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Is this the best map? Is this the best map?
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North Africa Topics specific to North Africa and the Sahara down to the 17th parallel (excludes Morocco)
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



Trans Sahara Routes.

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  #1  
Old 29 Aug 2002
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Is this the best map?
What do you think of this...(assuming I can link to it)...
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  #2  
Old 29 Aug 2002
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Can anyone tell me what it is? Is it a satellite image of an area covered by an IGN 1:200,000 map, with pistes marked? I found it at http://www.sahara-info.ch/GPS/gpscore.htm but my German is too lousy for me to know what it is. And I posted a question in this forum about it the other day, asking for opinions, but got no replies...so am risking a second attempt! Could someone tell me whether this CD might make a good navigational aid? I was thinking of printing the images off, marking towns, wells etc on them and using them for navigation on the piste. Forgive my naivety if this is a stupid question - I'm new to this sort of thing.
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Old 29 Aug 2002
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This is a satellite image in loaded in presumebly TTQV (www.ttqv.de) a gps-map software.

The red line on it is the gps track that somebody downloaded into the program and put it over the satellite images....

For navigation I am going to use the russian africa maps that can be used in ttqv aswell... if you are going to buy the satellite CD please drop me an e-mail ;-)

So thats what it is...

And as I am preparing my trip, WHO is willing to mail me his Africa tracks? As I am looking for them!

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CU under the Cu

Frank
http://www.crossing-africa.com .:. The Ultimate Travel on a Yamaha XT600Z

[This message has been edited by Fuchur (edited 29 August 2002).]

[This message has been edited by Fuchur (edited 29 August 2002).]
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  #4  
Old 30 Aug 2002
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Hi Nick, this is indeed a satellite pic which someone has "modified" so that it now has a scale and also coordinates in a seperate layer. Yves from SAHARA-INFO.CH did these and the reaction from the forum community when he announced them was overwhelming. The trouble is though, he sells them from Switzerland (=non EC country). I.e. you'll have to pay VAT when the stuff hits Britain. Also you have to pay in advance which makes it a hell of a hassle.
Personally I don't believe in this kind of navigation. It's a nice to have x-mas present gimmick kind a thing, but NOT a safe method to find your way. You are so dependant on the CD drive in your laptop, your laptop, power supply, inverter, cables, gps set...(what if 'doubbleyougeorge' hits Irak while your down there and he decides to turn off gps while your stuck in the middle of nowhere...uhoh). Always have a compass and good maps and take this stuff to play with. But don't forget to look out of the window when your in Africa and don't just stare at your computer screen ;-))
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Old 30 Aug 2002
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Thanks guys. So the red tracks are just one man's ramblings? Not necessarily pistes?

The CD seems quite good value - only 30 Euros. I will let you know if I buy it! If I did, I'm not sure it would be much use on a screen in daylight - I won't travel with anything bigger than a Sony C1 Picturebook anyway. But if I can borrow a high quality A3 colour printer in someone's office, and take printouts with me, in addition to IGN 1: 1,000,000s...what do you think? I've never travelled in a desert before.

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Old 30 Aug 2002
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I'm buying it ...

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OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.
ShortWheelbase.com – Jeep preparations.
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Old 30 Aug 2002
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Just a quick point on GPS, it's unlikely, if the US do act against Iraq, that they will encode the signals globally - ie Algeria is sufficiently far away that GPS efficiency would remain unchanged. Anybody relying on the system from Egypt east might have more difficulty.

Sam.
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Old 30 Aug 2002
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I am the author of the CD (which is based on public available date from NASA) and would like to clearify some points (until the english translation of my pages is up...)

<UL>[*]The images do not replace a good set of maps![*] The images are a good complemet to maps especialy for planing off piste trips and get a more realistic impression of the terrain.
Also you will see some pistes, airports etc. which do not appear on any map.[*]The images are geo referenced for OziExplorer and TTQV. Calibration is spot on.[*]There is no grid on them (the spacing depends too much on the use), the grid will be an overlay by your navigation Program TTQV/Ozi.[*]There is no overlay with settlements, pistes, roads on them. This could be achieved with TTQV/Ozi using public available data (NIMA I guess, but poor precision)[*]You could copy the maps onto your PC's Harddisk.[*]International payment is by ShareIt, so reliable/save.[/list:u:f58c00850a]

Hope that helps, Yves
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Old 30 Aug 2002
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Sam,

That's always a possibility. On a similar note, I just remembered a story that during the Desert Shield operation SA had to be turned off for a while because the the military ran out of GPS units to issue to the troops and had to switch to civilian supplies. So it seems to work both ways.



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Old 30 Aug 2002
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Hi all,

The Immages are available on http://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/. They are for free, and they are georeferenced (unzip, and when opening in ttqv, in the georef window, click on the "Use world file").

have fun with them

Rob
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Old 30 Aug 2002
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Nick,

It’s a good idea to get any printouts laminated. Most commercial copying and printing outfits do it at a reasonable price. That way your printouts won’t get blown away or go soggy when you spill water/diesel on them. Also, being rigid makes them much easier to hold while you’re navigating on the move.

I suggest you experiment with A4 and A3 sizes (use some pieces of cardboard) while sitting in your vehicle. I prefer to print things out in A4 chunks so that I get good definition on the section I’m currently driving. You can lay the sections out on the ground/bonnet to get the bigger picture.

You can save money by sticking two different sections back-to-back, but you have to be careful or you’ll find that the section which joins your current left edge is on the back of the section which joins your current top edge.
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