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Graphics Software Technology

Best Setup for Mapping in Undeveloped Countries? 438

Posted by Cliff from the mapping-the-unmapped dept.
Floodimus asks: "My girlfriend lives and works in West Africa and on my next visit she has asked me to help her do some mapping of uncharted villages. I want to make this study really accurate and useful, so I am thinking about using high tech and low tech resources such as GPS and good old fashioned compasses, but I was wondering what the Slashdot crowd would recommend for GPS hardware (does GPS equipment from the US work over there?), field equipment, mapping software etc. I use both PCs and Macs and would like the software to run on the Mac, but it doesn't have to. What's the best, most rugged stuff you've used? Where are some resources that would help me out?"
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Best Setup for Mapping in Undeveloped Countries? More

Best Setup for Mapping in Undeveloped Countries?

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  • Hello? (Score:5, Funny)

    by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) * <akaimbatman AT gmail DOT com> on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:49PM (#13067434) Homepage Journal
    does GPS equipment from the US work over there?

    Ok, a quick explanation of how this stuff works is in order. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The system consists of 24 or so satellites that provide nearly complete coverage of the globe at any given time. By capturing signals from more than one of these satellites, your receiver can calculate your position based on the last known position of the sats. Thanks to the precision and accuracy of modern electronic hardware, this calculation can be accurate to within 20 meters or less.

    More info here [wikipedia.org]

    So to answer your question, of course GPS equipment can't be used over there! They use 220V AC and we use 110V AC. Where do you think you're going to find a charger? You need to get yourself a step down transformer [starkelectronic.com], or you'll never be able to charge the equipment! Yeash, what are they teaching you kids these days?

    • Re:Hello? (Score:4, Informative)

      by dieman ( 4814 ) * on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:52PM (#13067459) Homepage
      Well, we use 120VAC, rather. 100VAC-230VAC AC-DC adaptors are common with equipment these days, however. You may want to look for equipment that comes with such an adaptor instead of trying to step it down. Heck, even my cell phone came with one that can do 100-230.

    • Re:Hello? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by hyfe ( 641811 )
      There's plenty of GPS-equipment that run on batteries though. If he's going to be trecking through Africa, that is most likely his best bet anyways.

      • Re:Hello? (Score:2, Funny)

        by BJH ( 11355 )
        Yeah, cause every uncharted village has a ready supply of alkaline batteries in AA, AAA and AAAA sizes.

      • Re:Hello? (Score:5, Informative)

        by grcumb ( 781340 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:51PM (#13067965) Homepage Journal

        I work in remote, undeveloped countries (doing IT, if you can believe it) and I can confidently say that your biggest problem is going to be power.

        Do yourself a favour and:

        1. Make sure that your GPS runs on batteries.
        2. Go out and get yourself 2-3 full sets of rechargeable batteries for every GPS device.
        3. Buy a solar battery charger that is capable of charging a full set in less than 3 hours.
        4. Bring lots of mosquito repellant. 40% DEET or better is recommended. That way you won't drop or damage the GPS as you flail madly at the bugs. 8^)

        • Re:Hello? (Score:3, Interesting)

          by sapgau ( 413511 )
          Solar battery chargers:
          Are available at Canadian Tire [canadiantire.ca]
        • If you're always going to use the GPS with your laptop, then you can simplify things and use a cheap laptop-only GPS. The ones I've seen generally don't have a built-in user interface - they send coordinates and timestamps to your PC, and let your PC deal with the user interface. They used to be serial-port interfaces, but now they have USB which provides electricity as well as a data interface, so all you have to do is power your PC (which is pretty easy if you're driving a truck everywhere you go, but

        • Re:Hello? (Score:3, Informative)

          by Idarubicin ( 579475 )
          Bring lots of mosquito repellant. 40% DEET or better is recommended. That way you won't drop or damage the GPS as you flail madly at the bugs. 8^)

          Be aware, however, that DEET eats plastic stuff--so keep the concentrated stuff away from your GPS equipment, as well as any synthetic clothing and such.

        • Re:Hello? (Score:3, Informative)

          by StarsAreAlsoFire ( 738726 )
          5. Get your shots. The night-time masquitos carry malaria. The daytime versions carry yellow fever. I might have that backwards, but really, does it matter when you contract which disease? ;~)

          There are some pills that decrease the chances of getting malaria, and a shot for yellow fever (two shot series, if I recall correctly). Malarone is what I was provided for malaria 'prevention', and was told by a gal I met in the plane (who looked like hell, as she had just been in the clinic BECAUSE OF malaria) that
    • Aaaaah, geeezzz! You should not have told him. Now you spoiled all the fun when he would plug his brand new gear in... Actually, a Magellan handheld GPS will work fine anywhere in the world, provided that you have spare batteries, or a charger for that country. However, I would start with a good set of satellite photos - chances are that the villages are on the photos, in which case, you'll have more time to spend with your girlfriend...
      • However, the Magellen Explorist 200 (or whatever number the blue one is) that I bought, lost compass functionality less than a month after I got it. I returned it and bought the Garmin eTrex C for twice the price. It's upgradeable, and links with a computer via USB, unlike the Explorist (and unlike the B&W version of the eTrex, which uses a serial connection for some reason).

