Firstly, very happy to have found a site that is Aussie!!..
I am very new to all this, and have yet not purchased a GPS, but will do next week....
I think i have narrowed it down to Garmin Map60....
Primarily i have a farm that i want to plot out, and mark in dams, roads, creeks etc....hoping to use the GPS for other use later down the track (sorry).
Do you think this unit is going to do more than i need?...don't really want to lash out too much money to start with, but i do want to upload info onto my computer and work with the map....
Any ideas????
Then there is the whole problem of software - I am told Magellan is better than Garmin for the NSW Bush...
Cheers
Moo
Need some help....
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Skippy&lambchops
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EcoTeam
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You don't need a mapping GPS to use maps, you simply need a GPS with serial port connection. This includes most GPSr on the market, even the cheap ones (beware some Magellan Explorist and Garmin Gecko models). The Yellow eTrex is probably the lowest cost GPSr you can get with serial port capability, it is very popular.
Mapping is then done on your PC with software like OziExplorer, which is non-product specific. You can upload track logs and waypoints from any basic GPS which are then overlayed on the map on your computer.
So if you are looking to save money then a basic GPSr around $150 or less is the way to go (you can get them cheap on eBay). That way you can spend more on the maps for your PC.
Lots of Geocachers hook their GPS up to a notebook or pocket-pc and get full real-time mapping on the move. The screen is then much bigger than the one in a mapping GPS.
EcoDave
Mapping is then done on your PC with software like OziExplorer, which is non-product specific. You can upload track logs and waypoints from any basic GPS which are then overlayed on the map on your computer.
So if you are looking to save money then a basic GPSr around $150 or less is the way to go (you can get them cheap on eBay). That way you can spend more on the maps for your PC.
Lots of Geocachers hook their GPS up to a notebook or pocket-pc and get full real-time mapping on the move. The screen is then much bigger than the one in a mapping GPS.
EcoDave
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moocowmedia
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- Location: Sydney
One planned approach..
I have an old mate who's a farmer and I've thought about doing this. Here's what I'd do, but bear in mind I'm OK making maps on a PC, compiling and uploading to a GPS. Very brief instructions follow, google some of the words and have a gander to see if that's what you want.
The overall process will take dozens of hours.
Step 0: You will need a copy of MapEdit (free verison available) and the trial version of OziExplorer. And the garmin compiler and upload software. Easy to find on web with tutorials too. You'll also need a Garmin GPS with mapping ability. Maps on GPS make for small easy to carry around thing.The only reason I say Garmin is because I don't know how to do this using the other brands. And yes, you can buy software to do some of this but an initial attempt is nice to be free.
Step 1: Buy from the lands department (this is most expensive bit) aerial photo's of your property. They don't need to be be geo-referenced if that's cheaper, we'll do it manually soon.
Step2: Scan in maps A4 at a time and georeference them using OziExplorer Trial. (If you're happy with all this at the end, buy the software for the support etc.) You want to aim for about 1m per pixel resolution.
Step3: Load map files into Mapedit and check that the coordinates make sense. BTW Do everything in WGS84 coordinate system. GPS, mapping software..everything must match.
Step4: Trace over all the useful features you can see on the aerial photos that help you run the property. So, all the roads you can get machinery down, the fence lines of each paddock, the gates , the water troughs, the windmills, all sheds, any power runs and any irrigation pipe runs etc. Use suitable icons for dams, windmills etc. and the correct lines/ polygons. As well as each fence line you can also use the fence lines to make polygons representing each paddock. Also put on patches of native vegetation / pine etc.
Step5: Compile and upload map to GPS and then hit the road with trace mode turned on. Visit all the important things like roads and set waypoints on fence corners, water troughs and other keypoints.
Step6: Upload the tracks and waypoints into PC and then import them into map edit. Drag edit all the previous bits of map onto where these places really are based on the track logs and waypoints.
Step7: Clean out tracks and waypoints from GPS, before compiling and uploading new map, which will have all the previous waypoints now built into the map. You should now have a map on the GPS accurate to about 5m.
Step8: Use it. Take the GPS everywhere. See a fence that needs replacing..waypoint it. See a patch of weeds that will need spraying, waypoint the corners of the patch. Later on you can upload the points and make a polygon to record this,for later reference. Need to run a water pipe/irrigation channel/power line/fence? Use the mapedit software or even GPS with waypoints/routes to give a distance. Plus the GPS will typically give you the area of a set of waypoints or within track, so you know accurate paddock size for seeding etc.
To do this thread justice would require a book with a chapter or two on each step but hopefully this will give you some ideas.
The main plan is to work out what task you need to do on the property, what tools (GPS map, just waypoints,etc.) would help do that task and then to work out the software to do it and the hardware is the last thing you consider. The hardware needs to support the software, the software needs to support the primary task,in this case running a property.
The overall process will take dozens of hours.
Step 0: You will need a copy of MapEdit (free verison available) and the trial version of OziExplorer. And the garmin compiler and upload software. Easy to find on web with tutorials too. You'll also need a Garmin GPS with mapping ability. Maps on GPS make for small easy to carry around thing.The only reason I say Garmin is because I don't know how to do this using the other brands. And yes, you can buy software to do some of this but an initial attempt is nice to be free.
Step 1: Buy from the lands department (this is most expensive bit) aerial photo's of your property. They don't need to be be geo-referenced if that's cheaper, we'll do it manually soon.
Step2: Scan in maps A4 at a time and georeference them using OziExplorer Trial. (If you're happy with all this at the end, buy the software for the support etc.) You want to aim for about 1m per pixel resolution.
Step3: Load map files into Mapedit and check that the coordinates make sense. BTW Do everything in WGS84 coordinate system. GPS, mapping software..everything must match.
Step4: Trace over all the useful features you can see on the aerial photos that help you run the property. So, all the roads you can get machinery down, the fence lines of each paddock, the gates , the water troughs, the windmills, all sheds, any power runs and any irrigation pipe runs etc. Use suitable icons for dams, windmills etc. and the correct lines/ polygons. As well as each fence line you can also use the fence lines to make polygons representing each paddock. Also put on patches of native vegetation / pine etc.
Step5: Compile and upload map to GPS and then hit the road with trace mode turned on. Visit all the important things like roads and set waypoints on fence corners, water troughs and other keypoints.
Step6: Upload the tracks and waypoints into PC and then import them into map edit. Drag edit all the previous bits of map onto where these places really are based on the track logs and waypoints.
Step7: Clean out tracks and waypoints from GPS, before compiling and uploading new map, which will have all the previous waypoints now built into the map. You should now have a map on the GPS accurate to about 5m.
Step8: Use it. Take the GPS everywhere. See a fence that needs replacing..waypoint it. See a patch of weeds that will need spraying, waypoint the corners of the patch. Later on you can upload the points and make a polygon to record this,for later reference. Need to run a water pipe/irrigation channel/power line/fence? Use the mapedit software or even GPS with waypoints/routes to give a distance. Plus the GPS will typically give you the area of a set of waypoints or within track, so you know accurate paddock size for seeding etc.
To do this thread justice would require a book with a chapter or two on each step but hopefully this will give you some ideas.
The main plan is to work out what task you need to do on the property, what tools (GPS map, just waypoints,etc.) would help do that task and then to work out the software to do it and the hardware is the last thing you consider. The hardware needs to support the software, the software needs to support the primary task,in this case running a property.