and OziExplorer, for us. Augmented with 1:250,000 Topo for the whole of Oz plus 1: 50,000 for selected areas.

Cheers,
Peter
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Reply By: Member - Tony F8 - Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 18:45

Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 18:45
Memeory map on tablet, cheaper and hasn't failed me yet, plus you have all the advantages of a tablet.
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Reply By: Bob Y. - Qld - Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 19:52

Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 19:52
What's the best? The one that suits you the best.

Have a Hema HN5i that gets occasional use when we are travelling, and iPads with the Hema app. Also bought Hema Explorer when it was on special.

The Chinese units, mentioned by Rosco, seem to be popular with many too. If you wish to do a search on this site, there'll be heaps of similar queries to yours, about which is best. Keep you reading for days........

Bob

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Reply By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 20:35

Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 at 20:35
Hi WackyRaces


What the negatives you have heard on the HN7.?

They are a great reliable unit and are pre loaded with all the maps that you will need.

Mind you that other unit for $280 looks interesting.

Another thing is the person/company has only been doing it for 7 years, where as Hema have been doing mapping for decades.



Cheers



Stephen

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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 at 16:44

Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 at 16:44
Hi WackyRaces,
I can tell you that in 2014, out of nearly 700 products in our shop the 2nd most popular product we sold in the whole year was EOTopo 200K mapset (second only to the H2No towels) and was therefore is the most popular of all the maps we sell - and we have a big range. Interestingly enough, the HN7 - EOTopo edition was the 4th most popular product we sold so these stats certainly tell a story of what people are buying.

We have been selling digital mapping products for over 10 years to the 4WD and touring community and we started using GPS pre- 2000 so we have plenty of experience to share with you. You are more than welcome to give Adele, our Customer Service manager a call and she can help you find the solution that is going to work for you.

From a personal perspective we use an Android tablet with Ozi for Android and EOzi, and use the setting in OziExploer to always show "most detailed map available" and have it scan your folder of maps as you move. So, that way you can have your whole of Australia single sheet topo 200K map (EOTopo) and any other more or less detailed maps accessible as you need. Sometimes you don't want detail if you're speed is high, other times you do. It's a simple toggle on/off feature that is great when exploring.
Michelle Martin
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I.T. Beyond Pty Ltd / ExplorOz

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Reply By: Member - Will 76 Series - Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 at 19:29

Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 at 19:29
Michelle,

That is interesting and great to hear. I have also read lately that HEMA plan on bringing out a base map that will cover all of Australia via one map similar to how you have explained. It is great to see a bit competitive competition. As you also stated I think having the android option is a good option as so many items are IOS but Android are quickly making up ground in the sales of the tablets.

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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 at 21:02

Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 at 21:02
"Android are quickly making up ground in the sales of the tablets"

Hi - think you may be a year or two behind with that statement. Article from 2013 HERE

I assume Android tablets still outsell Ipads? Not surprising, I for one find them more user friendly (apart from many options and generally being cheaper).

Cheers
Greg
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