[Xastir] maps

[Curt, WE7U]

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004, Curt, WE7U wrote:

> In SAR, we usually want as much detail as possible, whether or not
> you might normally need those features for vehicle navigation.  When
> navigating on foot or via helo, it's important to know what all
> visible features are and where they appear on the map.

I also wanted to mention:  There's a limit to what visible features
are useful as well.  If you had the most detailed map in the world,
a SAR member telling you over the radio he was "by a big tree" would
still be no help, although it _is_ one of the standard jokes in our
SAR units.

Stating that they were waiting for pickup at the intersection of a
fence and a powerline is very useful.  It usually pinpoints their
location quickly.

--
Curt, WE7U			    archer at eskimo dot com
Arlington, WA, USA		http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
"Lotto:    A tax on people who are bad at math." -- unknown
"Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates." -- WE7U
"The world DOES revolve around me:  I picked the coordinate system!"