UKC

Hi,

I'm trying to figure out what the approximate printed dimensions would be of this 1:500k map: http://download.maps.vlasenko.net/smtm500/n-45-4.jpg

It's 200km wide on the long. and lat., so am I right in saying that on this map as every centimetre should represent 5km, therefore the map should be approximately 40cm x 40cm when printed?

On a 1:1,000,000 map every centimetre should represent 10km. But I'm a little confused by the measurements on this sample map: http://download.maps.vlasenko.net/smtm1000/o-46.jpg - it probably doesn't help there's no scale on there... but theoretically a 1,000,000 map should be 80cm x 80cm when printed?

Any input would be appreciated. I'm feeling quite confused by it all looking at it on a computer screen. I'm basically eventually looking at figuring out how many 1:500k and how many 1:1,000,000 maps I can print out on to a stock sheet of Tyvek paper

Thanks for your help.

Matt

In reply to mlt:
Yes, 1cm should represent 5km, but keep in mind that the scale could've been changed during the scanning process. Lucky for you, there's a graphic scale as well, so it's really easy to check. Just print that part with the graphic scale and see if the 1cm on the printed version really is 1cm long If not, then the scale has been changed and you'll need to adjust it.

In reply to mlt: I would need to think about this, but one thing I would bear in mind is that this map is not square. Unless I misread the units it's 2 degrees N-S and 3 E to W, so that's quite a fearsome stretch on the projection on it (this is certainly not National Grid).

I eyeballed the scale bar and made it around 200kms EW, and assuming the scale bar is for the horizontal it's 40cm or so long, and the image is kind of square so it's going to be approximately that N-S plus some space for the margins

In reply to wbo:


Think ( like a sea going sailor) in terms of one nautical mile = one minute of latitude.
On the equator 1' long = 1 naut mile, 1' lat = 1 naut mile.
The long.. dim reduces with increasing latitude. A close look at the map and some basic trigonometry should enable a true horizontal and vertical scale to be calculated for the area covered by the map.

In reply to mlt:

the image is 5300 x 6700 pixels. If the map was scanned at 300 dpi (dots per inch), printsize should be 5300/300 =17.667 inches wide and 6700/300 = 22.333 inches high. That makes 44.87 x 56.73 cm. 300 and 400 dpi are common settings, but it could have been anything....

But for practical use, I wouldn't bother too much with the exact maths. I have used these old soviet maps while hiking in the past, and they can be rather inaccurate: exact scaling will be the least of your problems

erik

In reply to mlt:

Hi guys,

Thanks for all of your replies!

Matt