Most newer GPSs support USB Mass Storage, which means that when plugged into your computer, they show up as a drive with all your routes, tracks and waypoints saved as GPX files. Older models, such as the Garmin 60csx still widely used in SAR, require a special protocol to transfer your data. For websites like […]
CalTopo has been having some performance issues lately, no point in trying to pretend otherwise. Behind the scenes, there two different platforms: a Python/Mapnik/PostGIS stack that powers MapBuilder and auto-routing, and a Java app for everything else. MapBuilder has been struggling for a while, but lately that started bleeding over into the rest of the […]
In the very beginning, I started what would ultimately become CalTopo as a hobby project focused on offline environments – a command post or tailgate somewhere off in the woods far away from the nearest internet connection. As CalTopo grew, that ability for entirely self-contained operation has remained as a little known but fundamental building […]
In my last blog post, I mentioned that I spent the tail end of 2016 cooking up some new map layers. Well, here we go. Terrain Shading and Custom ReliefIn SAR, it’s not uncommon to have a group of people huddled around a large-format map, looking at it from all angles. While relief shading helps […]
The CalTopo blog has been quiet since spring, but that doesn’t mean a lack of progress, much less a lack of work. Time to take a quick look back at the second half of 2016. First, the personal front. CalTopo has been my full-time job since May, and although it’s averaged more than 40 hours […]
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