Computerized Topo Maps - Part II Installation and technical support

Computerized Topo Maps
How Good Are They?

Part II: Installation and Technical Support

By Dr. Brad DeLong
Author of 4-Wheel Freedom: The Art of Off-Road Driving

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Jump to installation and technical support for:: DeLorme Topo USA 2.0
DeLorme’s 3-D TopoQuads
Topo! and Topo!GPS
All Topo Maps
Fugawi

I had a few problems installing this program, but I’m running Windows NT 4.0 workstation on my laptop, and DeLorme presents a disclaimer that Topo USA 2.0 is not supported in Windows NT 4.0. However, on the website, DeLorme offers a download that fixes some of the problems Windows NT encounters in trying to run Topo USA 2.0. It’s available on the website at http:// www.delorme.com/support. Click on "Windows NT Users." In addition to this download, which easily self-installs after downloading, Windows NT users have to run "delorme.bat." Just double click on this file in the Topo USA 2.0 subdirectory. A MS Command Prompt screen will appear, and a bunch of files will run automatically. The screen closes and the program is ready for NT. These fixes correct problems with finding maps on the CD and printing.

DeLorme’s Tech Support uses a non-800 number, and the waits can be long. However, the technicians I got were very cooperative and helped me with the NT problems. Tech support is available at (207) 846-8900. Support is also available on the website at http://www.delorme.com and by email at support@delorme.com.

DeLorme’s 3-D TopoQuads

This is a brand new program, only released the second week in September 1999. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work in Windows NT 4.0. However, installation was extremely simple. Each set of map CDs comes with an installation CD. Install the program first with the install CD. To install Topo USA 2.0, I had created a subdirectory, E:\DeLorme\Topo USA 2.0. The DeLorme Docs folder was also under the DeLorme subdirectory. I installed 3-D TopoQuads in: E:\DeLorme\3-D TopoQuads. I also put the DeLorme Docs folder from this installation in the E:\DeLorme subdirectory.

After the installation, put in whichever of the map CDs you want to use, and click on the Desktop 3-D TopoQuads icon, or start it in the Start/Programs/DeLorme menu. I received an NT error message the first time I tried to run the program, but I realized that I probably needed to run a "delorme.bat" file, just as tech support had told me to do for Topo USA 2.0. Sure enough, I found "delorme.bat" in the 3-D TopoQuad subdirectory. I double clicked on it in Explorer; it ran and installed a bunch of files.

After that, 3-D TopoQuad ran flawlessly in NT.

Topo! and Topo!GPS

Topo! takes the prize for ease of installation. Each CD has a Setup.exe file, and when you click it, it installs the maps on that CD with the map reading program. To use your GPS with Topo! you need to install the Topo!GPS.exe program. This program is included on the TrailSmart National Park Maps CD, by Wildflower Productions.

The Topo!GPS USA CD has a more sophisticated version of Topo!GPS.exe on it, and in addition includes maps of the entire continental US on a single CD. The maximum zoomable scale is 1:500,000 (1 inch = 7.89 miles). You can zoom down to 1:6,000 to see routes and waypoints, but no map features appear below 1:500,000.

4wht2ba.gif (5570 bytes) After you install Topo!GPS.exe, when you click the desktop shortcut icon, a directory screen will appear asking you which of the Topo! maps from any of the installed Topo! CDs you want to access. It’s very easy and very simple to choose which map you want.

There is now a downloadable upgrade on the www.topo.com website, to upgrade earlier versions of Topo!GPS.exe to version 2.3, named now just plain Topo.exe.

Technical and customer support are easily accessible at (415) 558-8700. Wildflower Productions seems anxious to provide support and help you get the program running to your satisfaction. Support is also available on the Topo! website or by email at: http://www.topo.com 415-558-8700 info@topo.com.

All Topo Maps

Installation for the All Topo Maps program is not difficult, and it went smoothly. After the installation you need to go http://igage.com, and click on "Program Updates" to download the latest version of the program. This download will include the All Topo Maps GPS interface program, which isn’t currently included on all CDs. This will create a separate desktop icon for the All Topo GPS program, which you have to click on specifically if you’re going to be uploading or downloading to or from your GPS.

Once the download is complete, save the file to your hard drive, and double click on it in Explorer. It will self-install.

