Memory Map software

Hi Guys,

This is really a continuation of my search for a new GPS, so have a couple of questions.

First of all, is the programe good and easy to use?

If I buy the 25K of Snowdonia on memory map, can I download a route onto a GPS that's using 50k mapping? 

Just thinking out load really, as I have been asking if I can get away with not having the extra expence of buying 25k maps if 50k will do.

I thought if I can plan a detailed route on 25k on the PC, then I won't need it on the GPS, as it will be guiding me on the correct route anyway.

Does this make sense, or am I missing something?

Thanks,

Steve

Darra, seems you don't have messaging turned on.

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Include a little history in your walks. Pecsaetan - Ancient Derbyshire, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire - http://pecsaetan.weebly.com/

It is now

See my comments on the gps thread. They remain the same but as you're determined...


Any digital mapping package, as well as free net based mapping, eg wheresthepath, will download a "route" into a gps.

Memory map is an old, modular, clanky system saved by the speed of modern computers.

If you wish to purchase digital mapping i would recommend tracklogs as this does not have the cluttered thinking of "route" and " track" in the conventional sense.

Gps units outgrew these terms and practice many years ago and mapping units make them redundant.

I find it easy to use, but I have not tried the competition.

Yes the route will work with any scale map or aerial photo. 

The 50k maps are too big (file size) to work on windows mobile 6.5 and other smart-phones, but u can send a portion of the map from your PC to your device. 

In one respect the 50k maps have an advantage on small screens in that you can see a larger area.  So u can visualise the contours for a larger area, but GPS will never be as good as a map in this regard.  Other than that if u are solely using the GPS to navigate the difference between 50 and 25k is not so important as u not so dependent on using the extra detail to position yourself.

IHO the main thing that's not obvious with GPS software (esp if u don't carry a map & compass as well and/or if u want to keep it on white moving) is to run on a device for which you can get reasonable cheep spare batteries. So get some with a charger and a water-proof bag and you have a great gadget.

some interesting logic being applied.

loading a route into a gps is the same as drawing the route on a map.

a plain vanilla gps will tell you your position from which you can easily ascertain your position on the map.

you are using the map to navigate your line and the gps to tell you your position (if you need it)

if you use a 25k map why on earth would you draw your route on a 50k map and use that to navigate with? or do you do that and then take a gps reading to work out where you are on your 25k map?

if you are using a mapping gps to NAVIGATE you need the right scale of mapping that you would normally use. if you are not using the mapping gps to navigate then you don't need a mapping gps.

darra, from previous threads (and selling your gps!) you don't know how to use a gps (potentially very dangerous) and you can't navigate very well (potentially very dangerous) so i really have no idea what all these questions are leading to.

everyone to their own and someone will look forward to buying this gear of you at a knock down price on a couple of months. we won't look forward to your tales of woe though.

Parky Again wrote (see)

if you use a 25k map why on earth would you draw your route on a 50k map and use that to navigate with? or do you do that and then take a gps reading to work out where you are on your 25k map? 

that's not how routes on memory map work: they are not tied to the scale, but to geographic way-points (coordinates).

 Parky Again wrote (see)

if you are using a mapping gps to NAVIGATE you need the right scale of mapping that you would normally use. if you are not using the mapping gps to navigate then you don't need a mapping gps.

Memory map only show where u r and a track of where you have been, it does not proactively show you where to go like a car GPS.  You get your current position and some contextual information in the form of the small section of a large map around that position.  Which is not enough to see what the horizon should look like.  I feel this is a big difference: The limits of how far in any direction (without scrolling) you can read the contour lines to help you place yourself in your environment is dependent on scale and screen resolution (as the maps are bit-mapped and not vector graphics contour lines disappear when you zoom out).  Therefore in-terms of topographic information you have more with a lower scale, unless you believe you can take a bearing that requires you to scroll the screen.

Parky Again wrote (see)

darra, from previous threads (and selling your gps!) you don't know how to use a gps (potentially very dangerous) and you can't navigate very well (potentially very dangerous) so i really have no idea what all these questions are leading to.

Bit strong, GPS will still give early warning of wandering off the path when its turned on, someone is monitoring it, the rain hasn't killed your device and the battery has not run out (mostly).  And that maybe less error prone for cold wet people that struggle with translating a map reference or coordinate to a spot on the paper map and that is worth something.

I am not putting memory map forward as better or worse than anything else (except obviously on demand mapping that requires a data connection)

Parky, harsh, but possibly a little bit of truth in there too.

I can navigate, all be it basically, but I have no confidence in my skills. I bought the basic GPS as a back up, grid ref if I get lost etc. I have now realised that a mapping GPS will, at a glance, tell me if I'm on the right route, as well as getting me out of the shit if I get lost.

