Boyd's Map of the Pines beta available

[SuperChooch]

Boyd, this might make bite the bullet and buy a hardware GPS as opposed to my iPhone solution we talked about a couple months ago. I can only add map sources from a tile server, or a geo-referenced map. This is how I hosted the M.A.P. map:

http://mapwarper.net/maps/11261

Using that, i was able to create a TileJSON file that would load it as a layer in Gaia GPS.

 

[Boyd]

Just to be clear, "Boyds Map of Wharton" is not compatible with Garmin GPS units. However "Boyds Core of the Pines" is only compatible with Garmin devices.

To me, it's all just data and I can export in many different formats. I can put together iOS and Android versions of "Boyds Map of Wharton" if there is interest. I haven't used Gaia, IIRC it was expensive and offered no advantages I could see. I use Galileo on iOS. I believe it has a 5 day free trial and then costs something like $9 to purchase the full version. I would prefer to only support one app an each platform.

On Android I use OruxMaps which is very powerful and also free. I wish there was an iOS version, but Galileo was the closest thing I could find.

I am moving slowly in the direction of setting up my own tileserver, just have to figure out how to get geoserver configured at boydsmaps.com, I have it running on my home LAN already. If I can get that deployed then my maps would be available on demand to a number of different apps. Would also make it easy for Ben to add them to NJPB maps. Maybe January?…

In the meantime, if anyone would like a version of this map for Galileo or OruxMaps, let me know. More info here:

Galileo for iPhone and iPad: https://galileo-app.com
OruxMaps for Android phones and tablets: http://www.oruxmaps.com/index_en.html

BTW, I have a version of the MAP that can be converted to pretty much any format. Ben had wanted to put it on NJPB maps and I sent him a tileset in fact. But he decided not to put it online since the suspension of the MAP had just been announced at that time. Frankly, at this point I think it's better to just forget this one.

 

[manumuskin]

Boyd can it be converted into and RMP file or perhaps a Jpeg and I could calibrate it and turn it into a rmp? Would the file size be prohibitive?

 

[Boyd]

Al, you can open in GlobalMapper and Export Raster > GeoTIFF. Then you should be able to use TritonRMP to convert it. I have no idea what the size limits are for RMP, you will have to check that out. I have never used this, but we've discussed it before and it looks like it will do the job: http://freegeographytools.com/2009/tritonrmp-helper-upgraded-to-version-2-0

This may help: http://forums.gpsreview.net/discussion/28239/tutorial-how-to-make-load-free-topo-mps-on-magellan-tr

[note: gpsreview went out of business a number of years ago and the link above will no longer work]

 

[manumuskin]

i think the rmp size limit is 200 megs. I can always import the tiff into gimp and cut it down.my computer can handle tiffs about a gig in size.
Thanks Boyd. I use rmp maker and have helper downloaded but could never get it to work.never really needed it so didn't fool with it much.

 

[Boyd]

You could split it into multiple files easily with Globalmapper. When you go to Export Raster, click the Gridding tab and click Specify number of rows and columns. If you enter 1 row 2 columns you will get two files, 2 rows 2 colums will give you four files, etc.

 

[manumuskin]

Thanks for the tip.It is a nice map.Is Globalmapper what you used to make it?

 

[Boyd]

I use Globalmapper for everything, although I have to export to another program as the final step for making Garmin maps because they do not support that format.

 

[Boyd]

The other day I dusted off my old copy of Beck's Forgotten Towns of Southern New Jersey and decided it was time to read it again. As I read, I wondered what kind of topo maps were available when Beck wrote the first edition in 1936. I am certainly no expert on historic maps, so the following is based solely on what the USGS currently offers here: http://nationalmap.gov/historical/

The 1:24000 (24k) maps of the pines that we are accustomed to now only seem to go back to around 1950 - these are what I used in the historic Wharton map discussed on the previous page of this thread. Before that date, the highest resolution map available is at the (less detailed) scale of 1:62500 (62k). There appears to be a full set of pines 62k topos from the early 1940's, but these would not have been available to Beck in 1936.

So in most cases, I had to go back to a series of 62k maps from the turn of the century. My map consists of 29 individual maps stitched together for a seamless map of Southern New Jersey. There was considerable color variation between these different maps, so I spent awhile attempting to match them as best as possible in photoshop. Here are the dates of each individual map.

Here's an example from the 1888 Whiting map.

