Real USGS quads on the iPhone

[Boyd]

Cool little application has just been released at the app store, "Topo Maps" - see: http://chezphil.org/topomaps/

It's a really simple little program (which the author plans to enhance in future versions). You select the quads you want, then download them to the phone. It takes a few minutes to download each quad, but once you do it is stored locally on the phone so no cell service is needed to access it. The maps are a scan of the full USGS map complete with collars, so they aren't seamless.

Not a bad little program at all for $4 , and it's the first mapping application I've seen which actually stores the maps locally instead of loading on demand over the network. Here's a screenshot - you can zoom in farther than this, or way out to show the whole quad. The quality of the scans is terrific - much cleaner than terraserver.

 

[Chrisr]

I wonder if they'd work on the iPod Touch??

 

[Boyd]

Yes, they will work on the Touch, but of course you won't have GPS functionality.

 

[Teegate]

Boyd,

Jessica is going to check it out and see how it works on her Touch. I was waiting for Offline Maps to have hacked the firmware on her unit, but as of yet they have not. If you have a touch or iPhone with an older firmware you can use "Offline Maps" to download seamless aerial photo's from Terraserver. They just can't seem to get it going with her firmware or I would have bought a Touch. I would love to walk around in the pines without having to print the maps out while looking for stones.


Guy

 

[Boyd]

Well for $4, and no need to jailbreak your iPod, how can you go wrong?

The only issue might be that the maps aren't seamless, so when you get to the corner of a quad it will be a pain. I have not tried them out in the woods yet, but I don't think they work as a moving map, or show your track. I think you can just display your position in the quad. When you go to the index map screen, the quad you are currently in is highlighted. You have to touch it to display the map.

OziExplorer CE is really a much better application if you want USGS topo maps. It can run on a variety of devices based on either Windows CE or Windows mobile. I have written about this here before after using it on both a Mio and HP gps unit.

But these topo maps are still a handy way to reference the USGS maps, and the iPhone/iTouch are easy to carry around. FWIW, I've walked all around the FRM area, in places I've always considered pretty remote, and I got a really strong AT&T 3g network connection everywhere. I was able to track myself quite accurately on Google Maps, Google Earth and Earthscape, which all stream their maps over a data connection. In the pines I'm not sure if you will find a whole lot of places where you can't get a network connection... with the exception of my own home that is!

 

[bobpbx]

FWIW, I've walked all around the FRM area, in places I've always considered pretty remote, and I got a really strong AT&T 3g network connection everywhere.

Ahh, but at what price grasshopper? You were never really more than a mile or so from this monstrosity. I ask myself, is it worth the price to me? The view is from the dam at Bamber Lake.

 

[Boyd]

Well I've been very surprised to find a cell signal in many places in the pines. I am not at all an advocate of building ugly cell towers. The one in your photo is horrible! But if there is a signal, I will probably use it for a data connection. If not, that's no big deal. As I mentioned, I can't even get a usable signal at my own home near Maple Lake. Generally speaking, this is a good thing. I can be a hard guy to reach by phone sometimes

 

[46er]

Cell phone? Don't own one

 

[Mts83]

Well I've been very surprised to find a cell signal in many places in the pines. I am not at all an advocate of building ugly cell towers. The one in your photo is horrible! But if there is a signal, I will probably use it for a data connection. If not, that's no big deal. As I mentioned, I can't even get a usable signal at my own home near Maple Lake. Generally speaking, this is a good thing. I can be a hard guy to reach by phone sometimes

I've found Verizon to have some of the best coverage in the pines... There are a few small holes, though all you have to do is find some higher ground and the signal will jump right up. The tower built a few years ago north of Jenkins on 563 serves to fill in a hole that used to exist. Another spot that used to be a large hole was in the Lower Bank and Green Bank areas, which have since gained service. The worst I've seen is Sprint, I used to roam even here at my own house because of a lack of Sprint signal. While Verizon gives me between 3 and 5 bars.

If I do happen to lose service though, I also have my ham radio equipment- which ensures I have some way to contact the outside world while in the woods if I need it. There’s a huge repeater in Chatsworth which is accessible with a handheld throughout Wharton along with some in Waterford.

 

[defender]

Wikimap

Check out the full version of Wikimap. It allows users to save open street maps (osm) for offline map navigation and browsing.

http://wiki.alumni.net/wiki/Wikimap

 

[Mts83]

OSM has some great uses for (Garmin) GPS's too. I use JOSM combined with a compiler (mkgmap) to create .img's my legacy Etrex Legend C can read. It runs very fast, and once you have a set grid down, you can make the files relatively easily. There is no routing, nor is there any contour/topo info, but thats what Boyd's maps are for ;-).

As for USGS quads... I don't have an iPhone, but have figured out how to have the maps available to me. Using the built in document viewer on my EnvTouch, I'm able to view PDF versions of USGS quads downloaded from http://store.usgs.gov . They're free, and while they do load somewhat slow on the phone, it's nice to have the maps available to me. I've stuck all the Pine Barren area quads on there, and have already been very useful. There is no GPS interface, but it's still nice to have.