GPS on board

[S pump]

Rode this past weekend with a veteran group (10) riders and did around 400 miles around Sherbrooke, Thetford Mines and St Georges. Got a chance to try out some new iron, Yammy and Doo and both real nice rides. Also got a chance to try my new Garmin 60. All I can say is when we came back to Sherbrooke in a blinding blizzard that thing had me right on track telling me when turns were coming and where gas was and more info than I thought was possible. I don't think I would ride without one now. It should be a must have for any sledder and they are getting affordable with alot of features. Another cool thing i found is you can upload other peoples tracks and share yours. Riding was spectacular, wrecked one sled and rider, lost a couple guys for a few hours but all in all was a great break in ride. The old trusty Apex is still smooth as silk and a blast to ride. Anyone have any GPS tracks they want to share?

[Legend700]

Rode this past weekend with a veteran group (10) riders and did around 400 miles around Sherbrooke, Thetford Mines and St Georges. Got a chance to try out some new iron, Yammy and Doo and both real nice rides. Also got a chance to try my new Garmin 60. All I can say is when we came back to Sherbrooke in a blinding blizzard that thing had me right on track telling me when turns were coming and where gas was and more info than I thought was possible. I don't think I would ride without one now. It should be a must have for any sledder and they are getting affordable with alot of features. Another cool thing i found is you can upload other peoples tracks and share yours. Riding was spectacular, wrecked one sled and rider, lost a couple guys for a few hours but all in all was a great break in ride. The old trusty Apex is still smooth as silk and a blast to ride. Anyone have any GPS tracks they want to share?

s pump send me an e-mail address and I will send garmin tracks from l'etape to HI on 23/368 and also a big chunk fo the valins area out towards pelchat. Seem to have lost the section between shipshaw and the intersection of 93 outside the ski area.

[S pump]

s pump send me an e-mail address and I will send garmin tracks from l'etape to HI on 23/368 and also a big chunk fo the valins area out towards pelchat. Seem to have lost the section between shipshaw and the intersection of 93 outside the ski area.

Email sent.....I have found a couple great sites for laying your tracks on google eart or sharing your tracks with others. Awesome technology.

http://www.gpsxchange.com/

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map?form=googleearth

http://gpssledmaps.com/maps/

Here are a few to keep you busy...............

[arubenstein]

Email sent.....I have found a couple great sites for laying your tracks on google eart or sharing your tracks with others. Awesome technology.

http://www.gpsxchange.com/

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map?form=googleearth

http://gpssledmaps.com/maps/

Here are a few to keep you busy...............

I use

http://www.canadianmaps.ca/GPS_Garmin_Maps..._for_GARMIN.htm

Is two years old now, but has every trail in the province.

Before this, I had been making my own, but only had about 25%. If anyone needs any tracks, let me know.

[S pump]

I use

http://www.canadianmaps.ca/GPS_Garmin_Maps..._for_GARMIN.htm

Is two years old now, but has every trail in the province.

Before this, I had been making my own, but only had about 25%. If anyone needs any tracks, let me know.

A Rube, what do you have .............I'll take anything for Quebec. I don't have much yet but surely will.

[Legend700]

A Rube, what do you have .............I'll take anything for Quebec. I don't have much yet but surely will.

GTSE 800 has this Quebec trail map for his Lowrance unit. he likes it. I just struggle with paying $130 for it on top of the $100 for Canadian Topo and $100 US topo I already spent or probably would have done it as well.

[S pump]

GTSE 800 has this Quebec trail map for his Lowrance unit. he likes it. I just struggle with paying $130 for it on top of the $100 for Canadian Topo and $100 US topo I already spent or probably would have done it as well.