Technical support is readily available at 888-450-4922, and very helpful. iGage is anxious to please its customers and welcomes feedback of all types. Support is also available on the website, http://www.igage.com, and by email at maps@igage.com.

Fugawi

I had the most problems getting Fugawi running, because I couldn’t understand the manual or the help files in regard to loading the maps into the program. Hopefully, the advice I received from Fugawi tech support and my own experience will make it a lot easier for you to figure these things out.

Fugawi’s technical support was available through their email, support@fugawi.com. Normally, I tend to be dissatisfied with email tech support because of long delays answering the questions, or failure to answer them at all. However, Fugawi’s tech support was a welcome exception. They responded very quickly, usually the same day, and in great detail. No question was too trite or stupid for them to answer, and with their help, I figured out how to get the program working.

Fugawi is an extremely useful program, because it will read scanned DRG topo maps from the entire country, whereas Topo! and All Topo Maps cover only limited areas at present. However, there are two problems with this, as far as Fugawi is concerned.

One is the expense of buying the CDs with the DRG maps on them. The maps come as 7.5 X 7.5 minute topo quad maps contained in blocks of 1º latitude by 1º longitude. Each CD contains one block. Since the US is covered by approximately 25 degrees of latitude from north to south and 58 degrees of longitude from east to west, there are around 1,450 1º by 1º blocks in the US. At $50 a CD ($35 with the discount available for the Micropath CDs if you order them from 4X4BOOKS.com), that adds up to a sizeable expense if you have to cover very much of the US.

The other problem is that California and Tennessee maps aren’t scanned according to the DRG standard, so the Micropath California maps can’t be loaded directly into Fugawi. Each 7.5 X 7.5 minute quad map has to be calibrated during the loading process, which can become a bit tedious.

However, ChartTiff Geo’s, by Image Peak Systems, has scanned the California DRGs in a special way so that they are directly importable into Fugawi. You need to have a newer version of Fugawi to do this. There is an upgrade patch available on the Fugawi website for registered users. The current upgraded version is 2.23. The ChartTiff CDs are $50 each for a 1º by 1º block.

Fugawi has another advantage over the other programs. You can load the maps onto your hard drive. The map files are large, so this takes up a lot of room on your computer, but if you have enough space the program will run faster than if you access the maps while they’re still on the CD. Leaving them on the CD is still an option in Fugawi. In the other programs, it’s a necessity. You can’t load the maps from the other programs onto your computer’s hard drive. You have to run them from a CD.

Here’s how you load regular DRG maps in Fugawi:

Fugawi installs easily from a single floppy disc, into a subdirectory on your hard drive called "GPS."

Obtain the CD you need from one of the 3^rd party sources. I bought several Idaho CDs from Micropath. We’ll use the Hamilton – West CD for these examples, designated 46115 because it covers the block running from N46 latitude/W115 longitude in the southeast corner to N47 latitude/W116 longitude in the northwest corner.

Importing and loading regular DRG map files from a CD. Decide if you want to copy the files onto your hard drive or leave them on the CD. If you decide to leave them on the CD, do this:

Open Fugawi.

Select "Import DRG" from the "Map" menu.

In the box which appears, expand the dropdown menu on the left and click on the CD-Rom drive containing the Micropath CD. A list of map files appears in the right box. I selected the Brown’s Rock quad map, 046115F6. Click Ok.

Select "Load" from the "Map" menu. A list of map files which you have previously imported shows up. I again selected the Brown’s Rock quad map. Click Ok.

The Brown’s Rock topo map loads, at 1:24,000 and 100% zoom.

Copying DRG map files to the hard drive and importing and loading them from there. If you decide you want to run the map files from the hard drive, do this:

In Explorer, go to the "Document" subdirectory of the Micropath CD. Open the Drg_list.txt file in Notepad. Find the name of the quad map you want to display in Fugawi. I selected the Brown’s Rock quad map, and noted that the filename of the map is O46115F6.TIF. Write it down.

In Explorer, go to the "Data" subdirectory of the CD. Find the file 046115f6.tif, which is the name of the Brown’s Rock file. Select it. Click the right mouse button and select "copy." In Fugawi, you don’t need the ".tfw" file.

Go to the "Maps" subdirectory of the Fugawi subdirectory, "GPS." Paste the file 046115f6.tif into it.

Still in Explorer, go back to the CD directories and open the "Metadata" subdirectory. Select the 046115f6.fgd file, copy it, and paste it into the "Maps" subdirectory of the Fugawi "GPS" subdirectory.

