This is how i GPS sites

[mad jak]

I use MAPCARD,this is an aerial view program like Google earth. It costs, i believe, $35.00 per year. It gives the section lines called PLSS (Public Land Survey System). I open this on my monitor and measure the section lines with a ruler. On my iMac this is usually 3 by 3 inches for the section that the old house site is in. I then open the same section of the old plat map using PS Elements where the old house site is located I'm trying to find. First you must crop the section as exact as possible on the section lines. Pick images from the menu. Go to re size and as in my example use 3x3. Check the box re sample image. Then print this out on a transparency. Place the trans. over the MAPCARD section. Move the cursor to the old house site and you will have the GPS coordinates. This has worked for me. The accuracy will depend on many different elements, IE, accuracy of the original survey of the old plat map. I hope this explanation is OK. HH MJ

 

[togamac]

Hey Mad jak,
I overlay old USGS maps onto Google Earth and have pretty good success in pinpointing old foundations, etc. Sometimes it's very difficult if the old roads and landmarks have moved in the past 60 or so years. I had never thought of taking a ruler to my screen but after reading your post gave it a try.

I don't know if this is the same for everyone but I've found that 1/2" equals 100 yards on the old USGS maps when blown up to 400% on my monitor. The USGS maps also have GPS coordinates down to 5' (minutes) apart. So, thanks to you, I can check the coord. I got from overlaying the maps by measuring on my screen and doing some ratio calculations.

Thanks for sharing.

HH, Mac