    • Re:Hello? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Uber Banker ( 655221 ) * on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:10PM (#13067621)
      So to answer your question, of course GPS equipment can be used over there!

      Well, sort of. Don't depend on GPS 100%.
      • GPS can be turned off by the US government, and is done so regularly in hostile countries, and all the time in countries the US is at war with. So if there is the most remote possibility the US could get pissed off with the country you're in, don't do it.
      • Making sense of your longitude and latitude means having a decent map in the first place. And while this argument is a bit circular given you'll be working in uncharted villages, at least carry a decent geological map.

      Infact, a hi-tech solution is nice, but the low-tech is going to be orders of magnitude more use to you. As long as you have a basic geological/terrain map, it it quite simple to put an ink based red mark and write about something you find interesting. This will be more robust than:
      • having expensive high-tech in extremely poor areas (a $100 (US retail price) piece of GPS equipment could probably be sent for much more in an area where annual incomes are significantly less than $100),
      • Potentially rugged conditions: laptops dont take easily to 2 foot deep potholes every 5 metres on rugged roads when travelling on the 4x4. They certainly have an aversion to mud or dry earth should you drop it. 100% mission over if relying on standard (non-army standard) tech.
      • Abstraction from a real scenario. It sounds like you're interacting with real people in a very human way: interact with them on as personal basis as possible, don't abstract yourself (your perception of them, or their perception of you hiding behind a screen) as that, on a 1-2-1 basis, could only be negative.
      • Carry a weapon. I'm English, not a gun-nut Texan (no offense), but if going into a potentially hostile environment, don't carry it around when meeting people for the first time, but keep it discretely to hand when travelling.

      As for the GPS equipment? Take 3 hand held sets, tested to be rugged for terrain use: carry 1 yourself, 1 for your partner (incase you get seperated), and 1 spare in your vehicle if yours gets over doused in mud.

      On all the above, I assume you're planning a reasonably independent trip, with 1-2 guides, for around 3 months. If you're going in a party of 20 with masses of guides, well much could be unnecessary.
    • I call bullshit. My wife is from Sierra Leone (in West Africa), and she says American appliances plug in and work just fine there. Of course, electrical standards do vary from country to country, so your mileage may vary - check with someone from that specific country. Plus, don't most portable GPS receivers run on replacable batteries, not off of AC adaptors?

      • Re:Hello? (Score:3, Informative)

        by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) *
        1. Different countries run different power. [kropla.com] There are quite a few countries in Africa.

        2. Quite a few modern pieces of electronic equipment already contain the necessary transformers to work in different parts of the world.

        3. IT'S A JOKE! WHERE THE HECK IS YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR?

        Yeash. You'd think the whole explanation of GPS as a setup would have tipped people off.
    • "Thanks to the precision and accuracy of modern electronic hardware, this calculation can be accurate to within 20 meters or less."

      The Ordnance Survey mapped the British Isles to an accuracy of less than 1 metre, top to bottom in 1935. Modern electronic hardware doesn't sound quite so accurate or precise when put into that kind of context.

      • Actually no they didn't, much of the rural area is out by up to 50 feet due to a mistake in the calculation, and it considered to costly to fix the mistake.

    • Re:Hello? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ncc74656 ( 45571 ) *

      They use 220V AC and we use 110V AC. Where do you think you're going to find a charger? You need to get yourself a step down transformer, or you'll never be able to charge the equipment!

      Then again, if your GPS receiver is bus-powered (like this one [pharosgps.com]) and if your notebook comes with an auto-voltage power supply (99% of them do), all you'll need for it is an adapter to go from an American plug to whatever you need where you're going (like this [kensington.com], which is supposed to adapt to nearly anything).

      (There's a

    • Re:Hello? (Score:4, Funny)

      by Mr2cents ( 323101 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @07:08PM (#13068144)
      Where is this so called "globe" and is it a part of the USA?

  • GPS works everywhere, even Africa (Score:4, Informative)

    by nokilli ( 759129 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:50PM (#13067441)
    And instead of rugged, think small. You can get a small GPS that you can plug into your laptop via USB for under $100US. Should outlast the laptop.

    As for mapping software, if you truly want it to be useful, just save off the coordinates and wait until you get Internet access, then integrate with Google Maps using their recently released API and you'll be able to actually look at the villages from above, on your computer.

    Actually, this is the perfect time to be doing what you're doing.

  • No (Score:5, Funny)

    by smileyy ( 11535 ) <smileyy@gmail.com> on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:50PM (#13067443)
    does GPS equipment from the US work over there?

    No. We made sure to send Africa very very degraded signals. How much does a meter of accuracy matter in a desert or jungle anyway?

