Satellite web site?

[AdRegion]

I think the Nasa site has been Slashdotted.

[Neil]

Without a doubt (at least in my mind), this is what you need:

USA Photo Maps - http://jdmcox.com/

Download this program. It allows you to "pull" satellite and topographic data from the Microsoft Terraserver. Get ready to fill your harddrive, I've downloaded over a Gig of data already. Plus, it is georeferenced and is compatible with most GPS data standards. I use this when I need precision waypoint data that is visually backed up.

Let me know how ya like it.

AdRegion, you were right about filling up my hard drive. I can't resist hitting "F" for fill and watching, mesmerized, as all the little squares fill in. When using it I always have Topo! going in another window and I write down waypoints on a piece of paper then go looking in photo maps. Sometimes it's the other way around. What I have found particularly usefull is identifying slides and getting their coordinates. It's very cool for looking at drainage systems too.
Tell me, what do you mostly use it for?

[percious]

adamsets- What is that a picture of? Is that marcy and panther gorge?

-percious

[BarbOrdell]

Googlemaps is great for details photos of most cities and surrounding areas. When you get into the open areas, you get low rez sat images. But the search function is great.

http://maps.google.com/

[AdRegion]

Tell me, what do you mostly use it for?

Neil, have you seen the price of memory these days? Wouldn't it be cool to completely download the entire dataset. Zoom all the way out and hit "F".

I use Photomaps mostly for trip planning. In conjunction with a full suite of the Mapsource stuff, I have really no shortage of information for anything. I can't say enough about how nice it is to be able to upload maps of the place you are going whether that be Marcy Dam or Madrid. Mapsource has great coverage North of the Border, but I wish I could get satellite pics too. It's just a matter of time before the Google maps/satellite pics cover the entire known world.

I do a lot of bike riding and I've replaced my regular cyclocomputer with a GPS unit. All my rides are now archived in GPX format and saved in perpetuity. Creating waypoints with extreme accuracy is also easier by 'flipping' back and forth between maps/photos.

PhotoMaps also has a cool feature that allows you to export huge georeferenced JPEG files of either the photos or maps. This is probably the most useful feature. Lots of other software like OziExplorer can then use those. Also, it's an easy way to print maps you need easily and quickly.

[Neil]

PhotoMaps also has a cool feature that allows you to export huge georeferenced JPEG files of either the photos or maps. This is probably the most useful feature. Lots of other software like OziExplorer can then use those. Also, it's an easy way to print maps you need easily and quickly.

Uhh, could you elaborate just a litle bit? Well, maybe a lot. Thx.

[AdRegion]

Sure. Simply, you are able to save the imagery you have downloaded as a JPEG file, either the photo or topo. It's been awhile, but basically you define the boundaries of the image and by running BigJPEG, sort of an add-on to PhotoMaps, it creates a picture by joining the tiles you have downloaded. This can be printed, viewed, emailed, etc.

I believe the latest version has this feature built in, but I haven't tried it. I'm ditching the old version and will post a review of the feature.

[AdRegion]

Well, the upgrade to the latest version was simply a matter of overwriting 4 existing files.

The Big JPEG feature is a menu item under File. After it is selected, you are prompted to define the boundaries of the desired image. The resulting image is output to the main Photomaps folder and named after the UTM coordinates of the upper left corner. Works great.

[Neil]

Oh, I get it now. I was taking screen shots and saving as a jpg with my photo software. The Big JPEG gives much better results. Thx!
What a cool program! I think I'll send that guy some $$.

[AdRegion]

Here's another fun site for topos and photos:

http://www.lostoutdoors.com/newmap.html

[forseti]

I like USAPhotomaps, but now that I have refined the calibration for the DOQQs (digital orthographic quarter quads) from the NY GIS Clearinghouse, I much prefer doing it all on my Memory-Map Navigator. I can load the topos or aerial imagery from the Clearinghouse and use it on my PC or send it to my Pocket PC and carry it along. The images give a much clearer idea of the surroundings than the topos and they are much more up-to-date, as well.

I can use the 3D feature on my PC to figure out my plan and then send my route / track to either my GPS or my Pocket PC. The 3D also gives me an elevation profile (sometimes makes you rethink that path!) and a speed profile (for recorded tracks).

[saveatree,eatabeaver]

terraserver.microsoft.com show images and topo maps. Others can be found using google.