6 replies to this topic

[NC_Yank]

Forgive me if this is not the right forum but I figured IBA members would be best to answer this question.

Have been planning a trip where I will combine 4 corners and 48 contiguous states in one trip. I was using Google Maps (curse them with everlasting indignation) to plot various tourist attractions I wanted to see and this afternoon when I went to finish the map everything was gone.......mad does not describe how pissed I am.......unbeknownst to me this is not the first time this happened.

I have Base Camp to route the map to my Zumo 550 however the route will be based upon the points of interest that I desire to visit.

Any suggested programs would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff

[Ignacio]

Microsoft Streets and Trips is a popular (and indispensable tool IMO) for those with 5 digit and 3 digit IBA numbers.

[BwanaDik]

Microsoft Streets and Trips is a popular (and indispensable tool IMO) for those with 5 digit and 3 digit IBA numbers.

Yep. This is the most versital basic tool. There are others. There's a thread around here somewhere, did an indepth analysis of different routing methods. I like S&T because it's simple to use. The biggest drawback is you can't do comparison routes on the same page (one route only)

Found it

Mapping

This ought to keep you busy for a couple of days


Jeeze, I must be slipping, this is the second time today I've agreed with Iggy....

[SkooterG]

Microsoft Streets and Trips is a popular (and indispensable tool IMO) for those with 5 digit and 3 digit IBA numbers.

Despite what the ugly guy says, I don't use MS S&T. I use Google Maps to do my initial planning (never had a problem with it dumping?), then do the actual route in Mapsource for downloading to the GPS.

[RossKean]

I use Google Maps for short, fairly simple routes. I especially like to be able to use the street view to look at roads and terrain. Also great for posting a route to a forum or sending as a link to someone via email - they don't have to have any special program (like S&T or Mapsource) to read it.

Unfortunately, once you get more than a few waypoints in there, it slows down to a crawl. It is out of the question for a long, complex route. I think somewhere around 25 or so waypoints, it quits altogether. It doesn't play nice with GPS or other mapping programs unless you use something like Tyre to translate for you. It has its place but not as an exclusive trip planning tool.

For major trips, i use Streets and Trips with regular reference to Google Maps to confirm road conditions and to help find stuff (Points of interest). Ultimately, everything gets ported over to Mapsource, tweaked and downloaded to GPS.

Ross

[beachy]

so what is the difference between base camp and map soure I know base camp runs off the maps in your garmin and the tech at garmin said they are trying to get away from map source.Has anyone used both to know which is more user friendly?

[NC_Yank]

so what is the difference between base camp and map soure I know base camp runs off the maps in your garmin and the tech at garmin said they are trying to get away from map source.Has anyone used both to know which is more user friendly?

I believe they were shooting for a program that meet all their customer needs including those who use handheld units which is where the topographies come into play, birdseye imagery, accessing pre-installed maps on your computer and even view custom maps (.kmz)

As with any program, I think much of it has to do with what you become accustomed to..... I know for my construction and inspection business there are all sorts of estimating and reporting software out there yet I am so well versed with MS Word docs and Excel Spreadsheets that I still use rely on them.......especially since they are FREE.

This also no doubt explains why I was using Google Mapping (free) instead of some of the other paid programs.

I have resigned to simply going state by state, selecting attractions, putting them on my spreadsheet (go figure) with their respective addresses as you suggested. While it may be a little more time consuming, at least I don't have to worry about loosing all my info this time.

Hope you are enjoying your trip to Spruce Pines....... I rode the bike today to the office however I am still stuck in the office which suck considering the weather is awesome for the middle of February here in the Carolinas.