    • Re:No (Score:3, Informative)

      by psychofox ( 92356 )
      Actually, africa does not have augmentive correct signals. So in comparison to accuracy in the US they have signficantly degraded accuracy.

      google for WAAS or EGNOS

      • Re:No (Score:3, Informative)

        by BlogPope ( 886961 )
        So in comparison to accuracy in the US they have signficantly degraded accuracy.

        I seem to recall that its fairly simple to vastly improve accuracy of GPS by keeping it still for an extended period (days and weeks perhaps). Since the "noise" drifts around your precise location, after an extended period you can average out the noise and get an answer accurate to inches if I recall. Geologists use this trick to detect movement of tetonic plates of less than an inch, though I'm sure they are far more patient

  • Google Map, Google Earth or Google Satellite?

    Wait, and it'll be built.
    • Good suggestion, but neither the Google Map nor the Google Satellite data base appears to have enough resolution to find a specific town in West Africa, let alone a specific street. Google Satellite only has high-res images of the most populated areas of the United States; I know because own property that there are no high-res images available for.

  • Compass (Score:3, Informative)

    by centauri ( 217890 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:54PM (#13067475) Homepage
    Even fairly basic GPS receivers come with built in compasses. Never hurts to have a back up though.

    • NO!! (Score:4, Informative)

      by Minstrel Boy ( 787690 ) <kevin_stevens@hotmail.com> on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:07PM (#13067597)
      This is totally false and potentially harmful. GPS receivers do *NOT* come with built-in compasses, at least I don't know of any that have them. GPS tells you exactly four things, to various degrees of accuracy and precision:

      latitude, longitude, elevation, time

      *Everything* else is interpolated from that info, and if you lose satellites, you lose everything. Even if you stand still, GPS won't tell you where north is; you have to be moving so it can triangulate.

      A GPS has some capabilities that overlap with a magnetic compass, and vice versa, but it is extremely risky and potentially hazardous to substitute one for the other.

      That being said, I don't know what the OP was planning to do with a compass for mapping villages anyway: a compass doesn't tell you where you are, it only tells you what direction you're facing.

      KeS

      • Well, I did tell him to bring a back-up.

        Anyway, the compass on my Garmin eTrex C seems to work fine whether or not I have a satellite lock. It can use the GPS data for the compass heading, but only does so when I'm moving above a certain speed.

        • Re:NO!! (Score:2, Insightful)

          by hilaryduff ( 894727 )
          well unless its a mechanical compass glued into the gps, its not going to be much use if the unit fails. obviously the backup/s will come into play. anyone who goes into the bush without survival skills, a map and compass is going to end up in a lot of trouble, and probably as some bleached bones pointing a warning for anyone else trying to play the great white explorer with only modern technology behind them.
        • Looks from the Garmin feature comparison like they're starting to incorporate them in some units - per the Garmin site the Summit, Legend C, and Etrex C are the handhelds that have an electronic compass. None of my GPS units have ever had them. Good to know, thanks!

          I wonder how they resolve the local isogonal flux variations (which the compass knows of and the GPS has no clue about).

          I recognize that this borders on trivia, and it may not matter much for ditzing around the local geocache, but if you'r

      • YES! (Score:2)

        by Rolan ( 20257 ) *
        Actually, there are GPS recievers that DO come with compasses (magnetic ones), though they are typically on the higher end ones.

      • Re:NO!! (Score:3, Informative)

        by Your Pal Dave ( 33229 )
        This is totally false and potentially harmful. GPS receivers do *NOT* come with built-in compasses, at least I don't know of any that have them.


        I have a several year old Garmin eTrex which has both a barometric altitude sensor and a flux-gate compass built in. It's irritating to have to re-calibrate the compass every time the batteries are changed.

        I would imagine that there are probably quite a few more recent models having compasses.

      • Yes! But not all. (Score:5, Informative)

        by CRepetski ( 824321 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:33PM (#13067834)
        It is true that some handheld GPS units do not come with a built-in compass. In this case, you will need to have a satellite lock AND be moving in order to find north. (My Magellan Sportrak Pro falls under this category)

        HOWEVER, many handheld GPS units, especially slightly higher end ones DO come with built in compasses, and can tell you which way is north even when you're in the basement of a building with absolutely no satellite reception and you're not moving. (My Brunton MNS falls under this category)

        Bottom line, you should know what you're buying and what features it has before you get it.

        On a somewhat related note, having a built-in compass can be extremely useful, as it will tell you how far away and in what direction a mark is even when you're not moving - it will tell you relative to the orientation of the GPS. Many units without a built in compass only tell you in what direction a mark is relative to direction of travel - so this can be very confusing if you're standing still or haven't oriented the unit in the direction of travel. Hope this made at least an inkling of sense.

