joesport5 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Is there any place to order maps like the military use, the 1:50,000 with grid lines? Are the maps you can download at (USGS) good enough for use for an orienteering course? I would think the detail and size would be a factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Is there any place to order maps like the military use, the 1:50,000 with grid lines? Are the maps you can download at (USGS) good enough for use for an orienteering course? I would think the detail and size would be a factor. You can order the maps from USGS online. Their 1:24k maps are the best. We frequently download them there and then go get the copied. If our trek takes us across more than one quadrant (and it usually does) we get all the maps and piece them together, then copy on to one large map. You can even have hem copied on to special paper and laminate them so they fold easily. It ends up being a bit more money than getting the printed versions, but since you are making a custom map it works just fine. You can also download the USGS 1:24 topos to GPS units as a back up. That will allow you to drop waypoints and track your trek for posting as a KML file later so the scout can use Google Earth to see where they've been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwazse Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 http://caltopo.comis the best tool I've found for out-of-the-box (er.. printer) customization. BTW, the cost in ink is pretty steep, so make sure you fairly compesate for in-house production. If you want to learn how to do produce a map in large quantity to a high degree of accuracy, join your local orienteering club and ask them to show you the ropes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 http://caltopo.comis the best tool I've found for out-of-the-box (er.. printer) customization. These are the USGS topos. It is funny how many of these sites all come from the same source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walk in the woods Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Pay attention to the caltopo maps. I used them for my recent trip to the Porkies. One of the maps had contour lines in meters while the other had them in feet. It was my first time using the site so I'm willing to stipulate to operator error but I couldn't find a way to switch back and forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walk in the woods Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Is there any place to order maps like the military use, the 1:50,000 with grid lines? Are the maps you can download at (USGS) good enough for use for an orienteering course? I would think the detail and size would be a factor. I haven't used it in a while but at one point I also used http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/. They used to have a way to upload GPX files which then showed up on the maps. So if you plot your orienteering course with a GPSr, it can show the points for you automatically. YMMV as it has been several years since I did this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Pay attention to the caltopo maps. I used them for my recent trip to the Porkies. One of the maps had contour lines in meters while the other had them in feet. It was my first time using the site so I'm willing to stipulate to operator error but I couldn't find a way to switch back and forth. Same issue with some of the USGS maps though not feet/meters but rather 40'/50' contours. Did not make much of a difference on slow rises, but it was amazing how much difference 10' made over a steep incline at 9,000 feet. A 400' climb became a 500' climb over a 1/8 mile with a 60 lbs pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-in-KC Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) There are Military Grid Reference System tickmarks on 1:24K maps to set up grids. MGRS is a simplification of UTM. The 52S is the gridzone, LB is the 100 kilometer grid square. Edited July 31, 2015 by John-in-KC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle94-A1 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I've used the USGS ones fro work and for scouts. No problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashmaster Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I've used the USGS ones fro work and for scouts. No problems. We use USGS maps and UTM coordinates :-) Luckily, I have a parent that works for USGS and can plot them at scale for us. The app Handy GPS is a great app to use. Useful websites/tools/apps: GMap4 : a site that uses google maps in a browser to see maps in a browser and retrieve UTM coordinates. www.MappingSupport.com USGS: US Geological Survey, download accurate topological maps in 1:24,000 scale. Maps can be printed across several pages and pieced together or large color maps can be ordered for a small fee. Grid locator template: A template that can be printed on overhead transparency material to help locate the location on the map. https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/maps/gps/GPS_Locater.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashmaster Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) I've used the USGS ones fro work and for scouts. No problems. Deleted double post Edited July 31, 2015 by mashmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA Scoutmaster Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Do you have an Orienteering association in your area? We have a very active one that is always putting on events and is willing to work with Scout troops and provide maps and courses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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