Will Above the Timber produce 24K Topos for states other than Colorado?
New Mexico and Arizona will be released in the summer of 2010.

Will Above the Timber's Maps work in my Garmin GPS?
Yes. Have yet to encounter a Garmin mapping GPS that doesn't work. Simply download any of the free state demo map sets to prove it to yourself, today. Each is about 4MB and has links to Mapsource.

Are these really 24K Topos?
Yes and More, 24K implies 24,000:1 fixed scaling. These maps dynamically scale, so you can have the exact scale necessary for optimum viewing, unlike fixed scale paper maps. You can easily scale to 12K if necessary, for viewing a small area by over zooming or zoom out to 100K to see a larger area.

What Datum/Projection should I use?
While the maps were constructed using NAD83, the maps are exported to WGS84 before compiling. WGS84 is the default projection in most GPS receivers.

Is their a Map Legend?
No, because it is not necessary. Paper maps need a legend to identify their line, point and area types. But vector maps allow every feature to have a unique text description, not just a generic type from a legend. Simply place the GPS cursor on any object of interest and its unique text ID will pop up. Another example of GPS vector maps superiority over paper/raster maps.

Is USGS Vegetation Data Included on these Maps?
No, mainly because that data is in raster format, whereas Garmin maps are vector maps. To include raster data it must first be converted to vector data, possible but nontrivial. Further complicating the issue is public land ownership, it would be difficult to portray vegetation and forest service lands at the same time.

Do the maps show Private Lands?
Yes and No. The maps show all public lands, state and federal. By inference, all lands not public are private. However, private land ownership is not shown, only that it is not public. Also, these are not survey quality maps. When you get close to a private parcel, you should be looking for boundary markers.

Will I see any seams?
Essentially no. Because the data sets are so large, it was necessary to grid or subdivide the master map so that it would fit in the 2GB limit of 32-bit Windows. The net result is if you zoom in tight enough, some grid overlap errors are visible. While visible, these errors will in no way affect your ability to navigate with the maps.

Do I have layer control of features?
Essentially no. You cannot individually control the appearance of area, line, or point features. All feature types have a hard coded display sequence. However, you have considerable control over when features as a group appear/disappear using the levels setting. more

Are their any disadvantages to these maps?
Unfortunately Yes, two come to mind:
1] If your batteries die, these maps cease to exist until the batteries are replaced. Advised to carry spares.
2] Detail, the very detail that makes these maps great at walking speeds can be a curse a highway speeds. Your GPS receiver will have difficulty refreshing the display with rapid motion. Because the maps are multi-level, zooming out to 200-foot contours will significantly reduce the data for the CPU to process, thereby increasing the useful map refresh rate. This link has more information.

Can I Plan Routes on my PC with these Maps?
Only to the extent that Mapsource or another mapping software allows, there is no PC viewer included. Keep in mind, the whole point of these Topos is that you don't have to preplan, you have the 24K maps with you, not back home on your PC. Also, ALL routes, waypoints and tracklogs are independent of these maps, another layer. Fundamentally, all a route is, is a series of vectors defined by the very same coordinates that the map vectors use. Therefore, if you create a vector route saved to a separate file, then it will show up on top of the map. These same route vectors will also obscure some of the 24K map detail unless their is a way to turn them off.

Can I Make Custom Maps using your GPS Maps?
Only to the extent that Mapsource allows, there is no PC viewer included. While the high resolution maps will certainly aid you in finding your location relative to geographic features, the resulting waypoints and tracklogs you create are dependant on your specific GPS receiver, not Above the Timber's maps. These custom waypoints and tracklogs can be exported to many mapping programs to make custom maps.

Can Waypoints and Track Logs be used/created with these maps?
Yes, waypoints and track logs are independent of all maps, another layer/file. Depend on the options available and/or chosen they are stored either in internal memory or on the flash card in separate files. Look at Jack Yeazel's review. He has 1999 tracklogs displayed on top of 2007 24K Colorado Topos.

What Accuracy can I expect from these Maps in my GPS?
Their are two sources of inaccuracy using these maps, your GPS receiver and the raw data used to create the maps. Your Garmin GPS is a consumer grade GPS with an instantaneous accuracy of 30-50 feet and an averaging accuracy of 10-15 feet. The raw data, on the other hand, comes from many sources and can be off by a few to hundreds of feet. As recreational maps, consider the map objects to be "in-the-neighborhood" and not absolute positions.

Will Garmin's "Find Geographic Features" work with the map data?
Yes, simply type all of part of a phrase into the Mapsource find dialog and it will quickly find local points in distance order.

Are the CD's locked?
No, the maps can be placed on your existing and new GPS receivers. However,  the license agreement prohibits copying and/or sharing the map files with other users.

What is your GPS Topo Maps Upgrade Policy?
See this page.

Are Forest Service & BLM lands included on the maps?
All public lands: Federal, State, and City are included in Version II and later maps.

Are the Forest Service Trails Numbered?
Most Forest Service trails are named and/or numbered, the only exception are those Forests which did not reply to the information request.

Are Forest Service Roads Included and Numbered?
Yes when they are part of the federal roads database.

