Delorme Street Atlas 2005 update - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

snowbunny · 02-11-2005, 02:03 AM

Stiles, I share your pain. As a long time Streets and Trips user I bought the Delorme Earthmate and Street Atlas and was very disappointed in the user interface. As someone who has worked in the computer field for over 30 years I have no tolerance for software that isn't user friendly. That's one reason why my computer of choice is a Macintosh. Still Street Atlas offers two distinct advantages over Streets and Trips. One is the voice prompt (which I really like) and the other is the easy to see at a glance directional arrows.

Like most people I avoid reading manuals as much as possible. Streets and Trips is intuitive enough so you can do this for almost all its features. Street Atlas on the other hand isn't very intuitive at all IMHO.

Ironically, when I was deepest in frustration getting my PC to recognize the GPS without crippling my mouse I thought, what the **** and plugged the GPS into my Macintosh. The Mac recognized it accurately right away but (sob) with no software to use with it ....

..

ronstan · 02-11-2005, 03:47 AM

Stiles and Snowbunny Don't give up hope. I got S/A for Christmas and was ready to pull my hair out with it. After playing around with it and asking questions I am getting better with it It is not like a lot of programs. One place to find a little info is yahoo groups. There is a group on there called street atlas. Do a search on yahoo groups and look for it. It has some pretty good info. I think the more you use this program the easier it is. If you have questions post them here and you will get an answer.

sreigle · 02-11-2005, 09:48 AM

Like Ron and Jim said, the interface is not very intuitive but once you learn it you find there's a lot of power there. Like Jim, I had over 30 years in computers and find there's no excuse for poor design. I even emailed them a year or so with some suggestions but they, of course, ignored that.

Stiles, root around and look at what's behind every tab, every button. Then 'start gps' even if you don't have one attached. That opens up some additional things on the gps tab you can look at. It also shows you that the map screen will be split, showing a higher level view on the left side. On the 2005 version somewhere in the Display tab there's a setting to tell it at what zoom level you want to see the icons for stores and the like. I wish I could see those at lower than 14 but that's the lowest. I usually run it on 13 or 14 when on the road. Then I use the higher level view for the picture over then next five to twenty miles and look at the closer view when that one shows I'm nearing a turn or the voice clues me a turn is coming up. I still wish there were a way to have the microsoft interface and route planning combined with delorme's route tracking and voice prompt.

Ron, sometimes when we land in a new area for a few days or more I'll do a Find 'business' in the 'current city' and let it list all of them. I'll then sort it by category of business and skim to see what's in this town.

ronstan · 02-11-2005, 01:48 PM

Yes Steve I am using the earthmate gps. It did show on the map when we went through tunnels. It would start again as soon as we came out. When my gps quit working we were out in the open. A little cloud cover but we had that almost all day so don't think that was it.

sreigle · 02-11-2005, 03:19 PM

I don't know, Ron. Did the whole application stop or did it just lose the satellites and get stuck scanning for them? If you're using the serial version I a couple of times had the 12v adapter lose it's connection to the power point. But I think you're using the usb version that's powered by the laptop, right?

ronstan · 02-11-2005, 03:26 PM

Yes I am using the usb. It just lost the sat. It kept searching for the Sat. All of a sudden it found it again. Will probably never know. I thought I would have a log of the trip but I guess I didn't save it right so only had the last part of it. Wish I had the whole thing. Was neat to run it at a faster speed. As far as losing the power shouldn't the battery keep it working.

Parrothead · 02-11-2005, 04:27 PM

Okay I'm ready to buy but which one do I get. I have a laptop running Windows XP (Compaq). I have the converter to power it and have found a good looking mount on ebay. The only thing I need is the GPS and software. Suggestions

Sue
PS I'm not computer challenged.

Karl · 02-11-2005, 04:44 PM

I got mine at GPS Store online. Received in just a few days and low shipping cost.

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Detail-De...thmate-GPS.asp

ronstan · 02-12-2005, 04:53 AM

If you are going to get the delorme outfit I would watch you Sunday ads and I bought mine at best buy. It was on sale and had two rebates of 20.00 each so I got it for less than $80.00 So before you buy check around.

sreigle · 02-12-2005, 05:50 AM

Ron, the usb version takes its power from your laptop via the usb interface. As long as your laptop has power the gps will get its power. I use an inexpensive (less than $30) 75w inverter plugged into the power point to power ours so I never have to worry about the laptop battery.

