Digital topographical maps

[Vladd_tI]

G'day folks,

A quick one I hope...

Can remember seeing a brochure on a flying school wall advertising digital topographical information in CD form a few years back. Maps were able to be viewed and printed in various scale formats including 1:1000000.

Does anyone know if this software is still available? Did anyone purchase and use it? Is it any good?

Ta,

Vladd

[Biggles_in_Oz]

http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/products/maps/

[swh]

Not aware of any digital maps about except those you find on GPS devices, the ones mentioned here are raster maps, not digitial ones, ie essentially a PDF or scan of a paper map.

They are of a fixed projection, and will not match on the edges due to the map projection properties. Like trying to joing two WAC charts along the top or bottom edge, different standard parallels.

The also maybe AMG, not WGS 84.

[185skywagon]

Vector mapping(ie digital) requires software such as Arcview or Mapinfo. Arcview has the most compatible file system with things such as Trackmaker and most other moving map software, including most AG Spray computers.
There are many cadastral features (layers) that you can use to build up a vector map. Roads(major and minor), watercourses, airfields, railways etc etc.
With GIS mapping software, you make them any scale you like.
Actual graphic topo relief shading is not yet available(i am fairly sure). you can also display geo-registered raster maps as a base layer, if you want. A lot of 1:250k rasters are AGD66 datum. I don't know about the WAC. If it is a direct copy of current WAC then they would be WGS 84.

[swh]

185skywagon,

Can get topo terrain data from AUSLIG, pretty expensive, some of it is just digitised contour data. Easy to make a TIN from that and get the topo relief.

:ok:

[185skywagon]

swh,
i have all the geo spot data. just don't have the contour stuff. can you get that from auslig, now??
i run DCDB boundary data as a background on the AGNAV, for my work. i can only have one vector layer. with something like ARCPAD, you can have heaps of layers. raster WAC would be good, but there is no guarantee that everyone will print as 1:1M., so i guess that airservices is not prepared to take the risk of having them out there.
185

[tinpis]

:uhoh: whatever happened to lookin out the window?
Dont cost much.

[185skywagon]

tin,
i do mate. just have to log heaps of info for various gov depts, and have some precision as far as property boundaries are concerned.
back to the original question re digital WACS, it would be nice if you could print a WAC that took in your intended route rather than carry 4 WAC's.

[Vladd_tI]

Thanks folks for your responses.

Biggles, the Rastor stuff on the website you pointed me to was the info I remember seeing. Thanks.

Tinny, sometimes I remember to look out the window. :D Particularly over some of the highland routes eh?

Lukim yu......