Delorme, National Geographic Topo!, Mapsource, Mapsend, OziExplorer, ExpertGPS. These are among the names that are frequently tossed around in the Geocaching.com forums whenever someone has a question about the mapping software that is available to use with their GPSr. Its can all be very confusing. The fact that many of these programs are freeware and come with little or no documentation makes things even harder to figure out.

Thanks however to GPS Mapping: Make Your Own Maps, by Rich Owings, help is on the way. Mr. Owings is an avid geocacher and frequent contributor to Geocaching.com’s GPS Units and Software forum. He has put together a book that will help readers learn the ins and outs of the various mapping programs that are available to GPS users.

The book is not an easy read. It’s written in a very straightforward and dry style, but it is essential reading for serious GPS enthusiasts. Section one, Getting Started, is a mishmash of information that can be a bit confusing as it jumps from subject to subject, ranging from hardware and safety tips to forum "netiquette". It does offer a short and useful course in the basics of GPS, as well as a good explanation of UTM, datum and scales.

It’s the next few sections where the book really shines. Section Two discusses National Geographic Topo!, Map Tech Terrain Navigator (and Pro), DeLorme 3-D Topo Quads and Delorme Topo USA. These are some of the more popular mapping applications and Make Your Own Maps explores the cost, advantages and disadvantages of each and acts as a userguide for these programs. It shows you how to manage waypoints and routes and transfer data between the program and your GPSr. There are also helpful tips for each of the programs.

Sections three and four deal similarly with the downloadable (and sometimes free) programs such as OziExplorer, Fugawi, Topofusion and -ExpertGPS, while section five covers the popular, GPS-based software packages such as Garmin’s Mapsource, Magellan’s Mapsend and Lowrance’s Mapcreate.

It serves as the "bible" of GPS mapping software. The final section of the book is probably the most interesting. Many geocachers are not satisfied with the proprietary mapping programs offered by the various GPSr manufacturers. Owings’ book provides detailed instructions about how to "hack" your GPSr and load your own mapping program. It’s not an easy process and not for the computer illiterate, but if you follow the detailed instructions you can load your own maps to your GPSr.

The book is not an easy read. It’s written in a very straightforward and dry style, but it is essential reading for serious GPS enthusiasts.

Geocaching applications: The possibilities are endless. You can use these mapping programs to plan your Geocaching trips. Most will show topographical data, allowing you to plot your route and determine the best approach to caches. Some will show the terrain in 3-D detail, so if you aren’t familiar with topo maps you can visualize the terrain.

Pros: The book is full of information that is valuable to geocachers and GPS enthusiasts. It serves as the "bible" of GPS mapping software.

Cons: The book tries to cover a lot of ground, often in very technical terms and may not be appropriate for the casual geocacher and GPS user.

Bottom line: If you are a serious GPS user and geocacher this should be on your bookshelf.