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Gogal Publishing turns smart phones into recreation resources
Mike Gogal was an avid Pennsylvania trout angler, frustrated by the lack of quality maps for exploring new waters. In 1993 he took action and founded Gogal Publishing Company and authored a series of fishing maps for Pennsylvania.
His company evolved through the years and now develops and markets GPS enabled smartphone mapping apps like “GPS National Parks,” “GPS Fishing Guides,” “Ballpark Digest” and the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s “State Game Lands and Elk Tour” apps.
Gogal’s latest and most ambitious project is slated for release just before OWAA’s annual conference in May. “GPS Stream Guide USA” is an iOS mapping app derived from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Hydrology Dataset that allows users to search for, and navigate to, any named river, lake, or stream in any county of any state within the contiguous 48 United States. It functions both with and without phone service and the first release covers more than 250,000 named rivers, lakes and streams as well as mapping unnamed waters.
Each named water is labeled for quick identification. Flowing waters are color coded to easily differentiate tributaries, allowing users to follow a stream’s course from headwaters to mouth. Current USGS stream gage water data is available with just the touch of any gage icon and detailed watershed boundary maps are easily searched at hydraulic unit codes of 2,4,6,8,10, or 12 digit levels.
The app joins a robust arsenal of others Gogal created.
He also wrote “GPS Topo USA,” an app for iOS, designed to turn iPhones and iPads into fully functional GPS devices with topographic maps of the entire United States.
Users can track their location, add annotated waypoints, and with a unique “Go” button, pass coordinates to the device’s built-in navigation software for driving directions. A built in field compass continuously reports the user’s current GPS coordinates, compass bearing, speed of travel, and altitude above sea level. A “Target” button enables the compass direction indicator to calculate distance and point the way to any selected wilderness destination.
“We’ve devised a unique smartphone platform that delivers automotive and handheld GPS functionality, user customizable waypoints and seamless USGS 7.5 minute topographic, road, and satellite maps,” Gogal said. “We can customize this platform with overlay maps and points of interest for just about any outdoor activity imaginable.”
Gogal will be at OWAA’s conference in McAllen, Texas, to introduce himself, provide demonstrations, and offer free download codes so members can install and evaluate these unique apps.
For more information visit www.gogalpublishing.com or contact Gogal Publishing Company at 215-491-4223. ♦
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