Corey

iTrader: (1)

Craig, owner of NW Overland Society, told me about some software his company makes.

Spatial Minds

Here is a YouTube video of it.

[YOUTUBE]X9Gz4xXWt1Q[/YOUTUBE]

Here is some info from the site:

spatialminds

Thanks for mentioning Overland Navigator. If anyone has any questions about Overland Navigator, or about running a computer in the field, please let me know. We released additional Map-Packs yesterday for ID, MT, WY, NM, TX, OK, KS, NE, SD, ND so the entire western US is now available down to 1:24k USGS Topos.

I'm currently using a semi-ruggedized Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC). One of our customers has a similar setup in his Toyota Tacoma. I chose this unit for my personal setup because it is as simple to put in/take out as a traditional GPS, offers a really big sunlight visible screen (7"), and is vibration/water/dust. Having a full PC onboard allows me to also use the computer for PDF workshop manuals, OBDII scanner, MP3 playback, digital photo storage, and to keep a travel log (it has a separate keyboard). I lock it in my TruckVault Storage Drawer when I'm hiking/snowshoeing.






Others are running similar setups in their Toyota Tacomas.



In addition to the touchscreen compatibility, the software works really well with the keyboard and allows you to use single key input to control all functionality. Keyboard configuration is completely user customizable. For example, F1 to mark an Easy trail, F2 to mark an intermediate trail, F3 to mark a hard trail, arrow keys to pan, PgUp/PgDown to zoom in/out, etc.

spatialminds

We've just completed topographic map-packs for:

Ohio
Minnesota
Missouri
Illinois
Alabama
Lousiana
Alabama
Georgia
Iowa
Kentucky
Indiana

These are in addition to our existing map-packs:
Washington
Oregon
California North
California Central
California South
Nevada
Arizona
Utah
Montana North
Montana South
Wyoming
Colorado
New Mexico
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
Oklahoma
Texas
Mid-Atlantic Region (District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware).

Satellite Imagery Packs and US Wide Packs (1:250/1:100k only) packs are also available.

cory8926

This looks great guys - thought I would give a bump as this seems to be the way navigation is going. Forget spending $600 some handheld gps device from garmin. You could by a $300 netbook, a bluetooth gps receiver(I just got one on ebay for $20) and this software, then when you get home you can use the netbook for other things. Product sounds great - I think this is the way I will go.

Wheelingnoob

Any chance of a western Canada (BC, Alberta, Yukon and NWT) and Alaska version?

Jeremy

spatialminds

The latest version of Overland Navigator has been released.

Overland Navigator is topographic GPS mapping software designed to be simple to use in the field. It has an interface that makes it easy to control with a touchscreen, keyboard, or mouse. Menus auto-hide to make use of every last pixel when displaying the map. You can learn more about it at http://spatialminds.com

Some of the new features include:

• APRS specific NMEA support
• Location specific Sunrise / Sunset times
• UTM Coordinate Display
• Continuous GPS Track Storage to Disk
• GPS Output to external devices
• NMEA logging
• Display preferences
• High end GPS support - Track up to 64 satellites
• Bugfixes and performance enhancements

There is a more complete description on the webpage, but here is a brief explanation of APRS display support as it is the most significant new feature. NOTE: Overland Navigator remains as simple to use as ever for non-HAM/APRS users. APRS allows a GPS and HAM radio to be combined to broadcast your postion over the airwaves. Others listen for these location beacons and can plot them on a map/GPS such as Overland Navigator. Repeaters repeat the signals so they can travel for a very long distance. Gateways take the locations and add them to a database that is accessible via the Internet by friends/family (E.g. http://aprs.fi). APRS can do much more, but this is the basic description.

The software supports the APRS specific NMEA sentences that the Kenwood D7xx radios, Tiny Tracker 4, Argent Data Systems, etc trackers output. This allows Overland Navigator to display APRS specific symbols on the map. The radio/tnc/tracker is still responsible for handling the beaconing of your location.


You connect your GPS to Overland Navigator for input, then connect Overland Navigator to your tracker as it's GPS input. The tracker uses this connection to send any stations it heard back to Overland Navigator. This is, for example, the same way that you'd hook up a Garmin GPS to a tracker. There are some advantages to using Overland Navigator over a regular GPS though.


In contrast to most GPS units, when new stations are heard, Overland Navigator will update the location on the map instead of adding an additional waypoint. This greatly reduces the amount of on-screen clutter and removes the need to manually delete waypoints.

The APRS waypoints automatically fade away and then expire on their own. This lets you visually see how long it's been since you last heard from an APRS station. You can set the interval. If you have it set to 40 minutes, and a symbol is just about ready to disappear then you know it's been about 40 minutes since you last heard from it.



Finally, we tried to redo all the APRS symbols to have a consistent look/feel , offer more contrast with the background maps, and to be distinguishable from regular Overland Navigator waypoints (square).

Primary Symbols


Secondary Symbols



Craig

spatialminds

Sorry for the slow reply. I don't get email updates from this website.

I plan to eventually add them, but it isn't on the short term roadmap. I live in Washington, and spend a lot of time in western Canada myself.

Craig

spatialminds

With the release of our New England and Florida Topographic map-packs today, we now offer coverage for all of the lower 48 US states.

Map-packs are now available in our webstore. http://spatialminds.com