Google Maps

[+Hard Oiler]

Saw a thread up in General Topics about the new Google Maps Beta . Despite the fact it says USA it does have quite detailed Canadian coverage and the search function works for at least some Canadian locations and POI's that I tried. Also seems to be fairly up to date (has my street on it which only appeared in S&T 2004) and seems to have more out-of-town detail than S&T 2005. Might want to check it out - Google are inviting feedback so let's have some Canadian input . And it is fast!

[Taxman003]

I've been playing with it for a bit and love it.

 

Great page load speed and good details on streets. You can also search for coffee shops, gas stations etc in the area you're looking at.

 

If they add co-ordinates to this, the others had better watch out!

 

Mike

[+Couparangus]

I guess Google has a *little* capital to work with now.

 

Cheers!

C-A

Edited February 8, 2005 by Couparangus

[bigmuddy]

not the best for my location, should update with time hopefully.

[moburgers]

I was playing around with this for along time yesterday. Its amazing to see what they are doing with html and javascript, without requiring Flash or Shockwave or SVG viewer or anything.

 

Too bad it can't interface with my GPS.

 

Another site that just added support for Canada is Motionbased.com. They use the tracklog from your GPS to plot your activities onto maps. Its mostly marketed toward endurance athletes, but it works great for any activity. We don't have as much of choice in Canada as the US, so you have to take whatever mapping services you can get.

 

Here's an example of a run I uploaded today....

 

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitat...rPk.pkValue=192

 

Mike

[+Shumway]

I've been playing with Google's maps and am very impressed. But you're right, Canadian coverage is lacking. I experimented and found that the south portion of Canada is covered in street level detail. Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg are all fully covered. I was trying to figure out where coverage stops. It apears that full detail coverage sotps at 50% north where the CAN/US border is at 49%. But that rule deosn't apply in the east - IE Halifax is not covered in street level detail though it is much furher south. That leads me to think there may be a set distance from the US border where the detail level decreases. Not sure. I sent feedback to Google to ask about this, but have not received a response. My guess is that street level detail for all of Canada will be forthcoming. The data comes from Navteq, which I know does have all of the provices fully covered. I guess we'll just have to wait. When Canada is fully covered, this will be the best mapping site on the net.

[+LeadMagnet]

I think that one of the most exciting things to come will be seeing how Google combines their mapping software with Keyhole, a satellite imaging company that Google acquired not too long ago. The interfaces and current level of coverage seems to be eerily similar, so I'm fairly excited to see what sort of combination comes about.

[BradGrier]

Yeah, the Google Map coverage is somewhat uneven in Canada. Kelowna has streetlevel mapping whilst Edmonton does not. It is a very cool service though...hopefully the detail will improve.

 

Brad

http://bratandtesty.blogspot.com

[+dani_carriere]

I can't seem to get it to work!

 

I get this javascript message:

 

Line: 309

Char: 42

Error: 'this.map' is null or not an object

Code: 0

URL: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=New+York+Cit...nd=&btnG=Search

 

I'm using IE 5.5, with Java enabled ... any ideas why my map area is a complete blank? I've sent this message to Google last week, but haven't had a reply (probably getting too much feedback)

 

help! please!

[+Old Billygoat]

I'm running IE 6.0.2900.2180_sp2 and Google maps runs fine. IE 6.0 was part of service pack 2 I believe.

[+Hard Oiler]

In case you missed it in another forum Google Maps has added a satellite imagery button. Resolution is variable but Canada is covered - and the mapping of Canada looks to be much more complete now.

 

The satellite imagery is neat - I can see my house and here's Niagara Falls. Soon you'll be able to place a cache just by putting an arrow on the map

 

[+Dagg]

Vancouver looks good too. Not so good for Victoria...

[+PDOP's]

Quality and zoom level varies with location. For my area it's also an oblique (side angle) photo

[+dani_carriere]

Want to see something freaky? Just look to the left of the push pin on this map:

 

Winnipeg

 

[ertyu]

I put in a suggestion for the ability to search by co-ordinates.

[+Dagg]

Want to see something freaky?  Just look to the left of the push pin on this map:

 

Winnipeg

 

Is that a pool I see in someones back yard? In Winnipeg?

[+Gorak]

Want to see something freaky?  Just look to the left of the push pin on this map:

 

Winnipeg

 

Is that a pool I see in someones back yard? In Winnipeg?

When I was a kid living in Winterpeg it was very common in the wintertime for people to flood their backyards to create a skating rink. Summers there get pretty hot so a swimming pool is not really all that out of place.

[BradGrier]

Wow...that is cool! What's with the funky blue 'shadow' that's preceeding that object?

 

Brad

 

GeoCachingEdmonton.com

[+wibskey]

That's a great link. I recently read an article on that covered some of the weird things that pop up on the satellite images. Check out this wired article for more info on these surprise images.

 

It looks to me, like they caught a jet landing at the Winnipeg airport. The blue artifact preceding it could be it's shadow...

 

Here's the driving directions from the location to the airport. As you can see, it's headed in the right direction.

[+Hard Oiler]

I put in a suggestion for the ability to search by co-ordinates.

In fact you already can - just type the coordinates into the search box but you need to use the DD.DDDDD format.

 

If you use GSAK you can create a custom URL:

 

Google Maps=http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=%lat%2C%lon&spn=0.01,0.01

 

which opens Google Maps at the cache coordinates - unfortunately it doesn't yet show a pin-point - the cache is in the middle of the screen. There was a work-around to get a pin-point but the work-around no longer works - that's what happens when you mess with Google Betas

[+LeGodFather]

I put in a suggestion for the ability to search by co-ordinates.

In fact you already can - just type the coordinates into the search box but you need to use the DD.DDDDD format.

 

If you use GSAK you can create a custom URL:

 

Google Maps=http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=%lat%2C%lon&spn=0.01,0.01

 

which opens Google Maps at the cache coordinates - unfortunately it doesn't yet show a pin-point - the cache is in the middle of the screen. There was a work-around to get a pin-point but the work-around no longer works - that's what happens when you mess with Google Betas

If you go in Directions and enter starting coordinates in "Start Address" and destination coordinates in "End Address", you'll get both start/end pins with the trail in between the 2 points.

 

Ex: Starting: "45.5000, -73.5000" End: "46.5000, -74.5000"

 

Now, if we could export that to .GPX or something!

 

Ciao!

Papa de la GrosseFamille!

[+Hard Oiler]

If you go in Directions and enter starting coordinates in "Start Address" and destination coordinates in "End Address", you'll get both start/end pins with the trail in between the 2 points.

 

Ex: Starting: "45.5000, -73.5000"  End: "46.5000, -74.5000"

 

Now, if we could export that to .GPX or something! 

 

Ciao!

Papa de la GrosseFamille!

That's clever . You can put it into GSAK since Google Maps doesn't seem to care if the starting and end points are the same. The only catch is that it assumes you have to be on a road so the pinpoint is on the closest road - not where the cache is. Might be handy for parking though. A custom URL like this works:

 

Google Maps Point=http://maps.google.com/maps?spn=0.121826,0.226858&saddr=%lat,%lon&daddr=%lat,%lon&hl=en

[+LeGodFather]

That's clever  .  You can put it into GSAK since Google Maps doesn't seem to care if the starting and end points are the same.  The only catch is that it assumes you have to be on a road so the pinpoint is on the closest road - not where the cache is.  Might be handy for parking though. A custom URL like this works:

 

Google Maps Point=http://maps.google.com/maps?spn=0.121826,0.226858&saddr=%lat,%lon&daddr=%lat,%lon&hl=en

1 - what is GSAK?

2 - The order is important.. if you want the "start" pin to be at the starting point and the "end" pin to be at destination. Plus, it make a difference for the turn by turn directions!

3 - Unfortunatly, yes, it has to be on the road.

 

Ciao!

Papa de la GrosseFamille!

[+PDOP's]

1 - what is GSAK?

GSAK is simply the best geocaching software.

[+Hard Oiler]

2 - The order is important.. if you want the "start" pin to be at the starting point and the "end" pin to be at destination.  Plus, it make a difference for the turn by turn directions!

3 - Unfortunatly, yes, it has to be on the road.

What I meant was if you make the start and end the same you just get one pin on the map - I thought it would be at the coordinates you enter so would show a cache location but what it does is put the pin on the nearest spot on a road closest to the cache.

 

And PDOP's is right - GSAK is the best! I couldn't live without it! If you put one of those Google URL's into GSAK you can just click on the cache in your GSAK cache list and the Google Map of the location will pop up. But that's only a fraction of what it will do

[+DanOCan]

Yeah, the Google Map coverage is somewhat uneven in Canada.

Agreed. I really like the service and will like it even more as the coverage gets more consistent. For example, my wife's family has a cottage in Saskatchewan, middle of nowhere, and they have maps available right to the highest level of detail, even more detail than is available for parts of Calgary.

 

As for Calgary, it seems some parts of the city have great detail, such as most of the southeast, but west of Crowchild Trail things go south. I really wanted to see my car in the parking lot of the University.

[+Hard Oiler]

It gets better all the time. If you haven't tried it check out Google Earth. Just downloaded it and started to play with it and the possibilities are endless. It will open gpx files for example so you can view caches in an area via an aerial view. Info for Canada is still somewhat limited - you can overlay road names but not much else yet (my nearest Tim Hortons is across the border in Michigan). Here are a couple of examples of what caches look like (using the GSAK 20 character smart names). Gets easier and easier to find the optimum way to get to caches:

 

 

[+Pharmadude]

I too have been playing with Keyhole, and most recently Google Earth, and plotting my cache finds. With Keyhole, it was strictly a visual process. Now with Google Earth, I can just type in the coords. The strange thing though is that the coords never seem to line up exactly with the correct spot. They are always several yards east and a few yards south of the correct location. Why is this?

[+Hard Oiler]

I haven't noticed that, at least in this area. I did check one (an urban micro in an area where the coverage is high resolution) and the spot it marked was 2 metres from the cache (you can see the transformer box to which the micro is attached). That's close enough for me and my GPSr .

