mapping software for GPS

Gday

It all depends on what Garmin you have,, in another words whether you can upload mapping to the garmin, if so then mapsource may be the way to go, as oziexplorer is great, you cant upload the mapping,

I myself use both software packages, oziexplorer and in my case mapsend for magellan, I did have a garmin etrex legend, and used oziexplorer with it for the moving map side of it, and for plotting routes, but used mapsource for uploading base maps,

Clive

G'day Dian
I have both Mapsource and OziExplorer, both great programs(when you figure out the nitty gritty bits) I use a Garmin GPS 72, mainly for keeping track of where the cray pot is but also for the trips down south. I am looking into a laptop for moving map capabilities, but I think I will end up with a plotter of some sort as I have limited room in the Jack. I used Mapsource when I was working in the Goldfields and found it most useful to store the waypoints for the monitoring bores I needed to locate, and for producing maps for the Enviro's so they knew where the bores were too! LOL In the end, I guess the best thing to do is try to get hold of both and try them to see which suits your purpose. In my own opinion though, Ozi is the easier of the two to use.
Good luck
Andrew

Hi Dian,

Both Clive and Wetty have hit the nail on the head. Depending on what you want the mapping software to do will decide for you what you want to do.

For base map uploads, use Mapsend.

For the management and sharing of navigation data (i.e. Waypoints, routes & track plots) and moving map capability, OziExplorer is the pick. There are other similar applications available, such as Track Ranger & Fugawi, but for the price, functionality and after sales support
, Ozi is hard to beat.

There is one thing you should be aware of, OziExplorer is a digital raster map reader & GPS interface. It does not include a library of maps, apart from tutorial examples and handy some free downloads from the website. You will have to obtain the digital versions of the maps that you want to use, along with Ozi.

Having said that, there is a large and growing collection of maps available that are directly compatible with OziExplorer. Have a look at the EO digital map section to get an idea of what is available. There are plenty of other compatible maps available, out there.

Thanks to everyone for your replies - I can;t really answer any of your questions as we've never used the GPS with software.

I understood that there is some program you can run with the GPS and the laptop and can have it running as you are travelling - it showing the track to take.

Sorry it is really Bill's questions - he just asked me to find out :-(( I'm just the blonde!

Dian

P S Makes trips a lot more interesting as well , you can tell whats around you and put names to it as well . Cheers

Thanks for the replies - so it looks like Oziexplorer with Moving Maps - last question I promise - how much and where is the best place to go?

Thanks
Dian

There is another prog. no one has mentioned:
www.tumaus.com.au

This programme includes the complete 1:25000 topographic map set for Victoria (I think the ACT is also available) but, at present none of the other states - so it may not suit your needs.

Mike Harding

Not mentioned yet are Ozi3D - the 3 dimensional add in - which when used with the 3 second height data for Australia will let you see your flat map in 3D. Then you can follow not only your moving map but see what terrain you are approaching.

The next accessory to Ozi worth having is Oziphoto Tool which, when pointed at the directory of your digital photos and also at the directory where you stored the GPS track file you downloaded from your last trip, creates a waypoint for each photo and a link to the image file.

It does this by reading what is called EXIF data from the jpeg file which is the picture - which stores the Time Picture Taken info, and matching that to where you were on the track at that time. Just make sure your clock on the camera is right - set it to the time on your GPS.

Best trip diary out!

Oh and I use DiscoverAUS to upload regions for detail maps to my SD Card for my Magellan Meridian Platinum and pretty much nothing else, and OziExplorer for everything else from geocaching to trip planning. Acquiring your map library is the hardest part, once you have it you are home and hosed.

Join the Ozi Users group OziUsers-L-subscribe@yahoogroups.com on Yahoo groups for a great resource.

The Magellan Meridian group is pretty usefull too.

Dave

Dave

Thank you all for your responses it was very helpful.

Dian