OkMap – GPS Articles and Technical Guides
Technical guides and practical insights into GPS, GPX, DEM and digital cartography.
In this section you will find in-depth technical articles dedicated to GPS navigation, digital cartography, GPX file management and the creation of georeferenced maps. These practical guides are designed for hikers, outdoor operators, GIS technicians and users who want to better understand navigation and terrain analysis tools.
Topics range from GPS signal accuracy to route planning, from cleaning recorded tracks to using Digital Elevation Models (DEM), up to raster map georeferencing and cartographic coordinate systems. Each article includes practical examples and references to the functions available in OkMap.
The articles are organized by technical topics and help you understand the fundamental and advanced concepts of digital cartography, GPS navigation and hiking track analysis.
GPS Fundamentals
-
GPS accuracy, errors and signal limitations
How to interpret the accuracy of a GPS recording and recognize the main sources of error. -
Using offline maps for hiking
Why offline maps are essential for outdoor navigation without a data connection. -
GPX route planning for hiking
Practical techniques to design reliable GPX routes before going outdoors.
GPS Tracks
-
GPS track cleaning and correction
Removal of incorrect points, clusters and anomalies typical of field recordings. -
GPX track analysis and management
Statistics, route data and full management of recorded GPX files. -
Elevation profile and elevation gain analysis
How to correctly read ascents, descents, minimum/maximum altitude and real elevation gain.
DEM and Terrain
-
Introduction to Digital Elevation Models (DEM)
What DEMs are and why they are essential for elevation analysis. -
Terrain analysis for hiking using DEM
Slopes, aspect, ridges, valleys and technical route evaluation.
Georeferencing
-
Introduction to map georeferencing
Theoretical principles of calibration and transformation of scanned maps. -
Step-by-step raster map georeferencing
Practical procedure to assign geographic coordinates to an image map.
Digital Maps and GPS Cartography
-
Creating Custom Garmin Maps (KMZ)
Creating maps compatible with Garmin outdoor GPS devices. -
Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
Latitude, longitude, UTM, geodetic datums and projections explained in a practical way.
GPS and GIS Software Comparisons
-
OkMap vs QGIS
Differences between professional GIS software and GPS-oriented mapping software. -
OkMap vs Garmin BaseCamp
Comparison of GPX management, offline maps and analysis features. -
OkMap vs OziExplorer
Comparison of GPX management, offline maps and analysis features.
Topics covered in the articles
The published guides progressively cover topics such as GPS signal accuracy, GPX track management and correction, elevation profile analysis, the use of DEM data for terrain studies, georeferencing scanned maps, creation of custom Garmin maps and cartographic coordinate systems.
The articles are written in a practical and technical style and are designed to help you understand not only how to use OkMap, but also the cartographic and GPS principles behind its advanced features.
Do you want to apply these concepts with OkMap?
After reading the technical articles, you can deepen your knowledge with practical video tutorials or download OkMap Desktop and work directly with maps, GPX tracks and GPS data.
Free software for Windows - Complete PDF manual - Video tutorials