Hi, I'm a newbie to this site and SI so please excuse my ignorance on this subject.
I am looking for some advise on creating custom maps for several small lakes in my area.
I purchased a HB 698ci HD SI unit last fall and am quite impressed with the quality and clarity of the SI images it produces.
Each time I went out on the water, I recorded the trip on a SD card so I could review them over the winter months in my spare time.
All of these record files were transferred to my PC and I have been using the Humviewer software to learn more detail about the lakes that I fished.
I know that I can purchase the Autochart software and use my recorded data to make custom maps for the lakes that I have fished.
However, I'm located in eastern Canada and the lakes I fish are not included in the Autochart software package so I would have to create my own.
Also, at $400+ for just the Autochart software, it seems a bit pricey since I have to do all of the work anyway.
I have browsed through these forums and have downloaded several pieces of software to convert and view my files but can't seem to figure out how to bring it all together to create my own custom maps.
I'm not looking to load these custom maps back into my HB unit, just create and maybe print them for my own use on the water.
So now my questions:
a) What is the best alternative software that I could use to download my record files into and create 2D or 3D contour maps? 3DFmaps looks interesting.
b) Is there a step by step tutorial somewhere that I haven't seen yet that shows me how to do this?
c) Should my data be first converted to .csv, gpx or some other format?
d) Would cloud sourced map creation be better than stand alone?
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
b.t.w. Great site, lots of interesting topics and information.