      • A compass, if you know how to actually use one with a map, can tell you a great deal about not only what direction you're headed, but where you are [4orienteering.com] and, more importantly, it can do something that GPS Just Plain Cannot Do, namely, it can tell you where that unknown landmark is [4orienteering.com], which in Western Africa is an incredibly useful skill. The last thing in the world a foreigner should do is wander into an uncharted village. Best to get an intersection on it from range, record the position, and move on. Now, this

  • It should work (Score:5, Funny)

    by CKnight ( 92200 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:54PM (#13067477) Homepage
    unless you get the discounted Global -except West Africa- Possitioning System.
    • Cut him some slack, Floodimus (npflood@alumni.cedarville.edu) is obviously a graduate student. He can't be expected to use common sense or logic, he's college educated.

  • Rugged GPS units (Score:5, Informative)

    by bobcat7677 ( 561727 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:55PM (#13067481) Homepage
    To my knowledge, Trimble makes the best/most rugged GPS units available. They supply the military. They also have specialized equiptment for mapping. Here is the linkage: http://www.trimble.com/ [trimble.com]

    There are also armored/waterproof cases and what not you can get for the more common off-the-shelf units.

    As for software and compatability...I'll defer to someone else to post on that.

    • Re:Rugged GPS units (Score:5, Informative)

      by Jurisenpai ( 261790 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:21PM (#13067739) Homepage
      I can answer that! I just might work for a Trimble dealer! :)

      For mapping, I recommend the new Recon GPS Card Edition [trimble.com]. It's under 2K, TerraSync software included, and gets autonomous accuracy of 5-10 meters. The Recon is also rugged, and can withstand drops, mud, sand, floods, etc. If you're worried about charging it, you can buy a car charger for out in the field as well as an international charger that has adapters for quite a few countries.

      Trimble is running some really good specials right now on Recons; call your local dealer and see what they can do.

    • Re:Rugged GPS units (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Illserve ( 56215 )
      Or.... check this out:

      you buy 3 or 4 magellans for the same price.

      And what is he going to do with a trimble box unit? Plug it into his... palm pilot? Yea, that'll last longer than a Magellan or Garmin.

  • 2 things (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:55PM (#13067488)
    (does GPS equipment from the US work over there?), field equipment, mapping software etc. I use both PCs and Macs

    1) GPS equipment, bought anywhere in the world, works anywhere else in the world, since GPS satellites cover the entire globe

    2) All you describe is fine and dandy, but it seems to me that you're forgetting one crucial part of it: power supply. In the Middle of Nowhere, West Africa, you may not be able to find wall outlets everywhere to connect your laptop to everyday. What's more, if you do find power, your laptop might not like it (voltage spikes, bad frequency...).

    So my suggestion is that you start designing around your power supply. Solar? Generator? how to conserve power? PDA or laptop? what size battery to you expect to need? etc etc... all that depends on the exact application.

  • Southern Hemisphere GPS Usage (Score:4, Funny)

    by webdan ( 898014 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:56PM (#13067492)
    To use a GPS device in the southern hemisphere, (ie south of the equator) you have to hold it upside down.
    • Dunno if it's true, but I heard a story about an early bug with a GPS-based avionics system in a military jet. They discovered that (possibly during simulation?) when the jet cross the equator, it would flip over, due to some sign bug.

      (It's been a while, so I could be remembering the details wrong.)

      Mike

  • Power? Storage? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Bastian ( 66383 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:57PM (#13067509)
    My first thought isn't what equipment would be the most fun or powerful, but what equipment will work. How reliable will electricity be in the area you are going to be mapping? Since you describe these areas as uncharted, ,y guess would be "not very," so don't expect that Mac to always be available to you.

    Now what are you going to do without that laptop? You're going to need a GPS device that runs for a *long* time on batteries, or you're going to need to bring a crate of batteries where you go. You're also going to need something that allows you to save and tag all this GPS data so that you can decipher it when you do get back to a computer.

    Get that figured out, and if you have any money left over, THEN you can start thinking about buying that copy of ArcView.

  • If you've got a ham radio license (Score:3, Informative)

    by mstyne ( 133363 ) <{gro.yeknomahpla} {ta} {ekim}> on Thursday July 14, 2005 @05:59PM (#13067520) Homepage Journal
    APRS [navy.mil] could be your new best friend.

  • GPS hardware reviews @ http://gpsinformation.net/ (Score:4, Informative)

    by digitaldc ( 879047 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:00PM (#13067527)
    http://gpsinformation.net/ [gpsinformation.net]

    Hope this helps

  • Best GPS for travelling (Score:4, Informative)

    by codell ( 714441 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:03PM (#13067557)
    If you're looking for something compact, rugged and with a decent screen, the Garmin 60CS would be a good choice. I've had mine for two years and have put it through hell - backcountry hiking, sailing, flying, dousing it in mud, beer and water (it's waterproof.) The screen is small but readable in just about any lighting condition (great in direct sun!)

    My only complaint with Garmin is the expense of the maps, but I've yet to see much serious competition as far as hardware goes.

