[Xastir] Converting Tiger 2002 files for use in Xastir

[Curt Mills]

On Tue, 17 Feb 2004 tbaggett at jump.net wrote:

> Please forgive me if this has already been addressed. I've read through several months of the archives, and the search feature of the mail archives has not fully answered my questions.
>
>
> My goal is to track objects across the United States on detailed maps.
>
> I understand that Xastir cannot read in Tiger2002 raw line data files (unlike WinAPRS), and that it is suggested to download ESRI shapefiles from http://www.esri.com/data/download/census2000_tigerline/index.html
>
> I would like to install the full Tiger2002 maps into my Xastir install, but downloading the converted shapefiles from ESRI one county at a time would drive me into insanity.

Understand.


> I have downloaded the entire Tiger2002 raw line data files from the US Census Bureau, and am about to attempt converting the entire data set into ESRI shapefiles using TGR2SHP available from www.gistools.com for $75.
>
> Has anyone verified that shapefiles generated from Tiger2002 line files by TGR2SHP will work in Xastir?
>
> Has anyone attempted to convert the entire Tiger2002 database into a Shapefile database for the APRS community?
>
> How will Xastir handle several gigabytes of shapefile map images? Am I asking to much?

It should handle it just fine.  It loads them one at a time, and
only loads those that fit within the current view.  If you're trying
to zoom all the way out to U.S. size and load them all, you'll be
dissapointed in the loading time (to say the least!).  If however
you set up the levels so that the detailed maps are only shown at
close-in zoom levels, then you can set up less detailed maps at the
U.S. or World levels and you'll be much happier.

I haven't messed with TGR2SHP.  I'm more interested in just the few
counties around here.

Xastir CAN load in the TIGER raw data files, but you might be
disappointed in that support yet.  It's still being coded, but it is
starting to be functional.  The GDAL/OGR library is used to read
them in.  So far you'll get a single color for all objects, and no
labels, but it does display the lines.

-- 
Curt, WE7U.				archer at eskimo dot com
http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
  Lotto:  A tax on people who are bad at math. - unknown
Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates. - WE7U.
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