I'm thinking we could make our own pretty quickly by sharing tracks. Only issue I see is the editing to take out wrong turns and utrns and such but I am stll learning. The Quebec map is pretty good but i'm with you about the cost of all the add-on maps. I think I can get away with tracks on the basemap and just plug in the gas stops and food. Lobby Rob for an exchange forum and we can share some nice stuff. I can't wait to get to a couple places I've ridden by in fear of being lost and go explore. Bobler had the same unit with the Qc Map and I'll bet he's reading the manual feverishly after this past weekend

[Legend700]

I'm thinking we could make our own pretty quickly by sharing tracks. Only issue I see is the editing to take out wrong turns and utrns and such but I am stll learning. The Quebec map is pretty good but i'm with you about the cost of all the add-on maps. I think I can get away with tracks on the basemap and just plug in the gas stops and food. Lobby Rob for an exchange forum and we can share some nice stuff. I can't wait to get to a couple places I've ridden by in fear of being lost and go explore. Bobler had the same unit with the Qc Map and I'll bet he's reading the manual feverishly after this past weekend

I've been trying to figure out how to integrate the waypoints I sent to you with the tracks to make a complete map as we add areas.

I will PM CKF and see if we can get a GPS forum here ot exchange traccks and see if he can set he uploadable file types to include Garmin and Mpsource file extension.

I actually have all of northern NH that someone on HCS compiled from different trips so it can be done.

[BOBLER]

I have the ability to create tracks on my pc for anything in quebec that utilizes primary and secondary but no local trails

[scorpionbowl]

I used to think the same thing with the gps, +$100 for US maps, +$100 for Canadian, why spend $130 more for snowmobile trails. But since my gps was old, I went with gtse800 and got a Lowrance and should hopefully only need the Quebec trails and just the base map. I think the trail maps also have gas/lodging waypoints, i haven't received it yet.

FYI, gps coordinates of all Quebec trails can be downloaded from the FCMQ site. They are in Google Earth format, which can be converted to anything with gpsbabel. Not sure if you can make gps maps or not, you can't with magellan, and its too much data to import as a trail/track.

[S pump]

Yah, I'm on the fence as far as getting the Qc map. Pretty darned handy devices tho.

[Legend700]

I used to think the same thing with the gps, +$100 for US maps, +$100 for Canadian, why spend $130 more for snowmobile trails. But since my gps was old, I went with gtse800 and got a Lowrance and should hopefully only need the Quebec trails and just the base map. I think the trail maps also have gas/lodging waypoints, i haven't received it yet.

FYI, gps coordinates of all Quebec trails can be downloaded from the FCMQ site. They are in Google Earth format, which can be converted to anything with gpsbabel. Not sure if you can make gps maps or not, you can't with magellan, and its too much data to import as a trail/track.

i sent S pump your intersection waypoints yesterday. Looking back on it I probbaly would have bought gps quebec instead of Topo canada. I did like the weather alert on the lowrance.

[scorpionbowl]

i sent S pump your intersection waypoints yesterday. Looking back on it I probbaly would have bought gps quebec instead of Topo canada. I did like the weather alert on the lowrance.

Just found out the Lowrance version of the trails are $130+$25 more, you can't download the file for some reason.

The Lowrance is a bigger unit, but also has a bigger screen. It also came with the cig-adapter, for $240. So far the conversion of tracks/waypoints from Magellan is a piece of cake. It also has an mp3 player for you guys that ride slow enough for the distraction.

I also have several tracks and waypoints to contibute on another forum or to however wants them.

Here's an overlay of my gps track and the FCMQ data in Google Earth for a ride thru Monts Valin. The yellow is my gps, the other colors corresond to those on trail maps. I like this example because in the center of the pic, my yellow gps track seperates from the blue TQ93 trail that is shown on the FCMQ site and any map. However, for the past 4 years, the actual trail has followed my gps track.

[arubenstein]

Hello,

What I did is at:

http://users.nac.net/alex/or-trails.html

Once I found the maps listed above, I stopped the project.

To those who think $100 is too much -- let me get something straight. You've spent $10k on a sled, a gas stop costs $50 each time, you probably have $1000 in riding gear, you tow your trailer with a $40k vehicle, you bought a $200 GPS, and $100 for maps is too much?

I don't know what your time is worth, but mine is worth more than this. Sitting in front of my PC, converting tracks into maps seems crazy to me.

[rfm]

Hello,

What I did is at:

http://users.nac.net/alex/or-trails.html

Once I found the maps listed above, I stopped the project.