Another tip, when on the Route tab/Directions/Show Turns (have to have GPS started to see this one), if you increase the height of the bottom panel (do it just like you would a window) then it will show you both the next turn AND the one after that. That can be real handy. This is in the 2005 version of Street Atlas only. Also, it increases the point size of the fonts, which these old eyes appreciate. That panel shows you name of next turn, direction of turn, distance to that turn, distance to next stop, distance to end of trip or end of day. It also shows times but I ignore those. Even with my settings the guesses at times just aren't very usable. There are too many variables when driving in the real world.

Karl · 02-12-2005, 05:55 AM

I've been using SA for some time now, and it seems to do the job just fine. I have added some remote desert roads to a layer (surprisingly many of them were already there, including ATV roads) and the routing worked perfectly.

One thing I wonder about... is there a way for the "call-out" boxes, or as they are called in SA, the mapnotes, to have the tail pointing differently. If I use several close together, they overlap, especially as I zoom out.

sreigle · 02-12-2005, 08:48 AM

Yes, I can't recall the exact procedure but it's in Help somewhere. First you have to have that layer checked as active in the Draw tab / Files area. I **think** you then just drag the box to where you want it. You also can move the point at which the tail touches if the box is in the wrong location, such as when you do a blank mapnote. If I recall, you hold either control, shift, or alt, then drag the point while you're holding the key. The part I don't like is you have to go activate the layer the box is on before you can move it.

Karl · 02-12-2005, 10:23 AM

Thanks, Steve!

I got it! Moving the tail, that is. I surely is easier asking you folks than it is to take the time to look it up and read the instructions! Nowwwww.... can you tell me how to make the tail "wiggle" like a happy puppy???

ronstan · 02-12-2005, 01:56 PM

Steve I guess I didn't read your question well enough. Yes gps is powered by the usb. I bought a 90 watt inverter at a truck stop that I can plug into the power point on my truck. It has a 110 and 12 volts both.

sreigle · 02-12-2005, 02:26 PM

Ron, you're all set to go. I was so anxious to try it on a real driving test when I first got it that I plotted a short trip and just followed it for the 20 miles or so, just to see how it works.

Karl, you got me on that one. Only way I can think of is to shake the entire laptop.

I remember well going through the learning curve and the agony it can cause. I'm still learning though. Maybe we need a topic here to help each other out and post gps and software tips when we figure them out, regardless of brands. I'll ask one of our admins if we can have something like that.

ronstan · 02-26-2005, 04:59 AM

Well I found out one thing You better read and look the route over real well. Coming down here to indy it started us out right and then took us off to another road instead of keeping us on the interstate.

I looked at the map and it took us onto the state routes. I hadn't checked ato see exactly how it was taken us. When we hit the interstate farther south it came back on track. Have to watch it closely. Will see how next weekend goes when we go to Detroit. I checked that one out and it takes us the right way.

sreigle · 02-26-2005, 05:13 AM

Ron, you're right about that. I "walk" every inch of the route before we start out. Usually when this happens it is because of Route Preferences you have set. I've found those preferences can change a route dramatically. I've even seen times when there is an interstate exit on a curve in a manner that the "shortest" route (if you're using that option) is to take the exit and then re-enter the interstate. A via usually solves this. I've seen this same thing in every package I've tried, when preferences are set a certain way. Frustrating, isn't it? So now I pre-drive the route at a zoom level that shows me these things. I think Streets and Trips is better about that and if they'd make it talk to me during navigation I would switch. But, until then, the voice prompts are a major plus for me.

Ron, you can improve this situation with route preferences. Go to Route/Advanced/Route Pref. If you want to stay on interstates as much as possible, set Limited Access Roads to Preferred and set all the others to Avoid. It could still put you on state roads when interstates are unreasonable but it will do a far better job of keeping you on interstates.

ronstan · 02-26-2005, 07:38 AM

Thanks Steve. I always learn something from you. Since you have used this a lot more than I you know a lot of the little tricks.

ronstan · 03-05-2005, 02:35 AM

Well we made it to Detroit Mapping worked well till we got where we were to turn off for the hotel. They are doing a lot of major roadwork here on 94. Our exit was closed and i Missed the turnoff for the detour. Got off just after we passed the hotel and got on cell phone. called hotel and took about 5 minutes to get there with their directions. Nice motel. Trouble is I forgot the digital camera. Makes me so mad. Getting ready to leave in a bit. Having housekeeping making the bed and towels.

sreigle · 03-05-2005, 11:18 AM

Ah, yes, roadwork. Always screws things up when it comes to mapping. Wait until you get to an intersection or piece of highway that has totally changed but it's not on any of the maps yet. It can certainly make things interesting for a bit.

Ron, you've probably discovered there are choices for the voice you hear, right? Some are easier to hear and understand than others.

You may also like: