Macintosh GPS

Great way to sync the camera and GPS times

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:18:00 +0000

Now that I use Maperture Pro to geocode my images inside Aperture, getting the camera time accurate is even more important. Offsetting the time is possible in Maperture Pro, but if the camera time is accurate it's much easier to geocode the images and cuts out a potentially problematic step.

I have the display on my computer set to show seconds as well as hours and minutes. In the Date & Time System Preference it's set to sync the date and time automatically, so it should be accurate within a few seconds of the satellite time on the GPS. Just before I go out shooting I use the clock on the computer screen to set the camera, then shoot a shot of the clock to confirm the correspondence.

If you download the image below and check the Exif data, the date and time of the original image match the time captured in the image.

VicMap 1:25k topo maps and MacGPS Pro

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:48:00 +0000

The 1:25k topo maps for the whole of Victoria are now available through MapTrax. There is a package of sample files available for download to check whether the VicMap maps will work with your application: they are designed to work with Ozi Explorer on the PC, but if you want to run them on the Macintosh you will have to use your own application since Ozi Explorer doesn't run on the Mac. I downloaded the sample package but the .ecw file in the package would not import into MacGPS Pro with the coordinates set.

I wrote to James Associates and Larry James was quick to respond with the answer: when you try to import an .ecw file, MacGPS Pro looks for a .map file in the same folder with the same name if it can't find the georeferencing information in the file itself.

Unfortunately the .map files are named differently from the .ecw files they relate to, but the fix is simple: rename the .map file with the same name as the .ecw file (or vice versa), just keep the original extensions, .ecw or .map. Now when you import the .ecw file it finds the .map georeference file and sets the coordinates automatically.

So I bought the set. 846 maps. I copied the entire ECW VicGrid folder across from DVD 1 to the hard drive, took the "georef25k_" off the beginning of all the filenames using the freeware Name Mangler, then went through all the files manually and renamed the .ecw files with the same name as the .map files: I couldn't think of an easy programmatic way of doing it. So now I just find the .ecw file of the map I need and import it into MacGPS Pro.

To find the map I want, I've converted the mapping_program_25kindex.pdf file into several PICT files using Graphic Converter, then manually added the coordinates (using the .ecw files to find coordinates). I've assumed the projection is Transverse Mercator and the geodetic datum is GDA94, which isn't exactly true, but it gives enough of an indication of which topo maps to look on for a waypoint created on Google Earth or in MacGPS Pro.

Overlaying a topographic map on Google Earth

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:13:00 +0000

Overlaying a topographic map on Google Earth with the Terrain layer on adds significantly to the information available in the GE view. It would be much simpler if Google Earth supported the .ecw file format: ecw files of the NSW Raster Topographic Maps contain the location data for the map, so the maps could be located automatically on import.

As it is the locations have to be done manually.

Convert .ecw map to an image file format that Google Earth understands (eg. TIFF, JPG, PNG).
Cut the map up into tiles in PhotoShop, to the required tile size. Note that a complete topo map will pixelate in GE so make it about one quarter of a 1:25k map per tile. Trim along grid lines to make the following steps easier.
Import the original .ecw file in MacGPS Pro.
Use MacGPS Pro to find the latitude and longitude of the corners of each tile from the trimmed map, in decimal degree format.
In Google Earth, Add an Image Overlay, and link it to the map tile.
Open the Location tab in the Layer object Get Info window, and click the Convert to LatLonQuad button.
Click OK to close the Get Info window, then open it again by right-clicking the Overlay in the My Places pane (you have to do this, at least on the Mac, to get the display to change to the four tuple pane).
Click the Location tab. There should now be four coordinate tuples in the window.
Replace the values with the co-ordinates found in Step 4 above. The First Corner is the bottom left, Second Corner is bottom right, and so on around the tile anti-clockwise.
Click OK to close the Get Info window, and providing you have recorded and entered the values for the corners accurately the tile should now be in place.

Set the transparency of the overlay to 50% or less to get the effect in the image above.

Ensure the Terrain layer is active to see the map draped over the terrain.

The documentation for LatLonQuad details the format of the kml file required to display the map tile properly.

Manual geotagging in Aperture

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 02:11:00 +0000

Maperture is a plug-in for Aperture from Übermind that allows you to add latitude and longitude metadata manually to Aperture photos from within the application itself. Works with Nikon NEF RAW images and jpegs, but not TIFFs. It will preserve any existing geotags in the images. Best of all is the price: it's free!

Recent geocoding examples

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:59:00 +0000

I have been busy, really! As well as working on a Carrick project with the University of Canberra, I've been accepted into a PhD program with Photography and Media Arts at the School of Art at the Australian National University. My Proposal and Journal are on my .Mac pages, so visit those for the details of my program and activities. I've also posted a few recent examples of the integration of geocoded photographs on Panoramio with Google Maps and Google Earth on Yet Another Blog I have.

Loch Garra, Davidson Whaling Station historic site, Twofold Bay

Google and Garmin add Send to GPS option

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:41:00 +0000

In the US at least, you can now send the location of businesses that you find on Google Maps to your Garmin GPS. It works through Firefox with my Garmin nüvi 760: first of all find the business you want in Google Maps (it doesn't work in Australia, but I've made it work for US businesses), then click the Send link towards the top-right of the Maps window, between Print and Link to this page (with the icon of the envelope to the left).

In the 'window' that appears, click the GPS link on the left. If the GPS link isn't there, the location can't be transferred to your GPS.

Choose the location you want to transfer from the Include: popup, then choose Garmin from the Make: popup. Click the Send button. This should take you to the Garmin website. The first time you try it, you will need to install the Garmin Communicator plug-in. This works with Firefox for me, but not Safari. Download and install the plug-in, then follow the instructions. Be careful the installer doesn't take you back to Safari after the installation, make sure it's Firefox.

How about other locations, apart from businesses, Google?

UPDATE 7 April 2008: You CAN transfer the locations you find to the GPS, not just businesses. And it works in Australia, too. Either I missed it originally or something has changed in the past week. So just execute a search for an address, and when it's found, click the Send link (with the envelope icon), and choose the GPS link.

Garmin inches towards Mac OS X support

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:40:00 +0000

Two years after first announcing that Garmin would support the Macintosh within the year, more software (still in beta) was announced at San Francisco MacWorld this week.

Codednamed Bobcat, the software "allows you to transfer waypoints, tracks, and routes between your Mac and Garmin device and manage your data using your Garmin maps". Garmin maps still aren't available in Macintosh format (you have to convert your Garmin PC maps with MapConverter for Windows, then use MapManager on the Macintosh to make them accessible to Bobcat).

If I have a few spare moments I'll fire it all up and see how it goes. Will only work with Garmin USB devices.

Increasing Garmin support for the Macintosh

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:36:00 +0000

Chet from Garmin is teasing us about "Bobcat": code name for a Garmin software product for the Macintosh to be released at San Francisco MacWorld next week.

Two years ago Garmin promised to move its software to Mac OS X "by the end of 2006", but it has been rather slow. There have been some recent releases from Garmin to support using Garmin GPS devices on the Macintosh, though: POI Loader for Mac, MapInstall for Mac, and MapConverter for Windows. (Thanks, MacOS X Hints!)

Another Photosynth video

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:01:00 +0000

A more detailed video covering Photosynth from Microsoft Live Labs:

GPS-enabled cameras?

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 01:08:00 +0000

All of the complicated work that needs to be done now to geocode (or geotag) photographs could be a thing of the past if founder of SiRF chip company Kanwar Chadha is right. According to Stephen Shankland, blogging on Underexposed at c|net News.com, Chadha is predicting cameras with GPS capability will start hitting the market next year in quantity. Shankland's article covers a range of issues with knowing where photos were taken, particularly if the photos are shared through social networking sites like MySpace, Flickr and SmugMug. While there are privacy and personal security issues with sharing any information about yourself, family and friends, if managed properly adding location data is an opportunity to explore user-generated photographs in new ways.

More on Photosynth: Wired Science video

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:17:00 +0000

The more I see of Photosynth, the more I want to see something like it on the Macintosh, but done better using Core Animation in Leopard.

Live Maps 3D

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:55:00 +0000

Microsoft has integrated Photosynth in Live Maps Virtual Earth 3D (technology preview). No audio in the video, apparently.

Got this from vincenthome.

Why this in a Macintosh blog on GPS? Hoping to see this sort of technology available on the Mac (Virtual Earth 3D requires ActiveX controls)

Using Panoramio

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 07:59:00 +0000

I've been experimenting with Panoramio to simplify serving up geocoded photographs: have a look at a track and the photos from a recent walk in the Warrumbungle National Park. Download the .kmz file and open it in Google Earth. As you change the view on the map, only the photos available in the area covered are included in the list.

Cool new Leopard Preview feature

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 05:06:00 +0000

I've just come back from a couple of weeks away and while geocoding the photos using the usual tools and now Geotagger from Craig Stanton (Craig also developed the iPhotoToGoogleEarth plugin for iPhoto 6 that I use), I discovered that Preview in Leopard on the Macintosh has a cool new feature when you use it to look at geocoded photographs.

Try this at home:

Open a geocoded photo in Preview v4. If you don't have a geocoded photo, here's one of the Warrumbungle National Park from Siding Springs [warning: 4.7MB file] that I prepared earlier. Save it to disk before opening in.
Choose Inspector from the Tools menu.
Click the 'i' tab in the Inspector window at the top in the centre.
Click the GPS tab in the second line of tabs in the Inspector window.

You should see the location data for the photo and the photo's location on the map. Click the Locate button to see the location of the photo in Google Maps.

Links to Macintosh GPS tools

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:57:00 +0000

These are the links to the tools I used in my GPS for the Mac presentation at the Apple University Consortium Conference at the Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, on 24 September 2007.

Here's the GPS Mac presentation in Acrobat format (.pdf, 668kB), and the paper in Word (.doc, 5.6MB).

Canberra Nature Parks maps

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:04:00 +0000

Here in the ACT the local government has published a series of Acrobat maps of the the local Nature Parks. Download the maps and import them into MacGPS Pro (it will open the PDF file directly). The ones I've tried work with the Geodetic Datum set to GDA94; Map Projection to Transverse Mercator; and UTM Zone to 55H. Calibrate the map using Google Earth (see Calibrating NATMAP Raster Premium Maps for the technique). You should independently verify the calibration before relying on the maps for navigation.

Google Maps to your GPS via MacGPS Pro

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 09:03:00 +0000

Last weekend we wanted to visit a local winery (Yarrh, pronounced yaar) to try their Sangiovese. From their website map I could see where to go, but thought it would be a good exercise to see if I could transfer the data from Google Maps to my Garmin GPS to guide us there.

Turns out it's quite simple with My Maps (make sure you are logged in to Google: the link takes to you to maps.google.com.au), together with TakItWithMe - Google™ My Maps Converter Beta, and MacGPS Pro.

Google My Maps line tool

Once logged in to My Maps, create a new map and use the line tool to draw a line from the beginning to the end of the route.

Click at each intersection along the route to draw the route. Double click at the destination to finish the route.

Save the map.

Graphic of the Link to this page link

Click the Link to this page link, and copy the data in the text field under Paste link in email or IM heading.

Go to the TakItWithMe website, and paste the data you copied into the Paste in Your Google My Maps URL text field. Click the Download GPX button.

You can then transfer the GPX file to your GPS device, for example using MacGPS Pro. Open MacGPS Pro, open the gpx file you just created, select the route using the Route tool (select the route tool; click one of the waypoints on the route) and transfer the route file to the GPS using the transfer tool.

Another way to do it would be to create Placemarks (rather than a line) in My Maps, then transfer these to MacGPS Pro via a GPX file using this same method. Create a new route in MacGPS Pro between the Placemarks (which become Waypoints in MacGPS Pro). If you have named the Placemarks meaningfully in My Maps you should get a route with meaningful names for Waypoints on the GPS.

Help with My Maps

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:55:00 +0000

Google has added a couple of movies to help you with mashups using other people's data or adding your own content to Google Maps My Maps. Here's a featured example of Bo Majewski's personal experiences of Sydney using My Maps.

Google Australian Electoral guide

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:42:00 +0000

Not strictly speaking a Macintosh GPS subject, but Google has launched a site on the forthcoming Australian Federal election that includes a find your electorate feature using Google Maps My Maps feature (warning: doesn't work in Safari). You will need to log in to Google to see the option under 'Featured content' on the right ('Australian 2007 Election').

