gpsgeekoid

Thanks. It looks interesting. I've found another GPS import option that might work as well. Ideally I want to be able to pick a lot stake (i.e. southwest corner) and mark that as "0,0,0" and have all the other GPS points be referenced to it.

This might be a bit off topic, but I'm not sure where else to ask... I have a Garmin Vista HCX. My home design software has a "terrain import" function that allegedly can use GPS data but I can't find much detail on how one is supposed to get from a downloaded track of GPS coordinates to the relative cartesian formats it accepts. They only mention "you may need to use third party software". The home design software wants "X Y Z" or "Y X Z" data in .TXT, .CSV, .PRN, .XYZ, .AUF or .NEZ format. It can be space or comma delimited. Is there any reasonably priced (or even free) software that can convert a downloaded Garmin GPS track into cartesian XYZ coordinates in feet? Or perhaps work with GPX files? If the above isn't realistic, is there any sofware that will manually convert GPS points (i.e. one at at time) to X-Y coordinates in feet? I know the elevation data from a GPS is notoriously innacurate (especially in the northern USA). But I can use a grade pole and laser to measure the relative elevations where they're critical--but I still need the GPS X-Y data to locate the measurement points. It's a several acre parcel and there's not a straight property line anywhere--it's a very complex shape. Without paying a surveyor $2000+ (I got a quote) it's really difficult to place anything on the property with even modest accuracy. Any suggestions would be very welcome. Up until know I've mainly used the GPS for staying on trails in deep snow, recording tracks for fun, etc. Thanks in advance.

I'm an embedded device (of which the eTrex is) hardware engineer and I can safely say the whole white/black enerloop issue is pure coincidence/myth. All digital devices such as a GPS use regulated power supplies and are not prone to any battery issues until the batteries are so low the device will no longer operate properly. The current consumption in a device with 20+ hour battery life, like the eTrex, is really low and doesn't come close to taxing the batteries in any way so long as they're not on their last breath. Likewise the theories discussed here about different battery types effecting the GPS receiver are also not based on fact and are pure layman's conjecture. From the perspective of GPS radio signals, a battery is a battery. All these theories seem nothing more than a few anecdotal uncontrolled experiences in the field blown way out of proportion. It's like saying my GPS screws up on a full moon and failing to realize it was raining that day and my GPS isn't waterproof. The problems had nothing to do with the full moon. More significant is the "sticking" issue appears to be a yet another Garmin firmware problem. And the problem has been well documented, for too long now, in enough different products, there's really little excuse for it. Garmin needs to get their act together or someone else is going to steal their once loyal customer base. Garmin is rather well known for firmware problems and it seems to be getting worse. The fact is older Garmin devices often work far better than newer ones. With every passing year, my experience with more than half dozen different Garmin hiking and auto GPS units is each one is worse than the previous one in terms of bugs and firmware stability. I've talked to a few Garmin employees at a trade show and have been told "people are not happy" within Garmin. Apparently there have been staff and budget cuts and fewer people are being asked to do more work. If that's true, it's no big surprise the quality of the firmware, and perhaps even hardware, has suffered. I've tried a couple newer models, but I'll be keeping my Vista HCX until Garmin can demonstrate they have something that's both genuinely better and at least as bug free. That might be a long time, and possibly never, given their current trend.