Popular Post Frederic Posted September 10, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 For many offroaders, navigation looks like a scary thing, and finding your way in the desert used to be a daunting task with old obsolete maps, navigation with sun or stars, and many other old tricks of crossing the deserts. Until 5-6 years ago, companies like TomTom and Garmin were ruling the navigation software and hardware, until our phones became smarter and smarter, and nowadays there are tons of free or paid navigation software programs available which are tailored for hiking, offroading, cycling, or other outdoor activities where you would like to record your tracks. In this post i will give some basic essential advice on how to get started with navigating by using GaiaGPS, which is an amazing app that allows you to: 1) Create routes at home via your desktop/tablet through the GaiaGPS website. 2) Use different types of maps like topographic maps, sattelite maps, to find your perfect route you'd like to explore. 3) Save and manage all your tracks, waypoints, areas. 4) Automatically sync all this data with the GaiaGPS Mobile App that is being used to record your track or follow the route you have created beforehand. 1) Registering for GaiaGPS account https://www.gaiagps.com/membership/ You can choose for a FREE account, which works fine for basic topographic and sattelite maps, but will not allow to use them offline. The PREMIUM membership is recommended for around 3.3 USD per month. Once you have become a member, you can head over to Gaiagps.com, login with your account name, and have a look at the basic functionalities. I've posted a short video below that gives a small demo on how to use the GaiaGPS website functionalities. As you can see in the screen, there are many tracks i've recorded with my phone that remain saved in the website. You can remove these, or hide them. The red zones i have marked are called "areas" where you can identify tricky areas that you would like to avoid. They will appear on your phone app as well so you can easily avoid them. Waypoints Waypoint, or pins, could be points of interest, landmarks, entry and exit points, or any place where you want to mark the location and save for later reference. They will appear as a "pin" on your map. You can assign a color to them as you like. This might be useful as you can categorize them. Next to the classic PIN icon, you can choose different other ones, like fences, skulls, forest, or anything that will help you in identifying the waypoint. Sattelite Images Having crisp detail in the sattelite images you are looking, is essential so you can create a route which focuses on the nice bigger dunes instead of the small technical or bushy areas. Gaia comes standard with the Mapbox "Sattelite with Labels" Imagery which is not bad, but the best one i have found so far is the ESRI Sattelite Imagery Map. Below you will find some information on how to add custom maps. The map called "WORLD IMAGERY" in the Premium version is the same as the ESRI Sattelite Imagery Map. Which phone ? Gaia GPS will work on any smartphone that has a decent GPS antenna built-in. In my case i purchased a separate dedicated Android phone which is mounted in my car that i solely use for navigation. This allows me to keep using my own phone as backup device. That dedicated phone has the offline maps downloaded on it, so i do not need cellphone coverage (no sim card). App functionality On an Iphone, this is how the app looks like. The buttons like "RECORD" and "PICTURE" are customizable, and by keeping your finger on it you can select something else you would like to see on the home page. The Magnifying Glass allows you to enter coordinates. You can copy them from within Google Maps. this button toggles between full screen or normal screen. The crosshair button is very important. Click on it once and it will appear green and bring you to your live location and follow you while keeping NORTH up. Click on it again and another logo appears, looking like two reversed triangles. This is the mode that keeps your live location but constantly rotates the map based on your direction. You can experiment with both modes to see what suits you best. I like to stick to the first mode because it allows me to see in which compass direction i am heading. The + Button contains all your other useful functionalities, like adding a waypoint, creating a route, download an offline map, or create an area. Once you hit the record button, the app will start recording your track. Once you finish, click again on it and select "Finish Track" It will then be saved. (and also appear on your GaiaGPS website once you have synced). On the bottom, you can see your trip details, open the list of saved tracks, or go to your settings. Note: In the settings you can put your units/distances in miles or kilometers (whatever you prefer). You can also enable or disable the autosync function, but better to keep it on. So as soon as you have Wifi/Internet on your phone it will automatically sync your tracks between the app and your GaiaGPS account (website). These things will take a bit of practice, and i can recommend you to use your Gaia mobile app for a while on your daily commute, and experiment a bit with the settings until you have tailored it to your own needs. Exporting Maps Most navigation software use .gpx or .kml files which you can import in Google Earth / Maps or any other navigation program. On the GaiaGPS website, and also on the app you can choose to "export" your track. It will create a .GPX file that you can share with fellow offroaders or import in the Relive app Adding Custom Maps for the GaiaGps app users, the Google Maps like Satellite, Terrain, or Hybrid, are not standard built in, but can easily be added by using the GaiaGps website. This is the procedure to add for example Google Terrain. 