Mapping software

[cota95]

I know this has been addressed before but I'm hoping that someone has found something. I've been using Mapsource for the last 10 years. I am planning another cross country trip and it just keeps crashing when mapping different parts of the country. I contacted Garmin and they said tough titties, they don't support it anymore and I should move to Basemap. I tried to get into it, even used the tutorials that someone posted here, but it just sucks. Has ANYBODY found a replacement that is halfway decent. Planing a great spring trip while the snow flies helps me get thru the winter.

George

 

[Ignacio]

Nope! Nothing new to replace it worth a damn IMO. The few that come close require internet connectivity....and that's a deal-breaker when I'm in the middle of nowhere and want to adjust my routing.

Microsoft Streets and Trips is dead with the 2013 version. I'm clinging futilely to it, but will eventually have to go somewhere.

That all said, there are some smart people that claim BaseCamp (not Basemap by the way) is a good product once you learn to get past its quirks. Increasingly top rally riders are using it.

 

[Just Krusen]

Get over the fact that Basecamp is different. Learn to use it and it will grow on you. I had the same hang up at first. The videos help a lot and then just play around with it. It actually works much better than Mapsource once you get use to it.

 

[101stpathfinder]

I am in NO WAY a planner, but I did stay at a Holliday inn express recently. To plan the last ride (Off the clock) I found myself with the laptop on Streets & Trips and my computer on google maps. I went back and forth until I was satisfied with everything. I assume that you are asking about off the clock methods(?)

On the clock, I haven't a clue. Curious to your destinations?

 

[cota95]

Screwed up the name, probably because BaseCAMP makes no sense as a name for mapping software. I know I have to suck it up and learn it, just hoping, because it is so counter intuitive. Mapsource wasn't a great program but at least you didn't need to be a Rhodes scholar to use it. Next years trip is from RI to AZ to attend a conference and then on to the Pacific northwest to compete my lower 48 states map.

 

[TomInPA]

Probably the biggest thing to get used to in BaseCamp is that all of your waypoints, routes and trips are stored in folders and it can look confusing until you learn to organize and view that data in manageable chunks. The program actually makes routing pretty easy, and you can still drag routes and create via points that shape a route.

I reluctantly made the switch this year, and now I'm glad I did. All of my Mapsource routes imported without a problem, and now Basecamp is just easier. Experiment with some of the controls like right clicks, the control and alt keys that cause some different options and behaviors. You might be surprised that it grows on you.

 

[FredD]

Basecamp is new enough to me, that I sympathize with your frustration. I've played with Streets & Trips since it came out, messed with Mapsource enough to be comfortable, then "made" the transition to Basecamp. Manipulating Basecamp, to me, seems to combine elements from Mapsource and S&T, of course with different icons, terminology, and techniques. While I'm no expert, I felt the same way about Basecamp when I started using it. I'm certainly no expert, but it has gotten easier to use, the more I dick with it.

 

[Twigg]

Probably the biggest thing to get used to in BaseCamp is that all of your waypoints, routes and trips are stored in folders and it can look confusing until you learn to organize and view that data in manageable chunks. The program actually makes routing pretty easy, and you can still drag routes and create via points that shape a route.

Please, please, please remember that the "folder" structure is very deceptive. They are not folders, it is a representation of a database and if it gets corrupted you are in big trouble.

Please back it up regularly. You can, by the way, store the database on a USB drive and then point any computer with BC installed at that drive ... When you do that the BaseCamp becomes "yours" for the duration.

 

[DennisJ]

Try https://www.motogoloco.com/ Seems to use Google maps as mapping source, based in UK but also covers the US. Much easier than BaseCamp but does have less in the 'bells and whistles' department which may be a good thing for some. Still in development and the builders seem very interested in feedback from users.

 

[TomInPA]

Probably the biggest thing to get used to in BaseCamp is that all of your waypoints, routes and trips are stored in folders and it can look confusing until you learn to organize and view that data in manageable chunks. The program actually makes routing pretty easy, and you can still drag routes and create via points that shape a route.

Please, please, please remember that the "folder" structure is very deceptive. They are not folders, it is a representation of a database and if it gets corrupted you are in big trouble.

Please back it up regularly. You can, by the way, store the database on a USB drive and then point any computer with BC installed at that drive ... When you do that the BaseCamp becomes "yours" for the duration.

Thanks for the reminder. Good idea. I actually keep it on two computers so I can access it from the desktop or laptop.

 

[Queensland Ken]

Could always do a search for Mapsource on the interweb.

GPS Underground or Zumo Forums are good places to start.

I always keep a copy of the install file handy, esp when Garmin was stopping support.

A few people I know use Tyre Mapping.

 

[Mount Rainier]

Could always do a search for Mapsource on the interweb.GPS Underground or Zumo Forums are good places to start.

I always keep a copy of the install file handy, esp when Garmin was stopping support.

A few people I know use Tyre Mapping.

+1 for Tyre Combine Google Maps and Tyre and routing is easy peasy if web based systems will work for you......

Keep going!

 

[rbentnail]

I'll admit it: I'm still a MapSource guy. I've tried BaseCamp and either I'm too stoopit (likely) or it's too complicated or something but I just haven't been able to figure it out. And the file system, if you can call it that, is an unmanageable joke. After M/S finally dies I'll probably just pay someone else to do it.

 

[Biquer]

Basecamp is clunky, counter-intuitive and non-user-friendly.

Anyone saying they think it's 'ok' or 'good' even, has at least 50 hours 'learning' under their belts, or they're just lying!

Garmin may be the best out there at the minute, but that doesn't mean they're not rubbish!

 

[Mudslide Miller]

Basecamp is clunky, counter-intuitive and non-user-friendly.Anyone saying they think it's 'ok' or 'good' even, has at least 50 hours 'learning' under their belts, or they're just lying!

Garmin may be the best out there at the minute, but that doesn't mean they're not rubbish!

Not true at all. I'm no computer genius & I learned it by watching a few videos & just played around with it. Map out a whole trip back east & found it to be about the same amount of pain as Map Source once I learned it. Not that difficult.

 

[Bungie]

I'lll second motogoloco.com.

If you want to do your routes in google maps and then upload directly to your Garmin. Motogoloco is for you.

 

[cota95]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to mess around with the options you've mentioned. I'll let you know how it shakes out.

 

[wfooshee]

DeLorme Street Atlas is still out there, too, and there is a new 2015 version. It's made as a standalone app for a PC or Laptop and exports GPX files, and was doing so way before Streets & Trips was able to. Its user interface is simple, and while maybe not initially intuitive it's quite nice once you get a couple of light bulbs going off in your head. There is no mode switching or tool switching needed, you can pan, zoom, drop points, select routes, all on the main screen. Unlike Streets & Trips it can display multiple routes simultaneously.

They don't offer a trial download, though, which I think is just stupid. It's only 40 bucks, though.....

A long time ago I compared the then-current Mapsource, Street Atlas, Streets and Trips, and Google Maps. Clicky

I'm no rally rider, but I do like the occasional trip, and I have always despised Mapsource. I also haven't updated that thread in a while, but Street Atlas is pretty close to the same with newer maps, Street & Trips and Mapsource can't be had any more if you don't already have them, and Google maps is always as current as they can make it, with TYRE giving an easy way to put those routes into your Garmin (as long as you can get to the Internet.)

 

[cota95]

One of the nice things about Mapsource was that I could have multiple routes. If I have 10 day trip planned, I like to break my routes into days of 400-600 miles with riding day times of 7-10 hours. This makes it easier to make adjustments for weather, side trips etc.