Close Explorer and Notepad. Once you have the ".tif" and the ".fgd" files in the Maps subdirectory of Fugawi, you can import the maps from the hard drive. Open Fugawi. Click on the "Map" menu and select "Import DRG." When the Import box appears, navigate to the drive containing the Fugawi "GPS\Maps" subdirectory and select it. A list of map files appears, so long as you have copied both the ".tif" and the ".fgd" files into the Fugawi subdirectory. Select the Brown’s Rock quad map and click Ok.

Click on the "Map" menu and select "Load." The list of imported map files will appear. Some of these can be still on the CD, others can be on the hard drive. Fugawi will load them from wherever you imported them from. If you decide to delete some of the map files from "GPS\Maps" Fugawi subdirectory of your hard drive, you can re-import them again from the CD, and load them from the CD in the future.

Using map images after you’ve scanned them. If you use Fugawi to read maps you’ve scanned in, first copy the scanned image into the Fugawi "GPS\Maps" subdirectory. Then click the "Map" menu and select "Import" (not "Import DRG"). In the import box which appears, navigate to the filename of the scanned map image and double click it.

A map information box will appear, into which you must enter certain data about the map you’ve scanned. You need to enter its projection (UTM, Mercator, etc), its datum (WSG 84, NAD27, etc), and the latitude and longitude of three points on the map, as widely spaced as possible.

After you’ve done this, you can load the map with the "Load" command in the usual way.

Importing and loading ChartTiff California maps. If you have the upgraded version of Fugawi, you can import maps from the ChartTiff California CDs directly into Fugawi. Versions 2.22 and 2.23 have a new command in the "Map" menu, "Import ChartTiff."

Put the CD you want into your computer. Click on "Import ChartTiff," and in the window that comes up, select the drive of your CD-ROM and the subdirectory that the map files are in. In this example, we’re using the "Chico, CA – East, 39120" CD, and we’ve selected the "Wentworth Springs" quad to show part of the Rubicon Trail. We’ll click ok, to import it. We can then load it in the usual way from the "Load" command.

If you’re copying a ChartTiff California quad to the hard drive, you just need to copy the ".tif"file. You don’t need the ".fgd" file. The ChartTiff subdirectory on the CD has a file called "_Index.txt," which you can read in Notepad to find out the filename of the quad map you want. If we were copying the Wentworth Springs quad map onto the hard drive, we would copy only "039120a3.tif."

Importing, calibrating, and loading the Micropath California maps.

You have to calibrate the Micropath California maps, since they are prepared with the Teale Data Center standards. Open Fugawi. Click on plain "Import" in the "Map" menu.

We’ll import the Granite Chief quad map, filename 039120b3.tif.

The map appears, but you can’t use it until you calibrate it by entering information in the "Set Map Info" box in the lower left. (Yellow arrow.)

Give the map a name, "Granite Chief," which happens to be its real name. Select UTM projection, and in the UTM window click the UTM zone higher until the map’s longitude appears, then click "Ok."

The map’s datum will be noted somewhere in the margins. Drag the sliders so you can see the lower left corner of the map. The datum is NAD 1927. Select this from the dropdown menu in the "Set Map Info" box.

Move the sliders so you can see the magnetic variation indicator. It’s 17º degrees east. Enter this. Click "Ok."

Now you need to enter the latitude and longitude for three points on the map. It’s easiest to enter three corners, since the coordinates are clearly marked in these areas. Drag the sliders to one of the corners and click "Point #1."

Place the cursor exactly on the corner of the map, and left click the mouse once. A target-cursor appears. Enter the latitude and longitude. Click "Set Coordinates."

Do the same thing for two more corners, Point #2 and Point #3.

Leave "Display corner markers" unchecked. Click "Ok."

The map loads automatically. You can load it in the future from the "Load" command in the "Map" menu.

Hopefully these tips will help you get started with Fugawi. Support is available by email at support@fugawi.com, as well as on the website, http://www.fugawi.com, and by phone (to Canada – the Company is in Toronto) 416-920-0447.

The Micropath Corporation can be reached on their website http://www.Micropath.com, and by phone at (303) 526-5454.

ChartTiff can be reached on the web at http://www.charttiff.com, by phone at (800) 648-3766, and by email at datasales@charttiff.com.

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