Anything about Anza Borrego that does not fit into one of the other forums.
GPS map of the Anza-Borrego Desert
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93ToyTruck Posts: 5
11/5/2012
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I created a GPS map of the Anza-Borrego desert and the nearby BLM land. It includes Ocotillo Wells, Superstition, Plaster City and Yuha Basin down to the Mexican border. Currently it only works with Garmin but I will be converting it to Lowrance in the future. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Lee
AnzaBorregoExplorer.com
<em>edited by 93ToyTruck on 11/5/2012</em>
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
11/5/2012
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Not sure I get what you are selling....most of those roads (on the ABDSP maps) already exist on freely available topo maps that can be installed on all kinds of gps devices including phones and iPads.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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93ToyTruck Posts: 5
11/5/2012
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Accurate road data. The freely available topo maps are based on publicly available government data that was collected for the purposes of a topography map. It is aged and typically inaccurate for the purposes of a GPS. If you're only concerned with roads than the detail of a topo map becomes a distraction and make the map difficult to use. The screenshots on the website are from a distance. The detail increases as you zoom in. I've tried all the free maps and purchased a few. They're all USGS data.
Lee
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mrkmc Posts: 87
11/5/2012
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I agree with Darren. Why use that map when you use something like back country navigator. Even without a gps, the Tom Harrison map of the San Diego back country has more detail and info.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
11/5/2012
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Oh..OK, I think I get what you are trying to accomplish with this application, probably is not something for me though. It might be useful to someone who does more off road driving but for me topos work fine since a lot of my back country exploring is on foot.
Thanks for letting us know about it.
Daren
93ToyTruck wrote:
Accurate road data. The freely available topo maps are based on publicly available government data that was collected for the purposes of a topography map. It is aged and typically inaccurate for the purposes of a GPS. If you're only concerned with roads than the detail of a topo map becomes a distraction and make the map difficult to use. The screenshots on the website are from a distance. The detail increases as you zoom in. I've tried all the free maps and purchased a few. They're all USGS data.
Lee
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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93ToyTruck Posts: 5
11/22/2012
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I took screenshots of Butte's Pass using different topo maps and my map. This is a popular and easily accessible area that I would expect to be accurately mapped. The same roads are missing from every topo map. These aren't new roads. I'm certain that they've been there and open for at least the 20 years that I've been in the area. The last screenshot is a rough mark up to highlight the missing information. The maps of the entire area like this. It's bad data that keeps being carried forward. They're all permutations of free government data that is dated. Nobody is collecting, creating or validating new data. The roads and trails they do have marked are inaccurate.
A few other examples I see in all of the maps;
The Wilson Trial is marked as a jeep trail that you drive on when you can't. Hiking only.
The location of the road to Harper Canyon is wrong. All of the maps are about 1/4 mile off.
None of the other roads to the valleys off Kane Spring Rd are on any map. There are almost 10 miles of roads missing from that small area.
My map also has most of the popular hiking trails mapped out. I thought these were on the topo maps but I don't even see the Pacific Crest Trail. My challenge is that on Garmin receivers the trails look bigger than dirt roads which I find confusing because it makes it look like you can drive on them. The map has 5 levels of detail for zooming in or out. I put the trails only on the bottom level so you have to be zoomed in to see them. This avoids confusion when driving but doesn't help with being able to browse the map for trails because you must be zoomed in to see them. A possible work around is a setting on the receiver to show more detail. I'm going to look into using imagery for some elements instead of only Garmin objects. I'm also going to look into getting the data into an iPhone or Android app.
For the screenshots I used Caltopo.com which is one of the topo maps used in BackCountry Navigator. The other screenshots are from Garmin maps including Topo 2011 which is the most recent. Please let me know if there are more accurate maps out there. Everything I'm finding is stale government data.
My map
California Topo (Garmin)
California Topo 2011 (Garmin)
CalTopo.com (used in BackCountry Navigator)
Roads missing from all of the maps
edited by 93ToyTruck on 11/29/2012
edited by 93ToyTruck on 11/29/2012
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kylekai Posts: 82
11/25/2012
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If this was an iPhone app I'd more than likely buy it. I have the San Diego Backcountry app that uses the Tom Harrison maps, and while the map is excellent, the app is not. Let me know when it's on the iPhone / iPad.
And I don't mean to necessarily advertise my services, but if you need an iPhone developer, let me know. I may have time to developer such an app if you're interested. See http://itunes.com/apps/modesittsoftware for my apps, many of which are map based.
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