GPS for Dummies.pdf - Engineering Surveyor

Chapter 13: On the Ground with Maptech Terrain Navigator221Vertical profiles may have a lot of vertical exaggeration to show relativesteepness. This can make terrain appear steeper than it actually is.Reviewing Other TopographicMap SoftwareIn addition to Maptech and its topographic mapping programs, DeLorme andNational Geographic also offer software that’s suited for off-road use. As previouslymentioned, most topographic map programs have the same basicfeatures; the biggest difference is their user interface. Because I don’t havethe time to cover the other mapping programs in detail, this section providesa brief description of a few popular programs, shows some screenshots togive you an idea of what the user interface is like, and provides manufacturerWeb sites to get more product information. When it comes to choosing a topographicmap program, you really can’t go wrong with any of the programsmentioned in this chapter.You can’t upload detailed maps to your GPS receiver from any of the programsdiscussed in this chapter. GPS receivers that display maps can use only proprietarymaps (sold by the GPS manufacturer), and these tend to show considerablyless detail than maps you can display on your PC. Several topographicmap software companies do offer products that you can use with a PocketPC/Palm PDA and GPS receivers that can display detailed topographic mapsjust as they appear on a PC screen.DeLorme mapping productsDeLorme, well known for its Street Atlas USA road navigation software, alsomakes two topographic mapping programs: Topo USA and 3-D TopoQuads.DeLorme uses the same user interface for its entire line of consumer mappingproducts, so if you’re a happy user of Street Atlas USA and are looking for a mapprogram for off-road use, it makes sense to keep things in the DeLorme family.DeLorme was one of the first vendors to offer customers a choice of map dataon CDs or DVDs. If you have a DVD player on your PC, DVDs are far more convenientbecause you don’t have as many discs to keep track of, and you don’thave to swap discs as often to view maps of different areas.