What GPS for On and Off Road?

[Troll Hunter]

Hi,

It's nearly 10 years since I bought my TOM TOM 700, and I know there have been big advances since then. So, I'm planning to get a replacement, but WHAT? I want to be able to input my own maps and use it off road. The Tom Tom only recognises being on road, and there is no facility for inputting custom maps.

Should I be looking at a dedicated lap-top, a tablet, or something like a Garmin? And what software should I look at, so that I can input my own maps and use standard, possibly pre-installed maps?

All your thoughts, views and experiences will be very much appreciated, and many thanks in advance.

Mike

[HoSS]

I was looking around for this too. So far my search has shown that there are many great products with US maps, such as the Lowrance stuff, but not much that has consistent worldwide support.

My best idea so far is the 3G iPad mini. Plenty of navigation apps for that.

[Ex Member]

For a normal GPS, Garmin is the best for this as the map format has been reverse engineered and there are lots of programs out there to make your own. This has spawned a large community of people making maps for them.

In your neck of the woods, the Backroad Maps are a good base to start off with. http://www.backroadmapbooks.com/ They are based out of BC, so the BC content is pretty decent. You can then make your own trail maps, if you are keen and you can send the tracks to them and they will put them on the next version. Any Nuvi will work fine. Look to GPSCity or GPSCentral in Calgary for the best pricing.

[Arjan]

In your area you could be using BRM and the likes.

In Europe, the problem is getting good maps and one usu. ends up with.. Garmin and the ToPo range maps.

Don' t like them but have to use them.

[elbekko]

I love my Garmin GPSmap 62s. It works great for everything, and supports more than two maps (unlike earlier Garmin products).

If you can find Garmin topo maps for your area, even better. I have the NGI maps for Belgium, and it's perfect for going off-roading or walking.

On the road there's only one small niggle: it likes to send you over small roads without speed limits, instead of the larger road with speed limit next to it, because it thinks it's faster But from what I've heard, all Garmins do this.

[GW8IZR]

For mountain work I still use one of several very old and very simple Garmins, current favourite is a GPS62 but I'm not adverse to using my even older gps 3 or 4 - the gps performance is still excellent and the battery life is much better than a smart phone / colour screen device.

For European road driving I stick with TomTom as I don't care too much if they get lost / broken / stolen and I dont store any secure info on them.

In terms of flexibility and future proofing ( well as best as we can hope for ) navigation based on i-pad or Android might be best.

I recently "upgraded" to apple devices. I have an i-pad mini in an otterbox defender case and it is very rugged, has a screen suitable for older eyes like mine. I do like some of the commercial mapping packages. Viewranger has worldwide maps but so far I've only used uk OS maps with it. Norgeskart is very good for Norway.

[SPendrey]

I use an Android tablet in the car - and then separate apps depending on the circumstances. On road I use NavFree (now called NavMii I think?), offroad I use Memory Map and or MMTracker.

You can get tablets in 7" to 10" display size fairly cheaply (especially compared to an iPad mini for example) which reduces the worry of damage, or theft, or overheating in the sunshine all day.

[steve_a]

I always punt OziExplorer, I used it for years in the UK on a Windows CE doofer, it's been moved to Android and works just as good, I reckon Des will have it taking advantage of the new platform fully before long. Cheap too, I think my licence for the PC and Android would be < $100.

You do need the PC version, it easier to prepare you mapping on there and then transfer to the phone. It's also great for looking back at the track data, since it records your trips.

Maps are a custom format, which is a negative, however you can create your own, it's easy. You get an image and then provide GPS reference points on the PC and you are done. I used to have a thing called StitchMaps that would create an Ozi map from Google earth automatically.

If you have maps for your area in Ozi format it's a no brainer for me, I had all of the UK, I have all of Oz now, but never had a reason to check out Canada.

[tacr2man]

The old garmin 7200 and 7500 were good for off road , they will even do a crumb trail to back track on, and record 500 waypoints

[Retroanaconda]

I use a TomTom for on-road navigation, though one rarely needs that in the UK I find. Hasn't been out of its case in a while.

For green laning the Toughbook works well with a GPS mouse type thing, some have on-board receivers as well for a tidier solution. Pretty rugged so should stand up to being inside a Land Rover well enough. Mine runs Memory Map, but as it's just a Windows PC just about any software will work. An iPad is a much more elegant solution, though of course it is less robust and you are a bit more constrained by software. I have Memory Map on mine too but the iOS version is not as feature-rich as the Windows one, managing overlays is more cumbersome for example.

For work I have a Garmin GPSMap 64 which works well. Picks up both GPS and GLONASS and works well under tree canopy which is crucial for me. As alluded to above you can load all sorts of maps onto it, I just have a topographic one on there at the moment but I could put OS maps or aerial photography and such like on if I desired. However I don't use it for traditional navigation at work, it's more for marking out areas and site planning so not having a more detailed map isn't a big deal.

[henk]

One more vote for Oziexplorer. I use it now more than 10 years. It runs now on a Panasonic CF-19 with usb mouse as well as on a asus tablet with android and build-in gps.

There are lots of maps available. If we go to do some offroading in Romania; we run Ozi on 2 pc's at the same time with different maps loaded (1/25.000 and 1/50.000).

