OT. Live real time satellite images

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: OT. Live real time satellite images
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Patrick on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 11:41 am:

Good morning. I need to have some aerial photos made of an intersection where I had an auto accident. Google Earth only has an image for 2010, which is out of date and does not show a real time image of the intersection, as it appears at present. Does anyone know of a link that is as easy to operate and works like Google Earth only has live, real time images? Thank you. Jim Patrick


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Tomaso - Milton,WA on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:13 pm:

Unless you have friends in high places of our military, you might just go to the local airfield to hire a plane w/pilot and that way you get the exact image you require especially if it it going to get "legal".


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Eugene Adams on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:22 pm:

hi
Jim,
Try Virtual Earth and see if it gives you anything you can use.
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&cp=47.552544~-122.294664&style=o&lvl=2&scene=3698796
The above is a website and must be saved like a favorite.

Virtual Earth also has a free download like Google Earth to be found at http://download.cnet.com/Virtual-Earth-3D/3000-2648_4-10693706.html This give you a desktop Icon like Google Earth.

Gene in Virginia Beach


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:44 pm:

Gene beat me to it. I was also going to suggest Virtual Earth.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:51 pm:

Just looked at my house and neighborhood in Virtual Earth, and I think those images are more than a year old.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:53 pm:

Why does it have to be an aerial photo?

Wouldn't ground level photos from various angles taken with your own camera suffice? You can then make your own overhead diagram of scene.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 01:02 pm:

Jim, if it's as pretty there as it is here today, you can bet there's someone out at the airport that would be willing to take you up for a few minutes and you can shoot all the pics you want.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 01:20 pm:

Maybe it has something to do with my location out here in Podunk, but the Virtual Earth image is no good for detail. In the Google satellite view I can see the blue tarps on my roof project. With Virtual Earth I can't even make out individual buildings. Just pixilated blobs.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By A. Gustaf Bryngelson on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 01:50 pm:

MY virtual earth image looks like a weatherman's map, everything is distorted so that north/ south distances are about 60% of east/west distances, and it is a couple of years old, newer than gigglemaps but still not very current.
Best
Gus


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Paul Allen Vitko on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 01:52 pm:

If you view an area away from a city its usually not very good but if its in a city or should I say a larger city its usually very good.

I can view Portland and its clear but if I view North Dakota its poor.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Stephan Two Rivers Wisc. on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 02:02 pm:

GOOGLE earth is free, to a certain point of resolution. If you wanna see the moto meter on your car youll hafta subscribe. ws


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Patrick on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 02:10 pm:

Erik,

It needs to be a clear, closeup aerial view of the intersection because, as I was turning left (west) on the green arrow and the southbound driver ran the red light, he pushed me approximately 10 feet to the south, from the center of the left turn lane, to where I came to rest. It just so happens that, one of the accident scene photographs shows that my right tire landed on a very unique lane line mark and we need to get an overhead view to reconstruct the accident scene, showing where I was and where I wound up on this unique line.

Time is of the essence because the intersection is under construction and there are plans to re-surface the intersection which will obliterate the lane line marks we need to reconstruct the accident and also to show, by calculation, how fast the other driver (in his 5,577 lbs. GMC pickup) was speeding, to push me and my 5,186 lbs. Ford F-150 pickup, as far as he did.

I got up at 6:00am this morning when the traffic was slow and have taken ground level photos from all directions, just to document the position of the mark to show its' position in relation to the left turn lane line, but these photos are not the same as aerial photos for showing the relation of one vehicle to the other or, showing my exact position at the moment of impact.

Jim Patrick.

PS Thank you for the virtual earth site. I pulled up the intersection and, while it is very crisp and clear, the photo is not recent enough to show the lines as they are now.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Frank Harris from Long Beach & Big Bear on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 02:20 pm:

I used to make drawings of accident and crime scenes for court cases. The O J trial was almost one of them but Johnnie Cochran and Robert Shapiro wanted me to do them for free and said the advertising was enough pay for me, I declined.

Judge Ito had a Sony computer with the name real big right in front of the camera. They made him cover up the name Sony, so Sony made everyone else cover up their names and logos too. So they guy that did $16,000 worth of drawings for free didn't get his advertising and I didn't lose $16,000.

Anyway they insist on aerial views to scale for the drawings and they must be to exact scale. The street scenes of all traffic accidents I drew had to have the traffic lanes marked with the dashed lines to exact length and width scale, benches, traffic signals, cross walks,trees and buildings and all details had to be drawn to an exact scale. I would get the photo copy drawings from the traffic department and also go to the site and Mary and I would take detail measurements of all physical properties. The traffic drawings had the streets up to the curbs to scale but no more details than that.

At times I would draw in special ink on a smooth four foot by seven foot metal clad door and made vehicles of the correct size and color with little magnets. The exhibits must be accurate and agreed upon by both sides and the judge before they are accepted.

Anyway they didn't have satellite images back in those days and we had to go with a 50 foot tape measure and dodge the traffic.

