Free program to sketch scaled drawings on aerials

[oosik]

I have a drafting program that can be used for most any project. I find it rather difficult to use. I'm sure it would be easier if I used it more often.

Normally - just print out an 11x8 hard copy and work on that. When finished - I can scan it back into the computer - if necessary.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I use turbocad now, have used autocad and microstation previously. draw the lot to scale using the coordinates from a survey, then pull up google map image as close to the scale as possible.

Just looked back at other responses, didn't know the thread was about credit score......

 

[RjCorazza]

I use turbocad now, have used autocad and microstation previously. draw the lot to scale using the coordinates from a survey, then pull up google map image as close to the scale as possible.

Just looked back at other responses, didn't know the thread was about credit score......

I started out using GenericCadd, and loved it until AutoDesk bought them out and tanked the product. I could never get the hang of TurboCad, and ended up using AutoCad LT.

Anyway, another way to accomplish the task being discussed is to import a Google image or land plat and scale it to a known dimension. I recently had a surveyor update my plat with some property line changes, and got all dimensions to matchup in AutoCad to around an inch or so. Accurate enough for my purposes. I did mapping for the fire dept in my previous life, now drafting is just a hobby.

 

[JamesHW]

One hobby for me is analyzing old road maps and overlaying them over images of the modern terrain using various imagery such as aerials and especially Lidar images. Ive found that the Procreate app ($20) on an aging iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil give great utility yet are fairly intuitive to use. I like to capture images from the National Map as screen shots and import them unaltered into a Procreate project as layers. The National map provides many layers itself such Lidar, wetlands, a variety of base aerial images or maps including older topo maps that can be adjusted by transparency or moved up or down. I can geo-locate and pin coordinates on the map. In regards to lot lines I avoid the GIS online offering by the County and use the .aspx extension maps and convert them to pdf so procreate can see them. The challenge is to size and the lot lines map over the Lidar and other data accurately and working at a scale where even a small offset can convert to many foot of error.

I took a few minutes and grabbed a sampling of data of a nearby area I was researching to see if evidence of an old road that no longer exists shows up (you can see the road a little left of center in some of the images) and overlaid the data with the County aspx file for that area and exported them from Procreate as a gif here. Included is lidar (hillshade stretched) with auto contour lines, a couple of the base maps available, multi-directional Lidar with catchment detail (light pink lines) that shows drainage areas, aspect map (the colorful one).

Note that not all areas have Lidar of this quality, so your mileage may vary.