To those who think $100 is too much -- let me get something straight. You've spent $10k on a sled, a gas stop costs $50 each time, you probably have $1000 in riding gear, you tow your trailer with a $40k vehicle, you bought a $200 GPS, and $100 for maps is too much?

I don't know what your time is worth, but mine is worth more than this. Sitting in front of my PC, converting tracks into maps seems crazy to me.

Thanks for the list. I just paid $350. for a 60csx and don't know s@%t about it yet, But I know I want to learn it and use it, Ive been lost to much.

Bob

[S pump]

Hello,

What I did is at:

http://users.nac.net/alex/or-trails.html

Once I found the maps listed above, I stopped the project.

To those who think $100 is too much -- let me get something straight. You've spent $10k on a sled, a gas stop costs $50 each time, you probably have $1000 in riding gear, you tow your trailer with a $40k vehicle, you bought a $200 GPS, and $100 for maps is too much?

I don't know what your time is worth, but mine is worth more than this. Sitting in front of my PC, converting tracks into maps seems crazy to me.

A rube.......I'm not following the info you left. Can you elaborate some please. There are some newbies here.......like me.

[arubenstein]

A rube.......I'm not following the info you left. Can you elaborate some please. There are some newbies here.......like me.

Ok, so here is the deal.

First off, this dicussion will be biased with my beliefs and opinions, which is based on over 10 years of hard core GPS usage. So, no flames please, this is just my opinions.

So, let's see. First of all, I believe that the best units for this type of activity is Garmin. Personally, I currently use a 60Cx and a 478C Chartplotter. This was my setup in 2005:

http://www.nac.net/photos/IMG_0034.JPG

Since then, I pretty much only use the 478C (which has replaced my 276).

The reason I use Garmin now is because I've used it for some time -- more than 8 or 10 years. I find it very easy to use, handles the elements fine (my 276 was in -35 in Chibougamou without any issue), and is very programmable. I will elaborate on this.

In 2005 and 2006, I grew very frustrated with the maps from the various clubs - they were inaccurate or hard to come by, and dealing with paper in cold weather sucks. I contacted the FCMQ to see if they would share the mapping data, they replied with a more-or-less "No, sorry, can't do that." So, i immediately began to collect very high resolution tracks, and also had anyone who had tracks send them to me. As you may or may not know, tracks are just that -- recorded data of where you have been. Usinig that data to then navigate again in the future is unrealistic. Most GPS units can only handle a small number of stored tracks, perhaps 20 or 50.

In my day job, I am a programmer. I began investigating as to how I could create my own maps to be used in Garmin MapSource, and it was actually a lot easier than I had thought it would be. I found cGPSMapper (http://cgpsmapper.com/), which allows you to import all sorts of waypoints, tracks, whatever, and create real TDB/IMG's that can be used by MapSource, and then sent to your GPS unit. You can even put in routing information to make the maps routable.

The problem was that to accumulate all of the tracks you would need to map Quebec would be a huge undertaking - there is over 21000 km of trails. I ride a bit -- perhaps 5000 miles a year, but finding every trail? Yeah, right. I still made what I could, and that is the link above (http://users.nac.net/alex/or-trails.html).

Solution: Sometime in 2007, I found the above commercial maps. I figure they made a deal with FCMQ, or perhaps FCMQ became more liberal with the data, i don't know. But, they released this product which had all maps for the entire province for $129. I don't know about you, but there is not enough hours in the day to get everything done in my life, so when weighing the option of $129 for a finished, complete map, vs. the 20 to 40 hours I already spent doing 10%, it was a no brainer. I abandoned the whole idea of making my own maps. Thats where I am today.

That $129 product seems o be pretty accurate -- at least as accurate as the FCMQ. Clearly, it is good enough to get you from here to there. If you are worried about the GPS not matching the trail for 10 miles because of a reroute, perhaps you shouldn't be alone in the woods.

