Moving Map Program

[vanursepaul]

Jasong

 

i have and BCN and it does work fine for marking POI etc...

 

i thought maybe i was missing something---

 

I have a problem when in the field getting orientated with a 5.5 inch phone screen ...

 

so i am going to go to Mackay School of Mines tomorrow to the map dept downstairs, and make me some good laminated waterproof topos!!!

 

i would like to be able to use a claims map layer on the BCN and use it while moving ,,along with a geology and a wet area overlayer----- i guess i want Footprints on android...lol

[jasong]

You can do it, it's complicated though and I haven't tried for a few years so I'd have to figure it out again. Easiest is to just draw the claims and transfer them as KML into BCN, that's my method at least.

 

I georeferenced a bunch of old mining company survey maps in Google Earth for an area I was prospecting in Arizona, I was able to get them in BCN as custom layers. Now what I do is use Google Earth as my main database and then I just draw or outline whatever I'm interested in for the day or week using the geometry tools and then transfer it to BCN as a KML as a "new track". For no other reason than it's simple and quick and it's all I need right now. Generally they are faint 2-tracks, bulldozer pushes, prospect pits not on topos, quartz reefs/lenses, rapid soil changes (potential faults), etc. Basically a pinpoint, lines, or a rectangular outline of the feature of interest.

 

If you'd like to do custom mapping like that then Norvic's suggestion to check out OzieExplorer is a good one. I've used it a couple times and it definitely had more customizing capability but I didn't go much further with it because I didn't need that much in the field. I can see a day where I would though.

[Gold Hound]

You can do it, it's complicated though and I haven't tried for a few years so I'd have to figure it out again. Easiest is to just draw the claims and transfer them as KML into BCN, that's my method at least.

 

I georeferenced a bunch of old mining company survey maps in Google Earth for an area I was prospecting in Arizona, I was able to get them in BCN as custom layers. Now what I do is use Google Earth as my main database and then I just draw or outline whatever I'm interested in for the day or week using the geometry tools and then transfer it to BCN as a KML as a "new track". For no other reason than it's simple and quick and it's all I need right now. Generally they are faint 2-tracks, bulldozer pushes, prospect pits not on topos, quartz reefs/lenses, rapid soil changes (potential faults), etc. Basically a pinpoint, lines, or a rectangular outline of the feature of interest.

 

If you'd like to do custom mapping like that then Norvic's suggestion to check out OzieExplorer is a good one. I've used it a couple times and it definitely had more customizing capability but I didn't go much further with it because I didn't need that much in the field. I can see a day where I would though.

Ozi explorer is a good simple easy to use program if you are using existing maps or jpegs.

But if you need to make your own from scratch like I often do you really need a good GIS program.

I use oziexplorer in my tablet and have it on my pc as well.

What I do is use ozi in the field and mark any thing of interest.

Because it is easy to use and is good whilst navigating or prospecting.

Then I take all of the info from ozi and transfer it to my gis program and make or modify my maps in that.

I do not use the gis software for navigation or field work as it is prone to drop outs and a pain to use for navigating becuse the images in the gis software are not tiled and are high definition.

After I make a new map or image in the gis software I break it into managagle sized images and then tile them so I do not get program crashes in ozi when working in the field.

[vanursepaul]

That makes sense....

 

Thanks to all for your input----

 

Seems like when i get out of data coverage i lose my maps in BCN --- i must not have them downloaded properly to my phone.... maybe only on my computer at home...

 

I like to know where i am at all times and the tracking program for android is good----i do enjoy the versatility of a full sized map when i am making notes----I can look at the map and then scan the area around me and get a better feel for where i am..... (old school army stuff) actually i learned orienteering in the Boy Scouts--and it helped me later in the Army...

 

Holy samoly...there are a zillion GIS programs,,,, could you narrow it down for me GH?

 

Thx again!

[jasong]

Yeah as long as you have the maps cached for offline use correctly they will show up. Sometimes there is like a 1-2 second delay on my phone before they show up depending how much other stuff I have running.

 

Like GoldHound does, I have a Nexus 7 tablet which I keep in my truck and use to navigate on BCN as I drive, it's synced to my phone so all the same tracks, waypoints, maps, etc are on my tablet as I'm driving around as on my phone.

 

Though I admit I'm a sucker for paper maps still too. They are mostly on my walls though, older the better!  Better than paintings in my opinion.

 

GoldHound, what do you use for GIS? Did you buy ArcGIS? I use QGIS since it's free and it seems fairly decent though it really bogs down my laptop or crashes it sometimes if i load too large of a database or shapefile.

[Gold Hound]

I use esri,s arcgis program but for a casual user the subscription fee would be too expensive.

But I use it regularly and got sick of crashes in the middle of big project's that cause you to loose everything you just did which was hours and hours of work sometimes.

[Norvic]

My use of moving map software for a trip into undetected? country starts with marking a route on PC, using a topo map. I`ll select the route points to allow access as far as possible by 4x4 to area and a central campsite, starting from existing tracks then branching off bush bashing following ridges avoiding creeks and other obstacles. Google Earth is handy initially here also. I then transfer this to my Toshiba R500 notebook equipped with a magnet based USB receiver, this allows me to follow the route by 4X4 on a larger screen 12inch.

Once reached as far as campsite, I use OZI (Oziexplorer app) on android phone and record a track of each days prospecting marking waypoints of finds and points of interest. Each night I transfer this back to R500 which allows me to ensure I get a good coverage of prospecting area selected, and I can study correlation of finds on each day in relation to finds from previous trips close to the area of interest. Have been doing such since the mid 90`s thus have a fair database of waypoints and tracks.

The R500 has recently replaced a old slow 90`s notebook that died, I selected the R500 because it has a transflective (sunlight viewable) LED screen and can run Win7 64bit, plus obtained through ebay for $130.

I rarely carry paper maps, as most I have are old, with newer ones of better scale purchased digitally, plus our mines dept QLd has free downloadable maps that you can tailor with overlays you require on their website and then download already georeferenced. Hint- always check this georeferencing is correct once downloaded and imported into MMS(moving map software)

As Gold Hound states OZI is easy to use and powerful.

My disclaimer, I am not a pro prospector rather a serious longtime one, now retired, I prospect in our cooler months and have no affiliation with OZI other than am a very happy user following the programs developement since its early days.

[vanursepaul]

That's a help to me to see the day by day usage in the field and at home.

All these comments help make mms usage a practical application for me.

I look forward to getting started.!

:-)

Paul

[jimgior]

How exactly do draw the claim boundaries and upload to BCN?

[jasong]

Jim, I draw out the claims of interest in Google Earth using the polygon tool. Save as a KML then import into BCN as a new track and it will display what you drew. I have a PLSS layer in Google Earth that overlays 1/4 1/4 section grids and irregular lots so I use that as a tracing guide when drawing the polygons. Or if I don't need that accuracy I'l just trace 1/4 section chunks.