New Road and Satellite Maps

[Steve Wooler]

Hi All

I am pleased to annouce the launch of new mapping systems on the site.

With immediate effect, the Maps page (menu: Tobago > Maps) and the Accommodation and Restaurant listings use Google maps and satellite information to display data. The Google satellite data leaves something to be desired and is a year or two old, but it is a vast improvement over the static map data that I have been using and, in fact, of any static cartography that I can get hold of. The other big advantage is that the Google system allows me to present the information in a more interactive way, with overlays marking the location of various features.

If you've got a large screen, the main map available via the link on the map page is the best one to use. Every property listing where we know the exact location now has a new 'map' page which will show the location of the property and nearby restaurants.

With more than 500 markers, it has been difficult to check everything and it is inevitable that some markers will be incorrect. So, if you spot any errors, PLEASE let me know. Otherwise, enjoy. I'm also keen to hear from anybody who can suggest additional information that can be usefully added to the maps and/or individual properties or features that could be added.

[Roel le Pair]

Hi Steve,
Excellent work, and a hell of a job it must have been !
Thank you very much, another surprising great improvement to the site.

For everyone :
Download Google Earth (it's free) and enjoy many photos placed on the map by visitors, often wonderful pictures in high resolution, relaxing (and longing too) to spend many many hours. Only Tobago got hundreds of pictures, sometimes funny to see how things have changed during the past years and, luckily, how many more haven't (on Tobago at least).
Feel free to upload your photos yourself, commend on others, make correction on misplaced ones, etcetera

http://earth.google.com/

[Hugh S]

Steve,

Ditto what Roel said! Obviously a LOT of work went into this upgrade. Being able to click on the map icons and get instant info on a property is really slick.

Bravo!

Thanks, Hugh

[David Watkins]

Steve,excellent
David

[Steve Wooler]

Users of Google Earth will be pleased to hear that they can now download the full map marker set from our main map page at www.myTobago.info/maps.php (menu: Tobago > Maps)

The map markers for accommodation properties and restaurants are linked to our main databases, which are being constantly updated. I would therefore caution against saving the Google Earth marker set in "My Places" because the set will soon be out of date. The kmz file stored on our server and which can be downloaded from the Maps page is automatically generated every time changes are made to the main databases and therefore represents the only up-to-date copy.

[Steve Pitts]

Just when you thought that myTobago couldn't get any better.......

Brilliant addition to the site Steve and so easy to use.

Cheers
Steve

[Bob White]

Well done Steve. A fantastic additional resource to an already first class site.

[Bryan Guignard]

For anyone wishing there was better imagery of Tobago, here is the Google Earth email address where you can send your request:

[email protected]

It is through this address, a year ago, that I was able to get the Googlers to post the high resolution images that are currently visible for Tobago. Of course there's no guarantee, but so far it has worked out for me. I just sent them the following request for some updates:
-----
I would like to place a request for updated high res imagery for the island of Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago). In particular, the current high res imagery for the north eastern end of the island (Charlotteville - Speyside) is almost completely cloud covered, and of no significant value to anyone. Also,
the central part of the island is still only in low res. Please update the central part to high res if possible.
-----
I'm sure it can only help if they get more requests for a particular area.

There is also a very slick little windows application that is available as a free download, called gMapMaker. You can download it from this link: http://debin.net/gMapMaker/

This clever little tool allows you to input a set of coordinates and it then fetches all the little Google Earth image tiles of that area and stitches them into one big image that you can save or print (in jpeg or tiff formats). I use it to make some very impressive printed posters of the towns and villages that my friends live in. They make nice gifts. Beware that this tool can create some very large files! For example, I just created one that covers the relatively small area from the Rex Turtle Beach Resort up to the Arnos Vale Hotel, and across to Les Coteaux and down to Mary's Hill, so I can see my own property and the surrounding area. That's an area only 1 mile by 2.5 miles and the image file is a whopping 110 mb!! So make sure you have plenty of disk space and a fairly fast internet connection.

Cheers,

Bryan

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Bryan

Thanks for that. Just to confirm my email to you, I have written to Google at the address you kindly looked up. Hopefully other readers will join me and hopefully if we get enough support, Google will take notice and upgrade the images of Tobago - particularly for the central and northern areas of the island.

So, come on everyone - get your fingers bouncing on that keyboard and drop a line to Google as Bryan suggests.

[Richard P]

Outstanding work Steve.

Now I'm even more excited than I was!

58 days to go!