Wow, quite an experience, Steve!
I've found that the $50 annual fee for full access to Topozone
http://www.topozone.com is well worth it. You can access any topo map on
your computer for free but with the annual fee it allows you to download
unlimited USGS topo quads. You can also access aerial photos on the
website if you pay the annual fee. Downloading them is extra cost but you
can at least see black and white aerial photos of most of the USA and
high-resolution color aerial photos of metro areas.
These have been great help to me in making sure the terrain matches the
maps (which it often doesn't).
73, Zack W9SZ
On Mon, 20 Aug 2007, Stephen Hicks, N5AC wrote:
> I was in EM34 (Arkansas) last weekend and suggested to KA5BOU and NM5M that
> I try to work some of the Dallas/Ft.Worth folks from out there (about
> 200mi). The first night I talked to a few guys from a hill that was about
> 700' above sea level and around 200' above the average terrain. We were
> unable to make some of the contacts above 900 MHz so I offered to try again
> the next night, but from a higher location. The following day, I pulled out
> Topo USA and searched for a better spot. I found a hill called "Skeleton
> Mountain" and it appeared there was a nice, thick road on the map. I let
> everyone know that I would be there around 9PM.
>
> I took off for the hill, about 20 miles from where I was camped, about
> 8:30PM. I was in the middle of nowhere and it was pitch black. Everything
> was going smooth until I got within 3mi of the hilltop. All of a sudden,
> the roads shifted to dirt and no longer matched the maps.
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