So, what I really am working harder on now, is a very good and complete collection of waypoints. the QVN product has a lot of POIs in it, but lots of things are missing - gas stops, restaurants, etc. So, I have been collecting those sorts of waypoints and plan on getting them organized in the next couple weeks. If I can find all of my GPS files, I probably have about 500.

So, these are my opinions.

[doobraap]

I use

http://www.canadianmaps.ca/GPS_Garmin_Maps..._for_GARMIN.htm

Is two years old now, but has every trail in the province.

Before this, I had been making my own, but only had about 25%. If anyone needs any tracks, let me know.

Anyone know if these maps are the same products??

http://www.canadianmaps.ca/GPS_Garmin_Maps..._for_GARMIN.htm

http://www.trakmaps.com/secure/catalog/pro...products_id=568

Scorpion where did you see the lowrance version??

[S pump]

Ok, so here is the deal.

First off, this dicussion will be biased with my beliefs and opinions, which is based on over 10 years of hard core GPS usage. So, no flames please, this is just my opinions.

So, let's see. First of all, I believe that the best units for this type of activity is Garmin. Personally, I currently use a 60Cx and a 478C Chartplotter. This was my setup in 2005:

http://www.nac.net/photos/IMG_0034.JPG

Since then, I pretty much only use the 478C (which has replaced my 276).

The reason I use Garmin now is because I've used it for some time -- more than 8 or 10 years. I find it very easy to use, handles the elements fine (my 276 was in -35 in Chibougamou without any issue), and is very programmable. I will elaborate on this.

In 2005 and 2006, I grew very frustrated with the maps from the various clubs - they were inaccurate or hard to come by, and dealing with paper in cold weather sucks. I contacted the FCMQ to see if they would share the mapping data, they replied with a more-or-less "No, sorry, can't do that." So, i immediately began to collect very high resolution tracks, and also had anyone who had tracks send them to me. As you may or may not know, tracks are just that -- recorded data of where you have been. Usinig that data to then navigate again in the future is unrealistic. Most GPS units can only handle a small number of stored tracks, perhaps 20 or 50.

In my day job, I am a programmer. I began investigating as to how I could create my own maps to be used in Garmin MapSource, and it was actually a lot easier than I had thought it would be. I found cGPSMapper (http://cgpsmapper.com/), which allows you to import all sorts of waypoints, tracks, whatever, and create real TDB/IMG's that can be used by MapSource, and then sent to your GPS unit. You can even put in routing information to make the maps routable.

The problem was that to accumulate all of the tracks you would need to map Quebec would be a huge undertaking - there is over 21000 km of trails. I ride a bit -- perhaps 5000 miles a year, but finding every trail? Yeah, right. I still made what I could, and that is the link above (http://users.nac.net/alex/or-trails.html).

Solution: Sometime in 2007, I found the above commercial maps. I figure they made a deal with FCMQ, or perhaps FCMQ became more liberal with the data, i don't know. But, they released this product which had all maps for the entire province for $129. I don't know about you, but there is not enough hours in the day to get everything done in my life, so when weighing the option of $129 for a finished, complete map, vs. the 20 to 40 hours I already spent doing 10%, it was a no brainer. I abandoned the whole idea of making my own maps. Thats where I am today.

That $129 product seems o be pretty accurate -- at least as accurate as the FCMQ. Clearly, it is good enough to get you from here to there. If you are worried about the GPS not matching the trail for 10 miles because of a reroute, perhaps you shouldn't be alone in the woods.

So, what I really am working harder on now, is a very good and complete collection of waypoints. the QVN product has a lot of POIs in it, but lots of things are missing - gas stops, restaurants, etc. So, I have been collecting those sorts of waypoints and plan on getting them organized in the next couple weeks. If I can find all of my GPS files, I probably have about 500.

So, these are my opinions.

A rube, thanks for the concise summary. I think you are probably right about the time investment required. Money better spent on maps probably. Maybe a more useful subject would be how to use common features of the units themselves. I find the manual on the 60 csx fairly useless beyond the most very basic tasks. I sat in the lobby of Balmoral in Thetford Mines figuring out how to back track with navigation and I was amazed how well it worked. Maybe you could coach us through some of the most useful features.....................