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MapQuest classic and hybrd/satellite images no longer accessible?

Stan Tastic shared this question 7 years ago
Answered

Since the latest release of LocusMap Pro, it looks like MapQuest maps (classics, hybrid/satellite images, etc), have been removed. Well, BUMMER!! That's the main reason I PURCHASED LocusMaps in the first place. Being able to download satellite images for geocaching in far-away places makes finding hard-to-locate trails and accesses, desert washes, etc. much easier to find and follow in real-time (while the maps are being used offline). If we no longer have access to those maps, LocusMap Pro has become useless to me. What happens now?

Replies (10)

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Hello Jonathan,

I'm sorry for troubles bur all MapQuest maps are no longer supported by Locus Map application due to changes in MapQuest terms of use.

I'm sorry but we can offer satellite map for Austria, Finland and Czech Republic at this moment.

Regards

Petr

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Okay thank you. Do you know when a satellite Map might again be offered for USA?

On Jul 18, 2016 5:10 PM, "Locus Map" <locus.map@asamm.com> wrote:

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I'm sorry but I can give you any clear answer. Whole situation is quite "hot". We need to discuss some possibilities in our team, check the possibilities, etc. There is no quick solution at this moment and I don't expect that we will be able to provide US satellite map very quickly.

Thank you for understanding

Best regards

Petr

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Hello Petr,


I'm in the same position as Jonathan, I need a USA (California) imagery alternative. I am not well versed in Locus and only use it specifically for navigation when I'm far out of internet reach (in the back country). I usually download the area I will be in using MapQuest Hybrid satellite layer so that it is cached for use outside of wifi service. I actually have access to some raster imagery data that I could import instead. Is this possible in Locus? Can I import imagery raster data that I'm using it in ArcGIS into Locus as an alternative to the MapQuest maps? Any tips about some USA imagery alternatives would be much appreciated!


Thanks


Karley

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Hello Karley

>I actually have access to some raster imagery data that I could import instead. Is this possible in Locus?<

supported map formats :

http://docs.locusmap.eu/doku.php?id=manual:user_guide:maps_external

can you share us a small map example here packed as .zip?

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Sorry -- I just started a new Topic with the same problem. Probably a lot of people are bummed out about losing MapQuest satellite images. Most of my caching is in the U.S., and that's where I particularly want them. I left for a trip to Svalbard (in the Arctic Circle) a few weeks ago and wasn't able to load them then, either. Sure would have been helpful to have those as off-line maps. Reason I purchased LM Pro was for the satellite images -- now the program has become useless to me :-(

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Dear Stan,

I'm sorry for troubles. We'll discuss this problem after weekend. I'm not sure if we find some quick replacement. Please contact me if you'd like to refund the price for app

Thank you for understanding

Petr

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Anyway... There IS a hack that makes it possible. I'm using that since the day Google asked to remove their maps - the day that they didn't allow caching - which they reverted in the meantime.


Is there a way to contact ppl privately through this forum? I'm not sure if I'm allowed to share this in public :-D

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Hi Auric,


I'm going on a 10 day trip into the wilderness and would love the hack you are talking about! Having satellite imagrey makes finding caves much easier. Please let me know if you can share with me. My email is ianchechet AT GMAIL DOT COM

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Ian, take a look at https://github.com/mjk912/LocusMapTweak


Google and HERE maps are fully functional and additionally I added a fix which I assume will be live tomorrow and which brings back MapQuest to Locus.


Keep in mind though that none of those providers are going to work forever!


It's not Locus' fault. The services are just starting to work differently and/or blocking Locus from accessing their maps.


But for the time being, the hack will work.


Locus is very powerful ;-)

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MapQuest new policy does not allow to use their maps in LocusMap anymore, and there was no guarantee the 3rd party sources will be available forever. See also this thread.


You may try to kindly ask to refund the price.

But you are not consistent - if it was the main reason, it cannot be useless, just less useful. :) It has far more usage than watching satellite maps.

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I use Locus for geocaching without aerial imagery. I'm using the open street vector maps where the trails and other paths are visible. Seeing how you can walk to the cache is much more valuable than the projection on an aerial image that isn't 100% correct anyway with a GPS that is at least 10m inaccurate...

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Auric -- if you limit yourself to "known" trails and paths, then OS vector maps may suffice for you. There are thousands upon thousands of trails that are "known" (let's just say "well-established") that do NOT appear on OS vector maps, nor even on USGS maps. Our latest trip to Utah proved that -- we were on an established 4x4 road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park that did not appear on any map. But actual satellite images may (and usually do) easily show those. I have cached many times out in the desert, accessing 4x4 roads and unmarked washes, which are not on any open street maps (vector or otherwise), but are easily followed when viewed as true-to-life satellite images. For all intents and purposes, satellite images show whats REALLY under foot (or under your tires) and are a tremendous advantage for not getting lost when no other roads, paths, or trails are shown on vector or topo maps.


Yes, Google removed access to their maps and sat images on geocaching.com due to licensing issues, but enough members complained and that was soon rectified. A GSAK macro also stopped working when Google threw up another blockade. There IS a fix for GSAK users to edit a configure.txt file (where we can create and install our own API key) which allows the API calls to work.


