Sybarite
Well-known member
That's an instrument I would like to have if it existed.
Has anybody linked up Google earth with a chart plotter?
- Thread starter Sybarite
- Start date
prv
Well-known member
Not a standalone plotter, but the Navionics app on iPhone and iPad has a mode in which it shows chart data below the high-water mark and Google Maps satellite pictures above it. It does need a phone signal to do the Google Maps part of that.
Pete
Pete
Conachair
Guest
Not hardware. But if you have a laptop onboard it's free.
http://opencpn.org/drupal/about
Works great. I find google earth can be a really useful addition to the charts, and it can be right if the charts are out. Not that that happens much round these parts.
tillergirl
Well-known member
Bear in mind that Google Earth and WGS84 coordinates are not compatible. Here's an image of DGPS plots overlaid on a straight Google Earth Image and the same plots overlaid on a manipulated Google Earth image.
Last edited:
SimbaDog
Active member
Robin
Well-known member
Google Earth needs a continuous internet connection though does it not?
tillergirl
Well-known member
I didn't think so. Once it is downloaded isn't that it?
Conachair
Guest
No, there's a way round it. Before leaving you can zoom into your rough route and anchorages in GE and it will save the images in the cache or there are programs free on the net which will do this for you if you input your route. Never tried those but the zooming in works. Can be a very useful addition.
Robin
Well-known member
Thanks, that is very useful so another little job to do!
prv
Well-known member
You must have a hell of a hard drive if it can store high-resolution photographs of the entire world.
Pete
lenseman
Active member
- Joined
- 3 Jun 2006
- Messages
- 7,077
- Location
- South East Coast - United Kingdom
You can download a kmz file to run AIS on Google Earth.
Search on Google for "kmz marinetraffic ais google earth" and download the app.
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ge.aspx
Search on Google for "kmz marinetraffic ais google earth" and download the app.
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ge.aspx
Conachair
Guest
You can download a kmz file to run AIS on Google Earth.
Search on Google for "kmz marinetraffic ais google earth" and download the app.
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ge.aspx
And much fun it is too
Though that does need an internet connection.
agurney
Active member
I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole:
http://g.co/maps/m63yn
Three locations and a bridge .. 50% error rate.
Conachair
Guest
Give it a go, it's nice to have the choice.
I really like having the option, in google earth itself as well the 3d view can help a lot seeing which headland or hill is which. You can always ignore it if you want to. View attachment 14781
agurney
Active member
Give it a go, it's nice to have the choice.
View attachment 14781
It's still telling me I'm in Loch Fyne .. so Inveraray should be just be a little to the North then
OK, let's have a look at Staffa : http://g.co/maps/8w9d4
Nope, still not convinced.
Conachair
Guest
It's still telling me I'm in Loch Fyne .. so Inveraray should be just be a little to the North then
OK, let's have a look at Staffa : http://g.co/maps/8w9d4
Nope, still not convinced.
That's easy then. Click the button which turns it off
It's free anyway, so nothing wasted. You are allowed to look at both if you want to, but you don't have to.RogerG
New member
I have a new LG android base phone with built in Wifi, GPS and Google maps. It enables me to download and cache areas that I will be visiting while I have internet access, then the built in maps programme will use the gps and appropriate cached maps/sattelite pics when offline.
I've only used it for walking, in car and inland waterways so far, but the accuracy is very good and the 90x55mm screen big enough for serious use. I believe that there are charts available but haven't looked yet.
While in Andalucia recently, I was able to download maps for all the areas we were visiting via local wifi and used it to great effect.
Roger
I've only used it for walking, in car and inland waterways so far, but the accuracy is very good and the 90x55mm screen big enough for serious use. I believe that there are charts available but haven't looked yet.
While in Andalucia recently, I was able to download maps for all the areas we were visiting via local wifi and used it to great effect.
Roger
Wild Urchin
Member
Not using a plotter, but using Fugawi Navigation on PC. When we lived in central Europe, there were no road Nav systems for places like Slovakia at the time, so downloaded Google maps Satelite pictures with Lat Long co-ordinates to allow me to triangulate using Fugawi's option for scanned maps. Took about 10 mins! Then used on laptop to drive into Bratislava right up to front door of hotel! Incredibly accurate, but not tried at sea yet.
Sybarite
Well-known member
The assumption would be of course that the whole thing worked.
Overner
New member
VisiCharts run in Google Earth
Hi All,
Someone kindly mentioned our VisiCharts, not here to promote them, just Google VisiCharts to find out more.
They are basically UKHO raster chart images in .kmz format. They overlay themselves over the satellite imagery, with variable transparency.
Sold plenty of these chart sets now, and had plenty of feedback too. Users like to use them for planning while at home (with fast internet connection), then use conventional plotter (like SeaClear) when at sea.
What we've found remarkable is how the images and charts lock together, right down to pontoon level in most cases. Also interesting is that the charts are normally far more up to date than the satellite imagery.
Trouble is GE is not really set up for passage planning or sea work, but as mentioned, GE will cache 2 Gb of imagery for offline use with the VisiCharts which are held on your local machine.
Other interesting thing is how the charts of differing scales will quilt themselves together.
Long way to go with this technology yet, but don't be surprised if the GE .kml/.kmz format becomes more standard on chart plotters in future. I know Coastal Explorer is offering .kml support soon. If Open CPN could use .kml/.kmz chart formats we could make legal charts for that too.
Steve
Hi All,
Someone kindly mentioned our VisiCharts, not here to promote them, just Google VisiCharts to find out more.
They are basically UKHO raster chart images in .kmz format. They overlay themselves over the satellite imagery, with variable transparency.
Sold plenty of these chart sets now, and had plenty of feedback too. Users like to use them for planning while at home (with fast internet connection), then use conventional plotter (like SeaClear) when at sea.
What we've found remarkable is how the images and charts lock together, right down to pontoon level in most cases. Also interesting is that the charts are normally far more up to date than the satellite imagery.
Trouble is GE is not really set up for passage planning or sea work, but as mentioned, GE will cache 2 Gb of imagery for offline use with the VisiCharts which are held on your local machine.
Other interesting thing is how the charts of differing scales will quilt themselves together.
Long way to go with this technology yet, but don't be surprised if the GE .kml/.kmz format becomes more standard on chart plotters in future. I know Coastal Explorer is offering .kml support soon. If Open CPN could use .kml/.kmz chart formats we could make legal charts for that too.
Steve