If you need and technical advice or assistance I may be able to help at no charge.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Patrick on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 02:34 pm:

Thank you Frank. That is good to know. Being unable to find a real time satellite site with up to date aerial photos, I have e-mailed an aerial photo place and have told them what I need. They have probably done this enough to equip the photo with a scale in feet, but if not, I have e-mailed them a P.S. and told them this was for legal purposes. Thanks again. I'll keep you posted by PM. Jim Patrick


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Frank Harris from Long Beach & Big Bear on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 02:50 pm:

You can look at Google Earth and locate your accident site and zoom your computer screen until a thing such as a road or street is a known size and then scale up from your computer screen. No need to pay an expensive crew to fly an airplane and charge you for pictures. They can't fly exactly at 90 degrees above the site. E mail me at fhmhlb@verizon and we can talk privately . . . again advice is free. You can do it yourself if you can find neutral on a Model T transmission.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Garrett - Boonville, Missouri on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 05:25 pm:

Why is the house I used to live in that burned down in 2010 still on Virtual Earth?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By A. Gustaf Bryngelson on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 07:15 pm:

Hey Garrett,
The image for my place dates from mid summer of 2010, I suspect it is the same for your area.
Best
Gus


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Garrett - Boonville, Missouri on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 07:20 pm:

Thank You, Gus.

I now understand why it isn't up to date.

But one county over -- where I live now -- it shows the new pool that opened in Spring of 2011. Weird.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By A. Gustaf Bryngelson on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 07:23 pm:

If you put in a new pool, then maybe you can get a new photo:-) What puzzles me about google earth is the difference in resolution in different countries. In mexico, you can make out a six pack in the back of a pickup, but in the US, the pickup is about as big as the sixpack in Mexico.
Best
gus


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 07:26 pm:

Garrett, as I understand it, the images are updated constantly. In Google Earth since I first discovered it, I have seen several different views of my house.

Steven Wright - one of my favorite deadpan comedians - once said, "It's a small world.... but I wouldn't want to paint it." The same probably applies to taking pictures of every square inch of it. When you figure that you can also look at pictures of the Australian Outback, downtown Tehran, the Kremlin and an island in the South Pacific, it probably takes them a while to keep everything up to date.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 07:38 pm:

I once heard there is a crew continuously painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Supposedly, when they get done, it's time to start over. Don't know if that's true, but it sounds plausible. I'm sure the same applies to satellite imagery.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Doug - Braidwood (glow in the dark), IL on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 08:17 pm:

Some areas of the continental US cannot have high resolution pictures available. For a variety of reasons including but not limited to national security.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Patrick on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 08:37 pm:

I wonder if there is any way to e-mail Google Earth and ask them for an updated satellite flyover of a certain area. Squeaky wheel gets the oil. Jim Patrick


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 08:38 pm:

Google earths image of my place is about mid to late 2010 to.
Jim.As I mentioned before.The DoT in your area can be of some help.They designed,drew up,and contracted the markings to be installed.So THEY will have a copy of what you need to scale also.
It is public info best I can remember because your tax dollars paid for it


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Aaron Griffey, Hayward Ca. on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 09:03 pm:

Yes Hal, the Golden Gate Bridge is always being painted. They never stop.
I checked it out when I drove on it most every day for a couple of years.
Remember now, that big bugger is one and a half miles long not counting the approaches.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 09:56 pm:

Jim, check with you local realtors. Some have access to airial shots that you can zoom in pretty close. I was looking at som property in Kentucky and Century 21 had a great shot of the property. I looked at a few others and one of them was on an intersection, The zoom was so good, I could read the numbers of the plates on the cars and the street signs.. Might be worth while looking in to....Chip


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Thode Chehalis Washington on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 10:36 pm:

Way before there was Google earth there were areal photos from many different sources. Check with the State, County, City, Corps of Engineers, DOT, USGS, Soil Conservation Service, local engineers and surveyors and maybe others.

Jim


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry Ostbye on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 10:42 pm:

You might go to a small air port where they teach to fly and ask flight instructor if they will take the pictures you need while on a flight with a student. Just a thought.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron Patterson-Nicholasville, Kentucky on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 12:03 am:

Jim
I have some limited dated experience in this area but, I can tell you high quality "live real real time" satellite photos are not easy to obtain.
Satellites are very precious resources, have a huge demand for positioning and photo content and unless you are willing to pay huge bucks for that kind of data from commercial resources you will have to be happy with dated material.
Ron Patterson


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Derek Kiefer - Dexter, MN on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 12:22 am:

I would try www.bing.com/maps/ and www.wikimapia.org as they sometimes have better maps than Google.

On the bing map, click "birds eye" and you can rotate the views around for angled aerial photos from 4 different directions.

Wikimapia has a measuring tool that you can measure distances.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George_Cherry Hill NJ on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 02:05 am:

Jim,

Looked at from another perspective, maybe your alternate solution is to find a registered Florida P.E., go have him dimension it all up with reference photo's before they go and move the lines, and then smack his seal on it. For legal purposes, thats an automatic expert.

Another thought is to find a friend of a freind who is a cop...assuming there was an accident report, the hyrogliphics in the upper left corner outside the margin is a code...what the signing officer 'thinks' really happened...


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Allan Richard Bennett on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 02:37 am:

Jim, consider contacting your local realtor. Here they are more frequently using aerial photos in their advertising, and should have contacts who could do the job. What you really need is a setup like the guy had at a recent tarmac rally, a helicopter camera radio controlled from the ground, which flew over the start line to get images of the cars. His next trick is to offer it as a vehicle for wedding photography. Perhaps there is some like that available to you at less than exorbitant rates.

Just a thought.

Allan from down under


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