GPS Mapping programs....need one.

[madhatte]

And software? What software? We whistled Hayes code at 100 baud.

Watch: "A T Z"

(lemme catch my breath real quick)

"A T D T"

Aw, ferget it

 

[lfnh]

that is an understatement
still laughing over that..thanks!

 

[madhatte]

'S awright!

 

[TreeClimber57]

Heh. Welcome to GPS. Even the best of 'em don't work worth a crap under a forest canopy. GPS is a great tool, but it is most certainly NOT without limitations.

That certainly used to be true. However, I am quite impressed with the new Garmin Rino (650 or 655). Myself (just got a 655) and my two sons (each have 650's) have them; bought them for hunting really. But - have never once lost signal due to canopy (moose and deer hunting); and have full signal strength in concrete building (in basement with two floors above). (it had full signal in every building we took it in; so had to try it in concrete building to see; and so far have not been able to get it to loose signal - has come a LONG way from previous versions they had though).

So, based upon this I suspect other high end units also have much more sensitive receivers than they used to even 2 years ago. I do not consider myself an expert on the subject; but am now using the 655 in my business (it has a camera in it as well - although have not used that much yet). Can you loose signal; of course you can; but so far we have not lost it. I am anxious to wait until next summer and try when canopy is thicker (but based upon reception in basement I am thinking it will be ok). The lower end units (even the older Rino's) were not that great.

 

[spanky1205]

Here is a link to a website that has Imagry and quad maps for the entire U.S. for free. Maybe it will help.

Have you ever considered google earth?

 

[madhatte]

But - have never once lost signal due to canopy (moose and deer hunting); and have full signal strength in concrete building (in basement with two floors above).

I have and use a Garmin Rino 530. It's a good machine. However, notice that circle around your location arrow that gets bigger and smaller as you move? That's the unit's confidence level about your actual position. It averages near-misses when it doesn't have a signal. I trust the Rino to about 25 meters, and no less. It's an uncorrected signal at best, and at worst, a passable guess. That's not acceptable for forestry boundary work.

 

[slowp]

There's always this. Some of us Dinosaurs are familiar with it. Not the respirator, scroll down to Redy Mapper.

BAP Equipment: Respirators

 

[teatersroad]

Many pros use ESRI ARCGis and Arcpad for the handheld. Too much. You just need to be able to create shapefiles and import them. Quantum GIS is a very powerful freeware program you can use on your desktop. You still need the handheld mapping software to pick up your lot line shape file. GIS programs can be one hella cluster headache to work with. Get familiar with 'projections' then actually making stuff work. Many counties and states GIS websites for map layers. USGS does too. Gimme a bit and I'll post up some resources. Google Earth also has some capabilities you might find useful.

 

[madhatte]

I've used QGIS; it's like Arc on training wheels. It's not a bad program at all, and if you need more functionality, it dovetails nicely with GRASS, which is also freeware.

 

[teatersroad]

I've used QGIS; it's like Arc on training wheels. It's not a bad program at all, and if you need more functionality, it dovetails nicely with GRASS, which is also freeware.

I'm not familiar with the GRASS functionality. We mostly use our maps for field work, grants, and grant reporting.

 

[madhatte]

GRASS is really good for raster analysis. It's not as good as Arc for vector data. It's kind of big and bloated, and the interface isn't very intuitive, but if you really want to make sense of a lot of cells, it's the way to go.

 

[teatersroad]

GRASS is really good for raster analysis. It's not as good as Arc for vector data. It's kind of big and bloated, and the interface isn't very intuitive, but if you really want to make sense of a lot of cells, it's the way to go.

So if I wanted a slope or soil or veg component analysis..I might try GRASS? Thanks.

We do have one copy of Arc10 at work, it's on the fast computer- which sure ain't mine.

 

[lfnh]

Trimble GEOEXPLORER 3 complete pkg and Trimble Beacon on Belt on bay.
Seems like a good setup for under 700 for mapping in that accuracy budget.
Pathfinder + CORS should get meter or better PP.

just a thought

 

[madhatte]

Oh man the troubles I've had with Pathfinder. I wish it wasn't the best tool for the job. My biggest gripe is the way it strips attributes off of every export and renames each export generically, so I can't batch-correct or batch-export. perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but I can't find another way in the menus and the manual is silent on the subject. I've just gotten used to single exports and a moment in Catalog keeping things straight. Oh, and I REALLY like Arc 10. I can autohide most everything, and Catalog isn't a separate program. It's the best Arc yet. I remember the transition to 9.0 as painful; the transition to 10.0 has been the exact opposite.

Teatersroad: try GRASS at home first. It's got quite a learning curve.

 

[lfnh]

re pathfinder, aka well you know. a few choice ones come to mind, lol.

guess the point of throwing out the Explorer 3 (or like) was to show used commercial stuff capable of boundary line accuracy is out there and far better than consumer grade stuff for similar money. Probly more Trimble comm/pro stuff out there.
Something for the OP to ponder.

 

[madhatte]

I've seen the older GeoXM/XT units go for about $500 on the 'Bay. That's a lotta GPS unit for the dollar. Unfortunately, the software is still pretty expensive, even older versions.

HOWEVER

There is an open-source GPS data collection program out there (it's still in Alpha so I won't call it out by name; PM me if you're interested in testing it) which does EXCELLENT work for free and corrects raw data from the NMEA stream mathematically by averaging a cloud of points rather than by using a differential correction. It even kicks out processed files as .shp! Again, there's a bit of a learning curve, but it's powerful stuff. That plus QGIS might be a good freeware software suite, even though it would still require a trip to the office to process field data.

 

[teatersroad]

Teatersroad: try GRASS at home first. It's got quite a learning curve.

that's kinda funny..

 

[lfnh]

Couple of additional thoughts regarding real time "correction" or "enhancement" of standard position service (CA) data. A subtle problem with WAAS is it can be tricky under field conditions to actually know when position accuracy has been enhanced unless the receiver has a user option to force it off or the receiver is able to monitor the integrity of the WAAS signal(s) and do something about it. Aviation naviagation and landing systems have that integrity monitoring (primary purpose of WASS).

CORS real time corrections using NTRIP servers and an internet connection seems to be moving forward (Calif, Oreg, Wash, Vermont) and may be a real boost to accuracy in the field. Hopefully, it won't turn into yet another dialing-for-dollars scam.That would be a shame.

 

[madhatte]

that's kinda funny..

Aw, you figured out my secret code.

 

[BrokenToys]

Also for a quick and dirty road layout to use to put your points on you can pick up TIGER Shapefiles. It's all public domain so it's available by state/county. I use these a lot to get a landbase started.
I also been to a few ESRI roadshows and their product is top notch as well. My company went with PB MapInfo so that's what we're stuck with.