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Archive for August, 2007 Page 4 of 5

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Draw/Label On Google Maps, And Generate GPX/KML/Embeddable Maps

Published at August 8, 2007 in GPS, GPX, Google Maps, KML and Web apps. 0 Comments

Not as useful as it was before Google Maps MyMaps came along, but quikmaps.com has many of the features that MyMaps does, and a few it doesn’t:

- Draw lines on a map, either with line segments or arbitrary freehand (no polygons, unlike MyMaps)

- Add points to the map using a larger variety of full-color icons than MyMaps

- Add text labels directly to the map (not in MyMaps)

- Embed the map and your content in your website

- Export the map data directly into either KML format or GPX format for downloading into your GPS



Sun Position During The Day For Any Location

Published at August 8, 2007 in DEM. 2 Comments

Select a geographic location by continent, country and city, and SunPosition.Info will give you a table of the sun’s azimuth and altitude during the day, as well as a plot of its position in the sky:

sunposition

The stand-alone application MicroDEM can generate similar data, and if you have a digital elevation model (DEM) loaded, can tell you if the sun is blocked by local topography.



RouteConverter Updated

Published at August 7, 2007 in GPS and Google Maps. 0 Comments

Just posted about RouteConverter, a Java-based GPS route/track manager, last Friday, and Christian has already updated it:

- The updated version for Java6 now includes a Google Map interface that displays the GPS track/route and the selected point position:

Capture3-26-2007-2.31.46 PM8-7-2007-9.51.17 AM

- There’s an executable for Windows, as well as a standard Java6 .JAR file for Windows and Linux

- A Java5 version with fewer features, but which is compatible with Macintosh, Windows and Linux



Another Way To Create Embeddable Google Maps With KML Data

Published at August 6, 2007 in Google Maps and KML. 0 Comments

OgleEarth posts about a new service from TakItWithMe that lets you create an embeddable Google Map with KML data, created in Google Maps MyMaps, Google Earth, Picasa, or other sources.

Similar services:

MyMapsPlus

MapChannels

dr2oo



A Free GIS Viewer (And Cheap GIS Editor) For Windows Mobile Systems

Published at August 6, 2007 in GIS. 0 Comments

GIS applications for Window Mobile systems are readily available (e.g. ArcPad from ESRI, TerraSync from Trimble, Mobile GIS from Tensing), but tend to be expensive. I’ve stumbled across a free GIS viewer program for Windows Mobile systems; its successor, a GIS viewer and editor with GPS capabilities, isn’t free but is pretty damn cheap. I don’t currently have access to a Window Mobile system to try these out on, so what I’m writing is based on the limited documentation available for the programs.

The free version of GeoPad (1.1) is a Windows Mobile program capable of displaying vector shapefile data and georeferenced raster imagery (JPG format with a .jgw worldfile) in multiple layers. You can also measure distances, query by feature selection, query by shapefile attributes, and zoom/pan/center etc.. The zip file contains basic documentation, but also seems to contain the C++ source code for the application, so in principle you could crate a version customized to your specific needs.

GeoPad 2.1 is the more functional successor to GeoPad 1.1, including not just the viewer capabilities but also a shapefile layer editor and GPS interface. The following screenshot images are taken from the PDF helpfile available at the website.

Shapefile attribute and feature query:

 

image image

 

Layer display (vector and raster); labeling by attribute:

 

image image

Vector layer creation and editing:

 

image image

GPS functions (including adding current position to shapefile layer as vertex):

image

And the GIS editor version of GeoPad is cheap, less than $10 ($9.99 for a single-user license, and $499 for a 100-user license). There’s a software developer kit (SDK) available for application customization for only $49.95. A trial version is available for download, but the website doesn’t indicate what its limitations are.

FWIW, there’s also a free GIS program called GeoMapper downloadable from the site. Installation was problematical for me (just keep hitting “Ignore” for any install errors, and enter anything you want for a serial number and password), the program wasn’t particularly intuitive to use, and kept crashing on me. On the plus side, the Visual Basic 6 source code is included, so you could always take a crack at making your own custom GIS from it if you want (not me, thanks).



Creating Panoramas Using Google Earth

Published at August 4, 2007 in Google Earth. 0 Comments

Google Earth Blog posts on creating panoramic shots using screen image exports from Google Earth.



Java-Based GPS Route Format Converter

Published at August 3, 2007 in GPS. 4 Comments

Christian Pesch has let me know about RouteConverter, his Java-based program for handling, editing and converting GPS routes. It requires Java 6, so it currently runs on Windows and Linux (no Mac). It lets you:

  • Convert between different GPS route formats; currently supports:
    • Garmin MapSource 5.x (*.mps)
    • Garmin MapSource 6.x (*.gdb)
    • Garmin PCX5 (*.wpt)
    • Google Earth 3 (*.kml and *.kmz)
    • Google Earth 4 (*.kml and *.kmz)
    • Google Maps URL
    • GPX XML 1.0 (*.gpx)
    • GPX XML 1.1 with Garmin Extensions (*.gpx)
    • Magellan MapSend (*.wpt)
    • Microsoft AutoRoute 2002-2006 (*.axe)
    • Motorrad Tourenplaner (*.bcr)
    • Navigon Mobile Navigator 4 (*.rte)
    • Navigon Mobile Navigator 6 (*.rte)
    • NMEA 0183 Sentences (*.nmea)
    • Tom Tom Route (*.itn)
    • Tom Tom POI (*.ov2)
    • Tour Exchange Format (*.tef)
  • Add/subtract/edit points in a route
  • Selects points within a certain distance of another point, and lets you delete them for route simplification
  • Append a route to the current route
  • Supports multiple routes within Google Earth, GPX and Garmin MapSource files

Screenshot (from the website):

image

A good supplement to ITNConv, since it handles multiple routes better than that program, is able to simplify routes, and also supports a few formats (NMEA, Tour Exchange) that ITNConv doesn’t. But ITNConv also handles some formats that RouteConverter doesn’t, and its Google-Maps-based editor for points is definitely a plus.



Creating GeoTiffs From TerraServer Imagery With MicroDEM

Published at August 2, 2007 in MicroDEM and topographic maps. 1 Comment

TerraClient offers a fast and simple way to get TerraServer black-and-white aerial imagery covering large areas, but with no georeferencing data that lets it be used directly in a GIS. USAPhotoMaps offers a convenient and easy interface for downloading TerraServer topo and aerial imagery of smaller areas, with georeferencing data in worldfile format. But the USAPhotoMaps images are saved in JPEG format resulting in some minor image quality degradation, and the worldfile data doesn’t include information like the coordinate system and datum. For that, you’d want to have the TerraServer imagery saved in a format that embeds georeferencing, coordinate system and datum into the actual file format, like GeoTiffs. MicroDEM offers the ability to download TerraServer imagery and then save it in GeoTiff format. While the process and interface are a bit more convoluted than that for USAPhotoMaps or TerraClient, it’s not too bad.

Continue reading ‘Creating GeoTiffs From TerraServer Imagery With MicroDEM’



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