We recently started a job doing a bunch of cut and fill. We are supposed to have 4 densities per acre which roughly corresponds to 1 Density in every square of a 100 foot grid. We don't need any great accuracy, just need to be sure we are approximately covering the grid. Carlson has a nice little function where you can say make a grid and it does that and labels the grid for you. I set everything up in SPC, made a grid in Autocad, E-Mailed a copy of the Map to the Testing Company bought a new Meridian Gold(with WASS), set the Unit up to read Texas North Central Grid (which Thales Man FKA as Trimble Man, the guy from Lawton helped me to figure out a few months ago) told the testing company that I was going to loan them this unit let them use it to map out this job. The guy I loaned it to this morning called me this afternoon and said Where did you buy this and how much does it cost. I said this one (Meridian Gold) was about $250. If I was buying one for me I would get the Meridian Color and the Topo Maps though. He said he was going to see if his boss would get them one so they could give mine back. Said he just popped the densities on the Map based on the coordinates and it was cool as sheet. I said Welcome to the 21st Century (I didn't really say that.) but I figured they would want to buy one once they saw how easy it made it for them to map out their densities. Actually if I were them I would probably buy at least 3.
Modified By Jon C. on 11/9/2004 at 10:45 PM

The instructions for setting up the ProMark2 or the MobileMapper to work in State Plane Coordinates are available on the ftp server at

ftp://ftp.thalesnavigation.com

Those same instructions work in my Map 330 and in Sharon's Meridian Color. I have not yet tried them in my new Explorist 100.

Now if you had talked them into 50 ZMax systems and 200 MobileMappers that would really get my attention. But, hey, every dollar that comes through the door is appreciated. Mom taught me to take the money and say thank you.

Thank you.

I have the Meridian Color w/topo maps and I have to say, sadly, I am very disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I love the actual unit, the display is great, accuracy is quite good, and is flexible (from what I hear). My main problem is the topo maps. Now I have to admit, I did buy this on reputation, sight un-seen, so it is my fault, but you can not find a screen shot of the topo maps in action. The box has these great pictures of a USGS quad on them, and I guess that is what I was expecting, but sadly that is not what I got. When you get the topo maps, you get basically a distilled version of streets, I think some extra stuff, like campgrounds and other useful things, and oh ya, the topo map, crude green lines on the display, that roughly follow the contours. NOTHING like the USGS Quad on the box. If you are thinking about the topo maps, you might want to do a hands on comparison to see if it is worth it to you. Again, maybe I am doing something wrong, but I don’t think so.

-Neil

MapSend topo is not as good as the 7.5 minute quads but please consider how much map information is loaded on one CD.

Providing the detail level of a 7.5 minute quad would serve to limit the size of the map you could load, how many CD's it would take to get those maps in your hands, and the price tag. They still would not be up to date maps.

I don't presume to know how much it would cost to create a version of MapSend that would have that level of detail. My investment in DRG's is many times the cost of MapSend Topo.

Somebody will chime in telling about how you can download them for free. Some of us bought them before they were free. Is that what you call being on the bleeding edge of technology?

Put me down as somebody who thinks my MapSend Topo was worth the money. I also wish for better quality maps.

Could I afford better quality maps? If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. I usually have to balance what I wish for against what I can afford to buy.

With MobileMapper you can make your own vector topo maps and load them in as background maps.

we get free drg's (7.5 min quads) on line in TX from tnris - same place we get our 1m res doqq's for free


ain't technology great

Neil and Phil,

You are both right, but my sympathies lie with Neil. I have wanted to grouse a bit about this, and now I can. I bought MapSend Topo to use with my SporTrak Pro. The front of the MapSend Topo box shows a picture of a standard USGS quad, complete with section lines. I thought this would be a great way to navigate to section corners.

Imagine my disappointment when there turned out to be no section lines. When I contacted Magellan to express my disappointment, I was told the topo shown on the front of the box was for "reference" only (whatever that means), and that the back of the box showed what you would really see. Sure enough, on the back there is a picture of the watered down topo Neil refers to. Grid lines, but no section lines.

I ordered MapSend Topo off the Internet. The site I ordered from only showed the front of the box. Silly them, not showing us the back of the box for what we would really get.