If you have Google Earth you can also download a kmz file to add a map layer for the electorates there.

Mercedes (or BMW) for my next car?

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:32:00 +0000

At least for driving (if you are in the US and want to buy a new Mercedes) you can now transfer directions from Yahoo! Maps or Google Maps to you car's GPS: it's called Search & Send. BMW has been working with Google to do a similar thing for BMW as well. Watch the videos for Search & Send: it works through a browser so the platform doesn't come into it.

Calibrating NATMAP Raster Premium maps

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 06:46:00 +0000

The topographic maps on Geoscience Australia's Raster Premium DVDs are stored in .ecw zone files: one file for each of the 8 MGA (Map Grid of Australia) Zones that cover Australia.These files are very large, but you can open them in Graphic Converter on the Macintosh and excise the bit of the map you want and save it as a PICT file for MacGPS Pro. To use these maps on the Macintosh you will have to save them in a format the Mac understands, and calibrate the files.

When you import the PICT file into MacGPS Pro, you have to calibrate it manually because no calibration data is saved with the file when you convert it in Graphic Converter. There isn't any calibration data in the .ecw files, anyway, so it's hardly surprising. You will need the MGA Zone (since each of these files includes the Zone in its title, that's not hard to find), and the north-to-south subzone, represented by a letter between C and X (except I and O). This data (the MGA Zone and the subzone, eg 55J) needs to be entered in the UTM Zone text box in MacGPS Pro.

The easiest way to find this data is to use Google Earth. Google Earth is free but you need to be connected to the Internet for it to work.

In the Google Earth Preferences... 3D View pane, select the Universal Transverse Mercator option in the Show lat/long section.

Click OK, and use Google Earth to display on the screen the region where the top left of the map you want to calibrate in MacGPS Pro is. As you move the cursor over the map or image window in Google Earth, the UTM coordinates of the cursor is displayed in the bottom left of the window.

The UTM coordinates you need for MacGPS Pro are the two numbers and the letter following "Pointer": in the image above it's 55J. Note this down. The letter doesn't appear to be case sensitive.

To complete the calibration in MacGPS Pro you will also need the latitude and longitude of at least three points on the map, in degrees, minutes and seconds. Google Earth can help you out with this as well.

Go back to Google Earth Preferences..., and change the Show lat/long setting to Degrees, Minutes, Seconds. Click OK, and find three or more points in Google Earth that you can also see in the map you want to calibrate. As you move the cursor around the window, the Pointer display at the bottom left will show the latitude and longitude in the format you will need to use in MacGPS Pro.

In Google Earth, note the latitude and longitude for at least three points. Choose points spread as widely as possible throughout the map. It's a good idea to note the coordinates of an additional point or two to check the accuracy of the calibration.

Go into MacGPS Pro, import the map file you converted using Graphic Converter, and enter the zone data in the UTM Zone text box. Find the points on the map that you know the latitude and longitude for, click them with the Show Map Location Tool, and enter the data in the Calibrate Map dialogue.

When you've entered enough points (at least two), the DONE button is undimmed and you can click it to complete the calibration process. Don't forget to put a minus sign (-) in front of the latitude to show it's south of the equator.

Once the map is calibrated, choose Find Coordinates... from the Edit menu to search for another location on the map you know the coordinates for to check the accuracy of the calibration.

NATMAP Raster Premium on the Macintosh

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 02:00:00 +0000

Buoyed by the success with getting the Topoview Raster 2006 topographic maps to the Macintosh without a Windows PC, I decided to try Geoscience Australia's NATMAP Raster Premium 1:250 000 topographic maps for the whole of Australia. So I went down to the local MapWorld store in Canberra (it's in Rudd Street, not on Northbourne Avenue as the address would suggest, on the outside of the Jolimont Centre), and picked up a copy. I also picked up for free copies of the Map Index to NATMAP Topographic Maps and the New South Wales Topographic Map Catalog (West and East) to save navigating the Acrobat .pdf files of the indexes.

Unfortunately as far as I can see the maps aren't available individually on the DVD, so the same process that works for Topoview won't work for the NATMAP product to get them into MacGPS Pro. Graphic Converter does open the Zone files on DVD 2, but of course the images are huge, and geocoding the bits you can save out of the file looks like it would be tedious. More investigation required...

