Data Hacking

Chapter 8 — GPS Data
After you have the data downloaded from the GPS, you can set to work editing the data. A
waypoint is a convenient way of packaging all the data relating to a positional fix. This data
includes the following:
Coordinates
Date and time of waypoint marking
An icon to represent the waypoint
Height data
Different manufacturers store different information in a waypoint. For example, Garmin units
enable you to specify an icon to represent your waypoint from a gallery of icons (that range
from urban markers such as libraries and gas stations to rural ones for places such as fishing
spots, cabins, and camps). These icons are often common to a manufacturer, a range of units,
or maybe even a few brands.
As mentioned earlier, there are many reasons why you would want to edit a waypoint — perhaps
you marked the wrong spot, gave it the wrong name, or just want to add more information to it
after the fact. Whatever the reason, and no matter what you want to change, it can be changed
later quickly and easily on the PC.
The following list describes the items you can change:
Description of waypoint: This is a short description of what the waypoint actually is.
Only some GPS receivers store and display this data field. If your receiver does, then it’s
a good idea to use it because waypoints can be hard to keep track of and knowing which
is which in the field based on a short title is tricky. The downside of this data field is that
the more text you put here, the more memory the device consumes (which is why some
units don’t store this data at all).
Waypoint: This is the name you give to the waypoint. Ten characters is the maximum
allowed by EasyGPS, but I suggest that you try to keep the name under eight characters
long, as some units will truncate it down to this.
Comment: This field enables you to enter comments to augment the description. Some
GPS receivers and software use this to store date and time information about the waypoint,
while others ignore it.
Type and Symbol: These two items are interrelated. The icon is a visual marker used by
the GPS to represent the type of waypoint, either displayed on a map or as a list. Choose
the icon that most closely matches the type of waypoint you are describing, as this makes
finding the right waypoint a lot easier.
Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation: This is the core information that forms the basis
of the waypoint.
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