Recent content by Menard_LaPue

  1. Menard_LaPue

    E-bikes?

    My e-bike experience: I live in a high-elevation mountainous area on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. The dirt road behind our neighborhood rises 2,300 feet in 5 miles, and that is where the good trails start. Maximum grade is 20%, but most is about 10%. I did that route about 3 times in...
  2. Menard_LaPue

    NASA Vehicle Aerodynamics studies - Very interesting read

    Thick reading, but what I saw was 30% reduction in aerodynamic drag at 55 mph with all the modifications, including the front and rear shrouds. Could translate up to 3.5 mpg for the ambulance that gets maybe 13. Plus you could maybe get all that extra room by adding the big 'ol roundy end.
  3. Menard_LaPue

    Stock Vehicles in the Wild ???

    Ford Expedition, stock highway tires and I put in a lot of miles on rugged dirt in Nevada for work. Typically I am 100 miles from pavement, wandering down old road or wadis, river beds, old mining roads. But I have to say, I am tired of all the flat tires and banging rocks on the bottom, and...
  4. Menard_LaPue

    Question about Backcountry Navigator maps

    3) Now load your downloaded map into the program - Map Layers - Prebuilt Maps - Browse (big green button), find your map. It was a little weird finding it, since the names of the files in the directories have different names depending on which program you access the file structure from, but...
  5. Menard_LaPue

    Question about Backcountry Navigator maps

    Then, once again, Prebuilt Map - "What's This" - CLICK TO FIND A DOWNLOAD.... This opens OpenAndroMaps Select your country, select a state to download - BUT WAIT - THERE IS MORE WEIRDNESS OF INSTRUCTIONS - You might think, at this point that you click the Download button, but NO you don't...
  6. Menard_LaPue

    Question about Backcountry Navigator maps

    Hi Jeep, I am new to BCN so I can feel your pain - especially when you try and tackle the 188 page user manual. I did get BCN to work with stored topo maps, saved on my SD card and here is what I did. BTW, storing maps as tiles turned out to be worthless for a lot of reasons, one being that I...
  7. Menard_LaPue

    Question about Backcountry Navigator maps

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  8. Menard_LaPue

    Best system for mapping?

    I appreciate the ideas - out in the field now, so will be a little slow to digest them and get back to reporting on what works. Its pretty amazing how many dirt roads end on the topo maps, yet I just keep on driving... This is why satellite images are so much better for finding access. My gut...
  9. Menard_LaPue

    Best system for mapping?

    theksmith, Thank you for the tip on AlpineQuest, I am reviewing it now. I have BackCountry Navigator, and find it super confusing. The manual is 188 pages. Each program has the same processes so I am not confused by what I am supposed to do, just finding it "not intuitive"/disorganized in BCN...
  10. Menard_LaPue

    Best system for mapping?

    I appreciate everyone's comments, but it appears I was not clear. I have included an example of a map which is typically made in the field. <<when you say "making maps" - what exactly do you want to do while in the field? are you just recording waypoints and tracks with notes or ...?>> The...
  11. Menard_LaPue

    Best system for mapping?

    <<Looking forward to answers as well!!>> Scott7022, I see you are in Russia. I spent 10 years there, 6 full time in central Siberia working in the field. GPS was illegal when I lived there and they were putting people in jail. Because of the "State Secrets" act were weren't able to know true...
  12. Menard_LaPue

    Best system for mapping?

    <<I have been using LeadNav for the last year or so. It works great with IOS.>> Since you downloaded map packs, I assume you have imagery capability when you have not phone or internet connection.. Is this correct? Do you have good 3D satellite imagery and topographic maps? Can you mark lines...
  13. Menard_LaPue

    Best system for mapping?

    <<I use my note 4 with GE and backcountry navigator>> I am glad to hear the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 works in Nevada, because I know there are a million roads that don't show up on anyone's software. However, I would go crazy making maps on the tiny screen of a smartphone. Tell me, with your GE...
  14. Menard_LaPue

    Best system for mapping?

    Mapbox-studio looks powerful, especially with the 20 tools for editing maps. If only GE could imitate some of those tools... I already have Arc-GIS though, which we leave in the office. Most importantly, I am looking for less complexity, not more, since I am driving around in a car without phone...
  15. Menard_LaPue

    Best system for mapping?

    Three things are important to me with mapping hardware and software: great satellite imagery, great topo maps, and the ability to record observations on this data set (making maps, mostly of rock boundaries). Navigation is interesting, but not that important. I currently use Google Earth for...
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