Dispensing with the PC

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 04:04:00 +0000

Thanks to Tony, and Thorsten Lemke from Lemkesoft GmbH (developer of Graphic Converter), you can now dispense with a Windows PC to transfer the New South Wales Department of Lands' Topoview DVD Raster 2006 NSW topographical maps to your Macintosh for use in MacGPS Pro. You will need a Macintosh computer with a DVD reader to read the DVD.

I couldn't open the maps from the DVD with anything on the Mac, no matter what I tried. Graphics Converter was supposed to open .ecw files, but I kept getting an error message. I even installed the ExpressView Browser Plug-in (MrSID) for Macintosh thinking the maps may be encoded.

The trick? Copy the .ecw files off the Topoview DVD onto your hard drive before trying to open them with Graphic Converter!

So the process (without PC) is as follows:

Purchase the Topoview DVD Raster 2006.
Download Graphic Converter.
Pay Lemkesoft.
Find the map you want: use the Topographic Key Maps for New South Wales to get the sheet number and sheet name for the map you want. The Topoview maps are stored on the DVD either by the sheet number of the map or sometimes a version of the name. For example, the file on Topoview containing the Perisher Valley 8525-2S map is 8525s.ecw, but the name for the Youngal 8525-3S map next to it is youg3s.ecw: there is a text file called mapdata.txt that contains all the information to allow you to find the correct file, I'm working on a lookup table solution but you can just open the file and find the filename for the map you want fairly easily.
Copy the map file from the Topoview DVD to a writeable drive.
Open the file you copied with Graphic Converter (File>>Open...). The Define ECW import area and scale window will appear. In this window you can scale the map or select a portion of the map to convert. To convert the entire map just click OK.
Assign no Profile in the Assign Color Profile dialogue box.
Save the file as a PICT file with the default options.
In MacGPS Pro, select Import Raster Map or Chart... from the File menu. Choose the file you just saved from Graphic Converter, and click the Open button.
You will be prompted to save the converted map. Choose a suitable directory and click the Save button.
Since the file has no geo data associated with it, the following dialogue will appear.
Click OK. Set the Geodetic Datum to GDA94, and the Map Projection to Transverse Mercator in the Set the map's Datum and Projection type dialogue.
The map is a UTM Map. See http://www.werple.net.au/~gnb/gps/mapping.html for an overview of the UTM zones in Australia, and enter the appropriate Zone in the UTM Zone: text box. This is the only data you need to enter in this dialogue: the rest of the entries are auto-filled. If you don't get the Zone exactly right, MacGPS Pro will give you an error when you try and calibrate the map in later steps, telling you the coordinates entered are outside the allowed range for the projection etc. Close the file and start again from Step 9.
Click the OK button. You now have to enter the latitude and longitude of a couple of known points on the map to calibrate it. I use the top left and bottom right of the maps because the latitudes and longitudes are printed on the maps for those points (among others). So click the top left of the map (make sure you have the Show Map Location tool selected: the cross-hairs on the extreme left of the tool bar).
Click OK in the Click on Known (GDA94) Points to calibrate Map dialogue, navigate to the bottom right of the map window and click there with the Show Map Location tool. Enter the latitude and longitude for that point, click OK, and then click Done (also in the Click on Known (GDA94) Points to calibrate Map dialogue). Your changes will be saved automatically with the map file, so next time you open it the map will be calibrated already.

That's it!

Hosting Google Maps in your web pages

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 03:22:00 +0000

Looks like I can now easily host Google Maps on my own pages by simply cutting and pasting some code.

View Larger Map

When you are looking at the map you want to include in your web page at http://maps.google.com/, click Link to this page and copy the html in the second text box. Paste it into your web page and away you go.

Maps data moved to .Mac

noreply@blogger.com (James Steele) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 06:47:00 +0000

I've moved all my tracks and photos from my old impty website to .Mac, since Apple has increased the storage available for the account, and it's simple to buy more space if I need it. The new version of iPhoto also gives a great way of showing photos, including full-size downloads of photos. With the new iWeb, I can apparently include Google Maps in iWeb pages: I'll see if the kml files can be made to work so I can integrate all the bits together in the one place.

Here are the previous tracks: