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Might be of interest to the map nerds!

PostPosted: Sun 19 Jul, 2015 10:56 am
by LandSailor
Inside the secret world of Russia's cold war map makers..
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/secret-cold-war-maps/

Re: Might be of interest to the map nerds!

PostPosted: Sun 19 Jul, 2015 2:32 pm
by GPSGuided
Yes, read that from elsewhere too. It's scary whilst not surprising. Given what we hear of the capabilities of spy satellites and what the KGB/CIA have been up to, these are all well within their realm. I would not be surprised if the US military also holds similar and greater info on the world. Nature of the beast.

Re: Might be of interest to the map nerds!

PostPosted: Sun 19 Jul, 2015 4:41 pm
by FootTrack
Thanks for sharing. Very interesting, eye opening read.

Re: Might be of interest to the map nerds!

PostPosted: Tue 21 Jul, 2015 8:52 am
by LandSailor
Yes when you think this was happening decades ago, and the advances in tech we've had, there must be some fairly extraordinary things happening in the spy world.
Or maybe its all just software-based now..like everything else.

Re: Might be of interest to the map nerds!

PostPosted: Tue 21 Jul, 2015 8:56 am
by LandSailor
FootTrack wrote:Thanks for sharing. Very interesting, eye opening read.

No problem...sometimes wonder whether I should post things like this as obviously the link to bushwalking is extremely tenuous. :)

Re: Might be of interest to the map nerds!

PostPosted: Tue 21 Jul, 2015 9:31 am
by GPSGuided
LandSailor wrote:No problem...sometimes wonder whether I should post things like this as obviously the link to bushwalking is extremely tenuous. :)

Not at all and quite the opposite! So much of our activities, procedures and equipments have had their origin out of adversarial conflicts throughout history eg. Exploration, empire building, survival fabric materials, pack and gear designs, ground mapping, grid system, satellite vision, GPS and the list goes on. Through these snippets as you've highlighted, we can see where the future lies, or learn from the past for a brighter future. So I say thanks!

Re: Might be of interest to the map nerds!

PostPosted: Tue 21 Jul, 2015 11:38 am
by keithy
If you like the Soviet maps and have an Android device, have a look at the Atlogis "Soviet Military Maps" app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... free&hl=en

I came across it a while back while looking for topo maps of Mongolia and Uzbekistan. Very cool maps but mainly done in the 80s and good for less industrialised nations like Africa and Asia. There is a paid "pro" version which cuts out the advertising and adds in ability to mark waypoints and add/export tracks but I haven't given that a go yet.