I agree with Phil that showing every feature a typical topo does would be overly large. But dang it, all I wanted were the section lines. I would have preferred that Magellan hewed a little closer to the truth on their box front photo.

you mean you would expect that the product documentation and graphics that (supposedly) represent the product would actually mean something????

jd

p.s. sorry if I sound a bit miffed

It figures that JD would be the first to chime in and twist the knife about spending money for DRG's. Our set of Texas DRG's did not come for the cost of the internet connection.

I actually went and looked at the box after I read Skylar's message. You know, that may be the first time I ever did look at the map on the box. I just never expected a 7.5 minute quad level of detail, or anything close to it, on one CD.

You have provided some ideas for feature requests.

check out the "freebies" available now

really amazing

http://www.tnris.state.tx.us/


jd

(sorry about twisting :-)

I'll see your "freebies" and raise you one.

http://wgiac2.state.wy.us/html/aboutDoqq2002.asp

that is a good looking web site! Anyone working in Wyoming should check that one out.

OK guys, I was not trying to start something here, just expressing what I thought I was getting and what I got. Do I find the mapsend topo useful? No. Would I buy it again? No. I might get streets, or maybe the marine for weekend boat use. Fact is I got this unit specifically for the use of reconing section corners. As others have indicated I thought that the front of the box is what I was getting, (no matter how realistic it is) and it is not what the product is,.
As I live and work in the sticks, I ordered everything on the internet, and as with most things, I did not have a chance to check it out before purchasing, I went mostly off of some reviews and good things I have heard of here.
As far as the cost of mapsend topo… if we actually got quads for that price it would be on OK deal. I DID Purchase 2 different programs with full sets of quads on them, and I think that they were a good buy. How was I supposed to know that Mapsend topo was only on 1 CD and not 7 like my other programs. I did not expect to be able to load a full state into the Meridian, just that area I am working in, and maybe a watered down version would be OK. Again, all I wanted is recon section corners, and maybe record trails and 2 track roads while I am in the woods.
It is my fault for not researching the product more before I bought it, I am just expressing my opinion.
-Neil

There are some waypoint programs, like one that I use, that would let you place waypoints on an aerial photo or quad map and then put them into the GPS receiver.

Sometimes I see something that I cannot actually get to but mark a waypoint near it, then use that to find what I was looking at on a quad or DOQQ.

Combine that with MapSend Topo so that you have a feel for the topography as you navigate your area and you may have the best of everything. Low cost, easy loading, and versatility. The answers do not always have to come in one box.

Using this method you could even take advantage of some of those most modern photogrammetry projects like the images I used to make some of the maps in the training folder. Just the small area around the neighborhood where I live and work cost me $500 and took one full CD but, as John Francis has described to us, being able to compare field work and high resolution aerial photo can be very rewarding.

I have MapSend Streets and Destinations, MapSend Topo, and MapSend DirectRoute. Each has features that I like and things that frustrate me, but I know what it costs to get good maps. What I see in the MapSend software is worth the money. If money was no object I might have something better. But if money was no object, why would I care? Whatever I might buy, it would probably not fit in my shirt pocket.


Sharon has been following this thread. She just called to show me the tool on the Magellan web page that lets you preview the maps. I was just looking at Snyder, Oklahoma.

Modified By Phil Stevenson on 11/11/2004 at 10:37 AM

I figured I would post my opinion on the best mapping/recon setup. Use a handheld GPS with a PocketPC running a GPS navigation software that supports raster maps. We use a yellow eTrex with a iPaq running Maptech's Pocket Navigator. You can replace the handheld GPS with a compact flash GPS, Navman GPS sleeve or Bluetooth GPS. You could even buy one of the new PocketPC with integrated GPS: Navman PiN, Mitac Mio 168

There are other map programs for PocketPC like Maptech's Outdoor Navigator, Memory Map Navigator, OziExplorer CE, Fugawi CE, etc.

Want a cheap solution? I use a similar method to Phil's suggestion. I use my Terrain Navigator Pro software to create waypoints at all the section and quarter corners in my job area and then upload them to my yellow eTrex. I can then navigate to any of them. Or I can can create a route with the waypoints that shows all the section lines in the map view. It gives you a pretty good indictator of when you cross section lines.

Tommy McClain