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GPS for mapping roads on large ranches?

Started by paloduro, March 12, 2012, 07:51:21 AM

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paloduro

I am looking to purchase a GPS for mapping roads on large ranches as I drive them. I also need to mark numerous waypoints.  There are many deep canyons. I have considered a 60CSX but I would appreciate any recommendations. Thanks

Boyd

Just about any current model will work for what you want. All consumer GPS units have accuracy of +/- 5 meters (16 feet). Is there anything else you want to use the unit for? What end result do you want? A paper map? A map to view on your computer? Or a map on the device itself?

The 60csx is an old, discontinued model although still quite popular. However, much of that popularity was based on the SiRFStar III chips it used. Garmin stopped using those chips about 3 years ago, so any new 60csx units that you may find will have the MTK chips instead of SiRF.


Seldom

#2
I agree with Boyd about the hardware, but any tracks you log in deep canyons will be subject to the vagaries of satellite location and multi-path.  This is an example of a 60CSX with a Gilsson antenna attached taken up Angels Landing in Zion National Park.

I'm not sure if the antenna helped or simply magnified the errors, but if you purchase a Garmin the only ones I am aware of that have a connection for an external antenna are 60csx, 76csx, and 62s.  78s may have an antenna connection, but it's not listed on Garmin's shopping site.

Also note that on top of the ridge (at the top of the image) the track log is spot on.  This 60csx is one with the SirfStar III chips.

Also note that if you tracklog errors aren't as bad as this example it's fairly easy to edit them after the fact.

Boyd

The Montana 600 has an external antenna jack in addition to a much larger and higher resolution screen than other Garmin units.

Also, consider whether it would help to have satellite imagery on the screen so you could actually see where you are. If so, the 60csx doesn't support that. But newer Garmin models - such as the Oregon, Montana, Dakota and GPSMap 62 series are compatible with BirdsEye aerial imagery, which costs $30 for unlimited download.

banest

Hey paloduro,

If you are talking about ranches and deep canyons around Palo Duro Canyon, you very definitely do NOT need an external antenna, any relatively recent GPS will do. If you aren't talking about Palo Duro Canyon, never mind.

If you are talking about Palo Duro Canyon, I have hiked very extensively in and around the state park, using both a Garmin 60Csx (with SIRFStar III chip) and a new 62s, with outstanding results. This includes bushwhacking up most of the creek beds, surrounded by terrain several hundred feet above my head, with very good reception, for about 99.8% of the time. And, you won't be driving up/down any of these creek beds, I can assure you.  ;D

Of course, going in a cave tends to block all GPS signals, but you won't be driving in them, either.... ;D

paloduro

The ranches that I am referring to may have as much as 200 miles or more of roads.  I would like to be able to make a map that I can save on the unit. This way I can return day or night and be able to find my way around. I am a complete novice and I appreciate the help.

paloduro

Some of the Ranches are down stream from Palo Duro State Park, and down stream they get deeper and bigger than the Park. Also will be used in west Tx. desert mountains and canyons.

Seldom

#7
banest, how deep and wide is Palo Duro canyon?  Most of the canyons I've had trouble with have had walls at least 1000 feet high.  My 62s added 3 miles of bogus track to the 14 miles of North Kaibab trail connecting North Rim (Grand Canyon) and Phantom Ranch (rest house at the bottom).

paloduro and Boyd, does Birdseye imagery show up in BaseCamp?  If so, paloduro could use it to edit any bogus tracks he gets.  The other (cheaper, but trickier) way would be to edit the tracks in Google Earth and convert them back to GPX with GPSbabel.

Also, paloduro, if you want to combine all of your track logs into a single map, you may want to look at some map making tutorials.  The GPSfiledepot tutorial is really thorough, but the one below provides a broad brush overview.
http://home.roadrunner.com/~creek/garmin.htm

Boyd

Yes, BirdsEye is downloaded with Basecamp and can be displayed there. You can overlay it with vector based maps (like the ones available here, or Garmin's map products) as well as your own data (tracks and waypoints).

The nice thing about BirdsEye is that it's free to download and use on your computer. You only have to pay if you want it on the GPS itself. So if you purchase a compatible device, just connect to your computer and choose the option to download BirdsEye. If you just want to use it to edit tracks on your computer, as you suggest, that wouldn't require a subscription. But you will need a compatible GPS for this to work - it acts sort of like a  BirdsEye "dongle" that will permit you to download.

paloduro


banest

Seldom - Palo Duro Canyon is like 1 mile wide and 750-800 ft deep in the State Park, but keeps broadening out and not as deep as it meanders to the southeast, away from the State Park. The prarie land around it is also losing elevation also as you go southeast, so the canyon is not as deep as it is around the State Park, where the surrounding elevation is around 3500 ft. At least, this is true from what I have seen when looking at a lot of the canyon further southeast from the State Park on topo maps in Basecamp. paloduro the OP may have better knowledge than me of specific areas downstream of the State Park, but I believe what I indicated is generally true from my topo tea leaves reading.

They say Palo Duro is the second biggest canyon in the U.S., but it pales in dimension to the Grand Canyon. Hiking down into the Grand Canyon is on my bucket list.

Speaking of BirdsEye, I find it useful around Palo Duro Canyon, and you can certainly see dirt roads with it. Not as good as Google Earth is in the same area, but not too bad. I have used Google Earth to trace out hiking/horse trails, and you can even see some game trails which are useful when planning bushwhacking hikes. I then transfer via gpsvisualizer to Basecamp to my 62s. Very handy indeed.


Seldom

Quote from: banest on March 12, 2012, 12:44:22 PM
They say Palo Duro is the second biggest canyon in the U.S.,
Read that in the Amarillo Airport, but didn't get to see it (business trip).  Hope you guys are getting some rain.
Quote from: banest on March 12, 2012, 12:44:22 PM
Hiking down into the Grand Canyon is on my bucket list.
From one who's done it twice, going down is harder than going back up, but looking up from the bottom can be pretty demoralizing.

banest


"Read that in the Amarillo Airport, but didn't get to see it (business trip).  Hope you guys are getting some rain."

If you flew in/out of Amarillo from Dallas or Houston, you might have seen Palo Duro if you were on the lucky side of the plane. If you going/coming from the west or northwest, no such luck.

We have had some snow/rain this winter, but mostly wind. Thankful for what we have gotten, need a bunch more. I kinda marvel now when I see pictures of places that are green, after last spring/summer.

Seldom

Quote from: banest on March 12, 2012, 01:18:10 PM
If you flew in/out of Amarillo from Dallas or Houston, you might have seen Palo Duro if you were on the lucky side of the plane. If you going/coming from the west or northwest, no such luck.
'Fraid not, Denver and Vegas.  All my flights start in Vegas.  Last summer the only thing I was seeing from the plane in Texas was wind generators and brown fields. 

The flight from Denver to Vegas, however, flies over the best parts of Utah, including Moab, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Grand Staircase/Escalante.  Over Canyonlands you can see Upheaval Dome, the confluence of the Colorado and the Green, and the Graben.

-Oz-

Quote from: Seldom on March 12, 2012, 12:53:15 PM
Quote from: banest on March 12, 2012, 12:44:22 PM
Hiking down into the Grand Canyon is on my bucket list.
From one who's done it twice, going down is harder than going back up, but looking up from the bottom can be pretty demoralizing.
I definitely agree.  the downward trek is the worst.  The best hike out i've ever had was around 3 am one summer; full moon.  It was amazing!
Dan Blomberg
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