Sundial Geotags

Are There Any Sundials..?

• I am traveling to Portland this summer • Are there any good sundials there?

• Social: Ask a friend, NASS member or the sundial mail list • Computer: – Check the NASS Registry – Google “Portland sundial” – Check Google Earth or waymarking.com

• Check your 3G Smart Phone

NASS Registry

• Over 685 Sundials in North America, from the Latin America through the USA and Canada • Data is stale and incomplete – Pictures lacking on 118 of 685 – Full information for perhaps half • Technology has shifted to digital photos, GPS and less real information on what, where, how and why • Local, historical and sundial info is often lacking • Opportunity Knocks!

– Register the dial and generate an interest leading to data – Review the registrations in your home area – Add quality digital pictures and GPS location data

NASS Registry

• On-line version • Digital versions • NASS Registry (Link) – http://www.sundials.org/registry_frame.php

– Pdf: one picture, one page per dial – MS Access version – Full data base and better pictures – Archive of registrations, correspondence, files – Available for research – Contact Registrar • Future? To Be Determined

NASS Registry: Technological Change

Paper -Files -Inputs -Photos Accessible Computer Database -Digital files -Digital photo -GPS Inaccessible Internet -digital Accessible Limited Future?

• May 1996 First Edition published – Compiled by Allan J. Pratt with major input from Fred Sawyer and other NASS members – List of 340 sundials, indexed by state, type, designer and number – Black & White paper, 68 pages, no pictures • Data base: Registrar – R. Kellogg, L. McDavid – MS Access, one page, one photo per listing – Not published until 2008 as pdf version • Web Registry: Webmaster R. Terwilliger – Listing by state – Registry entries with links to photos – Incomplete, independent and limited – Accessible, user friendly, on line

iPhone 3G

• Google Maps with GPS • Find your location, get directions, and see traffic — all from your phone • Maps on iPhone 3G combines GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell tower location technology • Multi-Touch interface

Blackberry® Storm

• Camera (3.2 MP) • Built-in GPS • Media Player • Video Recording • BlackBerry® Maps • Wireless Email • Organizer • Browser • Phone • Corporate Data Access

NASS Registry

• Check for Portland?

– None • Check for Oregon?

– Web 2, PDF 3 • Check for Vancouver WA?

– None • Check for Washington?

– 10 None nearby, mostly Seattle

Waymarking

• An offshoot of route marking & geocaching • Record the GPS coordinates of an interesting point, post the waymark and encourage others to visit the location • Text, links, and pictures can be posted • Search waymarks by category and location • Sundials is a category of waymarks • Waymarking: http://www.waymarking.com • Sundials category: (link)

Europe 20% Britain 27%

Waymarking Sundials

World 3% NASS 50% • Sundial category active since 2006 • Over 775 sundials world wide – 50% NASS – 27% British • Over 340 US and 42 Canada

www.waymarking.com

Sundial category, Portland Location (Link) 50th Anniversary Sundial Vancouver, Washington http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM9NT Analemma Sundial Skamania Lodge, Washington http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1K7N

Victoria Comparison

• NASS Registry – 2 Listed, 1 Pending – Significant sundials • Victoria Sundial Tour 2006 – 9 listed – 5 downtown walking – 4 driving tour – Custom sundials • Waymarking – 18 listed – Most garden variety – 5 by RTB – All public sundials • Victoria has many active waymarkers and geocachers

Registry vs Waymarking

• Registry is well established • More sundials listed • Waymarking has excellent software • Easy to find waymarks

Ours vs Theirs

Can we work together?

• On line form works but needs improvement – Lacks feedback – Too constrained • Software is underdeveloped • Out of date • Needs members’ input equivalent location data • Accepts large pictures • Accepts 15000 letters in description • Minimum editing and approval • Growth is rapid

Google Earth

• Satellite images of any location • Terrain and 3 dimensions capability • Navigation controls for virtual flight • Add waymarks (placemarks) with location, text description links and pictures • Create files to share placemarks or track logs • Keystone xml files: kml and kmz (zipped kml) • Google earth community: Sundials visible from space • http//bbs.keyholecom sundial collection (Link)

Google Earth Community Sundial Collection

• Google Earth community: Sundial Collection • http//bbs.keyholecom sundial collection (Link) • Objective: • – 1. Sundials visible from space – 2. Other sundials and sundial tours • Now 192 sundial placemarks world wide – 73 in North America • Last undated 30 Dec 2009

887103-SundialCollection.kmz

Google Earth Placemark

• Click on Icon for typical placemark – Location, description, picture • Right click to see and edit properties of kml file

Google Earth kml file

• Right click on icon for properties of kml file • Kml is a keystone markup language file • Kml is a xml file specific to Google earth • Good programers write kml files directly • I hack as required to put in text, images, links etc.

• Edit Google Earth Placemark to create new kml files

Victoria Sundial Tour on Google Earth

Shopshire Sundials

http://www.shropshiredials.net/shropshiredials.html

• Phil Walker ( BSS) wrote a kml for sundials in Shropshire (Link) • File contains information and pictures • Written in kml with interesting fly in effects • Privacy and security a problem • Historical sundials in old churchyards stolen and sold to collectors, often in US

• www.publicearth.com – Contact: (link) • Technology start up in geo-location • Beta website available for testing • Interested in working with NASS – Sundials a category, beta shows 62 sundial locations – No content yet: pictures, descriptions, links • Same features as waymarking.com

– less developed software and content • Depends of user supplied data base • Worthwhile to test and assess

• Specific placemark in Boulder CO (Link) • Pearl Street Mall Sundial • Home turf for Public Earth • Not in seven for Boulder with waymarking.com • Not in two for Boulder with Google Earth • NASS registry #137 • Seven listed for Boulder & Colorado Springs

Using GPS

• Geotag sundials – Find the sundial – Take pictures – Mark location as POI – Add to photo properties – Register with NASS • Record Waypoints • Record Track Logs – Convert to route – Convert to kml files • Show on Google Earth • Data format conversion GPS Babel

Using GPS

• Typical hand held GPS • Location data an maps, as UTM coordinates, or Latitude/Longitude • Latitude N 48º 39.448’ • Longitude W123º 24.060’ • Last digit is significant • 1’ Lat = 1 nautical mile • 0.001’ ~ 2 meters • Varies with signals: satellites, WAAS, foliage • Dithering removed in 2000

Using Google Earth for Location

• No GPS? No problem!

• Find you house with Google earth • Put the cusor on it and record your location, Latitude and Longitude • Find where the sundial was from the address and surrounding buildings • Many sundials can be seen from space • Placemark the location • Edit to add name, location, sundial icon, description • Hack to add pictures, links and view

NASS Registry Future

• Options are available, we need discussion • Business as usual with improvements?

• On line bytes of data or printed paper files & reports • New interactive software system?

• Cooperation and sharing with waymarking.com?

• A collection of Google Earth placemarks and kml files?

• A partnership with Public earth?

• Copyright issues? Ownership, maintenance?

• Who does the work? You do! • All require members input and volunteer effort • No one is doing all this for you

Back to the Future

• iPhone 3G and similar devices are the future • Applications like Google Maps exist and Google Earth is coming • This on line capability is too expensive for most • Options exist with GPS and digital cameras • Sundial data base is deficient, needs user input • If you want to use it, add to the NASS registry, waymarking and GE