Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Cartography, maps, navigation, GPS and more.
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Koda
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by Koda » January 9th, 2012, 5:46 pm

Koda wrote:
*edit to add the following list of electronic mapping applications...
Software:
  • Viking, Viking is a free/open source program to manage GPS data.
  • Prune, GpsPrune is a free/open source application for viewing, editing and converting coordinate data from GPS systems
  • http://www.topofusion.com/, proprietary software with GPX output. Windows OS only :(
  • http://www.easygps.com/, EasyGPS is the fast and easy way to upload and download waypoints, routes, and tracks between your Windows computer and your Garmin, Magellan, or Lowrance GPS. Free :) Windows only :(
  • http://www.gpsbabel.org/, the ULTIMATE GPS file translator filetype converter utility. Up/Download to any GPS device.
  • Google Earth, what? your not using this already..?
Web Browser Utilites: Complete Maps and Misc: I'm certain there are more feel free to add your favorite. Some of these I have used or tried, the majority I have not... Will update the list as I find more.
enjoy
*edit to add link to SW trails maps
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Guy
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by Guy » January 9th, 2012, 6:04 pm

I'm confused as to why they would have different information and which one I should use.
Ah yes the Holly Grail a web site / software that can accurately calculate Elevation gained & lost. On the face of it you would think this would be a simple mathematical problem but it isn't!! It's not just these two sites they all vary & I have found that one site will do a good job on one track then completely blow another! I have found GPSFly to be pretty good I also use GPS Visualizer though this takes a bit longer to set up & there are more options to tick!

This year I'm going to keep track of what my Garmin says at the end of each hike & go with that. Generally this is slightly lower than what any of the web sites calculate from the gpx file.

Good Luck & when you find the perfect program please let us know ;) ..
hiking log & photos.
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Eric Peterson
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by Eric Peterson » January 9th, 2012, 6:36 pm

Guy wrote:
This year I'm going to keep track of what my Garmin says at the end of each hike & go with that. Generally this is slightly lower than what any of the web sites calculate from the gpx file.
Aye, that's what I do as well since NG Topo is always way more than my Garmin, and
GPS Fly is also more but not by much. Weird thing is, my GPS started me off on Saturday
at -283', I don't think I let it 'warm' up long enough so the whole day our EG was way off
but the track was fine once I stuck it into Garmin's Basecamp...

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Guy
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by Guy » January 9th, 2012, 7:07 pm

Weird thing is, my GPS started me off on Saturday
at -283', I don't think I let it 'warm' up long enough so the whole day our EG was way off
but the track was fine once I stuck it into Garmin's Basecamp...
Yeah my Garmin does this sometimes too especially in the Gorge & if I set off too quickly after turning it on & not letting it do it's warm up thing! I've started off several Gorge Hikes at below sea level :) ..
hiking log & photos.
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Koda
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by Koda » January 9th, 2012, 7:19 pm

not looking for the holy grail. just sharing what I found to work with that's free. Since NG TOPO did not work for me exporting tracks I needed something else. Years ago, NG TOPO was ~$100/state (its cheaper now) and Garmins is $125 so I cringed at the thought of investing into another software to get one small feature benefit (by comparison to NG TOPO). Plus I never liked the map-set Garmin uses. I set out to find free or open source equivalents and just sharing what I found with others. What I found is you really don't need to buy anything... GPSPrune (and Viking) work as well as NG and Garmin.

I haven't tried everything I listed. I just hope someone finds something useful from the list, then I can pat myself on the back :geek:
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

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Koda
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by Koda » January 9th, 2012, 7:20 pm

Guy wrote:
Weird thing is, my GPS started me off on Saturday
at -283', I don't think I let it 'warm' up long enough so the whole day our EG was way off
but the track was fine once I stuck it into Garmin's Basecamp...
Yeah my Garmin does this sometimes too especially in the Gorge & if I set off too quickly after turning it on & not letting it do it's warm up thing! I've started off several Gorge Hikes at below sea level :) ..
my Garmin too, isn't this because it uses barometric pressure to calculate elevation?
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stan72
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by stan72 » January 11th, 2012, 5:42 am

Ah yes the Holly Grail a web site / software that can accurately calculate Elevation gained & lost.
It's difficult to calculate elevation gain and loss precisely, because data from GPS almost always contains some errors or noise. So, for gpsfly.org, we slightly smooth the data, we don't take the raw value but do an average on about 5 neighbor values. It's kinda works :)) If you know better way to filter the noise let me know.

Actually it would be interesting to look at the track from HeadIdiot

Stan
gpsfly.org
Last edited by stan72 on January 11th, 2012, 8:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Eric Peterson
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by Eric Peterson » January 11th, 2012, 7:07 am

Hi Stan, I love GPS Fly!

Did you find PH from a Google search when checking on back links to your GPS Fly site?

:)

stan72
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by stan72 » January 11th, 2012, 8:43 am

Eric Peterson wrote:Hi Stan, I love GPS Fly!

Did you find PH from a Google search when checking on back links to your GPS Fly site?

:)
Hi Eric, thank you! Yes, exactly, I found PH like this.

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Koda
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Re: Open Source TOPO map/GPS software...

Post by Koda » January 11th, 2012, 9:38 am

stan72 wrote: It's difficult to calculate elevation gain and loss precisely, because data from GPS almost always contains some errors or noise. So, for gpsfly.org, we slightly smooth the data, we don't take the raw value but do an average on about 5 neighbor values. It's kinda works :)) If you know better way to filter the noise let me know.
I actually like the smoothing effect. Comparing EG graphs to other applications the smooth line is more representative when you consider all the errors and noise. It seems to me that any application can calculate accurately but its the device and/or user error that creates inaccuracies?

Stan, is there a way your program can eliminate any large error spikes (like brief loss of satellite reception or other)?
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