The best maps – It is the map that makes the GPS a truly useful tool

The Pointer Dog-GPS and the Benefon ESC! are the only GPS devices where you receive all the maps over Finland in general use (1:20 000-1:800 000). Topographical maps suitable for hunting are not available in the other hand held GPS devices available on the market.

The following maps are available:

Finland

• Topografical 1:20 000, A very accurate map. You can easily plan for instance a elkhunt with this map, as it shows e.g. all of the dikes and height of the area. The map is the same as the standard maps in official use in Finland. This makes orienteering much easier. All targets and text that shows on the display of the navigator is exactly as it is on the paper map.
  The map is available of all areas except for northern Lapland.
  For the northern Lapland the map is on the scale 1:50 000.
  
  Circa 37000 hectares of the 1:20 000 typografical map can be downloaded in to the navigator. *
  Circa 110 000 hectares of the 1: 50 000 typografcal map can be downloaded in to the navigator. *
  
   
• GT 1:100 000, , a good general map for even a larger hunting ground and its surroundings. The only other GPS-device with maps of equal quality is the Garmin Legend equipt with the Erätukku map packet.
  
  Circa 6 500 km² or circa 80x80 km of the 1:100 000 GT-map can be downloaded in to the navigator. *
   
• GT 1:200 000, , a good general map for those areas you are hunting or testing dogs in.
  
  Circa 18 650 km² or circa 135x135 km of the
  1:200 000 GT-map can be down loaded in to the navigator. *
  
   
• AT 1:800 000, a roadmap that can cover greater areas. You can have an over view of the municipality and of the main roads.
  
  Circa 290 000 km² or circa 540x540 km of
  1:800 000 the roadmap can be downloaded in to the navigator. *
   

Sweden

• Topografical map 1:100 000, a high quality and detailed topografical map of Sweden. Expecially suited for hunting.
  
  Aside from the topografical map, all European roadmaps (scale 1:800 000) can be used in Sweden.
  
  Circa 4600 km² or 65x65 km of 1:100 00 the topografical map can be downloaded in to the navigator. *
   

Norway

• Topografi 1:50 000, a detailed topografical map over Norway. Excellent for hunting.
  
  Aside from topografical map, all European roadmaps on the scale of 1:800 000 can be used in Norway.
   

Europe

• A rough road map over Europe , This map takes up less room. A map of all of Finland or Sweden, for isntance will easily fir in the navigators memory as a base for the other maps, where you can see all mainroads and cities and make general plans paced on it. This map is available over all of Europe, including the western parts of Russia.
  
  Over 6.5 milj m² or 2500x2500 km of the road map over Europe can be downloaded in to the navigator. *
   
• A precise roadmap over Europe , Although precise, this map doesn’t take much room. The map is available over all of Europe. It is useful when driving in such countries that have no better map available as yet. The map also covers the western parts of Russia.
  
  Circa 290 000 kmsup>2 or 540x540 km of the precise roadmap of Europe can be down loaded in to the navigator. *
   
• Chart for approaches
  This sea chart covers all of Europe.
  
   
• Navigational chart
  The navigational chart is available for most European countries.
  
   
• The city maps
  Precise city maps are available for most European countries. The appearance of the maps vary slightly.
  
   
• Several different maps over several countries, e.g. topographical maps of Sweden, Norway, Germany, France and Great Britain.

*The estimates of how much of the map can be downloaded in to the navigator were made by downloading the navigator full of that type of map. How much map can be downloaded varies slightly depending on the amount of detail on the map leaf being downloaded. The more detailed the map, the more memory space it will take up.

The maps are produced by Genimap Oy, the leading producer of maps in Finland.

Several different maps of the same area can be downloaded ‘on top of’ each other, as well as having maps from different areas. It is easy to zoom between maps of different scales and so have both a detailed map and a general over view of the same area on the same display.

The device is delivered with a map of a desired area already downloaded. More maps can be downloaded from Genimap’s internet pages without a separate computer program. The cable needed for downloading maps is included in the Pointer Dog-GPS package. For downloading extra maps a charge of 4 euros is drawn/download. The charge can be paid by credit card or through a bank link during downloading (in Finland).

The navigator can also be purchased without the dog’s transmitter. Compared with other similar devices available, it is of very good quality.

A proper map has a great importance when hunting. The following experiences show this well:

Five tales of the benefits of the Pointer Dog-GPS navigator:

1. Finding the car in the dark: Thanks to the Dog-GPS we could cut over a slightly winding fen that had frozen solid to 100 meters distance from the car and then cut through a tangle to it. With a normal GPS, unequipped with a map, we would have plodded 1,5 kilometers extra in the tangle.
    
2. Moving an elk calf from the fen through the forest to the car: The elk calf was felled at twilight in the middle of an open fen. The fen was surrounded by thickets with dikes and beyond the thicket was an even larger fen to which motorized pulling help was going to arrive. Not all of the dikes ran all the way between the two fens. Therefore it was necessary to choose the right dike to make the job of moving the calf as easy as possible. We checked from the map of the Dog-GPS which dike ran all the way and provided the shortest route. This we laid in as the target. The device led us straight to the mouth of the dike. We hit the target with three meters accuracy. From there it was an easy pull along the dike to the motorized pulling help.
    
3. Finding the right road at a dog test: We were in Eteläpohjanmaa for a dog test. Our group split up, with the judge going to get the car. The rest of us were left with the dog trainer to follow the dog’s tracks in completely unfamiliar surroundings. There was 30-40 cm of snow on the ground, so it was rough going. After about 2 km, the dog had given up and came back. Our choices were to follow our own tracks back or to find another road closer to us. The only map we had was the GT roadmap in the GPS navigator. However, this shows even the smaller forest roads. We laid in as target the nearest crook of the road we could find and started towards it. The distance was only 400 m, but it took us a while as the conditions were rough and the men were already tired. We weren’t even sure whether we’d find a road behind the copse of woods before us. But there it was between the hills. It hadn’t been ploughed but it did have a hard packed track. We directed the guide to the right place to pick up the tired group of hunters.
    
4. A group of men from Keskipohjanmaa was out on a fox hunt. We found fox tracks from the night before and let loose the hound. The hunting group stayed at the road to watch how the dog, known for its tenaciousness, followed the tracks. The owner of the dog updated its position with the Dog-GPS every now and then. The navigator showed the dog’s position on the map, the distance and direction to the dog and its speed. The dog moved on to 3250 m distance towards north. On the next update the speed of the dog had increased considerably. We called the dog’s transmitter and found the fox hunt was in full spate. Since we knew the direction the dog was heading in and its exact location, we could send lookouts to well known lookout points. On the way in the car the owner received the latest update from the dog. Now the dog wasn’t moving, the speed was reading zero. When checking the topographical map in the navigator, we noted that the terrain was stony and assumed that the fox had gone to ground. The dog owner brought out the cave hound and called in the lookouts. Soon the eager hunting party was ready to flush the fox out...
    
5. The dog owner was taking part in a major dog test with his Finnish hound. The first round had gone well and there were plenty of good results. A little before the end of the first round a clever hare lead the experienced hound astray. The GPS navigator showed that the hound was circling around some jagged rocks 1742 m away. When the first round had been finished, the owner needed to get the dog on the lead fast before the next round. Between the dog and the owner, however, there was a thin bog that couldn’t be crossed. After going through the map on the navigator a while, the owner noted a crossing over the bog about 400 m away. The group, who knew little about the area, hurried off to the crossing and over the bog. The dog was easily found and put on the lead. The next round could be started without a hitch. The group made it well during the test and the dog owner didn’t need to go home empty handed either.