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Gaia GPS For Beginners


Frederic

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Just now, Wrangeld said:

Hi @Frederic this is as ever a useful addition to the available info for drivers. Yes, I have a premuim edition of Gaia and 'invested' in this because there is a small element of added functionality - there's the ability to edit routes, overlay routes and if you're in North America it looks like it wil actually do the walking for you on the hikes. 

So the Super premium version maybe will ride the dunes for us ? 😅

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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I am using my trails since few weeks, but still need more time to get hold of it . Wanted to know how it fares with Gia in terms of functionality,  ease of use and editing?.

TIA

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46 minutes ago, Frederic said:

Topo maps needs some practice to read, and i have been fooled a few times by them (Won't get foooooled again !!).

Great - I learned my map navigation in the army, about a 1000 years before GPS was invented (I think the first compass just came out!).  So love topo maps. With my premium account I try to overlay Topo on top of Sat, but visibility is crap. Maybe I will glue a 52” screen to my Xterra dashboard and pair it with my phone?

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2 minutes ago, Kalahari said:

Great - I learned my map navigation in the army, about a 1000 years before GPS was invented (I think the first compass just came out!).  So love topo maps. With my premium account I try to overlay Topo on top of Sat, but visibility is crap. Maybe I will glue a 52” screen to my Xterra dashboard and pair it with my phone?

Go for 60inch. You know what they say.... go big or go home :)  

For preparing your tracks/routes which you can do from the comfort of your couch or office, layering the topo and satellite is a really good idea. I normally create a "test" route just from looking at the terrain and the total distance i'd like to cover. For Absolute Newbies and Newbies we generally cover around 20-25 kms. Fewbie level and up this easily goes to 40 up to 70 and more, depending on the number of sabkhas where you can drive in 5th gear. @Ale Vallecchi is probably record holder in this.

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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23 minutes ago, Chaitanya D said:

I am using my trails since few weeks, but still need more time to get hold of it . Wanted to know how it fares with Gia in terms of functionality,  ease of use and editing?.

TIA

@Ale Vallecchi and @Srikumar are using Mytrails. I think it's a very good alternative if you are on Android platform. I think it has no IOS app.

Have not used it before, but as with most things every program will come with its own strengths and flaws. 

I chose for GaiaGPS because of the massive userbase for hiking and overlanding in US, which makes the software coming with regular updates and improvements and hope it will stay around long enough. Also the website functionality where i can sit at home and use the website to manage and create routes. Much easier than fiddling on a tiny mobile screen.

MotionX is also really good for IOS, but is now fading our their functionalities and looks a bit dated. 

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5 minutes ago, Frederic said:

@Ale Vallecchi and @Srikumar are using Mytrails. I think it's a very good alternative if you are on Android platform. I think it has no IOS app.

Have not used it before, but as with most things every program will come with its own strengths and flaws. 

I chose for GaiaGPS because of the massive userbase for hiking and overlanding in US, which makes the software coming with regular updates and improvements and hope it will stay around long enough. Also the website functionality where i can sit at home and use the website to manage and create routes. Much easier than fiddling on a tiny mobile screen.

MotionX is also really good for IOS, but is now fading our their functionalities and looks a bit dated. 

@Frederic I totally agree with you. Was wondering if we can have a training /demo on how to use the Gaia maps . I am sorry if my request is very naive but it would be great to learn from someone who has already mastered it.

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2 minutes ago, Chaitanya D said:

@Frederic I totally agree with you. Was wondering if we can have a training /demo on how to use the Gaia maps . I am sorry if my request is very naive but it would be great to learn from someone who has already mastered it.

@Chaitanya D your request is not naive at all, and we have been thinking about setting up a kind of workshop to do this. Ideally there are two parts to cover:

- Using the GaiaGPS website (can be maybe done over ZOOM/Skype).

- Using the GaiaGPS Mobile App (should be done on the terrain).

To start off, i would recommend that you register and try the free Gaia app for a while to see if the functionality and buttons are intuitive as per your liking. You can already record your coming weekend's drive and experiment a bit. Once you become comfortable you can go for the paid membership account which will open a lot more doors (and maps).

We can keep using this thread to discuss.

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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@Frederic, @Chaitanya D - I have started using MyTrails following Sri's advice. I find it useful for my planning as you can choose from a huge variety of satellite maps. Some are much more accurate than Google Maps, even though the one I have chosen (an earlier version of Microsoft Maps) is a little old, and doesn't show the latest buildings or fences that have been put up recently (Ex. Solar Park is a fraction of it's current dimension). Nonetheless, it allows me to zoom in with great detail, and plan multiple exit points, fun areas, as well as places to avoid (if possible). Having said this, and having seen Fred's post, I will certainly look into Gaia as well 😁!!

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  • 1 month later...

How to download "Offline Maps" in Gaia.

When you are travelling in areas where there is a lack of mobile data (3G/4G), your gps device (smartphone) will not be able to show you the sattelite maps of your area.

Hence, you will need to use the offline-map functionality which allows you to download a selected area and save it on your phone.

If you are using a gps device (smartphone) without a data SIM, you can use this same option.

Below video shows you how to download offline maps in gaia:

1) Select your base map first
2) Click on the + symbol and select "download maps"
3) with the blue dots, create your square area and make sure not to exceed 10,000 tiles.
4) Click on save.

The download might take a while, depending on the size of the area. It is recommended to put the zoom level on 15, this gives a good detailed overview without taking up too much space.

 

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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