Bought a Hema Map - wont be getting another
Submitted: Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 17:46
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Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha)
While I have been
well served by using My roads and tracks of Western Australia by QPA in conjunction with 250 thou mapsheets of specific areas I splashed out on one of the much vauntes Hema Great desert tracks South West sheet as it covers kalgoorlie as
well. What a disapointment! it has little other than main roads (even some main roads were missing) and not even some of the
well publiscised 4wd tracks are not on here. The QPA maps are not perfect but in my opinion are streets ahead of the map that I bought. Just for example none of the tracks that I have visited on my last few breaks are on the Hema map despite being covered but they are all on the QPA map.
In my opinion this is one much touted product that is not worth the cash
Reply By: Member - Nick (TAS) - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 18:35
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 18:35
Gady Davoe,Ive actually got the full Hema Desert Maps Pack and on our trip through the
Gary Junction Rd and Kidson Trk,Tanami Trk,Finke Trk,
Oodnadatta Trk and so on,we found them very good,
well worth the money we thought.Combining them with our GPS,found everything easily.
We did find some discrepencies? with some info on two maps over lapping each other and contacted Hema about this.These were checked by them and will be fixed for the next run.
AnswerID:
128420
Reply By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 18:41
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 18:41
Hi Davoe,
I used the Natmap 250,000 maps in the
Pilbara this trip . What does QPA stand for .
I would like to get some of these QPA maps for my WA trip next June / July. I am a bit of a map freak .
I have often found the Hema maps wanting as
well , and now I just use the 250,000 .
Cheers ,
Willie
AnswerID:
128423
Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Juliana - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 18:52
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 18:52
Hi Willie,
QPA stands for Quality Publishing Australia, based in
Perth. Keep an eye on the Adventure
Shop - I am looking at stocking them.
Regards,
Juliana.
ExplorOz.com
FollowupID:
383055
Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 20:45
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 20:45
they have mapsheets but additianally they have an a4 size book which extensivly covers WA which is probably as good as you will get for finding your way around WA short of the 250 thou maps It should be noted the qpa mapsheets are slightly better than the maps in the book but probably not so as you would notice
FollowupID:
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Reply By: GOB & denny vic member - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 18:49
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 18:49
evening all
just back after 4 weeks of using the natmap 250k for tracking with the gps and found these maps also have a few minor faults
steve
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 20:49
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 20:49
yes I have picked up 1 or 2 as
well as some tracks are now gone or certainly not fit for recreational us. The only genuine error I have found was on the nearanging 100thou (coppied onto the 250 thouu relating to a track west of
callion that had quite an error. However I revisitedthis track 12 months after first traversing it and no one else had been down it so it may not have been high on prioritys
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: BenSpoon - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:25
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:25
I tried using the Natmaps to do the
holland track (
Hyden to
Coolgardie)
Bad move- half the track doesnt exist on there. I'm yet to find any decent faults apart from this though.
FollowupID:
383107
Reply By: Willem - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 19:28
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 19:28
I agree Davoe. I have that map as
well, in paper and digital format. On our last trip I was unimpressed with some omissions from the maps. My Natmap Raster maps aren't that flash either and on the whole, about 20 years out of date.
But I suppose it is difficult for the map makers to update their maps every year.
One has to use both Hema and Natmap maps to find the right tracks and then sometimes take a punt on where to drive...lol
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 20:58
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 20:58
I can forgive new haulroads on the goldfields not being included as new roads and tracks are made as fast as others fade however as an example the road from
Coolgardie to
Burra rocks is not marked let alone the woodlines. This in my opinion is unforgivable from a mapmaker that boasts of quality maps. the road to
burra rocks is a majour road on which ANY other simple road map has and most include the woodlines. A quick glance shows many major track ommisions.
However someone such as you would
well realize that sometimes any maps should not be taken at face value but may need a bit of "interpratation"
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Reply By: Member -Dodger - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:06
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:06
Let the mapmakers know and they should endeavor to rectify the problem.
Hema skite about theirs so maybe they will listen.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:15
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:15
That is the problem -
where to start? it is just an amatuer atempt at a map a good place to start would be to pick up a half decent map and put the tracks that it has onto the Hema one - EXTREMELY disapointed especially as they will tell any one that listens how good they are IMHO a waste of 15 bucks
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383100
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:20
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:20
I find similar with the Hema GDT maps, but what they lack in detail is made up for with useful info and
places of interest. If something appears on their maps, its usually worth seeing/visiting.
So I run 3 different maps on the computer - Hema GDT for the basic trip, Raster Mosaic 250k for the detail and the LandSat7 for the sat photo/ topography. I usually flick between them. Just got the Westprint desert map on CD, but haven't loaded it yet.
Cheers
Phil
AnswerID:
128473
Reply By: equinox-Kings Canyon - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:28
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:28
Totally agree Davoe,
The Hema's are OK for the major / popular tracks but I have found them very lacking in other areas.
For instance there are hardly any features marked on their maps that are away from the major tracks. If you are planning a major desert bush bashing expedition forget the Hema's.
I guess it comes down to what the majority of people want in a map. If most people are happy just doing the Hema marked tracks, which is probably the case then Hema's publishers are just providing a service to them which is fine as they are in it for the income from the maps. Putting more detail in the maps for people like you, me and Willem probably isn't justified for them as I would think that we would be in a minority.
Cheers
Equinox
AnswerID:
128476
Reply By: Bob of KAOS - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:55
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:55
Davoe
there is no perfect map. I use Hema, Westprint, Natmap 1:250.000 and landsat, DiscoverAus, and a few 1:25,000 that I have scanned and calibrated myself. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn't be too critical of a map that is constantly evolving (and only cost a lousy $15).
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Tuesday, Sep 06, 2005 at 00:01
Tuesday, Sep 06, 2005 at 00:01
yea i often have more than one map which can come in handy - as for being to critical there is at least one road (not track) that can be found on even those crappy road atlasses and as for 4wd tracks they had none of the ones in my area. I wouldnt complain as if I dont like a map I dont use it. It is just that they advertise how good they are and have the hema mapping 4wd with competitions to go along so I think it only fair to point out there are other maps with more detail at cheaper prices
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Harry - Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:55
Monday, Sep 05, 2005 at 21:55
HEMA do listen and need the feedback.
I purchased one of their Outback Trip Log's and found it had page numbers but no index to note the trip with page number.
Guess what, I emailed Hema, told them of such and bingo the new edition Outback Trip Log has an index.
WELL DONE HEMA. ( it should ave been there in the first place) so they do listen.
:>)
Also fellas, maps take a while to make and to revise.( I was involved in such)
The best thing to do is put the info together with GPS refs. and email or post to the relevant map maker. They will look at info and you can make a difference.
Hope they change the position of the ration truck.It's not there any more. :>)
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Karl - Tuesday, Sep 06, 2005 at 09:02
Tuesday, Sep 06, 2005 at 09:02
I like using topographical maps. If you know how to read them they are very usefull.
Karl
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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Juliana - Tuesday, Sep 27, 2005 at 18:37
Tuesday, Sep 27, 2005 at 18:37
Further to my last post,
I am currently working on putting all the QPA maps on the
shop. To view them, click here.
I have also put the Roads & Tracks book on, which is now available in 3 forms - Soft Cover, Coil bound, and hard cover, click on the above link to check them out.
If you have any questions about these or any other the other maps in the Adventure
Shop, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Also, if you have any recomendations for map brands, let me know and I will see what I can do for getting them in. We do our best to stock the best available maps.
Regards,
Juliana.
AnswerID:
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