This is a very large file - over 500MB - so I have not yet made it available for download. Is there any interest in this? The response to another thread here makes me wonder…

 

[Teegate]

I am interested. I will chop it up and make smaller version for myself when needed. However, if it is just me interested there is no need to go to all of the trouble to do this.

 

[manumuskin]

If I had a garmin I"d be much interested.I love these old maps.Not as accurate as modern ones sometimes but info on them that leads to discoveries.Old roads ,cellar holes and more.

 

[Ben Ruset]

This is pretty cool. From what I have read of Beck he seems to have relied on regular old road maps a lot as well as getting "old-timers" to bring him places.

 

[Boyd]

The map is available for download here. Let me know if it works in Google Earth, I have not tested it.

[bad link removed]

This is pretty cool. From what I have read of Beck he seems to have relied on regular old road maps a lot as well as getting "old-timers" to bring him places.

I had pretty much the same impression Ben, but he mentioned a topo map in one of the chapters I recently read so that started me down this track. And I also just wanted a good excuse to dig into the USGS Historical Topo archives. I have an old paper NJ road map from Beck's time, I believe I posted this here before. It was created by the Federal Writers Project.

Was thinking it might be fun to do a good scan of this as a companion to the topo, but the only problem is I took it off the wall several years ago while remodelling and now I can't figure out where I put it.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Update: December 2023
I see that people are still finding this old thread and trying to download the map. Unfortunately, it was discontinued long ago, but here's a new version that you can use on either your computer or phone:
https://boydsmaps.com/#14.00/39.819708/-74.313699/historic62k/0.00/0.00

 

[Boyd]

If I had a garmin I"d be much interested.

If you had Garmin it would make absolutely no difference. This is just a map to use on your computer, it's not compatible with Garmin GPS units. You could open it in Globalmapper and export any portions of interest as geoTIFF files to feed to TritonRMP if you want it on your Triton.

 

[Teegate]

Thanks Boyd. It works fine in Google Earth. It is interesting to note that I have all of my Wharton tracks and waypoints in Google Earth and when your map is located they line up extremely well together. For an example this township stone is almost exactly on the line that the map shows.

Has anyone noticed that in the old topo's Harrisville is always called Jenkins?

 

[Teegate]

The true Medford line in Blue. The map is very close to being right on.

 

[manumuskin]

If you had Garmin it would make absolutely no difference. This is just a map to use on your computer, it's not compatible with Garmin GPS units. You could open it in Globalmapper and export any portions of interest as geoTIFF files to feed to TritonRMP if you want it on your Triton.

In that case I am interested!

 

[manumuskin]

Works Great Boyd! nice not to have to open each map up as I did in the past...and calibrated too!

 

[Boyd]

And I also just wanted a good excuse to dig into the USGS Historical Topo archives.

Still digging... Here's another treat from the 62k topo archives. I have taken the most recent maps from this series and created another composite of South Jersey. These were the last USGS maps at the 1:62500 scale (or at least the last available in the archives) with dates ranging from 1941-1949.

These maps add forest shading, which provides a much better picture of the pines. And there are lots of buildings on these maps as well, some of them in pretty interesting places. You will also see that the style has changed from the older maps, they look like the modern 24k maps. They required quite a bit of work in Photoshop to bring the colors closer together, especially the green forest shading which was wildly different on the individual maps. I wonder if the green inks were more subject to fading than other colors?

Note that I used some of the older maps around the edges because there were no newer maps in these areas. Also notice that they changed some map names: Cassville became Lakehurst, Barnegat became Toms River, Little Egg Harbor became Tuckerton, Great Egg Harbor became Pleasantville, Maurice Cove became Port Norris and Sea Isle was changed to Sea Isle City.

The coverage area for the maps is still the same: 1/4 of a degree, or 15 minutes. The modern 24k maps cover 1/8 of a degree, or 7.5 minutes. So four 24k maps cover the same area as one 62k map. If you're having a hard time conceptualizing the difference between a 24k and 62k scale map, the following picture should be worth a thousand words.

This is also a big file, about 560MB. Once again, you will find a .kmz file inside the zipped folder along with a copy of the index that shows the dates of all the individual maps. And, just to be clear, this map is not compatible with Garmin or any other GPS device, it's intended to be used on your computer. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

[bad link removed]

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Update: December 2023
This map was discontinued long ago, but you can now access it on either your computer or phone here:

https://boydsmaps.com/#14.00/39.818653/-74.535657/pines1949/0.00/0.00

 

[Teegate]

Thanks Boyd. This one also works well.