I would have thought all the questions were fairly obvious though. If I'm going to invest the best part of 400 quid on a GPS, I want to make sure I get the right thing, but I don't, if possible, want to fork out an extra £100 plus on 25k mapping to go with it, if the supplied 50k will suite my needs.

Whether I'm an idiot or not, doesn't matter. I feel that having the right GPS will make my days on the hill more enjoyable and safer.

The only way I'm going to have half a chance of getting the right unit is to ask questions, then I get the right one, I learn how to use it, again, by asking questions, and I can just get out and enjoy it!!

I would have though, you being someone with superior intellect, this would have been quite simple to understand

"a mapping GPS will, at a glance, tell me if I'm on the right route, as well as getting me out of the shit if I get lost. " not necessairly. it depends if you know if it's telling the truth. part of learning how to use a gps.

£400 on a gps...50k map...seems like buying a rolls royce and insisting you want to put 2 star in it because it's cheaper.

a 50k map square is only a quarter the area of a 25k map square. each will have different accuracy. find some online mapping and plot a route (not a simple easy one) on 25k mapping and then view that on 50k mapping. would you be able to follow the route on 50k? with impaired visibility? in the dark? know which of the three paths in front of you to take? what side of the boundary (fence/hedge) to go? will you ALWAYS have a line to follow?

you have no experience of using using digital mapping and a gps. there is a "skill" you learn for this which is how, where and why do i add a point and this varies according to what and where you are walking and the device it is to be used on.

if you have to look at or check your paper map (and of course you WILL be taking a paper map as backup) to see where you should go then the 50k on the gps is a failure.

by now i would normally have given up and just let you get on with it, and this is only my opinion of course and naturally is biased, but in view of your inexperience with gps, mapping and navigation confidence making better choices at the outset will improve your confidence and skill which are mutually reinforcing.

plunging straight in with a mapping gps can easily hide the basic skills you need to develop to enjoy your outings.

Darra8, having used both a basic GPS and a mapping GPS, I am 100% of the view that you should get a mapping one, purely for the ease of use.  When I first got one, there were a number of occaisions when I met people in misty/raining conditions who were unsure where they were and were severely pmressed by my ability to show them exactly where there were in an instant on an OS map.

I still think you should have the basics of navigation, though (and I don't mean traditional methods such as step counting etc, although an idea of how quickly you move about in the hills is worthwhile.  To me it beggars belief that one should have to constantly be counting steps to etc to do navigation - I want to spend my time walking looking at the scenery etc.)  The most importnant thing for me is to be able to interpret a map and relate it to your surroundings.  Even though I use a GPS, and a mapping one at that, I always use it in conjunction with a map (usually an A4 section I have printed out, for convenience) so I can see not just where I am but where I am going to be (GPS screens are too small to show much of a map).  My GPS usually stays in my pocket as I have matched the map to my surroundings.  You can practice this easily by guestimating where you are on the map and then comparing it to the GPS location - the more you do the better you will get.

Just remember though, that on a misty, featureless moor, your GPS will become your only source of navigation, so make sure you have a backup (say a cheap non-mapping GPS such as an etrex) and a map & compass.   

Why not get a trial (free) and then, if you like it, a subscription to Grough Route. Unlimited OS mapping and route planning of the whole UK for £2 a month. It is hard to imagine a worse piece of software than memorymap - I used it for many years and was always aggravated by it, and it costs an arm and a leg

Parky Again wrote (see)

"a mapping GPS will, at a glance, tell me if I'm on the right route, as well as getting me out of the shit if I get lost. " not necessairly. it depends if you know if it's telling the truth. part of learning how to use a gps.

£400 on a gps...50k map...seems like buying a rolls royce and insisting you want to put 2 star in it because it's cheaper.

a 50k map square is only a quarter the area of a 25k map square. each will have different accuracy. find some online mapping and plot a route (not a simple easy one) on 25k mapping and then view that on 50k mapping. would you be able to follow the route on 50k? with impaired visibility? in the dark? know which of the three paths in front of you to take? what side of the boundary (fence/hedge) to go? will you ALWAYS have a line to follow?

you have no experience of using using digital mapping and a gps. there is a "skill" you learn for this which is how, where and why do i add a point and this varies according to what and where you are walking and the device it is to be used on.

if you have to look at or check your paper map (and of course you WILL be taking a paper map as backup) to see where you should go then the 50k on the gps is a failure.

by now i would normally have given up and just let you get on with it, and this is only my opinion of course and naturally is biased, but in view of your inexperience with gps, mapping and navigation confidence making better choices at the outset will improve your confidence and skill which are mutually reinforcing.

plunging straight in with a mapping gps can easily hide the basic skills you need to develop to enjoy your outings.

I do get what your saying and appreciate your input. 

I have made my choice of GPS unit now. It will come with full UK 50k, and I will be buying 25k maps for the areas I will need to go with it.

Thanks,

Steve