Anquet maps have kindly offered a 7-month free subscription to all TGOC23 participants. Details of the offer can be found here. Within 7 days of paying or confirming your TGOC23 place you will receive an email with:
- instructions on how to access the OMN platform
- your unique token code to give free access for 7 months
The system is reasonably intuitive so if you are used to downloading programmes and/or using digital mapping platforms you may not any of the information below. If you get stuck or this kind of technology is new to you the rest of this post gives a step-by-step guide to accessing the platform.
Step 1 – Create your account
Once you have your OMN offer email go to https://redeem.anquet.com/
If you are new to OMN click on “I need to create an Anquet account”
If you have ever signed up to Anquet Maps or OMN with your current email address in the past you will need to reactivate your old account by clicking on “I have an account” and use the password reset if needed.
Enter your email address, create a password and add the personal 7 character code (e.g. V97XRB3) sent to you by email.
Click redeem – it might take a few moments, but you will then see a message in red at the bottom of the telling you your account has been created. Once you have read the information on the right-hand side you can shut down this screen and check the emails described have arrived.
Step 2 – Download OMN
Go to www.anquet.com and click on “Download in the top bar
Click the relevant app for you – the rest of this section refers to the OMN PC app. We suggest, if you have the option, downloading it to a PC, Mac or some other device with a reasonable sized screen as plotting a TGO Challenge route on a phone sized screen is pretty tricky – you just can’t see enough territory at any one time.
Assuming you are happy with the small print click to accept them then click the download button. It should download automatically. When it has completed it will prompt you to click finish.
Go to your home screen and you will now find the OMN icon on it
Step 3 – start exploring!
Click on the OMN icon, click “Sign in” and login to your account. Don’t try and sign up again at this point!
OMN will start up giving you a view of Ullswater. Getting used to any new system takes a bit of practise. Here are a few tips to get you going:
Finding a place: Click on the search symbol (magnifying glass) in the top bar and go to wherever takes your fancy. We presuming you might want to explore a start point.
If there is more than one place with the same name, it will give you a choice. Click on the most likely and the map will change behind the search box. Once you have found where you want close down the search box.
Moving the map: To move around on the map L click on your mouse and hold it down. As you move your mouse the map will move with it. If you release you can move the cursor over the map and pick it up somewhere else to move it on further. Alternatively use the directional arrows on your keyboard though we find this a bit slow and clunky.
Changing the map scale: Click the top left box and the dropdown box gives you a choice. We recommend three of the map choices for planning your route. When using OS maps take the HD option if available – it is clearer but also more likely to be up to date.
OS 1:50,000 HD – This is your workhorse map. Enough detail to pick out paths and major features but also gives you enough map on the screen to give a sense of where you are going.
OS 1:25,000 HD – Lots of additional detail but you can have too much of a good thing and you don’t get much on the screen at any one time. Great for drilling down on detail such as fence lines etc once you have a provisional route planned.
OS Road Map – great for an overview of where your route might go and for picking out town and villages you might want to aim for but not enough detail to plot your route in full.
Zooming in and out: You can use the tool on the top right corner of the screen but we find it much easier to use the scroll button on your mouse.
We’ll be back with more posts in the next few weeks on how to plot a route in OMN, how to organise and share routes with your teammates and vetters in OMN. We’ll then pull together some of the general route planning advice we have collated over the years on start, points, finish points and off course the big bit in the middle!
