Tutorial for Using Google Earth & TransDEM for route creation

HiBaller

19 Years of Trainz
I have created a tutorial that will assist you in taking images from Google Earth and converting them into routes and 3D UTM Tiles using TransDEM. The procedure isn't that hard, but it might seem a bit tedious, mostly from repetition of steps. The results look good, however, and when you've laid down all your content, you can simply delete the DEM tile layers and let your own textures cover the ground.

Please use this thread if you have any questions or helpful hints related to the process. I am always open to new input.

The URL for this tutorial is here.

This download was updated on October 23, 2016. Changed to reflect proper placement of the yellow placemark in Google Earth.

Bill
 
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Thank you Sir, I plan later on to have a go with Trans Dem (need to purchase it) your Instruction sheet is a welcome edition to my list of Tools. Have a great weekend.
 
I have created a tutorial that will assist you in taking images from Google Earth and converting them into routes and 3D UTM Tiles using TransDEM. The procedure isn't that hard, but it might seem a bit tedious, mostly from repetition of steps. The results look good, however, and when you've laid down all your content, you can simply delete the DEM tile layers and let your own textures cover the ground.

Please use this thread if you have any questions or helpful hints related to the process. I am always open to new input.

The URL for this tutorial is here.

Bill

Hello Bill,

I downloaded your tutorial and I will try it out during the following days.

Best regards

Kurt :wave:
 
The tutorial looks fairly straightforward, Kurt, but the versions of Trainz, Google Earth, and TransDEM are quite old and the steps will have changed a bit. He also uses an "eye height" of 5KM, which as he says, when you zoom in gets pixellated a lot. I use a height of just 1.5Km and that seems to be the balance point between having a load of individual GE shots and good ground resolution of the images when in Trainz.

I think that either method would probably work, given changes made to the older tutorial.

So, were you able to create a route using my tutorial? I am thinking of creating a number of them, similar to the ones Fishlipsatwork created years ago, but with no GE image overlays as they are copyrighted.

Bill
 
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May I once again point you to the Map Tile Client in TransDEM? No hassle with eye altitude, no placemarks which must be centred. Yes, there are a few obstacles with Map Tiles, too, but only for Google (frequent version update in the URL, limited number of tiles in one go). Bing (Microsoft Virtual Earth) does not have these limitations. Map Tiles, particularly acquired automatically along a path, are much more effective. The semi-manual Google Earth placemark method is still offered for a reason, of course: It's easy to understand for many beginners because it refers to an already familiar tool - Google Earth - and has a rather straightforward workflow. On the other hand, the method is quite slow and error prone. I personally only run it for testing a new version of TransDEM (and still missed one test case last time), hereby mostly reusing placemark/image pairs created years ago.

Just my €0.02.
 
Funny you shold mention that, Roland, as I was reading that section just this morning. I have never used Bing, but am willing to give it a try next time I create a map/route.

The main reason I went with GE for my current route (and the tutorial) is that both Google Maps and Bing didn't show the level of detail that the actual satellite view did for my target area. It is largely agricultural and, as such, the maps show blank spots but GE shows the fields and their borders. GE also give me the locations of various irrigation canals, but neither of the mapping systems did.

The Map Tile Client section is not forgotten, just not used at the moment. Are the tiles produced by these servers copywritten? If not, then I may do them instead because of that fact.

Bill
 
The tutorial looks fairly straightforward, Kurt, but the versions of Trainz, Google Earth, and TransDEM are quite old and the steps will have changed a bit. He also uses an "eye height" of 5KM, which as he says, when you zoom in gets pixellated a lot. I use a height of just 1.5Km and that seems to be the balance point between having a load of individual GE shots and good ground resolution of the images when in Trainz.

I think that either method would probably work, given changes made to the older tutorial.

So, were you able to create a route using my tutorial? I am thinking of creating a number of them, similar to the ones Fishlipsatwork created years ago, but with no GE image overlays as they are copyrighted.

Bill

Hello Bill,

No I didn't create a complete route using your method. I only checked your instructions to see if all was very clear and useable for other "novice" users. As your tutorial is very straightforward, it is absolutely useable for beginners having some difficulties in the route making process.

When I saw Mike's method for the first time, I also checked if his method was clear. For personal use, I changed some settings ( for instance the 5km height distance, etc ... ) within Mike's method.

But as time moved on, and my experiments with Transdem ( bought in 2010 ) improved, the complete process was and is done within Transdem ( using the map tile servers MS Virtual Earth or Google Maps or Open street map - All dependable of the situation and the results I'm getting).

It all is a learning process, and yes when I started with my own route, before I could walk I wanted to run. However, for me, this was not the way to go. I had to have patience and learn everything step by step. So yes, I decided to walk, trying things out, doing several experiments, starting with a method which has a lot of comparisons with your method and moved on.

Sometimes, I still have to do some experiments using Trandem before I get the result I want . Of course It helps a lot using this forum and the Transdem forum.

Best regards

Kurt :wave:
 
I was the same way, Kurt. For once I took my time and made sure of what I was doing. My original goal was to get GE images into a map of my creation, but I had to learn how to use TD before I could to that. TD is a fantastic program and I have yet (as pointed out by Roland) to lear the ins and outs of it. I will, though. I'm at the point now where I can create a route in less than an hour, depending, of course, on the size of the route.

Bill
 
I was the same way, Kurt. For once I took my time and made sure of what I was doing. My original goal was to get GE images into a map of my creation, but I had to learn how to use TD before I could to that. TD is a fantastic program and I have yet (as pointed out by Roland) to lear the ins and outs of it. I will, though. I'm at the point now where I can create a route in less than an hour, depending, of course, on the size of the route.

Bill

Hello Bill,

When you keep on experimenting you will be able to create a small route within a couple of minutes using Transdem :cool:. But I must also say this - I often use GE, especially when not at home and Transdem is not available for me, to follow the train or tram track and create a kml/kmz file. In the route making process using Transdem, I then use the kml/kmz file within Transdem.

During the route making process and in some situations you will keep on using your tutorial, especially when GE is involved and GE gives you a better result.

Best regards

Kurt :wave:
 
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I did some "eye height" experimentation and found that 1.5Km is optimal for me, but others may like a closer or farther viewpoint. If just roughing out a route, making a KMZ image file works well. I always keep a series of photos taken much closer to the ground in GE to use as a guide for close-up object placement. Sometimes, I go into street view and capture images there for even greater detail. It helps to have a color laser printer for fine detail.

If I were to upload any of the routes to the DLS, then I'd have to make certain that I remove all traces of GE imagery before uploading it. Google is protective of them.

Bill
 
I have updated my TransDEM and Google Earth Tutorial. The original link works. My update clarifies a lot of the steps, making it easier to follow. Download it if you wish.

Bill
 
Strange. I used the link and it opened just fine in Firefox and when I downloaded it to my computer. But of course that means nothing since I was the one that created it.

Anyone else out there having this problem?

EDIT: Since I wrote and edited the tutorial on my 64-bit machine in Word, then used Open Office to convert to PDF, I downloaded the PDF to my 32-bit machine. The PDF opened just fine also.

Bill
 
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Must have been my PC settings ... I been fooling around with windows personalization fonts, colors and Firefox settings

Thanks for the Update and tutorial
 
One thing you might want to pencil in: After creating the blue line(s) for the route and generating the route itself, under the TD 'View' menu, there are two toggles you can use to "hide" both the DEM itself and the route lines. If you hide the Route before generating the UTM tiles, it will keep the tiles from having a dark line overlaying the actual route. I intend to include this in my third revision, but it isn't a real show-stopper.

Bill
 
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