Georeferencing a cave map

[Neptuno]

Well, I want to georeference a new cave survey on earth, I got the gps position of the entrance of the cave, but since it has no other exit I don't have enough point to calibrate the map, a friend that is a boater gave me a link to a little calculator that I can have the GPS position entering distance and heading, but like that I need to do it point by point.

is there any of the survey software that allow to enter the coordinates and will calculate the coordinates of the rest of the cave?

we are doing it in compass but I haven't seen this feature, I find it something very simple to implement in a soft and extremely useful, but I haven't seen that yet.

well, I want this to check if the cave is going in the direction of other sinkholes in the area between other few stuff

tanks in advance

[citracaver]

I have done this for several caves. It can be done, but I feel like I would have to write a book in order to explain how to do it on this forum. If I can find the time, I will try and post a set of instructions, but they will rely on being very good with Google Earth as well as Photoshop.

[citracaver]

Here is an example:

[Neptuno]

looks really good, it has to be photoshop? or can be corel al well?

[citracaver]

I guess you could use any photo editing program to prep the map, as long as it supports PNG files and transparent layers.

[Luxrok]

Maybe I am misinterpreting what you want to do, but if you have a GPS fix and the data in compass you can export the plot to a KML file. Then import it into Google Earth. You can then use Google Earth's pointer or pins to determine the approximate Lat/Lon. Additionally, I believe the recent version of Compass with give you the Lat/Lon of a station if you put in the fixed point. You do not need any drawing programs for the basic mapping. If you want to pretty it up, well that is another story.

If you need more info on how to do this, let me know.

Hans

[Neptuno]

yes I found that function but looks like the map that comes out is off the coordinates for some reason and my google earth is not working anymore... I updated it and my computer does not support the last versions for some reason

[citracaver]

Maybe I am misinterpreting what you want to do, but if you have a GPS fix and the data in compass you can export the plot to a KML file. Then import it into Google Earth. You can then use Google Earth's pointer or pins to determine the approximate Lat/Lon. Additionally, I believe the recent version of Compass with give you the Lat/Lon of a station if you put in the fixed point. You do not need any drawing programs for the basic mapping. If you want to pretty it up, well that is another story.

If you need more info on how to do this, let me know.

Hans

Well that just goes to show you that I don't keep up with the software updates enough! That makes it a lot easier to do if you just want the plot. You can get a lot more detail in the maps if you do it manually though. If no one cares about how to do it manually, I guess I don't need to write my book of instructions now!

[Luxrok]

yes I found that function but looks like the map that comes out is off the coordinates for some reason and my google earth is not working anymore... I updated it and my computer does not support the last versions for some reason

A mistake that I made when I first started with this is choosing the incorrect datum when I exported my data from Compass into the KML file. From Google's help file, "Google Earth uses Simple Cylindrical projection with a WGS84 datum for its imagery base". Therefore on the export page make sure to select WGS84 from the Datum drop down.

For more information you can check out: http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/ug_importdata.html.

I am sorry to hear Google Earth has quit on you. What operating system are you using? Are you getting an error?

Hans

[Neptuno]

I did use wgs84, another problem that I have is that I am not able to convert the kml to other formats, maybe some kind of error in the export, I guess the only way to fix it would be opening it in google and save it again.

so, you are exporting it and it is in the exact place it should be????

[Luxrok]

Yes. Myself and the rest of the guys I am exploring/surveying with are having luck and the caves are where they should be. If you are using the right datum, you might have some problems with your GPS coordinates. How far off is the cave entrance from where you expect it?

Hans

[Neptuno]

not sure, quiet far, I think it might be an error on the calculator or something while converting the coordinates, I just opened it in another softand move it to match the wpt with the real position of the entrance, and looks ok now, but is weird.

once I can manage to find again an older version of google will try it a bit more

[Neptuno]

well.... I have another problem now, my compass is not exporting anymore.... is telling me no coordinates in dat file, included the file I had exported several times already.....

any idea? I just added the position in a new cave survey and still same, the coordinates are in the mak file, but it wont export it.

any idea???

[Neptuno]

ok.. not sure what happened, I found the way, in the project manager double click on the .dat file, and opens up another window, they went to the tab link/fixed stations put the station name, then opened the geo calculator, the coordinates where already there, did ok, and info got filled up, now it works..:D:D:D