Grave GPS Coordinates

[jim Landrum 0]

Has anyone settled on a format for entering GPS coordinates for individual graves? For rural small plots that are disappearing, this is essential.

[Jim Byram 0]

See the 'Latitude and Longitude' help topic. (This might be out of date but the format described works.)

 

I think that TMG will accept decimal notation but will convert it to the form in the Help topic and lose some precision in the process.

[GenerationGoneBy 0]

Since SS can now map a place based on the Lat Long field, you might also consider just using the Lat/Long for the cemetery as a whole. Otherwise, you will get a lot of markers very close together on your map. I haven't played with either feature, but you might want to before deciding on how to proceed.

[LornaHenderson 0]

Jim L.

As Jim B said, the conversions to the TMG format described in Help will lose precision.

However, you can enter data anyway you like and ignore the warnings about the incorrect format if you can live with the consequences (I do).

 

As GenerationGoneBy also adds, Second Site can output maps using LatLong data, and extra precision can be gained by using the decimal formats you can extract from places like virtual earth, google maps etc

Virtual Earth will give you values in the format

55.802253~-2.210227 (but only understands coordinates input with a , instead of a ~)

 

Google maps will show it as

55.802253,-2.210227

 

Store these in the TMG LatLong field with the ~ instead of the comma and you can keep the precision of the decimal values, and output your LatLong data to maps from SecondSite

[Ernie Lee 0]

For a large cemetery, a general GPS location could be placed in the Master Place List. Unfortunately, if a particular grave location is known, after you enter in the approved format, the location is automatically changed to that of the GPS for the Master Place lisiting. In order to save the individual grave location, are the any alternatives but deleting the GPS for the Master Place listing?

[Wiley 0]

Since about the best GPS accuacy is only going to be about 1m, I think you would be better off with traditional survey methods.

[JustTheFax 0]

I have been using this format

 

 

39.497304,-76.610296

 

 

I use a hand held GPS device from delorme and am very happy with it.

 

http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtp...;minisite=10020

 

I use the feature on this to plot the locations of every grave for my file. Link that with google maps so the site can be found again. Some cemeteries in my area are very large 50,000 burials or more, and I may have in many burials in each cemetery. Getting GPS for the enterance of a cemetery would make it difficult for other reseachers or family members to go to the grave with out a search.

[John Cardinal 0]

I have been using this format

 

39.497304,-76.610296

That format will lead to data loss in TMG v7.04 and previous. TMG converts that format to it's proprietary format which is basically degrees-minutes-seconds, with no fractional seconds, and that format is not as precise as the decimal degrees format you are entering. See an example on the Second Site "Maps" page.

 

My recommendation is to use a tilde in place of a comma to separate the latitude from the longitude. TMG will not recognize that format, and it will eave it as-is, and thus no precision will be lost. Second Site will recognize the tilde-separated format when it builds maps. When it is released, TMG v8 will recognize the tilde-separated format.