Geocaching Australia

<p>Hi, we are just starting out in geocaching and using GPS equipment and software. We have a HP2210 iPAQ with a bluetooth GPS receiver, we are using Oziexplorer on our PC, Laptop and PDA. We have created some maps by scanning from road atlases etc, these have had success but it is a slow process to scan in and gain the information necessary to calibrate these maps. </p>

<p>We would like to expand our range of maps, after searching the internet we have had no real success in finding map images available to download, we have found a few places that provide calibration files but that is about all. We would like to get maps for both geocaching and 4wdriving, so therefore topographic maps would be good.</p>

<p>What maps do most people use either commercially available or maps made yourselves? What are the best internet sites to download maps either to purchase or for free? Does anyone know of any good sources for maps etc? Is anyone willing to share maps that they have created?</p>

<p>Currently we are mainly interested in NSW and the ACT but we would like to collect as many maps from over Australia as possible. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance</p>

I reccommend your local specialist map shop (MapWorld Canberra Jolimont ? centre, Civic). They should have a good range of suitable software such as Raster Mosaic(Australia @1:250k scale) , Topoview (NSW topo maps), Hema Great Desert Tracks, Westprint Outback, Meridian (Vic parks) etc, etc.

NSW topo maps are available online from here:
http://lpi.nsw.gov.au/maps/topoweb.html

EcoDave

You can use the Geoscience Australia GIS data to make your own maps.

Start at http://www.ga.gov.au/download/

Then you'll need software to read the data (I download shapefile data) and throw it into something like GPS Map edit (http://kgy.narod.ru/util/mapedit/mapedit_e.htm), saved as Polish text, run that through GPSmap to converte to a .img file (http://gps.chrisb.org/) and then used sendmap.exe (same website as last one) to load into the unit.

It is time consuming and takes work, but it's free and works quite good. I can now see where hills, roads and streams are in relation to waypoints.

Currently I'm putting together a decent map of Canberra and surrounds for myself (naming some roads and regions). When I get my act together I'll write more detailed instructions and post my maps.

There are NSW street maps covering the major towns available in PDF form at http://www.mynrma.com.au/products/trave ... ndex.shtml
Canberra is included.
PDF files cannot be loaded into Ozi, however the maps are available for free download.

I recommend the NSW "StateView" cd from the NSW LPI (available from various sources). Some of the maps are a little old, but at $30 it is good value. It has street level maps of most NSW towns. Sydney and Canberra are at 1:100k scale, which is reasonable for the price.

If one had money to burn, and wanted in the long term to use OziExplorerCE, which of the two options for the raster maps would/do you use - mapsheets or mosaics? Each have there own +'s and -'s and I'm torn between the two. Please help!

http://216.218.220.254/eng/aussie.html

Recommendations for Melbourne detailed maps and a base map would also be really appreciated. IÂ’m thinking about getting OziExplorer, but would like to know what maps are available and have a look at them before getting the program. It will only be as good as the maps I can find for it and I canÂ’t imagine myself scanning the whole of MelwayÂ’s.

Peter

GeoQuacks wrote:Recommendations for Melbourne detailed maps and a base map would also be really appreciated. IÂ’m thinking about getting OziExplorer, but would like to know what maps are available and have a look at them before getting the program. It will only be as good as the maps I can find for it and I canÂ’t imagine myself scanning the whole of MelwayÂ’s.

Peter

The Melway mob have a digital version of the street directory available. There is also an early set of Melbourne street maps on line somewhere

C.A.S. wrote:If one had money to burn, and wanted in the long term to use OziExplorerCE, which of the two options for the raster maps would/do you use - mapsheets or mosaics? Each have there own +'s and -'s and I'm torn between the two. Please help!

http://216.218.220.254/eng/aussie.html

From the OziExplorer website
'Geoscience Australia has released the new 250K Mosaic map of Australia. This map is in a geographic projection (latitude/Longitude) so is not a constant horizontal scale when when moving north/south. OziExplorer has been modified to recognize the varying scale and make adjustments when drawing objects on the map. Example - proximity zones and range rings will plot as ellipses so the distances are correct. ,

Various newsgroup postings suggest that the mapsheets are better for distance measuring while the mosaic has the advantage of a seamless map.
Personally I use the mapsheets.

More on the early Melway - edition 1 is here:
http://www.custommaps.net/images/mwyedn1.htm
All jpg images - old, but free and probably useable (Melbourne doesn't change much )
They well need calibrating for Ozi - an interesting evening project.

I had fun looking at this site a while ago comparing all the changes from the first edition to the current one. It is extremely interesting to see how MUCH a place has changed in the last 40 years. A great historical resource, but for geocachingÂ…

C.A.S. wrote:If one had money to burn, and wanted in the long term to use OziExplorerCE, which of the two options for the raster maps would/do you use - mapsheets or mosaics?

For Ozi CE I would recommend the mapsheets, simply because of the file size. It is quite conceivable to convert one (or more) of the maps to OZF2 format and upload it to your beepy diary. It requires a lot more work to transfer part of the mosaic to a PDA.

riblit wrote:More on the early Melway - edition 1 is here:
http://www.custommaps.net/images/mwyedn1.htm
All jpg images - old, but free and probably useable (Melbourne doesn't change much )
They well need calibrating for Ozi - an interesting evening project.

Has anyone calibrated these maps in OziExplorer? If so, I would like a copy of the *.map files please

Thanks.

has anyone used these...<br><br>

http://www.ubd.com.au/UBDFrontEnd/produ ... prodType=4