Offroad software

Submitted: Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 14:37
ThreadID: 44791 Views:2260 Replies:6 FollowUps:6
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Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and certainly like to learn a few things about navigating around australia.

I bought myself a new PDA I-MATE PDA-n which has built in GPS receiver.
I am looking to install software and maps to go bush.

Any recommendations?

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Reply By: Des Lexic - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 14:58

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 14:58
Providing you windows on the PDA, you can install OziexplorerCE and natraster maps of Australia. There are heaps of other maps that you can then use by storing them on cards. (SD etc etc)
AnswerID: 236187

Reply By: Bilbo - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 15:01

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 15:01
Try "Oziexplorer". It's Australian Made, inexpensive, flexible and very easy to use - once you get the hang of it. Plus there's plenty of "Ozi-Ex" experts on here if you get stuck.

I beleieve there is a special version of "Ozi-Ex" just for PDAs.

It's advertised on this site somewhere.

Bilbo
AnswerID: 236188

Reply By: SA_Patrol - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 15:57

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 15:57
Are you travelling around Australia or just want to go bush for day trips.?

Tom Tom / Copilot should give you direction around Australia, With OziCe you'll need over 20 gigs of maps on your SD card.

A laptop would be better to store the maps and if you wish transfer them onto your PDA

Paper maps can still be usefull as backups
AnswerID: 236204

Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 19:21

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 19:21
"With OziCe you'll need over 20 gigs of maps on your SD card. "

You sure???
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FollowupID: 497343

Follow Up By: SA_Patrol - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 19:38

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 19:38
Yep maybe more , I am talking about 50k scale maps of each state not 250k.

I have about 10 gigs on my home PC and thats not including NSW, Tassie, WA, NT, QLD .

Maybe I have too many maps
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FollowupID: 497348

Follow Up By: Gramps (NSW) - Saturday, Apr 28, 2007 at 00:15

Saturday, Apr 28, 2007 at 00:15
If you were going to explore virtually every inch of each State I'd probably agree with you SA_Patrol but for the usual Round-the-Block trip you should be able to get away with a lot less than 20gb.
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Reply By: The Explorer - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 17:17

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 17:17
Hello - listing of various Pocket PC GPS programs here

Site Link

With respect to Australia and out of town GPS mapping on a PDA - as others have suggested, OziExplorerCe is hard to go past (you will probably need the PC version as well). Read all about it here

www.oziexplorer.com/

An OziExplorer users group is available here
groups.yahoo.com/group/OziUsers-L

An OziExplorerCE users group is available here
groups.yahoo.com/group/Ozi-UsersCE

A number of companies produce a range of OziExplorer compatible digital maps that cover all of Australia at various scales...eg

Site Link

though you can just scan and calibrate most paper maps..eg

www.oziexplorer3.com/eng/scanmap.html

There are also some free ones avialable..mainly NSW and Vic (AFAIK)..try here for these

www.gpsaustralia.net/

Cheers
Greg
I sent one final shout after him to stick to the track, to which he replied “All right,” That was the last ever seen of Gibson - E Giles 23 April 1874

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AnswerID: 236218

Reply By: I-Mate - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 21:52

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 21:52
thank you all for your prompt replies.

It sounds like Ozi ex is the go.

I wont be going around australia but I will be going for 2-5 day trips.
I will be using maps but I need the gps to check my location. Electronic maps in pda will be ideal, but if they will take up 20GB then it is no option.

I will research it a bit more in these forums.

Cheers
AnswerID: 236290

Follow Up By: The Explorer - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 22:14

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 22:14
Hello - you will not need 20gb of maps to do a 5 day trip. Most people can get by with the 250k scale maps or if available some more detailed maps of specific areas at larger scales (100, 50 or 25K). A single 250K map in OZF format is only about 8 to 12 mb. The 50K maps I have are of a similar size. The entire 250K mozaic of Australia is about ~700mb (ecw format). The comment above on the space required for maps being >20GB was theoretical and not an issue in most practical circumtances. True it would be a problem if for some reason you needed all of Aus at 50K (maps of this scale are not avaialble for all of Australia anyway) on your PDA and you didnt have a backup memory source such as a laptop...or a bag of 4GB sd cards. I have a 2GB SD card and that suits my purposes easily - you can fit about 180 OZF format full size topo maps on it. If memory is an issue just select what maps are required for each trip. SD cards are realtivley cheap these days anyway.

Cheers
Greg
I sent one final shout after him to stick to the track, to which he replied “All right,” That was the last ever seen of Gibson - E Giles 23 April 1874

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Reply By: I-Mate - Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 22:20

Friday, Apr 27, 2007 at 22:20
Thanks, ""Explorer".

Memory is not an issue, I have 2gb card and it is only 35% full.

What do I need to buy as far as victorian maps are concerned and what software?
Is oziexplorer ce the appropriate software for I-Mate PDA-N?

Cheers
AnswerID: 236299

Follow Up By: SA_Patrol - Saturday, Apr 28, 2007 at 00:10

Saturday, Apr 28, 2007 at 00:10
There are 2 types of maps that cover the whole of Vic. 25k and CFA 50k.
You can also get Rooftop maps for the High Country and about 6 different State forests have there own map that only covers that area
Otways, Wombat State Forest, Vic Desert, and I forgot the others
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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Saturday, Apr 28, 2007 at 11:30

Saturday, Apr 28, 2007 at 11:30
Please contact me direct at the_explorer at iinet.net.au. I can send you the freely available Vic and NSW maps (these can be had from the gpsaustralia site but you have to download one at a time ...painfull). The maps are in ozf3 format and will only work with OziExplorer.

OziExplorerCE can be purchased from the exploroz shop.

Site Link

You can get by with just the CE version ..but it was designed to work with the PC version. If you get both you can plan your trips on the PC (eg Select required maps, create waypoints and routes etc) then upload to PDA. When you have finished your trip you can then download, display and store your data on the PC. You will need the PC version if you want to calibrate your own scanned maps. Both versions of OziExplorer can be run in trial mode before purchase (just download from the oziexplorer website) ..with some limitations...so you can have a bit of a play before spending any money. As with most programs there is a slight learning curve involved but if your are half keen its all pretty easy once the penny drops.

Cheers
Greg

I sent one final shout after him to stick to the track, to which he replied “All right,” That was the last ever seen of Gibson - E Giles 23 April 1874

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