My Methodology for Google Earth sites

[gitterdug]

I would like to post my methodology for using Google Earth as I travel, to find old sites to metal detect.

It all starts with research. I am not going to touch on use of the internet, topo maps, etc. You get your information as you choose. What I am talking about however is the layout I use on Google Earth, to what I believe is an optimum methodology. I have developed this method and hopefully, it will make sense to some of you, and perhaps be useful in how you approach using Google Earth to plan metal detecting trips.
Google Earth uses those push pins to mark locations

 

[LabradorBob]

Very Nice and thank you for taking the time to post that.
My google earth is similar.
i use the thumb tacks of different colors. Green for a new place, Red for somewhere i have allready been. etc.
also in the box where you put your info, a lot of times maybe, say i find an old park on a map. i will put a thumbtack there to mark it and copy and past the url to the map in the box.
anytime i go to the thumbtack i can click on it and see any info that i put in the box.
Have you used ,kmz or .kml files?
You can right click on one of your placemarks and save as, choose .kml or .kmz and save to a folder of your choice.
you can send these files to a friend and when they get them they can click on them and it will open in google earth exactly as your own.
any info you had in the box will be there too.

I am working to get .kmz and .kml files used on the maps forum.

LabradorBob

 

[gitterdug]

I do use the kmz files, and use google maps, in a private map location. I have shared with several friends that live around the state. I like and appreciate how Google Maps allows collaboration, but wouldn't want to make it too public. I have been thinking on the sites I have visited, i.e., using some form to show I have been there......

The illustration I used on this post was captured off of google maps, which is why there are no color variations. But it displays much nicer around the icons.

I have also sent some locations to friends, but being the e-vil detectorist that I must be, am soooooo reluctant to share all of my locations. I am still trying to wrap my head around that notion, as I know, in the years I have detected, I will never cover all that I have already gotten recorded.

I have a great deal of admiration for what you have done LabradorBob. It is why I wanted to share how I did my mapping. I should've asked how others do it as well. I am not one to claim that I know anything on this, but I tend towards chaos in life, and I HAVE to impose structured order on things, and the mapping icons were a simple straightforward method. I thought perhaps others could use some idea of how to make use of this marvelous capability!

One final thing........IF you are going to transfer the KMZ files to Google maps, be aware that Google imposes a 3 megabyte limit to the kmz files. I had 6 Overlays, smaller ones I had around specific sites, in jpg format, that took a 1.3 mb file to 3.4 and thus over the limit. So, I couldn't move them to Google Maps. Don't know if you are aware of that limitation or not....

Thanks for your comments. Anyone else care to share how they do it?

HH

Gitterdug

 

[LabradorBob]

yes, i appreciate the friendship,and i am reluctant to show some of my places also.
Nothing wrong with that.
i was aware of the limitations for google maps but many might not have been.
i claim to be no expert myself,i just enjoy learning,and i do a lot of research lol.
Keep in touch.

LabradorBob

 

[gitterdug]

There are a lot, but when you drill down, closer to the surface, they separate.......Again, hope this helps some of the folks on here....

Gitterdug

 

[LabradorBob]

yep,they stack up.

 

[gitterdug]

I was LOL when I saw your map......you can't imagine how many times I took the google earth hand and moved the map around to get my icons without the yellow heading text, which named them. I was trying to show only the icons themselves. All that text from the name really clutters up the screen on my computer.......THAT is why I send them to google maps so I can see them without the name if needed. You should see the clutter on my Iphone! LOL

Also, I tried the white text......and switched to the yellow. For me, it stands out better.....just a thought.

Labrador Bob, THANKS for all you do on this forum. For 39 years that I have done this incredible hobby, the key has ALWAYS been research. ALWAYS. I cannot tell you how YOU have helped folks by revealing how to overlay, research, etc., old maps on this forum. I share the methodology with people who ask, and I steer them to your forum on findmall to learn.

I can always tell when they do it, because I will start getting phone calls of excitement from the ones who do, telling me they found this incredible site. You sir, have opened up a world of research to many people who would never have figured it out on their own.

WELL DONE!

HH

Gitterdug, aka Dennis Wynne

 

[LabradorBob]

Awesome,the feedback is much appreciated.
I have spent days, messaging someone,walking them through how to do something.
it is a lot of help i am sure!

Thanks again,

LabradorBob

 

[togamac]

Thanks for that Wayne. I've been doing a lot of "flying" over my county on GE this winter and have come up with over 50 old school sites; haven't started on old house foundations yet. I think I have the same "problem" you have. I love finding all these sites but won't have a chance in my lifetime to MD'em all!! I don't have a smart phone yet so have taken a book map of the county and marked the GPS locations on the pages. Works for me so far.

 

[Songdog]

Great post and thanks to all of you that contribute.
GoogleEarth is an AMAZING tool for research and record collection.
As one that has used AutoCad Map, Microstatio, MapInfo, Fugawi, and any other mapping software I could get my hands on there is NOTHING that beats GoogleEarth.
You just have to learn all of it's tricks and tools.
And I am STILL learning after 40 years of mapping and MD'ing!

 

[Songdog]

Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you have tried Google's Fusion Tables program in relation to your research.
This is another GREAT tool to "map" out your sites of interest.
You can put your info into an Excel spreadsheet format and export that spreadsheet into the Fusion Tables program.
Your information will then be propogated onto Google Maps!
I have recently found this program while doing some research for a marketing group that wanted to put their clients onto a map.
So, I found this program, read the tutorial (do a search as there is LOTS of good help info on how to use Fusion Tables!), got a copy of their spreadsheet and exported it and WALLA!
There was their complete client list mapped out for a visual presentation!
Got me to thinking of how I could easily map out my cellar holes, farmsteads, battlefield sites, etc., and I think I now know.
I have only been using it for a week but it appears that the uses could be endless in regards to our hobby!!!
Good luck.

 

[fongu]

I don't have enough memory to use google earth at home but the last time I used it, it showed what looked like an older bridge compared to the new bridge on the road I was looking at. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to detect there even tho I've had permission since early this year. I went once for a couple hours and someone else without permission had dug about 30 holes and I reported it to the landowner and haven't been back.