Electronic mapping

[Gringo]

Here's one for the tech minded folk.
OS Explorer 1:25000 maps are perfect, showing byways & bridalways, unfortunately I am located at a crossover area for this series of maps and need to use the corners & edges of several std maps to cover my local biking area.
I don't want to carry 2 or 3 maps with me and certainly don't need all of the facility's of an expensive gps, also I don't own a smart phone as I only make one or two calls a month ( no friends ) ;o(
So, I was thinking of maybe buying a cheap tablet & downloading the maps I need.
This will be a new venture for me, so any advice on best buys & possible pitfalls will be welcomed.
Thanks in advance Carl

 

[Alan Quay]

Most tablets/smartphones are hopeless outdoors. You just can't see them in direct sunlight.

I guess GPS's are designed to be used outdoors.

 

[baldylox]

If you go the android phone/tablet route you could use an app like maverick. You can use the on board GPS and cache OS explorer maps for use. You can also log tracks, create waypoints and geotag photos.
This is what I do, not completely ideal but certainly fit for purpose and it's free.

 

[jackhandy]

You should be able to pick up a used tablet or smartphone fairly cheaply from a phone repairer/recycler:
Make sure you get one with a reliable gps, as some were horrible: No need to use it as a phone.
Download the Viewranger app & buy a map-credit card from ebay - mine cost £15.00 & gives me £25-worth of credits with which I can buy lots of 10km square tiles @ 1:25000. You only buy what you need.

You can then upload your tracks to www.myviewranger.com; then make & edit them into routes, if that's your bag.

Have a look at the website to see if it does what you want.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Do you need OS maps when you can get Open Cycle Map for free?

 

[Gringo]

Thanks for the responses folks.
I'm not sure I'll be needing gps or any fancy tracking stuff, just a better way of carrying maps.
Most of the time I know roughly where I am, every now and again i see a new track or byway, a map will tell me where it goes and I'm less likely to cycle up a dead end or private farm track (again)

I've been looking around and seeing loads of 7" tablets for £30 or less so I'm now thinking of sticking some maps on one of these.
Q8 7" 8GB Allwinner A23 Dual Core Android 4.2 Tablet PC

Oh d8veh thanks but I've just had a quick look at open cycle maps for my local area & there is not enough detail for off roading.

 

[peerjay56]

Here's one for the tech minded folk.
OS Explorer 1:25000 maps are perfect, showing byways & bridalways, unfortunately I am located at a crossover area for this series of maps and need to use the corners & edges of several std maps to cover my local biking area.
I don't want to carry 2 or 3 maps with me and certainly don't need all of the facility's of an expensive gps, also I don't own a smart phone as I only make one or two calls a month ( no friends ) ;o(
So, I was thinking of maybe buying a cheap tablet & downloading the maps I need.
This will be a new venture for me, so any advice on best buys & possible pitfalls will be welcomed.
Thanks in advance Carl

For 'low tech' (or old tech, if you prefer) try these people,
You can get a waterproof almost indestructible map centred on any point you like. Printed onto a plastic based paper

 

[Geebee]

Cheap chinese tablets tend to suffer from poor screens with low brightness and very short battery life, I have used a few different ones.

If you can pickup an Asus Me173x also called a Memo 7 hd, the brightnes will burn your eyes in low light and its 316 pp good for maps, has GPS and long battery life.
I picked one up brand new a couple of weeks ago on sale for 54 gbp so second hand/ refurbished should be cheap.

 

[Gringo]

For 'low tech' (or old tech, if you prefer) try these people,
You can get a waterproof almost indestructible map centred on any point you like. Printed onto a plastic based paper

Nice find Phil.
I've been looking at that option on the OS website, you've people are cheaper for the self same service.
Unfortunately in the scale I want they both cover 20 km sq & my chosen area would need to be 25sq km.
I know I'm being fussy but I don't like to compromise.

 

[peerjay56]

Nice find Phil.
I've been looking at that option on the OS website, you've people are cheaper for the self same service.
Unfortunately in the scale I want they both cover 20 km sq & my chosen area would need to be 25sq km.
I know I'm being fussy but I don't like to compromise.

Does that include the option they do with extra 'panels'?

 

[Gringo]

Does that include the option they do with extra 'panels'?

U'm not sure ? I'll look into it a bit deeper