[elbekko]

Ozi is nice if you don't need navigation, but just want to see a map and your track. It gets really annoying when you're driving on the edge of the map IMO.

[Jamie_grieve]

I'd suggest simply using a modern smart phone or tablet with a good app such as motionX GPS.

I used to go around all day every day with a Garmin GPS as part of my job and often found myself using a smart phone when I simply wanted to share a track or data with a colleague. I also nearly got into a fight in a bunker in Iraq when a bloke wouldn't accept that I was getting a GPS fix on my phone and his fancy receiver couldn't get a fix. Things have changed a lot in ten years.

These apps use open source maps which don't need an internet connection after you load them, work most countries, are super easy to leave waypoints, tracks, georeference photographs and share.

They can also automatically check in or post your position should you wish others to monitor your progress. They give average speeds, elevation, choice of coordinate systems and map types as default.

The same device can also be used as a sat nav with a different app and anything else you can imagine from parts catalogues to proximity of food or fuel, you can even call people!!

Using a phone or any device whilst driving obviously has it's limits with the law and I'm assuming the co pilot will be using it.

I've yet to be convinced by a modern GPS over a smart phone but I'd also be interested if there's something new and exciting in that department.

[Troll Hunter]

Thanks, guys, for all your responses, but I'm an electronic nerd, and am totally confused.

What I want to achieve is a sat-nav which directs me to city and street addresses, just like my ten year old TomTom does, but to which I can input my own maps, and use off-road. What hardware and software do I need to achieve this functionality?

Mike

[Bowie69]

Android smartphone + memory map (or similar software), job done.

[landroversforever]

iPhone + memory map .

[discomikey]

I have just literally tested out my android tablet and memory map setup last night recycling some lanes with a mate ready for a day later in the month, even with no Co driver and having to look at it yourself (with a dash mount) it is extremely useful and easy to use. Especially helpful on those lanes which go through fields and you can't physically see any tracks, the GPS can be used to drive on track meaning you don't get lost and give up on the lane.

Marks out of 10? A firm 10

[Bowie69]

I say android, as the iOS mapping software is extremely lacking compared to Google Maps.

[SPendrey]

Thanks, guys, for all your responses, but I'm an electronic nerd, and am totally confused.

What I want to achieve is a sat-nav which directs me to city and street addresses, just like my ten year old TomTom does, but to which I can input my own maps, and use off-road. What hardware and software do I need to achieve this functionality?

Mike

An electronic nerd would know exactly what to do. You may be an electronic noob though?

Anyway, as Bowie69 suggests, and I did earlier, you can do exactly what you want with a tablet like a Tesco Hudl-2, and a couple of apps. NavMii and Memory Map in my case.

[discomikey]

I used to (until i got fed up with it and smashed it whilst drunk) have a nokia lumia 620.

The phone itself was rubbish, but the windows based navigation (Here Drive) was second to none! would rate it over any android or apple navigation software, and even over the 2 year old TomTom my parents have.

Its just a shame the phone itself was so buggy and most apps werent available for it being a windows phone.

Edit: Just found it's available as part of the here maps bundle on android at least!

[zim]

On this topic, what is the best app for an iPhone where you can download all the maps to be used offline (UK isn't an issue really, but when you're always abroad mobile internet is sometimes difficult).

G

[GW8IZR]

I like and use Viewranger, try the free reader and the sample map to see if you like it.

[Jamie_grieve]

What I want to achieve is a sat-nav which directs me to city and street addresses, just like my ten year old TomTom does, but to which I can input my own maps, and use off-road. What hardware and software do I need to achieve this functionality?

You're asking for two completely separate functions here. One is a sat nav and the other is a GPS, two completely different things for very different jobs, I think that's why you might be confused.

The hardware is simple, your choice of Android or Apple device.

The software is your choice of any of the big players software, you can put Tom Tom or Garmin in your phone / tablet if you want but there's much better alternatives too.

You'll switch between apps when you want to go from sat nav to GPS.

If you put a post code for example into a GPS it will give you a bearing and a distance to follow whereas a sat nav will give a route.

Edit: I just tried a random look at a town in BC called Inuvik to try it out. It has functionality in 14 different map types at that location.

I'm 6853km's from there at 282º. It took less than a minute to open the app and check.

On this topic, what is the best app for an iPhone where you can download all the maps to be used offline (UK isn't an issue really, but when you're always abroad mobile internet is sometimes difficult).

MotionX GPS by a long shot for me, you download the maps beforehand in your choice of road or terrain or whatever and, as I said earlier, it has massive functionality.

[landroversforever]

I say android, as the iOS mapping software is extremely lacking compared to Google Maps.

As an iPhone/iPad user I whole heartedly agree. First thing I do is junk Apple maps it's about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. First download should always be google maps. It's what I use on the very rare occasion I want a sat nav.

[Jamie_grieve]

I disagree, just because one app is bad you'd junk the more effective GPS platform..?

That it operates with GPS and GLONASS for the last 5 years and all the good apps have grown with that functionality is not to be considered? Can you tell me which android app has worked as long as any of the IOS ones?

I keep a dual sim Samsung on Android as standby. the only app which comes close is Polaris GPS:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.discipleskies.android.polarisnavigation&hl=en

For comparison:

http://gps.motionx.com