SLROC Forum

yep ! - on the scrounge again
any ideas on digital mapping of scotland ?
i need something i can 'draw' over to create routes etc - it needs to be able to be altered and stored on my laptop - ideally not internet based as i cant allways get a signal for my dongle
as big a scale as possible 

thanks 

Find a copy of Memory Map, o/s maps in 1.50'000. It's easy to plot routes, 3d fly though, altitude & speed graphs etc. No need for internet to run it, now avilable for smart phones. You can connect it to your Gps to send routes & waypoints as well as upload your track history etc from the gps back to computer.  If you really wan't it's possible to print to scale.

We use it quite a bit but found our maps to be a out of date when it comes to the roads. We did consider the Garmin topo, but it looked to be pretty poor quality.

Yep, Memory Map. Its what I use to plan Green Road Runs.

Nick, you have pm.






 

PM received 

fugawi works well too we have it on a toughbook on the dash for rally stages, we were on memory map before this but it was a pain when you cross maps. really depends on what device you want it to run on

fugawi works well too we have it on a toughbook on the dash for rally stages, we were on memory map before this but it was a pain when you cross maps. really depends on what device you want it to run on

Aha ! My MM is seamless..... :-) ....you can set the system to join them togther.

G.

Edited to add - The MM software is good - their actual GPS units are utter utter dog toffee. For hill-walking, bikes  or off-road GPS go for Garmin.

OK - here I can speak with some authority

All OS mapping is commercial product, so there is a problem off the bat with possible usage: if you want nto draw a map for others to follow, technically you need a licence from OS to use their products. OS maps at 1:10K & 1:250K are actually freely available, the rest cost money to acquire.

I'm not really sure what your intended usage is: are you wanting to plot a route so you can follow it later on (ie, self-navigation), or are you wanting to have a base map that you can produce a printed map with route & other details on it (like we do for stage maps in motorsport)?

Self-navigation
If its the former, then Fugawi UK and Memory Map UK will give you 1:50,000 maps that you can plot a route over, and then follow as you walk or drive. Another popular application in Anquet Maps: cheaper initial outlay, however you have to by individual maps, so it becomes more expensive as you want to cover more of the UK.
There are even various programs you can buy for smartphones - however I've not used them much, so can't comment on their ability to create pre-plotted routes.
Choosing between the three main applications is mainly a matter of personal preference.... and what your friends use

Making maps
If, on the other hand, you are wanting to produce augmented maps, you are looking of .jpg files of maps: If the 1:10K & 1:250K maps are not want you want (see http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/products/os-streetview/index.html & http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/products/250k-raster/index.html respectively) then it becomes harder still.

If you are in Academia, then you may have access to Digimap (http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/digimap/home) which allows you to download images.

What I've seen done is use the streetmap.co.uk and save the tiled images of OS map, and then stitch them back together in your favorite graphical image manipulation program.

Oh - and if you're going to go this route.... two things:
1) Fugawi UK for sure, and probably memory Map UK, cannot import maps - so they can't be used to follow the wonderful maps you have just produced, and
2) can I suggest that you create a base map, which you then copy to crete your stage maps on.... and you use a Graphic Image Manipulation Program that uses Layers so you don't actually draw on the base map (it will save you LOADS of grief later on)



..... but see my comment on copyright at the top

Technically correct Ian - but I've an idea of what Nick wants to do and MM will do the job just fine - exactly the way I use it to produce GRR mapping. I'd get worried about copyright if I was doing it for commercial purposes but as its just a couple of maps for mates.... M'Lud.

...and for following maps in a vehicle the easy route is to create the route in MM on a PC then download to a handheld or vehicle mounted "proper" GPS ( not a cheap car satnav). The other way is to use MM on a tablet or laptop plumbed into the car, which is a tad bulky... 

The top pic is an extract from MM, the bottom is OS mapping on my Garmin, again downloading a route or waypoints from MM is easy.   

G.

great replies lads - but any chance of something easy to use - easy enough for the terminally hard of understanding - which is me 
i might just buy an OS map and a yellow marker - i can jst about manage that     
no seriously - i do have an itronix laptop that goes in the landy and is touchscreen but i just want something to plan the route on and then be able to print out for others to follow 

Memory Map - Free trial at:

http://www.memory-map.co.uk/

Give it a shot....

I intend to use a toughbook in my car connected to a veh mounted GPS. Sort of a large screen sat nav, for navigation and planning, anyone done this?

I have a new toughbook and am yet to buy anything else so would like to try and get it right first time.

I should point out that my daughter describes me as B.C. - Before Computers - So my solution needs to be, er, simple.

I hope this is not hi-jacking your thread, it seemed the same question but with my kowledge of I.T. I could well be wrong, apologies if so.

coop

I intend to use a toughbook in my car connected to a veh mounted GPS.

As above - try MM. I've used it on a laptop connected to my GPS and it did just exactly what you are asking - Big display of 50k map that you can set to show route, track, waypoints and current position.... "Tim" has something similar, not sure what the software is.

I thought it was a bit big to lug about by the time I'd sorted out powering the laptop etc - and I already have a decent mapping GPS for hillwalking, so I just fix that to the dash - as in piccy a couple of posts above.   

Give that free trial of MM a shot.

G.

Will do, er, once it's back from the nice kind person reloading the wifi driver . . . had a bit of a problem.

many thanks

  Ref original message, when you get to my age you have to expect probs with your dongle!

I intend to use a toughbook in my car connected to a veh mounted GPS. Sort of a large screen sat nav, for navigation and planning, anyone done this?

I have a new toughbook and am yet to buy anything else so would like to try and get it right first time.

I should point out that my daughter describes me as B.C. - Before Computers - So my solution needs to be, er, simple.

I hope this is not hi-jacking your thread, it seemed the same question but with my kowledge of I.T. I could well be wrong, apologies if so.

coop

i have a panasonic toughbook running fugawi in my landy, it uses a usb gps antenna on the roofrack, also have a usb tv tuner on it as well, i am in west fife if you want a look