  • Use satellite images (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MathFox ( 686808 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:03PM (#13067558)
    My suggestion is to buy some good-resolution satelite images (a few meters) and have your girlfriend draw her map using that. You can use a GPS receiver to calibrate the satelite image to actual coordinates.

    I think that a handheld (Palm) would be more convenient for measurements than a laptop. Handheld and GPS receiver do fit in your pocket and they have less moving parts than a laptop.

    • Interesting challenge. To complete what MathFox was saying about satellite imagery, he's right, it can help a lot. However, the main problem can be spatial resolution:

      Landsat-7 is available freely and cover the whole world, but it's only 15 m (panchromatic) and 30 m (multispectral)

      ASTER L1B is also free but the cover is not complete. It's very good data with 3 bands in VNIR. 15 bands total.

      SRTM-DEM, for topography, is also great and free. 3 arc-second of horizontal resolution and about 5 m vertically (re

  • Specific African info about GPS & Mapping (Score:5, Informative)

    by jan de bont ( 702726 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:03PM (#13067560)
    Good generic GPS info plus specific tips for mapping in Africa to be found here: http://www.gpswaypoints.co.za/ [gpswaypoints.co.za]

  • Cartography (Score:5, Informative)

    by GCP ( 122438 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:05PM (#13067571)
    Don't invent the field of cartography from scratch. Study it before you leave.

    I don't know what "mapping" means in your case. Are you trying to show where each village is or are you trying to create street maps of the major towns? In any case, find out what maps already exist, then go get yourself the best satellite photos you can find, and when you get there, prepare to rent small aircraft for some aerial photography. Trying to map West Africa on foot from scratch with a pocket GPS device would be a fool's errand.

    And be VERY CAREFUL. People who make maps are often considered spies by people who carry guns. You'd better be very sure you know what you are doing and have the necessary permission from whoever (official or unofficial) controls the guns in the region you are mapping.

    • Re:Cartography (Score:3, Insightful)

      by TedTschopp ( 244839 )
      Also it should be noted that in certain countries it is illeagle to possess maps over a certain level of detail. Make sure you understand the laws of the country you are going to, and work within them. If you don't then you will not only be considered a spy, you might legally be a spy, even though your intentions are noble or benign.

    • Re:Cartography (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ninjagin ( 631183 )
      Aye. Good points.

      The plane charter will be of great assistance in contextualizing what you see on the ground against what your sat maps show. You may also be able to spot commonly used trade routes, animal migration routes and footpaths that don't show up as readily as established roadways. Many maps are not able to provide these more subtle details out of concern for clutter or overdoing the scope, but ethnographers, anthropologists and biologists can appreciate it -- especially in areas they don't get t

  • Political considerations (Score:5, Informative)

    by derdesh ( 652578 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:05PM (#13067573)
    You should also be careful of the impression you make on local police or military personel. I don't doubt that many of them would be suspicious of an American (since you asked about U.S. equipment) wandering around with electronic devices to map villages or roads.

    Never mind that if the military or intelligence agencies really wanted to know where things were, satellite images would be even more accurate than a cheap/rugged GPS. Many West African countries make it illegal to photograph airports, military bases, police stations and the like.

    I'm not saying don't do it, just be careful who sees you. No reason to give excuses for an anti-western, self-important jerk with an automatic rifle to harrass you.
    • "You should also be careful of the impression you make on local police or military personel. I don't doubt that many of them would be suspicious of an American (since you asked about U.S. equipment) wandering around with electronic devices to map villages or roads. "

      You've got to be kidding....why would this bother them?

      • Re:Political considerations (Score:5, Informative)

        by grcumb ( 781340 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @07:13PM (#13068190) Homepage Journal

        "You've got to be kidding....why would this bother them?"

        A bunch of different coloured people speaking a foreign tongue wander all over your home town with some kind of weird sensing equipment that you've never seen before in your life.

        If you can name one town in the USA where behaviour like that wouldn't result in phone calls to (and questions from) the local authorities, I'll agree that the GP was out of line.

        But you won't. So no, he's not kidding. People in small towns are just like that.

  • Be careful!! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by John Seminal ( 698722 )
    My girlfriend lives and works in West Africa and on my next visit she has asked me to help her do some mapping of uncharted villages. I want to make this study really accurate

    There might be villages that don't want to have their exact location well known.

    Lots of these villages have been at war with other villages and tribes for a long, long time.

    Many African governments are currupt, and would love to do ethnic cleansing.

    Your wanting to provide accurate maps might do more harm than good.

    I can

    • Re:Be careful!! (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Hmm...

      Were you present at all these ethic cleansings all over the continent? Or was all this new found "knowledge" from your one of your CNN fed binges?

      I'm African. I am in the United States and it gets really tiring hearing all these "corrupt, cleansing, wars" stories. Jesus! There was a bombing in London last week, you obviously watched it wherever you are. Now will you say there's a war there now? There are wars, like the ones in the middle east, yes but not all over the friggin continent!

