GPS Latitude and Longitude Converter

[gon2srf]

I received some campsite GPS coordinates recently from a friend. The coordinates were not the format used on Google Earth but with a bit of guestimation I was still able to find what I thought were the correct sites. Still I wanted to be 100% sure and needed to convert the coordinates to the method used on Google Earth. Maybe there is an easier way but this converter I found on the web did the trick.

This converter requires the use of Javascript enabled and capable browsers. It is designed to convert the various distinct methods of co-ordinate nomenclature from one methodology to another. Due to the fact that GPS information is so readily available now for daily weather information, automotive use, aviation, marine and personal use, many companies have set their own standards as to how that information is displayed and disseminated. (Get NAD27 and NAD83 conversion info from NOAA here...) Any method is very accurate in the native form but converting between them can create substantial error. When using a hand held GPS for instance, you may have to use the information and convert it to or from what a GIS map displays. We have created this series of converters to take degrees, minutes and seconds and convert them to decimal degrees or degrees and decimal minutes. In order to establish a point, you MUST have latitude and longitude coordinates in one form or another. If you need to get that information relating to distances between points, use the GPS Latitude and Longitude Distance Calculator. If you need to get that information to a different format, use these converters. (Please keep in mind that this is a conversion utility and NOT an entry for a point. Validity is NOT tested. The minutes and seconds designations are OF ARC and not of time.

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Link to converter http://www.csgnetwork.com/gpscoordconv.html

[DaveK]

Most GPS units will allow for coordinates to be entered and displayed in any of the popular formats. Changing from one format to another is usually just a few button pushes away. For example, if you get coordinates in minutes and seconds and need to use minutes.minutes, it is just a matter of changing your preferences to the format of the coordinates received and then changing it to what ever you need. Most of the mapping programs also allow for this procedure as well. Tell your friend to give you the coordinates in the right format next time.

[gon2srf]

Most GPS units will allow for coordinates to be entered and displayed in any of the popular formats. Changing from one format to another is usually just a few button pushes away. For example, if you get coordinates in minutes and seconds and need to use minutes.minutes, it is just a matter of changing your preferences to the format of the coordinates received and then changing it to what ever you need. Most of the mapping programs also allow for this procedure as well. Tell your friend to give you the coordinates in the right format next time.

You are right Dave but I was doing this activity clandestine while being paid to do other tasks. I happen to be inputting the friends coordinates into Google Earth without the help of my handheld GPS or mapping software on my laptop. What I meant by "easier way" was some mathematical formula one of you geniuses may know! BTW had I told my friend what I was up to I'm sure he would have graciously converted the coordinates for me.