The nice thing about all the mapping programs is you DON'T need internet access, just the program on your computer and a connected GPS device.
Laptop/notebook GPS software
- Thread starter Chessie Hokie
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jis
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Yes, I have used a GPS receiver attached to a laptop sitting in a first class seat with a deadheading pilot sitting next to me and both of us enjoying the various different views that were possible using the program on the laptop. This was on a trans-pacific flight across the Kamchatka Peninsula. Incidentally the airline I was flying is on the list pointed to by the URL posted in an earlier message.
PetalumaLoco
Conductor
And when you do get an internet hookup, you can open a Google Maps link and get a satellite pic of where you are, on my MS Streets and Trips.
PetalumaLoco
Conductor
I've been doing some googling and ended up at Laptop GPS World and found a thread about using MS Street & Trips GPS version with Google Earth+. Turns out you can toggle from S&T over to GE+ offline and see a trace, or at least an indicator, on the satellite photo of where you are. I checked Google Earth std by slowing dragging the window from Oakland east at about 10k ft altitude to the east edge of Nevada, following the CZ route as best I could, then switched off the wireless internet and zoomed out, then back in to Oakland, then out and back in to Nevada. I couldn't zoom down quite all the way east that I had been while online, but I did get more than half way thru Nevada before the resolution went all to heck. Apparently the cache is only so big. Seems to hold at about 409mb on my laptop. The good news is that GE+ makes a bigger cache and should retain more fine picture detail of a longer trip. One of the Laptop GPS World members had downloaded GE+ and was going to play with it to see how far he could trace while offline. GE+ is a $20/yr subscription. If they have luck with it I may try it out too.
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Chessie Hokie
Train Attendant
I'm back from my trip. I was very pleased with Topo USA 7.0. I started out using the 3D feature on the left side of the screen, but found the 3D to be less than useful much of the time...ended up using 2D in both panes, but at different scales. I also ran Street Atlas USA for a broader scale, and would simply click between the two programs without having to change the scales. I found the topographic information very useful while rolling through the Appalachians, Rockies, Sierra Nevada and Cascades...no great advantage on flat land, though!
I was less than happy with the performance of the Earthmate LT-20 GPS receiver (USB connection). It took a very long time to obtain initial position fixes...regularly as much as 30-45 minutes. I did everything possible to optimize the receiver position on the window, using various supports, tape, aspects and locations on 5 different trains. I don't recall having such long waits when using on my old (now dead) XP machine...could Vista be the culprit? Once locked in it would usually track well, though terrain and vegetation would often cause a position loss. Tunnel problems were, of course, expected.
I see that Delorme now offers an LT-40...I wonder if it has better sensitivity that the LT-20. I have also been spoiled with my Garmin nuvi 670 for use in the car...very senitive, rapid reception and position fixing...even indoors! I'll have to try that on a train (if I can get it away from my wife!). Of course it lacks topo data.
I was less than happy with the performance of the Earthmate LT-20 GPS receiver (USB connection). It took a very long time to obtain initial position fixes...regularly as much as 30-45 minutes. I did everything possible to optimize the receiver position on the window, using various supports, tape, aspects and locations on 5 different trains. I don't recall having such long waits when using on my old (now dead) XP machine...could Vista be the culprit? Once locked in it would usually track well, though terrain and vegetation would often cause a position loss. Tunnel problems were, of course, expected.
I see that Delorme now offers an LT-40...I wonder if it has better sensitivity that the LT-20. I have also been spoiled with my Garmin nuvi 670 for use in the car...very senitive, rapid reception and position fixing...even indoors! I'll have to try that on a train (if I can get it away from my wife!). Of course it lacks topo data.
I've used a Mio on trains and a Garmin in my car (but it doesn't have a battery). The Garmin is superior but the Mio costs a lot less. On this last trip, I traveled light, using a new cell phone with Verizon GPS software. It is totally inadequate on several counts.
There is a zoom feature, but no scale. What good is a map without a scale?
RR tracks do not display.
It didn't work across long stretches of desert on the CZ and SWC. Don't know whether this was lack of cell signal, lack of satellite signal, or lack of map.
Its small database doesn't have many Amtrak stations or small cities.
On the plus side:
It worked as well downstairs in the H sleeper as upstairs without having to face a south window.
I was glad I took traditional print maps.
For the first time, I took a scanner. If I had a choice between a scanner and a GPS, I'd take the scanner, but both is better.
There is a zoom feature, but no scale. What good is a map without a scale?
RR tracks do not display.
It didn't work across long stretches of desert on the CZ and SWC. Don't know whether this was lack of cell signal, lack of satellite signal, or lack of map.
Its small database doesn't have many Amtrak stations or small cities.
On the plus side:
It worked as well downstairs in the H sleeper as upstairs without having to face a south window.
I was glad I took traditional print maps.
For the first time, I took a scanner. If I had a choice between a scanner and a GPS, I'd take the scanner, but both is better.
PetalumaLoco
Conductor
Alice
Thanks for the info. I plan on taking my scanner, and GPS.
Thanks for the info. I plan on taking my scanner, and GPS.
For our upcoming trip to Australia, my grandfather just purchased a Garmin Nüvi 770.
My only experience with the Nüvi series is what I got with a car rental in Charlotte. Decent unit, but the one I had didn't output data via the USB cable to Google Earth (after research online, I discovered it did not export tracking data live in the formats Google Earth expects--either the native GARMIN format or NMEA format, if I recall correctly).
The 770 appears to be a higher-end unit, so maybe it will work with Google Earth.
Anyone know much about this or similar high[er]-end Garmin units? Anything I should be aware of?
I may end up inheriting it after the trip, so I'd love to use it with Google Earth on Amtrak on my next trip!
My only experience with the Nüvi series is what I got with a car rental in Charlotte. Decent unit, but the one I had didn't output data via the USB cable to Google Earth (after research online, I discovered it did not export tracking data live in the formats Google Earth expects--either the native GARMIN format or NMEA format, if I recall correctly).
The 770 appears to be a higher-end unit, so maybe it will work with Google Earth.
Anyone know much about this or similar high[er]-end Garmin units? Anything I should be aware of?
I may end up inheriting it after the trip, so I'd love to use it with Google Earth on Amtrak on my next trip!
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