 

Could be that their calibration is out a bit in certain areas but I haven't found one yet.

 

What I really like is the ability to open files generated from GSAK (they both use GPSBabel "under the hood") and being able to keep the files in a folder structure - so I can keep folders of own, found and unfound caches with their own custom icons. And of course the fact that it's free doesn't hurt (though, after I've played some more, I think I might invest $20 to see what the upgrade with higher res image saving and GPSr support will do). Only caveat is that it's still in beta (mine is 3.0.0336) and not yet completely stable.

[djfiander]

coords.  The strange thing though is that the coords never seem to line up exactly with the correct spot.  They are always several yards east and a few yards south of the correct location.  Why is this?

I saw this over the weekend with google maps. If you go someplace where there are a few roads on the map and switch quickly between the map view and the sat view, you'll see that the photos of the roads don't quite perfectly overlay with the map of roads. At least, that's true around Kincardine Ontario.

[+The Wet Coast Explorers]

I too have been playing with Keyhole, and most recently Google Earth, and plotting my cache finds.  With Keyhole, it was strictly a visual process.  Now with Google Earth, I can just type in the coords.  The strange thing though is that the coords never seem to line up exactly with the correct spot.  They are always several yards east and a few yards south of the correct location.  Why is this?

I've been using Keyhole extensively for almost a year now. Way back, I wrote a Perl script that converted my GPX files (exported from GSAK) into KML for loading into Keyhole which worked great. Now, of course, Google Earth has eliminated the need for that extra step - you can just drag and drop your GPX file into Google Earth and have all your caches plotted in one step.

 

As for the coords being out, there are two different database servers that you can use when starting up Keyhole / Google Earth: the Legacy Database and the Primary Database. The Primary one, which is the default, was released on May 11, 2005. There has been a great deal of discussion about the coverage of this database as well as its accuracy - all road overlays around here seem to be shifted slightly to the east. When I plot caches using this database, the locations are always out. So, for now, I'm sticking with the Legacy Database. This works great for me and covers the areas that I'm mainly interested in.

[+Pharmadude]

Thanks for that info, WCE. Are there other differences between the two databases (e.g. resolution?), that might override one wanting to go back to the original database?

[+The Wet Coast Explorers]

Thanks for that info, WCE.  Are there other differences between the two databases (e.g. resolution?),  that might override one wanting to go back to the original database?

Resolution for certain areas is definitely an issue. Take a look at these snapshots from the south end of Alouette Lake....

 

From the Google Earth Legacy Database:

From the Goolge Earth Primary Database:

 

From the Google Earth Legacy Database:

From the Goolge Earth Primary Database:

[ertyu]

How do you switch databases?

[+The Wet Coast Explorers]

How do you switch databases?

Using Keyhole / Google Earth you log out (on the File menu) and then log in again. At that point, you get to select what database you are going to use. I'm using Google Earth Plus though... I'm not sure if it is the same with Google Earth (the free version).

[+Hard Oiler]

No it doesn't work with the free version and they aren't accepting upgrades currently - it was tough even to get the free version

 

Google Earth Plus purchases temporarily delayed

 

Thanks for your interest in Google Earth Plus, but we're sorry we can't offer you the service right now. As you know, Google Earth is in beta, and we're still building out our ability to take on new users. We're making good progress, and expect to be able to accept new downloads shortly, so we recommend you check back daily. We hope to be able to welcome you and other new planet surfers soon.

 

We appreciate your patience,

 

The Google Earth Team

[+Gonzo-YT]

Although I am sure many others have done this already, I've manged to use the new Google Maps API to make an interactive map that can read geocaching.com LOC files. See it in action on my Yukon geocaches page.

 

Anyone is free to use the code. You will need to sign up for your own key to use the service on your site, mine won't work for you. The "caches.xml" file is in geocaching.com LOC format, replace it with your own.

 

If you want to be nice, you can credit me with a link to my site but I really don't care either way.

 

Regards,

Anthony

[South Surrey Scavengers]

After a couple of days of trying to download the Google Earth I finally got it! Yeah, its true that some areas don't have great photos but other areas are excellent. My house and yard for example shows up well and where I work I can spot my vehicle in the parking lot. Plus the real time panning and zooming is great.

[+dogbreathcanada]

Plus the real time panning and zooming is great.

Not to mention the tilting. The 3D relief is awesome and already made use of it to determine terrain and elevation for a cache near Harrison Hot Springs.

[+LeGodFather]

And the fact that you can load GPX files.. Tracks, routes, waypoints.. I just love it (but don't load too many tracks.. it really slows down the software!)

 

 

These are tracks in Québec City.

White Icons are NOT FOUND caches.

Green Icons are FOUND caches.

[+murfster]

WOW!! I just tried Google Earth

 

Amazing.. if you have't tried it put it on your list of things to see.

 

GREAT Stuff!!!

 

Murfster

[+Team K1W1]

Plus the real time panning and zooming is great.

Not to mention the tilting. The 3D relief is awesome and already made use of it to determine terrain and elevation for a cache near Harrison Hot Springs.

Wow, that is awesome. Interesting to do a virtual tour over the Coquihalla highway.

 

Steve