OT - Map software

[pmc847]

I am looking to upgrade/purchase new vacation mapping software. I do not have a GPS nor am I planning to purchase one. I currently have Rand McNally TripMaker (2002). It's been ok but I want something better and not expensive. What are you travelers using, do you recommend it and what about cost?

Philip
"It's a great bike but I can make it better".

04 R1100S BCR # 195
03 R1100S BCR #44 R.I.P. new home with 'onekiwi'
Adjustable cam sprockets
Milled heads .025
Larger Valves +2mm intake & Exhaust
Ported and polished heads (just a little)
SJBMW Exhaust Accelerator Kit (modified)
Laser Exhaust
InDuct
SJ PowerFilter
Laser 2 spark Chip
K's 3.5 bar regulator
Ohlins
Sargant Seat
Throttle bodies matched to rubber mounts matched to heads
Throttle bodies venture steps smoothed out.
Exhaust pipe welds ground down
Aux Fuel Tank (6.8 gallons total)
.

[tm1100s]

GPS units can be had so cheap now, and the software all seems to be good. Just pick up a low cost GPS, comes with software.

[wswartzwel]

Mapquest is free.


I use the Garmin stuff that came with my GPS. It has points of interest for the areas in case I want to do some exploring along the way...

[jduke]

If you have a Palm Treo 650/700 Tom Tom sells a chip that, along with a GPS receiver, does a good job. I think I paid $300 for the Tom Tom software/chip and $50 for the GPS bluetooth receiver.
It isn't like the mount GPS receivers, but if you just need it to get from point A to point B occasionally, it's great.

[bradzdotcom]

just curious: why don't you want a gps?

[tm1100s]

deLorme software for the laptop and desktop is good, but for PDAs it sucks. Tomtom is fairly good on all platforms, including PDAs.

[jduke]

It does everything one of the big units do, but I wanted to carry less things on both my bike and in my car. I use the Palm as my phone, my address book and appointment calendar. So when I found out it could also be used as a GPS I thought, great, more features without having to buy more equipment. I can call up a customer, call them on the phone, then click on their address and the GPS feature will direct me to their front door. Very convenient.

[motoyoyo]

National Geographic Back Roads Explorer 3D is a great set of maps. 18 CD's in the set for $49.95. Covers all of the US in 1/100,000 scale USGS maps including all roads and highways. I have the Topo State Series that has all the 24,000 scale USGS maps for each state and it almost has too much detail. They can both be used with gps waypoints too downloaded from any Garmin gps for plotting your route or finding out where you are. Supposedly this software can be used with a Pockect PC or Palm, but I doubt it would have all the detail of the full maps. This software is best used from a laptop as a way to carry a krapload of highly detailed maps of the whole US. Here is a cool demo, Back Roads Explorer 3D

[ExarKunONe]

I really like Microsoft Streets. You can even get it with a GPS device for your laptop. I've never tried it though. Its pretty cheap. $30 for the software and $100 for the software with the GPS deal.

Amazon.com

[pmc847]

It's not that I don't want a gps its just that I would rather spend the money on other toys. I also like mapping out my routes in advance, print the route for the day and put in map pocket of tank bag. I've never been lost, just explored areas I didn't intend to explore until I got back on track.

By the way, is the software that comes with the gps usable like Tripmaker or Microsoft Streets & Trips?

Philip

[ExarKunONe]

The software that came with my Garmin works all by itself but I wouldnt reccomend it. It takes some getting used to. Really not as simple as it should be.

[pwillikers]

Philip, I've got alot to say about this topic. Maybe we should talk otp.

I bought a Pocket PDA GPS; a NAVMAN PiN 100 (which is a rebranded Mitac Mio 168) from Fry's for $200. It has an integral GPS. It came with NAVMAN SmartST V2 GPS software. I added a 1 Gig SD card for maps. The primary basis for deciding on a PDA instead of a dedicated GPS is that is small and multipurpose (mp3 player, scientific calculator etc., I'd really like it if it were a GSM phone also). I stick it in the tank bag map sleve and plug in the charger and headset. After using it, I discovered that the included NAVMAN SmartST V2 app will only go from here to a destination. There's no way to route way points along the way. I like to construct elaborate back road routes on my PC beforehand that avoid freeways and population centers. The lack of this routing capability in the NAVMAN software is a show stopper for me. It is essential to how I control my "off the beaten path" routing. As a result, I've been trying out different map software because this limitation.

The PPC mapping apps have generally been disappointing. Microsoft Streets & Trips PPC is worthless; it doesn't create routes on the PPC. Delorme Street Atlas Hand Held can at least do routing on the PPC but the "mobile map" creation process and "find" functions are onerous.

After much scrounging, I found one very useful site, gpspassion.com. A wealth of info and they are great with speedy responses and good unbiased info (unlike here . GPS' on motorcycles are dangerous and must be used judiciously. I want a GPS to talk me through a route I've planned. Good speech guidance is paramount as are simple, clear displays. I try to not look at the display while riding unless absolutely necessary. And after alot of use, I never look at the display while underway. Once again, I like to ride on small secondary roads where keeping your eyes on the road is important.

So, my requirements for a GPS in priority order.
1. Ability to create routes with many (25+) waypoints such that I have granular control on the route.
2. Multi-state maps on the SD card available to the mapping routine. Please, none of that rectangle map construction ala Delorme SAHH for me thanks. I just want all the maps available at all times.
3. Fast route and reroute generation (some are really, really slow).
4. Clear voice guidance with optional TTS.
5. 3D perspective map guidance
6. Ability to plan routes on the pc and download them to the PPC.
7. Big finger menu navigation on the PPC touch screen.
8. Very high contrast map display.

Of all the PPC Map/GPS software I've tried, CoPilot Live PPC 6, alk.com, is the first (and only) to earn my coveted "acceptable" designation. (it's expensive though, $150 just for the software, $80 if you do a competitive upgrade which I did with SmartST). I'm sure they're thrilled with my endorsement. Even customer support is good. I had a minor install/license problem, emailed tech support and got an answer the next business day just as advertised!

The CoPilot PC mapping application which comes with CoPilot Live Pocket PC 6.0 is really what you're interested in. It is great. It does all manner of stuff as well or better than the big names. And the real benefit is once you make the route, you can load it on the PocketPC and away you go.

PPC GPS Software - Thumbnail Reviews:
CoPilot Live Pocket PC 6: acceptable - includes capable PC map/route app. for route planning. Entire US map fits on a 1 Gig SD card. PPC app. is configurable, with twenty-five waypoints per route, yeah baby! TextToSpeech guidance is marginal, but at least it's there, menu layout should be more intuitive.
NAVMAN SmartST V2: unacceptable - no waypoints allowed in the route.
Delorme SAHH 2005: unacceptable - slow map redraw, kludgey map mgt., "find" is terrible.
MicroSoft ST 2006 PPC: unacceptable - abject garbage, kludgey map mgt., no on-PDA routing. What? Bill are you kidding?