Jump to content

FootPrints Digital Mapping Software


Recommended Posts

Last fall I ordered the North Fork American River edition of the FootPrints mapping software produced by Miner Diggins at http://www.minerdiggins.com/ I am far from expert with the software, but my stock in trade is research and I immediately saw the value in this series. In theory it is information I could find on my own for "free" but my time is valuable. Any shortcuts I can take when getting the information I need to go prospecting I am more than willing to invest in. I just ordered the Middle Fork American River, Gold Basin, North Bradshaws, East Bradshaws, and Black Canyon editions, all for less than the cost of a Minelab coil.

The most valuable part for me is the current mining claims mapped to more than section level accuracy, which is all you get with other software. Not knocking the other guys - I subscribe to them also. There is a lot of additional value in geologic and historical map overlays. All in all, an excellent product well worth the investment.

Now if Clay and Ruby can just get those other California editions completed and available, the sooner the better, I will add to my collection. Great stuff - I just love maps!

post-1-0-75778800-1414825336_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I agree that the mining claim maps showing the actual boundaries is a great feature. It can save a lot of diesel and time by eliminating trips to the county offices. We need more FootPrints of N. California!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clay, you folks really are doing a great job on these maps and data. I too wish for more northern California footprints. I'm hoping for Siskiyou and Del Norte Counties.

 

Thanks Clay and Ruby,

 

Mike

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a nice greeting!

 

I signed up here on Steve's forum last Friday night and left for the weekend. I hadn't had a break in the last month so the better half and I took some private time this weekend. I thought I was coming home to endless work and find this wonderful surprise.

 

Thanks everybody for the comments. I love it when FootPrints users "get it". I wasn't aware Steve Herschbach was using the software or even knew about it. It's gratifying to know that a prospector of Steve's caliber sees value in what we do with FootPrints.

 

Looking around this thread alone I see some very experienced miners. I'm obviously in quality company here, it's particularly nice to be welcomed by such a great group of people.

 

I honestly don't know why it took me so long to sign up here. I hope I can contribute here, I'm not much of a detectorist but I do have a few other useful skills and a nice #2 shovel. :D

 

We've been preparing claims updates on the 11 available FootPrints. Those will start rolling out this week along with several user requested program upgrades. The BLM has been really dragging their feet the last two years on updating their claims case records but the last few months they have finally started to catch up so these updates might give you a reasonable idea of what's really happening in your FootPrint area.

 

Many more FootPrints are planned. It takes about five months for the two of us working 70 hour weeks to finish a new FootPrint so they are always going to be slow in coming out. Add in the commercial jobs for mining companies that actually pay the bills and about two new FootPrints a year is all we can handle.

 

We hope to start the next FootPrint in January. Which area that will be is up to user input. Right now the Yuba is the most requested with Rye Patch coming in second. That can change before January so don't be afraid to let us know what you want - you just might get it. ;)

 

Thanks again everyone, it feels good to be here.

 

Barry

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The California FootPrints are being done by drainage basin. Pick a river drainage and I'll have a better idea of the area you are interested in deathray. I should have an interactive map with all the existing and proposed FootPrints boundaries up on the website soon.

 

Please realize on a 4.7 Gb DVD we can only fit a little over 200 square miles. Any larger and we get into multiple disks for installing and a much longer production time.

 

To give you an idea of why these FootPrints take so long to make, the total data used to create that 200+ square mile map is more than 1.2 Terabytes. We smash smoosh and trim everywhere we can to get that down to about 12 Gb and then do several steps of compression magic to get it onto a DVD and your computer.

 

Make sure and register your FootPrints Steve. There are updates for the software that are available for free to all FootPrints users but the claims updates only go out to registered users. We've got a nifty update that will "snap" your North Fork and Middle Fork maps together so you can use them as one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Clay,

I was getting ready to order my new editions when I saw you had signed up on the forum so it was all serendipity at work. I am registered - do I need to register each edition? Also, will adjacent Bradshaw editions also "snap" together?

Really great product. The real secret to success is putting yourself in good locations and research tools like FootPrints make that happen. Thanks to you and Ruby for your efforts.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...