I would be VERY INTERESTED in the "hack" that you mentioned to allow Locus Map to do the same thing. As you pointed out, I don't know of a way to contact privately through this forum (which I JUST started to use).


Libor -- if I were to have written in my first post that accessing satellite images in Locus Maps was my "...only reason..." rather than my "...main reason..." would that have changed your comment about not being consistent? I have been caching since 2001 and have never had (or used) sat images for caching until I heard that Locus Maps offered it. So, I "was" doing fine without it for 15 years! I did say without sat images it was "useless TO ME" (not useless overall). Less useful -- I totally agree.


Petr -- thankfully the price of LM Pro is reasonably small. Hopefully a workaround of some type can be found to bring back the use of sat images. If Auric Goldfinger has a method of doing that, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IT IS!! I'm sure there are a LOT of people that purchased LM Pro for the same reason I did and are now disappointed that we lost a major feature once supported by this app.

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Stan: Surely it would. And I do understand to me vs overall difference. But even then it is hard to imagine that viewing sat images is the only outdoor activity you find it useful for.

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Stan... If you know where to find, you can find the solution everywhere on the internet :-)

Note that this might break at some point in the future. This is not Locus' fault. This is because the providers stop working or start working in a different way. I can confirm however that the Bing, Google, OVI and ESRI World satellite imagery are working at the time of writing.

Also at the time of writing, HERE maps are broken. Until the changes are merged, you can use my fixed version where HERE maps are working as well.

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exactly my thoughts :-)

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Libor -- to be honest, the way you phrased it ("...it is hard to imagine that viewing [sic] sat images is the only [sic] outdoor activity you find it useful for...") I can only respond, "No, viewing sat images is NOT the only activity" -- the ONLY activity I use the sat images for is GEOCACHING where no roads, paths, or trails can be found on existing maps, vector or otherwise. THAT was the reason I was using the LocusMap Free application to start with, and then decided to purchase it.


Look, I can just as well use the geocaching website to view caches on a satellite image, but then I'd have to print them all on paper, including their surrounding areas. I could call up the same images on my smartphone and do a screen grab of the sat images, but then there would be no way to associate those screen images with my actual position as I move within that area. Another option is to purchase from Garmin their BirdsEye View images (which are slow to download and prohibitively expensive) -- that, of course, would be an alternative to Locus Maps. When I first found out about Locus Maps and tried it FOR GEOCACHING ONLY, I realized that the ability to download online sat images for offline use was the ideal way to go if I needed them for any specific area that I didn't have vector maps for on my Garmin device. Other than using the sat images, I have no other reason for using the app. All other apps that I currently have fit my purposes -- but none offered the satellite image ability.


Auric -- thanks for those links -- I will look at them...

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I have used VIEWING just as the shortcut to full blown description of your GC activities related to sat/aerial image maps, in contrary to using other Locus maps or features.

I apologize for using it figurally. :-)

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Just to confirm...is the Locus - Addon Satellite Images also officially broken?

Works like a charm over here in Scandinavia..

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Didn't know this plugin. Anyway, it only downloads the surrounding of the cache, not an entire area.


But it is still functional.

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Hello,


additional information about MapQuest and why is not available in Locus can be found on our blog: http://www.locusmap.eu/where-is-mapquest/


Petr

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Even if the Locus team moves mountains to bring back MapQuest Satellite, it wouldn't help me one bit. I don't think I've *ever* seen one of their satellite images for Canada. It's always been simply unavailable, from whatever source I've tried. Clearly, MQ Satellite is NOT worldwide.

But personally, I have a solution in place for satellite images. So I'm happy.

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That's not exactly true, although it might be true for you! I followed Auric Goldfinger's advice the other day and downloaded his "providers.xml.html" document and installed it where he mentioned. I also download and installed the LocusMap Tweaks add-on. I had a few problems getting things to start working (not sure why). After a few days, a couple of phone restarts, and then the latest LocusMap Pro update, I seemed to have gained Google's Photo/Satellites images again (they appear on the map list under "Google"). I just now went to my Southern California area where I live, then scrolled the map up to Canada and beyond, north up to Alaska, and all the way to the east coast. The Google satellite images were showing and working as expected. In fact, they are working all over the world!! I also noticed that MapQuest maps were back (specifically the Hybrid Photo/Satellites option) and they too were working throughout Canada.


I am, however, having new problems with the Geocaching4Locus add-on. I keep seeing "Network unavailable. Please check your connection." even though I am connected to the network and everything else is working. I can sort of get the add-on to work, but have to manually fiddle with options to get caches to display. Then they may disappear, and then show up again. I'm not sure why this is happening since my connection is consistent.

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Providers.xml.html is an error. It must be the .XML version so it's good that you worked with the app. The same file brings back Google, Bing and Here maps. For the time being.


I didn't have any connection errors with Geocaching4Locus but

* That is another project so bug reports go to https://plus.google.com/+Geocaching4LocusEu

* It has nothing to do with providers.xml which only influences map provisers

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