      Get the fac
  • Link [slashdot.org]

    I know it was designed as a joke game, but this way you could draw the maps for the roads between villages just by riding on your bike! :D I find that pretty convenient.
  • I suspect he was asking about GPS hardware working overseas (from the US perspective here) becauce of cell phone issues. Most cell phones used here in the states will not work in foreign countries. I suspect he wanted to insure that the GPS he bought here in the states would not suffer the same problem. Good news is, that the GPS signal received is the same everywhere, so no matter if you buy your unit in Butte, Montana or Dar es Salaam, it will work no matter where you carry it. Provided it has power, but
    • Except for the GSM phones for use with T-Mobile and AT&T, which simply require a new smartcard to work in almost any country in the world. Yes, the US, in it's infinite wisdumb, decided to push different standards than every other country in the world, not be familiar with basic economic concepts like "economy of scale". And no, cell phones have absolutely nothing to do with GPS, except that some cell phones now contain GPS receivers.

  • Best mapping and spatial software available (Score:5, Informative)

    by Hungus ( 585181 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:09PM (#13067619) Journal
    I would go with PostGIS [refractions.net] and Grass [bologna.enea.it] on your Mac if GIS data is available for her region ( and it is). Then you have a nice database system to drop all your GPS data into for mapping and a boatload of other uses.

    GRASS GIS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) is an open source, Free Software Geographical Information System (GIS) with raster, topological vector, image processing, and graphics production functionality that operates on various platforms through a graphical user interface and shell in X-Windows. It is released under GNU General Public License ( GPL ).

  • HOW to do this (Score:5, Interesting)

    by zandermander ( 563602 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:10PM (#13067630)
    I'm sure many others will cover equipment, power charging and such - I'll cover how you should do this. Well, since I taught in a developing country for a few years, this is my suggestion of how...

    Developing countries generally have a huge surplus of labor - it's one of their biggest resources. They also, like a lot of the world, tend to have lots of kids who are eager to learn new stuff.

    What you need to do is take several GPS receivers with you and hook up with a local teacher who can integrate GPS ideas and geography in with their lessons. The teacher could even make it a special project working with trustable students to map their own village(s).

    The key here is to push as much onto the students as possible so they do the work and they learn. You'll help the teacher, help the students and help make more than just maps.
  • You need to look at some GIS ( geographic information systems) http://www.gis.com/whatisgis/index.html/ [gis.com] software to construct maps, measure distances, and do analysis of the data collected. There are some free versions, as well as one or two good commercial platforms. If you are doing this for charitable or scientific reasons, the companies will generally help you with free licenses.
  • Honestly, you'll be lucky if you get the thing past customs without it being 'confiscated.' They take what they want. This happened to my friend who went to Kenya to help set up a network for his missionary friends. They just up and took a router and other bits of hardware that looked interesting to them and told him to move along. Luckily, he only had one CD of software that he kept in his pocket. He knew this was a possibility, but didn't think it really happens. It happens.

    If you're going to bring
  • Sure a GPS works anywhere in the world, but only the Americas and Europe have the corrective signals that give accuracy in the sub 10 metre range. WAAS and EGNOS respectively.

    See
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAAS [wikipedia.org]
    and
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EGNOS [wikipedia.org]

  • You say you use both mac's and PCs but if you haven't decided on what equipment to use in the fields I highly recommend the Panasonic Toughbook [panasonic.com]. Some are "tougher" than others, water proof vs water resistant for example, but all of them can take a severe beating and keep working. Legacy ports too so it's easy to interface with old Garmin gear.

    I have a 72 (replaced by the 73 in recent years) and it's been everywhere with me. They're a little heavy, but you can drop them from a meter onto concrete surfac

  • Go there with the highest resolution satellite image prints you can lay your sticky hands on.

    Use a GPS, make sure you can feed it off 12V car and whatever the local power is.

    Make sure the technology level you are bringing in is appropriate to the technology the people can afford. Sure you may be able to tell them exactly where Village A is in lat/lon. They know which path to take / which taxi minibus to take anyway. Have you really helped them?

    Often the problems are a _lot_ more basic. Getting clean

  • Mac Software (Score:2, Informative)

    by vangilder ( 589215 )
    I've had a very good experience with MacGPS Pro [macgpspro.com] from James Associates. It's reasonably priced ($40) and you can even find free maps and such. I used it in combination with a Garmin eTrex on a recent trip to the Okavango Delta (Botswana) and it worked just fine. No, I do not work for either company.
  • the area has been labeled to be harboring terrorists. Then GPS will work, but only for bunker busting bombs or anything else that can be used to kill someone from the air...
  • does GPS equipment from the US work over there?

    I'm sure it functions just fine over there, but I wouldn't count on it settling down and getting a job there without applying for a work visa first.