Which Forest Roads will I find Missing?
Generally, the last mile of some 4WD roads and unnamed and unnumbered tertiary roads are missing from the roads database. Major FS roads seemed to always be included and often numbered.

Are Colorado Game Management Units Shown?
Yes, they were part of the Version 3 and later maps. GMU's are shown as borders with each line segment showing adjacent area numbers.

Why do some lines not show in Mapsource?
This should not happen with Version 3 or later.

Are Forest Service & BLM land boundaries included on the maps?
Yes and more. All federal boundaries are included as a semi-transparent underlay in two or more colors to provide area distinction. The screenshots on this page will explain more.

Will I see any seams?
Yes, because of the memory limitations imposed by the master maps, contours were only created along integer N-S degrees. Therefore, at each whole N-S degree, a east-west contour "seam" could exist. The discontinuity will only occur with contours, not road or water features. The free download shows a typical seam.
 

Why is Above the Timber producing these 24K Topos and not Garmin?
You'll have to ask Garmin that one.  Clearly, if Garmin had a Colorado 24K Topo on the market, Above the Timber would not. Garmin appears most interested in Road Warriors at this time, not backcountry travelers.

Why are these maps not licensed by Garmin?
Tried that route. Once Garmin learned that Above the Timber wanted to produce Colorado maps, they stopped replying to emails, 2nd email. Apparently, Garmin will only license maps from outside the USA.

If Garmin introduces Colorado Topo maps, will Above the Timber discontinue its Colorado maps?
Perhaps, but not likely. When you see the Above the Timber maps you'll find aspects that are superior to Garmin's limited 24K offerings. Namely, smoother, more accurate contours and much better hydro data. Garmin on the other hand has a faux 3D look. Competition is good for the consumer.

Will these maps work on GPS receivers other than Garmin?
No. The Operating System and mapping language is specific to each brand.

Can I load my maps using Garmin's Mapsource?
Yes, providing it is version 6.0 or later. You can easily download the latest version from Garmin. The Colorado installers have links for downloading a pair of products from Garmin to install Mapsource from scratch. Above the Timber can NOT provide you a copy of Mapsource. To do so would violate Garmin's copyright. You can also purchase Garmin's Trips and Waypoints Manager CD, it contains a copy of Mapsource.

What is the Gmapsupp.img file?
Gmapsupp is the img container file and is the only map file your Garmin GPS will read. If you have Mapsource, it will make gmapsupp.img for you and load it into your GPS receiver. You can rename any one img file to gmapsupp.img and your GPS will read it. Mapsource will package up to 2025 different img files into one gmapsupp.img container file from multiple sources. The individual img files are always 8-digit numeric.img format, inside each is a text header which you see in the maps tab in Mapsource.

The colors I see on my GPS screen do not match the colors on the screenshots page?
Three possible reasons:
1] You can configure various daytime and nighttime color modes inside your GPS, refer to your owners manual.
2] Your CRT/LCD PC monitor may render colors different than your GPS screen.
3] Garmin's xImage screen capture utility has a native BMP file, most of the screenshots are GIF format. That file conversion will cause color changes.

The StateTopos.exe installs fine, still don't see any maps?
If you've never used Mapsource before, some of its conventions can be confusing. The following screenshots should help:

Of particular interest are the four moveable toolbars below File - Edit - Find . . . Use the pull down dialog to select which map title to view. This image shows Washington's 24K Topos at a scale of 70 mi. You then use the Map Tool to select map segments. Note the pink squares (left) were selected using the Map Tool, the current active tool. These squares show up in the Maps table on the left. Only segments in this table are placed in your GPS receiver by Mapsource. The table in this example shows maps from Colorado, Utah, Washington and Garmin's US Topo - West. Any mix of map segments from various map titles are permitted, your choice.

After you've selected all the map segments you want from Wash 24K Topos, you can keep adding as many map segments from any other title in the pull down dialog. The maximum number of segments allowed under the Maps tab is 2025. It can then take Mapsource an hour or more to build the map file. You can NOT add segments to the finished map file, you MUST build the entire map file at one time.

The view shows where four map segments come together. The lower-right segment has been selected with the Map Tool, the current active tool, and its name appears in the Maps tab, on the left. The bright yellow line shows a highlighted segment, if clicked (selected) it too would appear under the Maps tab.

Trouble Moving Map Files to a New Computer?
Whether you have a new computer or crashed an old computer, moving the map files will NOT work. The map installation software must install entries into the Windows Registry in order for Mapsource to know where to look for the map files. Therefore you must rerun the map installation from the CD or download in order to see the maps on your new PC.

Can I use Google Checkout for the Retail Product?
No, because the retail product is physically shipped, Sales Tax and Shipping become issues. A shopping cart would be required for those and better to spend time on more state maps.

Why did Above the Timber switch from DVD's to CD's?
Fits easily on a CD. During product development it was unclear how big it would be, DVD's were the safer choice. May return to DVD's in the future, they burn and verify faster.
 

Attachments:
Do NOT send any attachment larger than 200KB, Above the Timber has very limited bandwidth. If you need to send a screenshot with your question, convert your file to a JPEG or GIF. Heavily compress JPEGs.