 Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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on: September 24, 2012, 06:17:41 PM
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farmerdd
Posts: 7
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« on: September 24, 2012, 06:17:41 PM » |
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Hello,
I am new to bikepacking but have some experience with backpacking. I am trying to figure out the best way to plan trips. I know how to get topo's and draw on a map, ect to determine a route. However, I am sure there are more modern ways to do this (i.e. electronically). Do some of you pay for a subscription service for maps? Can waypoints be determined from the maps and then used in GPS device. I am new to GPS devices as well and I'm trying to determine the correct one to buy. Someone on this forum or another pointed me towards the etrex 20. Would a gps that accepts topos be more usefull?
Can someone give me a idea of how they create routes? From google earth to GPS or topo to GPS.
Thanks in advance
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #1 on: September 24, 2012, 06:43:22 PM
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jbphilly
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 69
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« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2012, 06:43:22 PM » |
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About 2 years ago I was doing some route-creation with hiking trails in the Galilee and I used a function on Google Earth to draw lines on the map (corresponding to where the satellite images or a topo map told me there were dirt roads or paths) and then turned those into a GPS file so I could go out and walk all the routes I'd drawn up and see which were the best. I don't remember the exact function but I'm sure Google Earth still has it. I used all free software - Google Earth and Garmin BaseCamp (or Mapsource or whichever the free one is) plus a borrowed GPS unit, but it sounds like you already have one of those.
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #2 on: September 24, 2012, 09:43:50 PM
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Colorado Cool Breeze
Location: Colorado
Posts: 271
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« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2012, 09:43:50 PM » |
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Hello,
I am new to bikepacking but have some experience with backpacking. I am trying to figure out the best way to plan trips. I know how to get topo's and draw on a map, ect to determine a route. However, I am sure there are more modern ways to do this (i.e. electronically). Do some of you pay for a subscription service for maps? Can waypoints be determined from the maps and then used in GPS device. I am new to GPS devices as well and I'm trying to determine the correct one to buy. Someone on this forum or another pointed me towards the etrex 20. Would a gps that accepts topos be more usefull?
Can someone give me a idea of how they create routes? From google earth to GPS or topo to GPS.
Thanks in advance
Check this site out I believe it will answer all your questions. http://topofusion.com/ |
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« Last Edit: September 24, 2012, 09:47:18 PM by Colorado Cool Breeze »
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #3 on: September 25, 2012, 07:48:01 AM
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bmike-vt
Location: Horgen, Switzerland
Posts: 1122
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« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2012, 07:48:01 AM » |
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topofusion is great. but if you are connecting roads / dirt roads / jeep trails and known trails, you might want to check out ride with GPS or other such services, then import into topofusion and connect the dots by hand with the missing pieces....
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #4 on: September 25, 2012, 04:48:42 PM
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farmerdd
Posts: 7
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« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2012, 04:48:42 PM » |
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Thank you everyone for your input. I downloaded topofusion pro and tried it out. It seems to me that the resolution is somewhere below google earth quality. I would like topo quality images if possible. Or at least image quality between a real topo map and google earth, shifting more to topo map resolution if possible. Then I would like to set waypoints based on the maps.
Is there anything, a website or software, that will do this?
Thanks in advance.
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #5 on: September 25, 2012, 04:59:45 PM
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bmike-vt
Location: Horgen, Switzerland
Posts: 1122
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« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2012, 04:59:45 PM » |
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You can set different map views in TopoFusion, including using MyTopo. Zoom in close for more detail.
If you are using a Garmin you can buy their 99$ 24k Topo CD. And then use BaseCamp to plan routes.
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #6 on: September 26, 2012, 01:22:34 PM
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NT
Posts: 99
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« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2012, 01:22:34 PM » |
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Topofusion is the best option. Some other options though:
bikehike.co.uk (great track editing, merging functionality but no elevation data outside UK)
bikeroutetoaster.com (has elevation data for outside UK, but poor editing, so use in conjunction with bikehike)
And gpsvisualizer.com is useful for many things as well.
Once I get windows running on my mac again I'll be back on topofusion...
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #7 on: September 26, 2012, 02:58:17 PM
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farmerdd
Posts: 7
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« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2012, 02:58:17 PM » |
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Would anybody be interested in lending me any topo (hopefully with some section of wilderness/secondary roads/trails) from the Garmin series? I would just like something to try out in Topofusion aside from the demo's. (Interestingly enough I used to live right in Golden) PM me if your interested.
Thanks again,
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« Last Edit: September 26, 2012, 03:03:12 PM by farmerdd »
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #8 on: September 26, 2012, 04:53:36 PM
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bmike-vt
Location: Horgen, Switzerland
Posts: 1122
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« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2012, 04:53:36 PM » |
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You can get Topo in TopoFusion. Select MyTopo or one of the other options.
I don't think you can transfer the Garmin stuff around.
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Topic Name: Route Building and GPS
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Reply #9 on: September 26, 2012, 04:54:01 PM
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bmike-vt
Location: Horgen, Switzerland
Posts: 1122
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« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2012, 04:54:01 PM » |
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Also, look up GPSFileDepot. Lots of free stuff.
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