NGSREAD (version 3.0)

[+Black Dog Trackers]

NGSREAD is for reading NGS DAT files and Shapefiles to make .kml, .gpx, and .html, files from NGS data.

 

Along with the ability to make .kml files for viewing benchmarks with Google Earth, and .gpx files for other programs to put data into your GPS receiver, ngsread now directly suports paperless mode.

 

The new option makes an html file for each PID. Each html page includes box score information, history information, all verbal recovery reports, and all other information that is useful to benchmark hunters. They are specifically formatted for benchmark hunting so they do not includes the extraneous lines that are not useful for benchmark hunting. Each PID's html page also includes a table of the 10 closest PIDs sorted by distance in a table that includes: each PID, distance, bearing, 16-point compass direction, and designation.

 

To test the html page function, I bought a simcard (the smallest I could get was 1GB for $12) for the PDA that my wife no longer uses. My computer has those slots for various camera memory cards so it was simply a matter of copying the html directory made by ngsread to the card. I used ngsread on the Virginia state DAT file to make html files for all the PIDs in the state of Virginia (over 20,000). It took only 1/10 of the space available on the card and worked fine with the PDA.

 

Ngsread also makes two html page indexes along with the individual PID html pages; one with all the PIDs sorted alphabetically, and the other sorted by longitude and latitude coordinates. Two-dimensional location sorts are difficult in one dimension (rows of data), so in this case, I rounded the coordinates to the nearest minute. This gives a pretty good start, so if you have a PDA with all the PIDs in it, you can get a reading of your position with your GPSr and then look in the index page to find PIDs with the coordinates near those showing on your GPSr. After picking a PID, its html page will indicate the 10 nearest PIDs with more precision. For amusement, the program prints out the PID of the most remote station when it is done (the PID that's farthest from any of the others).

 

In case you have internet access while looking at the html pages, each PID's html page includes links for it on both the Geocaching benchmark and NGS sites, and a link to Google Maps too.

 

Seeing the recent discussion in the forum, I also included an option (it's on by default) to use the box scores' reference mark information to:

1 ) re-calculate the coordinates of scaled reference marks with a PID, and

2 ) make .kml and .gpx entries for those reference marks that have no real PID.

Looking at ngsread's .kml file with Google Earth, you can see all the reference marks' calculated positions on the map. (It does not include the non-PID marks in the optional html directory.)

 

As before, ngsread has many filtering options such as monumentation date, recovery date, recovery status, elevation, monumentation codes to include and not include, quad, etc. It has various labeling options such as PID (the default), designation, elevation, recovery status (found, not found, etc.), monumentation code, etc.

 

The ngsread web page for more documentation and download is here.

[foxtrot_xray]

Seeing the recent discussion in the forum, I also included an option (it's on by default) to use the box scores' reference mark information to:

1 ) re-calculate the coordinates of scaled reference marks with a PID, and

2 ) make .kml and .gpx entries for those reference marks that have no real PID.

Looking at ngsread's .kml file with Google Earth, you can see all the reference marks' calculated positions on the map. (It does not include the non-PID marks in the optional html directory.)

Copy-cat! ..teasing! Really!

 

Great! I love it! I like the KML output, specifically. I was thinking about adding that into my program, even, but my KML knowledge is not great.

 

Great little program, thanks!

Mike.

[+Black Dog Trackers]

Copy it !

[foxtrot_xray]

Copy it !

Heh!! Nah, I won't delve into regions unknown to me. At least yet. It took me FAR, FAR longer than it should have to set up the whole Google Earth network thingy. And I still don't know I have it as good as it can be..

[+Black Dog Trackers]

A new version of ngsread is available.

It has these updates:

 

1. The html mode now makes an additional html index file - Designation.

 

2. Each PID's html file has links to the PID index and the Location indexes, and the location index will jump to the PID's position in the index.

 

3. A new filter called /findagency has been added. It filters on the latest recovery report for the PID. With this filter you can select (and get a count of) only those marks last found by a particular contributor agency, such as GEOCAC, USGS, NGS, etc.

In conjunction with it, you can use other filters, for example:

ngsread /findagency=ngs /statsin=found va011.dat

will select only those marks last reported as Found by NGS.

When run in DOS mode, ngsread will report the number of PIDs selected.

 

Although the statewide .DAT files are kinda old now (2006), the NGS shapefiles were all updated this month! Unfortunately, some of the shapefile state zip files don't include the text version and only include a .DBF version, so one must use a spreadsheet program to open the .DBF file and Save-As a .csv type file (comma separated file). Ngsread can then read the .csv file. With it you can get a count of the GEOCAC finds and not-founds in your state, or for any other NGS contributor such as USGS, USPSQD, CGS, etc.

Amusing stuff!

[+Black Dog Trackers]

Another new version of ngsread is available....

 

This time I added a radius filter - it selects (for .kml, .gpx, .html, and/or PID list) only those PIDs within a specified radius of a specified lat-lon location.

 

The format is:

radius=mmNddmmssWdddmmss

where mm is miles from 1 to 99

the rest is degrees minutes, and seconds for the coordinates of the center point.

The ss are optional so the other format is:

radius=mmNddmmWdddmm

 

For example:

ngsread /radius=12N384422W1014134 va.txt

will include only those PIDs within 12 miles of N 38 44 22 W 101 41 34

[+Black Dog Trackers]

I have uploaded an update of ngsread.

 

The new feature is to make two text mode files; summary and statistics.

 

The summary file whose name is based on the input file, except with .SUM as the extension.

It is a plain text file that summarizes all the PIDs in the file. The fields are:

PID, Marker Code, Monumenting Agency, Monumentation Date, Condition (explained that the bottom of the file),

Last Reporting Agency (if any), Last Report Date (if any), Longitude and Latitude (rounded to the nearest minute and sorted).

This file has fixed field lengths and can be either read as a text file or imported into a spreadsheet.

 

Ngsread makes a statistics file whose name is based on the input file, except with .STA as the extension.

It is a plain text file that gives statistics on the file.

The parts are: Status of the Mark, Monumenting Agency Count, Last Reporting Agency Count, Monumentation Type Code Count, Monumentation Year Count, and Last Recovery Year Count.