Garmin eTrex vs iPhone for GPS accuracy

22 June 2019/0 Comments/in GIS, Google My Maps, GPS, News/by Anthony Bennett

During a CPD session at Hornsea on Friday 21st June 2019 I recorded the location of the cliff edge adjacent to Longbeach Leisure Park using an iPhone and a Garmin eTrex 30 GPS device. I was keen to find out how the iPhone and the dedicated GPS device compared.

The map below shows the routes recorded by both the iPhone 7S and the Garmin eTrex. On the map below the Garmin route is plotted using a blue line and the green line shows the route recorded by the iPhone. It is clear that the iPhone GPS is, in some instances, around 5m out compared to the Garmin eTrex. In some cases the route is recorded over areas of cliff that no longer exist. The start location of the iPhone is out by quite some distance despite starting the routes at exactly the same time. The iPhone records waypoints more often I’m sure there is a setting in the Garmin to adjust how often waypoints are recorded (I’ve just started playing this).

It is possible to display the recorded route of the coastline that I recorded on the same iPhone back in March. Comparing the two routes recorded on the iPhone, there are clear inconsistencies where the cliff edge appears to extend outwards since the last recording!

It is worth noting that both devices were held in the same hand at the same time. I’m not sure if GPS signals from different devices can interfere with each other, further reading to do on this.

As expected the dedicated GPS device is considerably more accurate at recording routes than the iPhone. However, the iPhone is perfectly adequate for regular leisure use.

Anthony Bennett

Map your photos using Google Maps

1 February 2019/5 Comments/in Data presentation and interrogation, GIS, Google Drive, Google in the Classroom, Google My Maps, Images in Geography, IT in Geography, News/by Anthony Bennett

Using Google Images and Google Maps you can easily create a map using an album of geotagged photos. Geotagged photos are those that include data on the location they were taken. Most modern mobile phones have this feature as do some digital cameras. If you are not sure a quick search on the Internet will tell you if this option is available and how to enable it.

Below is a map showing the location of a number of images taken in and around Hornsea on the Holderness Coast using an iPhone and a drone.

Looks complicated? Don’t worry, it’s not! Just follow the steps below.

To begin with, you will need to upload your geotagged photos to a new album in Google Photos. To do this login to your Google account and go to https://photos.google.com. Next create a new album by clicking +Create in the top right corner, then select Album.

Give the folder a title then upload the images you want to map.

Next, go to https://www.google.com/maps/d/ and select +Create New Map (top left corner). Your new map will open and be called Untitled map. Give your image a suitable title by clicking untitled map in the top left window.

Rename your map.

Click Save.

Next click Import (under the first layer which is called Untitled layer).

Click Import

Click the Photo albums tab. Next, locate the album where your photos are stored. Select all the images you want to import onto the map.

Select images you want to import

Next, click Select. The photos will then be copied onto your map.

This will create at least one layer containing your images and an icon of each image will be displayed on the map.

Imported images and new layers

You will notice that each photograph has been given a title based on the location it was taken. You should go through these and rename them as appropriate. Once you’ve finished you can share your map with others by clicking Share > Change > On. You can then share the URL. You can also embed the map on a website by clicking the three dots next to the map title. Then select Embed on My Site.

Creating a case study map in Google My Maps

23 January 2019/0 Comments/in CPD, GIS, Google My Maps, News/by Anthony Bennett

Creating a case study map in Google My Maps

Google My Maps is a great way of collating and displaying case studies in one place. Below is an example that includes some of the case studies on Internet Geography.

To get started on your map log into your Google account then head over to Google My Maps. Click New Map and give it a suitable title and description.

Edit map title and description

In this map, we are going to create a series of layers. This is so that we can group case studies by themes. By doing this we can filter case studies by type and display them on a base map.

Rename the Untitled layer that has been automatically created. In this case, we will name it Natural Disasters. To do this click the icon showing 3 dots and select Rename This Layer.

Rename Layer

Give your layer an appropriate name.

You are next going to add a marker to show the location of a natural disaster. In this case, we will add the Sendai earthquake and tsunami in Japan. To get started, locate the place where the natural hazard occurred. Then click the marker icon (it looks like an upside down droplet) then click the location where you want to place it. You can then rename the marker as shown below.

Adding a marker

Next, you can add images and videos (such as those on YouTube) to the marker. You can also include hyperlinks to web pages that could be used for revision. Below is an example of a marker with a Youtube video embedded and a hyperlink to a case study on Internet Geography.

Marker with embedded YouTube video and hyperlink

You now need to repeat this for all the case studies you want to include in this layer.

You can then create another layer and repeat the process. You can edit the colour and style of markers by theme. This will help differentiate the different markers. To do this click the bucket and select a colour of your choice, then click more icons to choose an appropriate icon.

Edit marker style

You can filter your map by turning layers off to show the location of a particular category of case study. To do this de-select the tick next to the layer name.

Once your map is finished you can share it by clicking the Share icon. Then click Change. Select an appropriate option. Once you’ve done this copy the link and share.