  • Be ULTRA careful (Score:5, Informative)

    by FitGeek ( 899924 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:21PM (#13067737)
    I travel in and out of Africa about once a month on business, hitting about 15 countries on average each year. I can tell you from experience that it is VERY dangerous to be seen using a GPS near Military installations, railroads, shipping, and anything the locals consider of strategic value. This generally means about everything. You should be extremely circumspect when using the GPS. You may have it confiscated, or you may end up in a cell somewhere with arabic graffiti on the walls. Not good. Your best bet is to make sure you contact your local embassy in the country, and ask their communications personnel about local sensitivities to GPS. You could always ask the Regional Security Officer (RSO) also, but be forewarned that they often err on the side of safety, have a poor understanding of much tech, and could very well say not without a moment's hesitatin to avoid having to retrieve you from your cell when you are snagged. Best bet; use it for quick position fixes, then put it away. It is also not safe to display an item that costs more than most locals make in a month of hard labor. Good luck!

  • Use GRINGO not WAAS (Score:5, Informative)

    by monopole ( 44023 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @06:40PM (#13067881)
    While GPS works everywhere, the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is only useful for the Continental US. WAAS units will work elsewere but they will only have the resolution of standard GPS. If you need better than standard C/A code accuracy use Carrier Differential (CDGPS) mapping using two Garmin recievers and a copy of GRINGO (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/iessg/gringo/ [nottingham.ac.uk]).

    The Garmin Rhino units w/ integrated FRS Walkie Talkie units are vaery rugged and may be handy for survey. Additionally, to quote the Operation Iraqi Freedom
    PEO Soldier Lessons Learned report:

    Commercial GPS: As is widely known, many soldiers purchase their own GPS systems rather than use the PLGR. The Rhino was provided to the 82d as part of the rapid fielding initiative. Overall, soldiers were very appreciative of this addition to their MTOE. The Rhino was a vast improvement over the PLGR because of the weight, volume, power consumption and performance - the Rhino consistently acquired satellites faster than the PLGR. However, the soldiers stated they did not use the communications capabilities of the Rhino, at least not extensively, because it was not secure and consumed batteries too quickly in this mode.

    If it survives the front lines in Iraq, West Africa should be a cake walk.
    • The Rino is a great device, but I'd go with a standalone Garmin GPS over it, given the choice now. I've yet to find a way to turn the radio off by default at power-up, and it is annoying having to shut it off every time...and yes, it does burn through batteries MUCH faster with it on.

      And a standard GPS will probably be more than accurate enough...mine generally gives a 3D accuracy in the 5 meter range (and I've checked it against a PLGR that has been on averaging mode), without WAAS, which for mapping v

  • my experience - Pismo+Deluo, or eTrex in pocket (Score:3, Informative)

    by xeno ( 2667 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @07:17PM (#13068223)
    I was going to let this alone and perhaps let the geocaching or other GPS gadget freaks answer it, but some of the discussion regarding durability and suspicious behavior by westerners leads me to throw my US$0.02 in.

    It depends whether you're going to be walking or driving. I have had very good car-based mapping experiences using an older Mac, namely a G3-500 Pismo. I have found the Pismo and similar Lombard/Wallstreet units to be cheap, very functional, unobtrusive, and very durable -- almost to Panasonic Toughbook standards. Though I use both Mac and PC on a regular basis, ease of use pulls me to the Mac for GPS tools. I use mine with a remote usb-connected-and-powered Deluo GPS unit, which mounts on the dashboard or on the roof of the vehicle using a magnet on the bottom. The Deluo has no display or blinky lights to advertise its presence; it's just a 3cmSq bump with a cable. Get a car charger to keep the Mac powered up, use the nifty Control+Alt+Apple+8 to switch the display to "7337 mode" (inverse greyscale display), and you'll be about as unobtrusive as you can get. Less obtrusive than simply being a western guy in rural west Africa, anyway.

    On the other hand, if you're going to be on foot, I heartily recommend ditching the laptop and taking an eTrex Voyager or similar model. It's very durable, gets good reception, fits in your shirt pocket out of sight while still receiving a signal, and runs all day long -- thanks in part to its black and white screen -- on two AA batteries. Make a list on paper of waypoints you expect to see, mark them on the eTrex unit using the little joystick when you get to each spot in sequence, and then put it back in your shirt pocket without making a scene. Take a few sets of rechargable AAs and a solar charger, and leave the computer at home for data dumps at the end of each day.

    Better yet, take two or three eTrex units (US$60-90 used), and consider them disposable -- expect to have them all eventually stolen from you or seized by various police or military. You may face less hassle and risk if you appear only mildly irritated that a trinket is being taken, as opposed to hyperventiating over someone taking all your data. Eventually you can take the downloaded data and correlate the traces and waypoints using satellite maps or other starting points.

    J

  • Mapping villages in Madagascar (Score:3, Informative)

    by burning_plastic ( 164918 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @07:44PM (#13068449)
    For most of 2003 and 2004 I was working in rural Madagascar on a reef conservation project (as Diving Manager, Scientist and general tech guy).

