sdts2mp Homepage

SDTS2MP

sdts2mp.exe converts USGS SDTS DLG files into .mp format which can be viewed and edited in GPSMapEdit, converted to .img format with cgpsmapper, and uploaded to a GPS with sendmap.

USGS SDTS DLG files can be downloaded from the GEO Community or USGS. Use the USGS status page to find out if data is available for your area.

Download sdts2mp-0.32-bin.zip for windows now (released June, 2006) source also available

Visit my sample maps page for screen shots and sample GPS maps

Please share your maps with everybody else by uploading them to MapCenter

How to convert SDTS files using sdts2mp

1. Unzip sdts2mp into an empty directory.

2. Download a sdts.tar.gz file. Try here or here. The file will have a name like ######.RD.SDTS.TAR.GZ (for a road file, hence the RD).

sdts2mp will convert files of :

Road features (RD)

Miscellaneous transport features i.e. pipelines, ski lifts... (MT)

Railroads (RR)

Water features i.e. rivers, lakes, flat...(HY)

Topographical lines and points (HP)

Boundaries (BD)

Manmade features i.e. schools, churches, buildings... (MS)

Vegetative surface cover(SC)

3. Unzip and un-tar the SDTS files into a directory. Warning: The SDTS filenames are not very unique, so the extracted RD, MT, and RR files have the same file names. This means you must extract each one into a separate directory. (see winzip info below if you get errors when running sdts2mp)

4. Open a command window and type sdts2mp.exe [directory name] to create the map.

6. Once you have a .mp file go here to find out how to edit it, convert it to .img and upload it to the gps.

See the readme file distributed with the program for more information on using sdts2mp.exe.

Notes:

sdts2mp is still under development, this is a beta version and will probably have trouble with some maps.

sdts2mp has been tested on 1:24,000 and 1:100,000 scale maps.

sdts2mp only works on DLGs (digital line graph). Do not use it with DEMs (digital elevation model).

sdts2mp is distributed according tot he GNU GPL license.

For now sdts2mp will overwrite .mp files without asking.

As always do not rely solely on the GPS maps because they could be incorrect or outdated. Cary a backup compass and map if heading out into the wilderness.

Winzip Option:

If using WinZip to unzip your SDTS files be sure to clear the "TAR file smart CR/LF conversion" check box on the Miscellaneous tab under Options...Configuration... (Version 9.0) If this is not done the error message READ SUBFIELD ERROR: may occur when generating .mp maps.

sdts2mp is a command line program:

Usage: sdts2mp.exe [OPTION]... [DIRECTORY]
-v	Verbose screen output
-r	Recursively process all sub-directories
-d	Print debugging output to debug.txt
-u	Output unprocessed data to map file
-L	Use the SDTS ID for the label.
-s	Output raw sdts data to dump.txt
-ne	Output all entity points to map file
-no	Output all object points to map file
-na	Output all area points to map file
-h, -?	Display this help screen and exit