Do you have an URL for your company yet, Rick? ....patrick ----- Original Message ----- From: "rcblust" To: Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 5:26 AM Subject: [gpsstash] A New Approach to Maps
I am new to geocaching forums, and look forward to exchanging ideas.
For geocaching, I use the same combination of map/compass/GPS techniques I've long used for backpacking and other back-country travel and navigation. (I also train law enforcement, search & rescue, firefighters, and outdoor recreationists generally in land navigation.)
Instead of the standard large-sheet 7½ - minute topographic quadrangles, though, I use MapTech Terrain Navigator to produce what I call "MiniTopos," which are the same quadrangles reduced in size to 8½" x 11" at a military scale of 1-50,000 instead of the standard 1- 24,000. I print these out on either water-resistant paper or water- proof synthetic sheets and grid them for UTM. Thus no romer scale or other device is necessary to plot a GPS coordinate on the map; you can make your plot with your fingertip or even just a glance. Scaled down, the maps are much smaller and easier to deal with then the original, large-sheet topos - though they have identical detail - and they're much more durable in bad weather. An added plus is that the good, sharp lines provided by the UTM grid make for excellent compass triangulation plotting.
In a compass I favor a British Francis Barker prismatic (also called an M73 or M88), Brunton Eclipse 8099, or Brunton/Silva Model 54. All three offer outstanding accuracy and precision not only in plotting map triangulations, but in plotting courses of travel (`lines of march,' as the Brits say), as well. In addition, due to their tritium lamps, the British Prismatics are 100% functional under even the darkest conditions.
A basic or model Magellan or Garmin has always provided anything I need in the way of a GPS.
Far and away, regardless of conditions, I've had the best results in obtaining a bearing to the cache - or whatever the navigational target is - with the GPS, then following that bearing to the `target' with a good compass, with map consultation part of the process from beginning to end.
With a good compass and attention to detail, it's not difficult to get good old-fashioned compass triangulation accuracy in map plotting down to one tenth of one percent of the map scale
I'm starting up a new company called TopoSystems. From our website, we'll be offering MiniTopos, compasses, GPSs, a variety of other equipment related to land navigation, and training.
Good geocaching!
The gpsstash page http://www.geocaching.com The GPS Stash Hunt page. http://www.triax.com/~yngwie/gps.html
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