Free UK Digitised maps for plotting

[Guest Huscarl]

I've seen a few posts from people asking how to use (and get) digitised maps for use with GPS s/w such as GPSU, Gartrip etc.

 

Here's something I find useful, and maybe other will too:

 

Download a utility called trailgauge Map Grabber from http://www.azwhaley.uklinux.net/trailgauge/download.html

 

This allows you to download OS 1:50,000 map segments (from multimap.com) which are then autostitched together so no messing about with photoshop It also allows you to specifiy the size of the map area you want to download.

 

Then read this into your GPS s/w and use the grid crossing points as calibration points (with your GPS s/w set to OSGB). You could also go to streemap.co.uk and look-up the WGS84 lat/long references of a couple of points in the map area and use these for calibration points.

 

Hope this helps.

 

[This message has been edited by Huscarl (edited 12 February 2002).]

 

[This message has been edited by Huscarl (edited 12 February 2002).]

[Guest Moss Trooper]

That is one neat piece of Software.

 

Thanks..

 

Moss de Boss.. sorta

[Guest The Northumbrian]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moss Trooper:

That is one neat piece of Software.

 

Thanks..

 

Moss de Boss.. sorta

---

 

Am I doing something wrong? whenever I click on the link I get the Not found message stating the requested URL/trailguage/download.html.was not found on this server

 

------------------

The Northumbrian

[Guest jstead]

Yes that is a useful piece of software which I was pointed to a couple of weeks ago. But it should be noted that the base maps it downloads are the OS 1:50,000 sheets, i.e. without such detail as field boundaries as on the 1:25,000 sheets. Very useful none the less.

Or have I misread those I have downloaded?

 

------------------

John Stead

[Guest Huscarl]

Ooops, looked like I had an extra full stop at the end of the URL. I've edited it so it should work just by clicking on it. Apologies.

 

As for the scale, it does appear that the level of detail is from from the 1:50,000 map data - still good enough for waypointing/seeing where you've been

[Guest Novaforesta]

Very clever. I've been thinking about the digitising process, and calibration, especially if you don't have any waypoints for the area. Clicking on OS grid intersections and using them as calibration points seems the easiest way of doing it, but then switching GPSU back from British grid/OSGB to D M.mmmm/WGS84 generates a message that the co-ordinates will need to be reset because they will now be inaccurate.

 

Anyone used this enough to know a better way of doing it? Or maybe it doesn't matter, as long as you transfer any waypoints you create to your GPS with the GPS set to the same grid/datum as GPSU, then rely on the GPS receiver itself to translate them to WGS84? Or am I just hopelessly confused?

[Guest Lisa]

Hmm. Sounds like what I did with streetmap.co.uk. I wrote an app that lets you scroll around a map and if it gets to a square that it doesn't have, it'll download it. It also shows all the geocaching waypoints and the current position if the gps is plugged in. Very useful if you are driving by yourself. I've currently got 68831 1km2 maps downloaded taking over a gb.

[+arndale]

Sounds a good app Lisa, is it available anywhere?