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Figure 2 – Navigating through Boston using Earthmate GPS
and Street Atlas USA 2005
XP with 128 MG RAM, Pentium 300 MHz,
CD ROM drive, 700 MB hard drive space
and Internet Explorer 5.01 or later.
Of course, to use the Earthmate GPS the
PC must have a USB port. However, you can
purchase a cable that connects the Earthmate
to a serial port and power via a connection
to a vehicle’s cigarette lighter.
The Earthmate GPS hardware “display”
is simplicity itself. It consists of a tri-colored
LED that indicates satellite acquisition
modes: red for searching, yellow for two
satellites lock, and green for at least three
satellites lock.
❖ Using Street Atlas 2005
First, let me start by saying that this
program has so many features and screens
that it would be impossible to cover them
all in one column. We will look at one mode
of operation, GPS Trip Routing. We had
to make a round trip from Concord, New
Hampshire, to Randolph, Massachusetts,
which is just south of Boston. On the way
back to Concord we turned on the computer
and Earthmate GPS.
Using a Pentium II 366 MHz laptop
and with the Earthmate GPS sitting on the
dashboard of the car, we started our trip back
north, which took us through Boston. Figure
2 shows the main screen of Street Atlas 2005,
just as we passed Exit 25 on Route 93 in
Boston. The main two sections of the screen
are the left and right map areas.
The map on the right has
been zoomed in to a magnification
of 12-4 as seen in the
upper right. Our position, as
determined by the Earthmate
GPS, is indicated by the dot in
the center of the screen next to
the “25”, marking exit 25. Our
exact latitude, longitude and elevation
can be seen on the right
side of this screen. The dark
line, which is actually brown in
color, is our planned route. The
map is rich in color detail. This
map shows major highways,
local streets, highway exits and
markers for exits with lodging,
food and fuel. Points of
interest are also detailed, such
as the USS Constitution, Old
Ironsides, which can be seen just across the
water to the northeast of our location. The
user has the option of selecting what features
to display. As we travel, so does the GPS
“dot”. The color of the dot corresponds to the
acquisition mode of the GPS. (See above.)
The map on the right can be configured
in a number of modes. Here we have a wider
area of view centered on our actual position.
There are many more features that can be
displayed, including “turns” along the route.
The program can also “speak” to you when
you are approaching one of these route turns.
That’s pretty strange the first time it breaks
the silence by giving you directions!
Not only does it speak, but it listens,
too. The program can be trained to identify
a number of voice commands. This is just
one of many features we didn’t try.
The large section along the bottom of
Figure 2 holds many of these features under
menus titled Map Files, Find, Print, Draw,
GPS, Route, Info, Netlink, Voice, Map and
Display. Most are self-explanatory, opening
into detailed menus concerning their topics.
The Handheld Expert reduces maps so they
can be downloaded to PDAs. The NetLink
menu becomes really interesting when used
with DeLorme’s other program, Topo USA
version 5.0.
❖ A Picture = 1000 Words
Topo USA is another DeLorme program
that can be used with the Earthmate
GPS receiver. The instructions do not give
minimum system requirements. However, it
seemed to run slower than Street Atlas on my
laptop, which may be indicative of its CPU
hunger.
Just look at Figure 3. The right map
again shows our GPS position on the now
familiar Boston map. We have moved a bit
farther north in our journey. But the left side
is really something!
an actual image of the area. Until recently
this technology was reserved for military
users. The left image can be zoomed in to a
resolution which allows you to see the roof
outline of individual houses.
A satellite image is also available, but
was far less impressive, reminding me of
blurry flight simulator landscapes. Both
aerial and satellite images must be downloaded
via the NetLink menu from DeLorme
at an additional cost per square mile of
photo downloaded. A few demo images are
included with Topo USA v5.
The Topo USA comes with two other
image formats, USGS Quads and Topo USA
5.0 Data Series, which are just as impressive
when the terrain is mountainous. Rotatable
and variable view angle three-dimension presentations
again give 3-D color topographic
presentations. But as we can see from the
“Elevation” boxes in the figures, 14 and 10
feet, Boston sits near sea level and is graphically
uninteresting.
❖ Just the Beginning
Earthmate GPS, coupled to these two
programs – Street Atlas USA 2005 and Topo
USA Version 5.0, is a winning combination.
It was very other so-called portable radios
used tubes anddifficult to narrow down the
twenty-three screen shots I thought were
interesting to two, and to leave out many
useful and unique features.
Both programs are available separately.
The Earthmate GPS receiver bundled with
Street Atlas USA 2005 is reasonably priced
at $129.95. Street Atlas alone is priced at
$49.95. Topo USA version 5.0 costs $99.95.
All three items are available from the DeLorme
website http://www.delorme.com or
by phone at 800-561-5105 or fax 207-846-
7051.
Above all (sorry for the pun), I was
most impressed with the sensitivity of the
little Earthmate. This receiver grabbed satellite
signals where other GPS receivers have
failed. In fact, just laying on a desk inside the
house near a window it was able do its stuff.
Very impressive and very, very miniature.
Figure 3 – The Real Deal. Topo USA’s main
screen. The right display shows an aerial photo
of your actual position.
❖ Aerial Imagery
You are looking down at a picture of our
exact location taken from an aircraft! Now
not only can we follow our progress on a
drawn map, but we can track our travel over
January 2005 MONITORING TIMES 73