    We primarily used handheld GPS units (Garmin, Magellan) for mapping the outlines of the reefs. This was accomplished by attching the GPS in a waterproof bag to a float and towing it behind a diver. It was fairly effective, and provided data good enough for GIS work.

    We also mapped the roads (read: dirt tracks) and trails in the local area, but the part that seems most approprate to this discussion was mapping the local fishing villages for socio-economic research.

    We mapped out the main roads, the major buildings, and all of the houses that we interviewed people at so that we could build up a full profile of the village for input into our GIS work.

    For most work, the most basic GPS units were fine (eg. Garmin Etrex, and 7x series - we also used a couple of Magellan and Silva units). Use rechargable NiMh batteries as although they don't last as long as alkalines, you can use a solar recharger to give you an endless supply. (As an aside, only the Garmins were able to run on the crappy local batteries).

    As an idea of where we were - the nearest phone line was over 200 miles away, and the only reliable method of communication was satellite phone (radio messages could sometimes get through via several mission relays, but if the weather was off then no chance).

    I used a couple of fairly old (P2 233) Toshiba Satellites as my data machines as they could take a beating and keep working (and were free). (Win 98 on both and a dual boot to RH 9 on one)

    Hope this helps...

    Dan.

  • Some free solutions (Score:5, Informative)

    by nadaou ( 535365 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @07:59PM (#13068542) Homepage
    Hardware:
    Get a Garmin handheld GPS with a 12v adaptor & download cable, and probably a crate of AA batts.
    Stick with consumer stuff. Buying a spare or 3 is cheaper than buying a Trimble survey grade and they all work well enough.

    GPS Software:
    Download GPStrans &/or GPSbabel.
    http://gpstrans.sourceforge.net/ [sourceforge.net]
    http://www.gpsbabel.org/ [gpsbabel.org]
    You can load the GPS waypoints/track/routes into a mapping format with GRASS GIS's v.in.garmin or gpsbabel+anything.

    Mapping software:
    Use QGIS. http://qgis.org/ [qgis.org]
    Use GPS plugin.

    Data:
    Start by downloading SRTM elevation data and VMAP0 digital chart of the world data. Best there will be publicly available for Africa.

    Instructions for converting into a usable format here:
    http://grass.ibiblio.org/newsletter/GRASSNews_vol3 .pdf [ibiblio.org]

    Import and crop with GRASS GIS (r.in.srtm and v.in.ogr modules) and either use with QGIS directly or export into a secondary more popular format for use with other software.

    GRASS works well on a Mac. http://grass.ibiblio.org/ [ibiblio.org]

    GPS interface programs should work on a Mac, GPStrans is command line only so with some hacking and GPSbabel is well maintained so there should be a Mac port by now.

    SRTM: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/ [nasa.gov]
    VMAP0: http://www.mapability.com/info/vmap0_index.html [mapability.com]

  • Region coding... (Score:3, Funny)

    by jemenake ( 595948 ) on Thursday July 14, 2005 @08:56PM (#13068884)
    My girlfriend lives and works in West Africa and on my next visit...
    You travel to Africa to get to your girlfriend?!? Dude, either you are TOTALLY pussy-whipped, or she's totally hot and you're a genius for getting her away from any potential competition by sticking her out in the boondocks. ("A 'bird' out in the bush is worth two in a developed country', I guess they could say).
    (does GPS equipment from the US work over there?)
    Fortunately, the Motion Picture Assoc. of America didn't forsee GPS's ever being used for any kind of movie viewing... so they didn't press to get region-coding into GPS's, like they do with DVD players. :)

  • LEARN and READ (Score:4, Informative)

    by Craig Ringer ( 302899 ) on Friday July 15, 2005 @02:56AM (#13070619) Homepage Journal
    Something I've seen missing from the discussion so far is much focus on understanding maps and navigation.

    If you don't know how to read and use a map, it'll be much harder to make one that's even remotely useful. Get familiar with topographical maps, at bare minimum, and preferably other types you think might be appropriate. Study some cartography. Go out on a compass navigation training course - with not a single gadget on you.

    I mean that about the training course, too. You'll learn much better that way, and learn things properly. Don't just think reading a book cuts it, you need to go out and get experience where you still have someone to pull you out or ask questions of.

    Get the permission of the local authorities. Others have outlined why that's a very good idea.

    I'd also suggest going on a few multi-day bushwalks before you leave. On at least one of them, preferably with someone experienced, leave your GPS unit at home. Why: (a) Bushwalking is fun, especially multi-day trips (b) it'll make you more confident in your ability to handle navigation and the work involved, and (c) you'll appreciate the practice.

    Now, I've made some big assumptions about the sort of territory and environment you'll be working in. Even if you don't need the skills outlined above, though, they're darn good to have, darn fun to acquire, and it never hurts to be prepared.

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