Google Earth

Use Google Earth to view landmarks and roads travelled overlayed on 3D satellite imagery.

First install Google Earth (free version available)

Run the Google Earth software and add a network link to the Love East Timor website by doing the following:

1. Click Add, Network Link... and type
      Name:  Love East Timor
      Link: http://loveeasttimor.com/googleearth.kmz
2. Click OK and "East Timor" will appear under My Places. Expand and select the links to view our waypoints and tracks.

Google Maps

You can view all our waypoints and tracks using the Google Maps website. This does not require any software installation, but the views are not as good as using Google Earth. Click here to view East Timor with all our network link information.

Using a GPS Device in East Timor

Using inexpensive GPS devices you can track your location and places you have been to for future trips.. This will enable teams to confidently travel to areas they may not be familiar with.  Some immediate applications would be:

1. Marking locations of key places such as suco chief's house, government offices, schools, community project sites, places to eat, and specific homes for follow-up. Using WayPoints, these can be located by subsequent teams.
2. Using Tracks so teams can easily retrace paths travelled whether roads driven or paths walked.
3. Upload and share your data to the Wave websites for others to use.
4. Overlay your WayPoints and Tracks onto GoogleEarth for viewing with satellite imagery.

The above uses can be achieved with very little training and effort on the part of teams travelling.  If teams consistently gathered data on the places they visited and roads they visited, a highly useful database would be quickly gathered.

Numerous waypoints in Dili have already been collected which provides a way for teams to find their own way around the capital city.

Equipment and Software 

The  Garmin eTrexLegend handheld (SGD$250) is an example of one such device. This is a basic black and white handheld GPS with mapping functions.  It has a long battery life running on 2xAA alkaline batteries so is well suited for remote field usage. This differs from car units commonly used in Singapore because there are no "base maps" for East Timor so you want a device that can be used to mark your own own wayponts and tracks.

GPS TrackMaker Software is free and very suitable for this type of purpose. Edit, work with, transfer data to/from Garmin GPS to your PC (free software): 

Suggested Usage:

1. Turn on auto track recording when you drive or walk from one location to another.  Upon reaching your destination, save the track name (eg. Dili-Maubisse, or Maubisse-Edi)
2. Mark waypoints of interest along the way such as government officies, places where you can eat, a home to revisit, or even a great lookout point for a future team to return to. 
3. On your return drive/walk you can use the MAIN MENU, TRACKS, TRACK BACK navigation feature to tell you where to go and your ETA. You can use it to locate the waypoints and tell you which direction to walk/drive.
4. Upload your data into GPS TrackMaker software. Share this with others via this website.