GPS/GIS Stuff

I have been using GPS for quite a number of years for my botanical research/interest as well as outdoor pursuits. I bought my first GPS receiver almost 15 years ago (1994) and used it extensively for creating and mapping hiking trails, marking interesting botanical finds, finding my way driving through Canada/US on holidays, measuring perimeter and area of fields/plots, finding and mapping health facilities, and much more.

I started doing basic GIS work with air photos and 'ground truthing' over 20 years ago (1988) using image processing software such as NIH Image and PhotoShop on the Mac. I also did some work with Map II along with various CAD programs while working in the Faculty of Architecture CAD lab. I use ArcView and ArcGIS extensively in my current work to generate base maps and geocode locations. In combination with GPS information I have worked with field data and computerized raster/vector based GIS information.

Workshop Info

I have taught workshops on the use of GPS for canoeing, hiking and more recently GeoCache hunts. Starting in 2000, in an attempt to reduce my workload, I started teaching workshops on the use of GIS in health. These workshops incude the use of ArcView ^® 3.x, ArcGIS desktop^® , fGIS ^TM, Epi Map^TM, and some others. I have posted some of the notes from these workshops on the this page. I have also put a more general workshop together on navigation with Maps, Compass and GPS.

I developed a very basic GPS workshop for the Manitoba Nature outdoor program. Additional information was added when developing course material for Recreation Services (University of Manitoba) and information material for the sales people at the Winnipeg MEC store. The workshops follow a general outline. The actual course content changes slightly depending on the location and equipment available. Activities to complete on Assiniboine Park field trip, including WayPoints (MS Word document) Map of Assiniboine park with WayPoints (JPG image) Activities and WayPoints for UofM workshop (MS Word document ~75K) Notes, Terms and Jargon associated with the workshop (PDF ~630K) UTM & MGRS Notes and task similar information used with Manitoba Nature workshop Map of UofM with points (PDF ~1.6MB). Some considerations when looking to buy a GPS receiver A rough comparison of GSP 60 and iFinder Pro tracks providing an idea differences between GPSr units for tracking and marking locations or another comparison under more difficult conditions. Associated navigation workshop

I compiled some locations for GPS validation that the participants may find of use. These points come from GeoBase (http://www.geobase.ca/) Geodetic Network information on Federal 3-D Densification Network, Canada, Level 1 (FED3DC1) - sheets 062H, 062I, 062O, 062P, 062J, 062G, 052L, 052E. I have not confirmed that all of these sites still exist so use at your own risk. Some of these sites may be on private land or areas with restricted access. Please respect private property and ask permission of the land owner. Geodetic Survey points near Winnipeg that can be used for GPS Validation (PDF ~130K) Tabular information for survey points (MS Excel file ~40K) City of Winnipeg Surveys and Mapping points at the UofM and Assiniboine park The above information is only a summary of the information for each point; it is not complete. A little historical information on surveyors & surveys in Canada Centennial Survey Monument N 49° 53.261 W 097° 08.973 (UTM: 14U E 632921 N 5527784) Dominion Lands Survey System monument The above information links go to The Association of Manitoba Land Surveyors. There is a geocache called "DLSS Monument" that uses the DLSS monument, a geodetic survey of Canada marker, and a local survey marker. The Centennial Survey Monument is also a 'Virtual Geocache called "First Post - Winnipeg"

One of the questions I had, and have heard from others, is "what do these survey point/benchmark things look like anyway"? Here are a couple of examples.

Geodetic Survey of Canada Triangulation Station 654002

City of Winnipeg Surveys and Mapping point 84R611

General Information

• GPS Information http://gpsinformation.net/
• A Practical Guide to GPS http://www.dbartlett.com/
• A simpler guide to Garmin handheld receivers
• Trimble GPS Tutorial
• GPS Guide for Beginners (PDF)
• Using a Garmin GPS with Paper Maps (PDF)
• 10 things to improve GPS Accuracy by Doyle's GIS
• GPS Nuts http://edu-observatory.org/gps/gps.html
• Datums and Grids, And Grid Reference Systems from National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (http://www.nga.mil/portal/site/nga01/)
• Global Positioning System (GPS) Resources
• GPS: The New Navigation http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/longitude/gps.html
• Canada Map Sales http://www.canadamapsales.com/
• Canadian Topographic Maps Maps 101 http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography/topographic-information/maps/11086
• Reference Ellipsoids and Geodetic Datum Transformation Parameters or
  Geodetic Datum List
• GPS World magazine
• Glossary of Terms from Garmin
• Glossary of Terms from NavtechGPS.com
• Global Positioning System GIS Glossary from About.com

GeoCaching

• The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site http://www.geocaching.com/
  
  
• Waymarking (kind of like virtual caches)
• MANITOBA GEOCACHING ASSOCIATION http://www.mbgeocaching.ca/
  
• GeoCaching Glossary (from www.geocaching.com), or The Lexicon of Geocaching (compiled by Prime Suspect)
• Geocaching Creed - When placing or seeking geocaches
• Geocaching in Manitoba Provincial Parks including policies and procedures regarding hides.
• Parks Canada (National Parks) and Geocaching including policies and procedures regarding hides.
• The Ultimate Guide to Geocaching

Utilities and GIS Source

• Q GIS project Starting with v. 2.01 I quite like this software.
• MapWindow GIS
• GPS Utility http://www.gpsu.co.uk/ This happens to be what I use for conversions and most GIS/GPS work :-)
• GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) http://www.gsak.net/ This is a really good package if all you do is geocache.
• OziExplorer
• EasyGPS - Free GPS software for Garmin, Magellan, Lowrance GPS
• GPS Tracker
• fGIS - Although updates for this product are no longer free from WN DNR this version continues to be free for use. This wass one of my favorite inexpensive GIS packages - small easy to use but limited.
• Manitoba Land Initiative http://web2.gov.mb.ca/mli/ If you want to map or display ArcView Shape files from this site try ArcExplorer from ESRI or fGIS above.

Equipment Info

• Garmin: http://www.garmin.com/
• Magellan: http://www.magellangps.com/
• Lowrance Electronics: http://www.lowrance.com/

Shop in Winnipeg:

• Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) Limited selection that is directed to the self-propelled outdoor user. A good place to start.
• Cabela's Directed at hunting/fishing but have a lot of other things as well. I am not sure how things have changed with the move to Cabela's but lots of people I know frequent the store.

Shopping by Mail.
You should know what you want first and do your own research. Don't expect in person support or demonstrations.

• Prairie Geomatics Ltd.
• GPS City (gpscity.ca)

Some considerations when looking to buy a GPS receiver

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If you have any questions or comments please send me email: burc...@cc.umanitoba.ca