Digitised shapes for Moreton Bay Zones/Garmin Map

[age]

Hi all

I am a bit of a GPS/mapping geek and just purchased a new Garmin 551S combo and as a project I wish to make a proper transparent overlay Garmin IMG map of the Moreton Bay Marine Park/Zones for incorporation with Bluechart Maps as well as installing it to Mapsource/Homeport.

Using the GPX file as given above from the sticky (thanks Honda900)/DERM, I have found that the waypoints just do not follow the true shapes of the zones very well at all and the results are poorly following angular polygons instead of the free-form shapes on the DERM maps. I know from the thread above some were turning these points to routes etc but has anybody (maybe a user with a GIS background) been able to transform the DERM maps into a better representation than the GPX files ?.

I had a go yesterday creating my own free form outlines in Google Earth, but I really need dual PC screens and a better digitiser than my mouse, and comparing my shaky tracing with the small scale DERM PDF as the only guide was quite inaccurate.

Maybe some users have created more detailed tracks from on water bread crumbing they may be willing to post..

Once I have the free form data as GPX or a Google Earth KML files I have the tools, software and process sorted to turn it into a true transparent Garmin IMG file that imports to Mapsource as a full mapping product and can be combined with Bluechart map tiles and sent to a GPS or SD card and will appear as a toggle on/off map set overlayed over the Bluechart - I just need good data to start with and the DERM given points are just not representative. I have traced a couple of golf course holes in this manner as an experiment for this and it works very well on a Garmin Nuvi and will work equally as well for any Garmin chartplotter.

Any help/thoughts appreciated. Maybe some of you are working on similar projects and we can share effort/info here. If I am successful with this I will post up the finished map for all Garmin users to combine into their systems. I have a contact in DERM and know they use ESRI/Shapefiles for the original cartography of all of this and then they have dumbed it down to a PDF ??, so will ask if he is willing to get me a copy (doubt it though). Any GIS format will do as converting it is easy.

Thanks

A

[Heath]

I would be using the GPS waypoints as these are what will be used to prosecute you if they find you within a zone.

I reckon they just pretty it up for the map, even to the point where they make mention of this on the map itself don't they?

[SatNav]

1. From your comments and/or queries it suggests you may be a little out of your depth with this project?

2. The legislation is what you will have to deal with in the event of a prosecution and to suggest posting up a finished map for other users is to open up quite a legal mine field in the event of a prosecution and a prosecution you have no way of defending.

3. If you knew anything about this data you would realize anybody can purchase the GIS info as actual ESRI shape files. Once you then start offering this data downstream to other users (free or otherwise) you will have contravened the license agreement you would have signed to obtain this data and open yourself to prosecution.

4. If you are serious with this project then contact DERM, apply for authorized use of the "real" data and outline your proposed downstream (possible third party) use for this data. Of course term and conditions do apply.

[age]

Hi SatNav

Thanks for your feedback:

1. Yeah maybe a little out of my depth, but only trying to create a GARMIN suitable map for "personal" use as a project and have already been given some data by other members who have done a pretty good job of copying the shapes in the manner I was looking for - seriously you cannot use the data that DERM have provided as waypoints effectively on the water. I have produced my own GARMIN maps many times and they work well for my purposes.

2. The finished map would be no different to anybody on this site providing a waypoint or mud map of a fishing area. I am not doing this in any commercial way. How, where or why anybody uses this data is there own responsibility to comply to any laws. Have a look at any commercially (and privately) provided data like this and even then the onus is on the end user to comply.

3. Wasn't sure whether the data was provided in other formats (and I am not meaning the waypoints here I am talking the actual cartographic shapes of the true zones) - even if it is available I don't have the licenced software to manipulate it properly (maybe some freeware out there ??) and headed down the path of my request in my post as I already own this software to complete the task as I have outlined.

4. This was never a serious attempt to produce a commercial quality map and financially I am not in the position to become an authorised agent of DERM to use the data nor do I want to.

My aim for this was that for the general public I believe DERM have provided a very poor set of tools for the average boater to comply to the legislation. I was looking for interested parties who like me may have a GARMIN chartplotter and wanted a better usable guide on screen to where and when you may be near or crossing one of these zones rather than trying to read a not to scale PDF printout against some gPS waypoint that mean nothing when the shapes they make don't match the shapes on the PDF map.

At the end of the day it is not that hard and I thank the members that have PM'd me and offered or already sent their data. Should be able to pull together a usable (at your own risk) map with what I have

Cheers

A

[Captain Seaweed]

How accurate are the polygons drawn on mapping data? Is it worth fishing a spot that is splitting hairs between actual green zone border and not ? Would it not be better to just steer well clear of whats shown? Thats the way we think anyway, its a big ocean out there lots and lots of places to fish. I can understand your concern and myself dont know why they would not just draw the data in accurately.

Marty

[age]

Hi Marty

It's not about splitting hairs for a place to fish or anything like that. Wouldn't it be great if your $1500 Chartplotter and $400 Nav card displayed these boundaries as you crossed the bay to an offshore fishing spot. That is all I am trying to create here.

A GPS waypoint or series of waypoints is not going to tell you when you are crossing into a go slow zone on way to your offshore fishing spot. These zones are irregular in shape and having your GPS to alert that you are approaching a waypoint means nothing when the zone is a series of waypoints that make an irregular shape - you may have already crossed the boundary.

Heaps of people are commenting that they wished Navionics etc had these zones marked - and are turning the GPX files provided in the sticky into routes etc for which they are colouring differently for each type of zone. I am just making it for a Garmin appliance to overlay and be incorporated with my Bluechart maps as a map product and not a series of routes - at anytime I can look down on the chartplotter and will see a redline (or whatever colour I want to make it) approaching which will be the boundary of say a go slow zone, so 100 metres or so out I can slow down to the appropriate speed. The whole time I am within that "polygon" of the go slow zone I can make the chartplotter show a cross-hatching in say a red shape overlayed over the navigation chart. The problem is the GPX files provided do not follow the shape of the polygon properly and I (and others who have contacted me) want a great bigger waypoint sampling rate around the true shape of the boundary.

I am sure all the big companies will have this data in the exact format I am making here in new releases for their nav cards, but they will also sting you for it and it dates very quickly as soon as aboundary is changed- it is not hard to make for yourself as a good guide with the same disclaimers for accuracy as they will place on their cards.

As I said in my original post - this is just a fun project to get better use out of a chartplotter and making the data that should be already on the provided nav card.

Thanks

A

[age]

Update:

DERM provided the "full" digitised data set as a free download (personal non commercial use) and it looks fantastic in my map editing software. First pass on creating my Garmin format map looks pretty good, just need to iron out a few bugs with zooming levels and transparency/drawing priority - but I will get there.


Thanks to those who PM'd me with info/data


Cheers

A

[age]

Mon - disregard message below - got the PM through to you

Hi Mon

Please PM me again, I cannot reply to your message. Keeps saying user not found ?

Cheers

A

[oldboot]

One of the BIG problems with the way the boundries are specified is that some of the boundries are specified by featuers that will almost certainly move.

phrases such as "and to the mangrove line"

and specifying a boundry by a depth contour.....which with shifting sands and such may be quite dynamic....and very irregular in shape.

any way.......hop it all works out.

cheers