GPS

[1amongmany]

who has a vast knowlege of GPSs and how the system works? I mean more than "I know how to turn on my land nav in my mercedes" or "I have a Garmin"

in this country there are no ground level mapping systems or maps, which are the foundation of the GPS...I am looking for a contact that help me get things started here...

I used a Garmin handheld a lot in the states on my boat and hiking but here nothing works....there is satellite coverage but that doesn't do much good without a map

[statajack]

who has a vast knowlege of GPSs and how the system works? I mean more than "I know how to turn on my land nav in my mercedes" or "I have a Garmin"

in this country there are no ground level mapping systems or maps, which are the foundation of the GPS...I am looking for a contact that help me get things started here...

I used a Garmin handheld a lot in the states on my boat and hiking but here nothing works....there is satellite coverage but that doesn't do much good without a map

Which country?

[1amongmany]

Azerbaijan

[statajack]

Azerbaijan

Are there any chart plotter cartridges for this territory?

[1amongmany]

don't know, how can I find out?

[statajack]

If there any dealers of GPS kit there, they should be able to tell you if chart plotting maps are available. That would be a good starting point.

[1amongmany]

thats the problem, there is a Garmin dealer here but they don't have any maps, there is no support for them.....Garmin has nothing for this area, they leave it up to 'googlemaps' which there is only a satellite view topographical map with little detail and no street map...I have searched for charts from independent makers like CMAP but found nothing...

do I have to wait for someone to make a digital map of this place?

[statajack]

Well, there is no other way I can think of, to install mapping in your GPS. It may require a combination of traditional coordinate grabbing from a conventional map, and install a list of waypoints (Lat/long) in the GPS. Most GPS machines will let you name the waypoints also, so that you have a figurative reference. This is what I would do under the circumstances.

It's tiresome, but you only need to do each waypoint once, then they are locked in your machine indefinitely.

[1amongmany]

I'm doing that for my handheld and you are right it is tiresome but I was wondering what it would take to get the complete package like so many people in the west enjoy

[statajack]

Well, I would guess, that if the area isn't charted for GPS format, that there will be no package. You may have to put up with manual entry and build up your own "portfolio".

Hey, it might then be marketable....... :)

[1amongmany]

thanks.......

[saprosky]

After last events in Georgia, many people asked Google why didn't have maps of Georgia (and Azerbaijan too). Here is the answer from Google LatLong blog:

Where is Georgia on Google Maps?
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 4:49 PM

The recent conflict in Georgia has raised some questions about how Google Maps has handled mapping in that part of the world. The most obvious question is, why doesn't Google Maps show any cities or roads for Georgia, or its neighbors Armenia and Azerbaijan? The answer is we never launched coverage in those countries because we simply weren't satisfied with the map data we had available. We're constantly searching for the best map data we can find, and sometimes will delay launching coverage in a country if we think we can get more comprehensive data. Some of our customers have asked if we removed map data from any of these countries in response to the recent hostilities in that region and I can assure you that is not the case. Data for these countries were never on Google Maps in the first place.

But this has generated a lot of feedback that we are listening to and learning from. We're hearing from our users that they would rather see even very basic coverage of a country than see nothing at all. That certainly makes sense, and so we have started preparing data for the handful of countries that are still blank on Google Maps. Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, as well as other significant regions of the world will benefit from this effort.

In the meantime, much of this data, including cities in Georgia and other surrounding countries, can be found in Google Earth.

Posted by Dave Barth, Product ManagerSo better take a paper map and a compas ;)

[1amongmany]

right...I can get a satellite view but nothing for streets that a land nav system could use

[Calgary1966]

right...I can get a satellite view but nothing for streets that a land nav system could use

Actually the Russians have thier own system Called GLONASS GPS .

Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System . This system should cover all areas of the former Soviet Union. Check and see if the dealer you talked to has a hand held unit and might be willing to trade you for it. I deal in Garmin systems at work for oilfield stuff and am not aware of any software that might help you with it. NavStar and a couple companies in Europe make systems that might be more along the lines of what you need.

Sorry I couldn't be more help to you.

Dean

[1amongmany]

thanks...I hadn't heard of GLONASS, I will check on it....I did talk to the iol people here (BP) and they have a maritime system but it does me no good, its more for the shipping industry in the Caspian Sea