PC mapping software help

[+TotemLake]

Recanting with apologies to Lee.

Edited June 20, 2010 by TotemLake

[+user13371]

...well, at least it got us past the 100-post mark...

Edited June 20, 2010 by lee_rimar

[+TotemLake]

Recanted with apologies. Chalk it up to a bad day.

Edited June 20, 2010 by TotemLake

[+user13371]

...nothing to see here folks, move along...

Edited June 20, 2010 by lee_rimar

[+TotemLake]

Chalk it up to a bad day. Sorry about the blast and the allegations.

Edited June 20, 2010 by TotemLake

[+coggins]

coggins

 

I seem to be missing your point-what is it?

The OP's want's, let's review:

Here is want i need to do. I'm a realtor that sells big tracts of land. These tracts are shown on deed maps in the town records, but very hard to find on foot. I would like to map the location using a pc based software, and transfer routes and coordinates to the gps for the on foot portion of my search.

I have a Etrex H.

I'm heading up to the lot this weekend to see what I can come up with.

 

So I showed a map of census blocks to demostrate what you were saying about what could be done with the shapefiles was wrong.

What did I say could be done with shapefiles do you dispute? What shapefiles? The ones I mentioned in post #57 that I said could be loaded into xMap Professional?

Your solution requires him to get a new GPS (which will take longer than 15 minutes).

It doesn't at all. It requires him to to download and install Google Earth (the free version will work just fine) Your solution requires him to get a new GPS (which will take longer than 15 minutes) because his eTrex H GPS is not a mapping hand held unit, a small fact that has been brought up by several people in this thread yet you insist MapSorce can load a custom .img file to:

However, the shapefile solutions (if available would be the best thing for an Etrex)

 

If they have polygon shapefiles for the parcels all that is basically required is;

 

1) Drop the shapefile into gpsmapedit and do not have a label field.

 

2) Select all, convert to polyline (gives you the boundaries)

 

3) Drop the shapefile into gpsmap edit again and slect the parcel number as the label.

 

5) Compile the img file.

 

6) Use mapset toolkit to install in mapsource.

 

7) Use mapsource to send map to Etrex.

 

Then he has the entire town on his GPS. And he does not have to buy anything and he always has what he needs.

A combination of raster and vector lot data gives you a bit more information as to what's in the lot ("This would be FAR superior to the custom maps someone pointed out above"):

 

Or in the OP's case, a version that can have the various layers and object displayed (or not), and corner waypoints that can be used with his current non mapping eTrex GPSr:

 

And for those that would rather only have the vector data, I threw together this one with a drawing spider to cover up that distracting aerial imagery:

 

And if you're up for the state of the art mapping, here's an awesome one of the area provided by Bing:

Edited June 20, 2010 by coggins

[+myotis]

coggins,

 

I missed that he had an Etrex that does not accept maps. So your Garmin Custom Map Solution and my making a garmin vector map both require a new GPS. It would be one thing if you were making constructive comments explaining why your solution was better. But your comments like, "Having a 'FAR superior' vector map made from inaccurate data in a format that is of no use to anyone except one's self is just a joke." are not very helpful or constructive. Your point came across to me as a desire to be a jerk instead of being constructive.

 

If this was a property owner wanting the boundaries of thier property, I would agree it probsably would not be worth the effort to track down shapefiles and make a vector map. But if you are a realtor, it should be well worth the effort (particularly if someone told you they would make the map for you if you tracked down the data). Lets compare:

 

Custom: You have to make a map and load it on the GPS every time you need to find a plot.

 

Vector: Since the vector map would cover the entire town, once the map is made you always have what you need on the GPS.

 

Custom: lots of accuracy issues. GoogleEarth's photos can be way off You can also get accuracy issues from poor alignment in GoogleEarth.

 

Vector: No loss of accuracy. The vector map will be perfectly aligned with the shapefile.

 

Custom Maps tend to to be much slower than vector maps when panning or zooming.

 

Custom maps have limitations like size, resolution, and number of maps on the GPS. The vector maps do not have these limitations. The vector maps are transparent so they can show on top of any other map. Custom maps are not transparent. The vector maps are exponentially larger than the vector maps.

 

So while I was wrong about, "it would work on your etrex" I stand by my comment that this "would be FAR superior to the custom maps someone pointed out above."

[+coggins]

coggins,

 

I missed that he had an Etrex that does not accept maps. So your Garmin Custom Map Solution and my making a garmin vector map both require a new GPS. It would be one thing if you were making constructive comments explaining why your solution was better.

First off sorry to offend you. Second off, my "solution" wasn't a Garmin Custom Map raster solution, but a Google Earth one that includes both vector and raster data where vector based waypoints get loaded to this current GPS, he in no way needs to purchase a new GPS to find these lots. I only mentioned that the raster data could be used as a Garmin Custom Map. In any case, the object was to be able to find a couple of lots this past weekend, and wasn't a debate of vector vs. raster graphic. Your comparison isn't even fair and reads a lot like a "die Endlösung der Rastergrafik-frage" rant as it only lists the strengths on one type of data along with the weaknesses of the other. Maybe you should start your own thread and see how that goes. All in all it was a better solution as it fulfilled the needs within the time frame. Now you can say that a map containing all the city's lots could have been made if the data was obtained, and yet it wasn't. And who can even say what the restraints on that data would be, they might not let you do with it as you wish. I don't believe that it's even been established who owns the right to the geospacial data, the city or the consultant they used on their website.

 

I'll let the OP decide which was better for him.

Edited June 21, 2010 by coggins

[RangerRushton]

Here is want i need to do. I'm a realtor that sells big tracts of land. These tracts are shown on deed maps in the town records, but very hard to find on foot. I would like to map the location using a pc based software, and transfer routes and coordinates to the gps for the on foot portion of my search. I dont know if this is even possible, but I would love to combine my work with hiking. What would be cooler than that?

Thanks in advance,

Bud

 

I know this post is half a decade old, but I had pretty much the same challenge and put together the perfect solution to Bigbudman's challenge. Plots surveys on Google earth, can print maps or save the results to a GPS for a way to walk the property. Since it's online, works on a PC, Mac, tablet or smart phone on the property, if you have coverage-

 

I started out converting surveys into GPS coordinates with a spreadsheet and decided to put the process online as an excuse to learn a few new programming skills. Here's an overview:

 

About Plat Plotter

 

Give it a try at http://platplotter.appspot.com/ and make sure to get to the "GPX download" part: that's where you save a file that goes in your GPS.

 

It's free, but compliments or words of encouragement are accepted.