GPS for search and rescue missions

Hey - thanks for the info - good to know.
I'll have to do more checking - but for the moment (that is, until
Garmin can figure out how to get my Rinos to stay on for more than 2
1/2 hours) the Free Topo is good enough. For Search and Rescure I
think the Most Data Posible would be a needful thing. Which how much
all of this stuff cost it would be nice to see some sort of subsidees
from either the manufacture of Goverment for these useful tools.
By my understanding the guy who did the NYS Topo use a map with
more 'resolution' Over on the Garmin NG someone did a post with screen
captures showing more detail - but that was a few months ago and I'm
not going looking for it at the moment (c:
I (can only) hope to one day snowmobile in Mountains of Nevada!!

Thanks again!
above link
for Nevada. I also own the 24k Garmin DVD. The Garmin data is higher
resolution and has a searchable database for peaks and stuff. At
least
for the state of Nevada, the Garmin map is better. That said, the
free
map is pretty good for the price. It works fine in mapsource. I
didn't
bother uploading it to a memory card since the Garmin database is

GS

Free map:
http://www.lazygranch.com/temp/angel_peak_free.gif

Garmin 24k:
http://www.lazygranch.com/temp/angel_peak_garmin24k.gif

The Garmin has a trail missing from the free map. In addition, Angel
Peak wasn't even labeled. [Angel Peak is well known to hams, i.e. the
kind of people that do search and rescue.

I have other examples. Now free is a good price, but let's be 100%
clear that at least for Nevada, the free map is not as good as the
Garmin 24k. I don't make statements I can't back up.

I agree - You Need as much info as possible!!
Good Catch!!

.
t
USGS

...
(At
h
k
t
e
t
e USGS
-

I think those free maps are "ripped" by volunteers. So it is quite
possible one free map is more detailed than the next. I'm assuming
Garmin accuracy is the same everywhere, but who knows.

The other thing you lack (again I assume) is the navigation data in
the Garmin database. Occasionally I've used the Garmin topo to
navigate to a trail head. In rural areas, the navigation data in my
car system is often lacking. The GPS60 has no voice, but it does beep
and alert you of upcoming turns. The old 100k Garmin data didn't have
routing.

If you go off road or on foot a lot, you will learn there are many
missing roads and trails on these databases. I use a program called
ExpertGPS that loads up the old USGS satellite data. I make a trail
from the satellite imagery prior to my exploration. Worse comes to
worse,I can use a notebook computer to show my location on the
satellite image.

What happens often is a particular part of a dirt road fails, so they
cut a bypass. Of course, the bypass doesn't show up on the USGS map.
Many of the maps are decades old. I've had situations where you follow
the old dirt road and it comes to a mini-cliff due to a washout. Once
I came across 3 unmarked bypasses. I took the wrong one and ended up
repairing the road with my folding shovel. Another time I followed the
USGS map, came to a bridge that looked really ratty. I got out to
assess the situation and noticed a bypass for the bridge that went
through a wash. While in the wash, I noticed "condemned" written on
the side of the bridge. Like it would kill the agency condemning the
bridge to take it out or at least block it. Geez.

It's been my experience that search and rescue trains in the areas
they operate, so it's not like the person getting the GPS will get a
baptism by fire. It really sucks to have to rescue a rescue team
member.