1) While logged into Gaiagps.com, add a custom map source via TMS here: https://www.gaiagps.com/mapsource/add/ 2) Fill in this TMS URL to get Google Terrain: https://mt0.google.com/vt/lyrs=p&hl=en&x={x}&y={y}&z={z}&s=Ga 3) Give it the name "Google Terrain" 4) Set the Min and Max Zoom level on 4 and 19. 5) Click on "Add this Map Source" The next time you will login it will appear in your mobile app. Some other map links. To add them, follow the same steps as above: Google Maps: https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=r&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Satellite:https://www.google.cn/maps/vt?lyrs=s@189&gl=cn&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Satellite Hybrid:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=y&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Terrain:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=t&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Roads:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=h&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} ESRI Sattelite Imagery:https://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x} 18 8 1 12 "Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abu Muhammad Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 @Frederic Your hard work as always been much appreciated. I purchased the app but for some reason they charged me 34.99GBP. I am still getting used to it and so far so good. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Posted September 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 4 minutes ago, Abu Muhammad said: @Frederic Your hard work as always been much appreciated. I purchased the app but for some reason they charged me 34.99GBP. I am still getting used to it and so far so good. Thanks @Abu Muhammad you have probably selected the Premium membership. Anyways it's a fantastic investment for any offroader and the sooner you start to use it (you can record your weekly drives and save them), the sooner you will learn to read the terrain. Good luck ! 8 1 "Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gaurav Posted September 10, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Absolutely Fantastic efforts put together by @Frederic, this is real gold mine for many offroaders here. Especially to our new leaders in making, please invest some time and get familiar with this app, as MotionX (my fav) is slowly fading off and on the verge of getting discontinued. @sertac @Chaitanya D @Kalahari @Tbone @Brette @Vanessa8580 start using this app and start getting familiar, as from second leaders lead drive you will be required to do planning and leading with navigation app or stand alone satnav (if you prefer). Feel free to post your questions here, so that everyone can learn together. 8 5 Let's root for each other & watch each other grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 10 minutes ago, Gaurav said: Absolutely Fantastic efforts put together by @Frederic, this is real gold mine for many offroaders here. Especially to our new leaders in making, please invest some time and get familiar with this app, as MotionX (my fav) is slowly fading off and on the verge of getting discontinued. @sertac @Chaitanya D @Kalahari @Tbone @Brette @Vanessa8580 start using this app and start getting familiar, as from second leaders lead drive you will be required to do planning and leading with navigation app or stand alone satnav (if you prefer). Feel free to post your questions here, so that everyone can learn together. Bought and downloaded 2 days ago. Will start to use it and build a repository of waypoints from this weekend. Most of my waypoints will be comfy patches of soft sand to avoid 3 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Posted September 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 4 minutes ago, Kalahari said: Bought and downloaded 2 days ago. Will start to use it and build a repository of waypoints from this weekend. Most of my waypoints will be comfy patches of soft sand to avoid Brillant ! I mostly use waypoints to identify play areas, and use the "create area" functionality to draw a rectangular around the soft patches and tricky areas. 5 2 "Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 39 minutes ago, Frederic said: The ESRI sattelite Imagery currently has the best detailed sattelite maps in my opinion. So this one is recommended to use. In the program itself i often toggle inbetween the different maps as all have their pros and cons depending on the terrain or description. Hi @Frederic, I also like topo maps to give indication of the gradient of some dunes / areas. With ESRI as base, which are your favourite overlays used? Just now, Frederic said: Brillant ! I mostly use waypoints to identify play areas, and use the "create area" functionality to draw a rectangular around the soft patches and tricky areas. Saw the use of red areas in your post - I love that and will certainly use that. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Posted September 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 1 minute ago, Kalahari said: Hi @Frederic, I also like topo maps to give indication of the gradient of some dunes / areas. With ESRI as base, which are your favourite overlays used? Topo maps needs some practice to read, and i have been fooled a few times by them (Won't get foooooled again !!). I have the following overlays enabled. Every once in a while i enable "public tracks" to see if anyone has posted or made tracks in the area i am scouting. In the Premium version you can also overlay 2 maps on top of each other @Wrangeld has used this functionality before. I did not try that yet. 5 "Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Posted September 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Difference between Topo map and Sattelite Image: 7 "Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangeld Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 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. 5 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts