You must field check your proposed routes and control locations because you will find some of the locations you choose will not work well due to mapping problems, vegetation problems, etc.
Routes
Your courses should be designed around interesting routes between controls, not by control locations alone. Therefore, it is important for you to walk as many of your routes as possible to make sure they are well-mapped and as enjoyable as you hoped.
Control Locations
You will find some of the locations you choose will not work well due to mapping problems, vegetation problems, etc. This is the chance to scout a new location and mark it on your field map. You can flag control locations with survey tape marked with the course and control number, or, if it won’t be out too long (less than a week), and there’s little chance it will be stolen, you can hang the actual control, being careful to record its code. Please remove and properly dispose of the survey tape when you hang the control.
Attack each control location from multiple directions to confirm the chosen feature. If there is any doubt, move control to a location where there is no doubt. As you check, you may find more interesting or appealing features in the same area.
If you think you have found errors with the map, please report them to the VP of Mapping. If you can do this early enough, the VP of Mapping may be able to make corrections in time for your meet. If not, do not use this location for a control.
Checking Control Placements by GPS
There are several ways to use a GPS device or a smartphone with a GPS to help verify the locations of your controls. Please be aware that:
- Not all of our maps are accurately referenced to GPS coordinates
- All GPS devices/smartphones have some amount of error. Smartphones are typically accurate to within 5 meters but accuracy worsens near buildings, bridges, and trees.
- Just because a GPS can accurately place you on the map, that does not mean its a good location for a control (i.e. the map maybe inaccurate or features not distinct enough).
| Map Name |
Map Scale |
Horizontal Offset
|
Vertical Offset |
Map Rotation |
| APU |
10,000 |
350,000 |
6,787,000 |
21.6 |
| Bicentennial |
10,000 |
349,000 |
6,785,000 |
21.6 |
| Crevasse Moraine |
10,000 |
383,000 |
6,829,000 |
21.6 |
| Elmendorf |
10,000 |
351,000 |
6,796,000 |
21.6 |
| Fossil Creek |
10,000 |
361,000 |
6,801,000 |
21.6 |
| Kincaid |
10,000 |
338,000 |
6,782,000 |
21.6 |
| Pia |
10,000 |
349,000 |
6,785,000 |
21.6 |
| Russian Jack |
10,000 |
350,000 |
6,787,000 |
22.0 |
| Section 36 |
10,000 |
352,000 |
6,775,000 |
21.6 |
OpenOrienteering Mapper
There is no way to directly import tracks/waypoint files (*.gpx) from a GPS directly into PurplePen course setting software. But you can import multiple *.gpx files into OpenOrienteering Mapper as a template layers.
- OOM ->Open->Select *.ocd map file
- OOM ->Templates->Template Setup Window
- OOM->Templates->Open Template->Select *.gpx file-> Yes to georeferenced
- OOM->File->Save as->*.omap format (if you save to *.ocd you will lose the layers)
You can also import your PurplePen course as template layer, just export the course(s) to *.gpx file first (PP->File->Create GPX) then import into OpenOrienteering.
Smartphone App