Tools of the Trade GPS Mapping Program GPS

Tools of the Trade GPS Mapping Program GPS Communication Software Tarpits and Tips

Tools of the Trade - Part I GPS - The Big Picture l Discuss GPS Accuracy l Review of GPS Receiver Types l Why the Garmin GPS III Plus? l Summary l Garmin GPS III Plus

GPS - The Big Picture l GPS and Fire Applications l GPS and Navigation l GPS and Digital Data Collection l GPS and Burned Area Rehab (BAER)

GPS - The Big Picture l Depending on size of fire, GPS will play a critical role in. . . – Marking location – Updating fire perimeter – Mapping fire effects – Mapping resources at risk – Data depicted in IAP next morning

Fire Incident Plans Cycle Data Transfer GPS Field Work GIS

Unique Aspects of Fire Mapping l Scale l Mode of Collection l Environment l Quantity of Units l Technical Skill Levels 25 acres 10 mile perim.

Overview GPS - The Big Picture l Discuss GPS Accuracy l Review of GPS Receiver Types l Why the Garmin GPS III Plus? l Summary l

How Accurate is GPS? l Specifications from Dept. of Defense Total Stand-Alone Horizontal Accuracy – 95% With SA Without SA 246 ft (75 m) 74 ft (22. 5 m) *Dave Turner, UN/USA GNSS Workshop, April 2002 http: //www. oosa. unvienna. org/SAP/act 2002/gnss 1/ presentations/session 01/speaker 01/

Accuracy Comparisons Garmin 50% (CEP) 95% (2 d. RMS) 12 XL 14. 4 ft (4. 4 m) 32. 5 ft (9. 9 m) III Plus 11. 1 ft (3. 4 m) 24. 6 ft (7. 5 m) e. Trex 9 ft (2. 7 m) 22 ft (6. 7 m) *David L. Wilson's GPS Accuracy Web Page http: //users. erols. com/dlwilson/gps. htm

Overview GPS - The Big Picture l Discuss GPS Accuracy l Review of GPS Receiver Types l Why the Garmin GPS III Plus? l Summary l

Review of GPS Receiver Types l Consumer Grade – Navigation, Basic Mapping, Fun

Review of GPS Receiver Types l Mapping/GIS Grade – GIS Features and Attributes

Review of GPS Receiver Types l Survey Grade – Boundaries, Precise Control Networks, Vertical Measurements

Decision Factors for the Fire GPS Tool Accuracy l Cost (hardware) l Nerd Factor Scale l Miscellaneous Factors l – Storage – Strategy

Survey Grade Accuracy: mm - decimeter l Costs: forgettaboutit l Nerd Factor: l Storage: weeks worth of data l Strategy: network adjustments l Lots of equipment l

Mapping/GIS Grade Accuracy: 1 meter - 5 meter l Costs: $10, 000 - $3, 000 l Nerd Factor: l Storage: days worth of data l Strategy: GIS update l Misc. . . : l – post-process software NERD

Consumer Grade Accuracy: 3 meter - 7 meter l Costs: $1500 - $150 l Nerd Factor: l Storage: hours worth of data l Strategy: waypoints, simple lines l Misc. . l – handheld, moving map display

Consumer Grade GPS Wins! Reasonable accuracy for mapping large things l Low receiver cost l Low nerd scale l Strategy set to enhance navigation capabilities l Low attribution requirements l

Overview The Big Picture l Discuss GPS Accuracy l GPS by Receiver Types l Why the Garmin GPS III Plus? l Summary l

Consumer Grade GPS l Consumer Grade Manufacturers l Garmin – Recognized World Leader – High Support

Garmin GPS III Plus $299 l 12 Channel GPS Receiver l 1. 4 MB of Map memory* l 20 -30 hours of battery life l *Purchase of Map. Source TOPO CD + $99

Garmin III Plus l Unique Aspects – Antenna (Quadrifilar Helix) – Form factor for placement on a dash – Averages waypoints l Other Models (e. g. e. Trex) – No time/date in comment field – No external antenna – No averaging

Garmin III Plus Limitations Less accurate than other models l Less map and track memory than other models l Missing other features: l – Digital Compass – Altimeter

Summary GPS and Fire l Consumer grade GPS satisfies. . . l – accuracy – costs l Garmin III Plus - preferred model for this class

What’s in Store Use the Garmin III Plus l Use the Garmin III Plus often l Tomorrow - next in the series: l – GPS Communication Software