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ExaminingGPSData(GPSandGIS)Part3

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ExaminingGPSData(GPSandGIS)Part3

ManipulatingFiles
{__}Selectthethreefilesleadingawayfromthevolcanotoprepareforcombiningthemintoasinglefile:Underthemenu"Utilities"select"Combine."Inthe
resulting"CombineDataFiles"window,press"Browse"tobringupalistoffilesinthefolder.Notethatasyouhighlightafilenameby(single)clickingon
it,yougetinformationonthatfile.Pickthethreefilesfromthelist,usingthesameapproachasyoudidwhenyouopenedthemoriginally.(Thelittleinput
lineunder"FileName"maynotbelargeenoughtocontainallthenames,butiftheyarehighlightedinthelisttheyaresettobecombined.)Click"Open"to
sendthefilenamestothe"CombineDataFiles"window.
{_}Combinethethreefilesintoasinglefilenamed"AWAY.SSF":Press"OutputFile."Navigateto_:\GPS2GIS\HAWAII,sothatthe"Savein"directory
fieldsays"Hawaii."Under"FileName"type"AWAY.SSF."PresstheSavebutton.(Youmayhavenoticedbythistimethatfilenamesarenotcasesensitive.
Iusecapshereinthetextforbettercontrastwiththeotherwordsinthesentence.)

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Figure34.Combiningmultipledatafiles.
BackintheCombineDataFileswindow,makecertainthatthe"Sort"sectionindicatesthatthefilesshouldbecombinedchronologically(intimeorder)and,
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aftercheckingalltheparameters,okaythe"CombineDataFiles"window.Reviewtheinformation(itshouldappearasinFigure34)andthenclickOK.If
youaretoldthefileAWAY.SSFalreadyexists,electtooverwriteit.
{_}Returnto"File~Open"andopenthetwofilesVOLCANO.SSFandAWAY.SSF.Youshouldseethetriparoundthevolcanoandthereturntrip.Openthe
PositionPropertieswindowandselectpointsalongeachroutenotingthefilenames.
Thetriptothevolcanowasalongthesametwolaneroadasthetripawayfromit.The"to"tripwasrecordedasB021520B.SSF.12
{__}OpenVOLCANO.SSF,AWAY.SSF,andB021520B.SSF.NotethatitishardtodistinguishbetweenAWAY.SSFandB021520B.SSF.
PathfinderOfficeallowsyoutorepresentdifferentfeaturestypeswithdifferentsymbols.Butitdoesntallowyoutorepresentdifferentfilesofthesame
featuretypewithdifferentsymbols.Sinceallthreeofthedisplayedfilesareoffeaturetype"NotInFeature,"theyarealldisplayedinthesameway.Iwould
likeyoutoseetheB021520BfileandtheAWAYfilewithdifferentsymbolssothatyoucancontrastthem.Iproposearuse.Usually,differentfeaturetypes
aregeneratedwithadatadictionary,ofwhichmorelater.ButthesoftwareallowsthreefeaturetypestobemadefromNotInFeaturedata.Theyare
Point_generic,Line_generic,andArea_generic.TheruseisthatwearegoingtoconverttheB021520BfileintoaLine_genericfilesowecandisplayit
differently.WewillusetheGroupingUtility,normallyusedtogroupanumberoffilestogether,toconverttheB021520Bfile.
{_}Usethe"Grouping"utilitytotaketheNotInFeaturedataofB021520B.SSFandconvertitintothe"Line_Generic"featuretype:Under"Utilities"select
"Grouping."(OryoucouldpresstheGroupingiconontheverticalUtilitybar.)OntheGroupingwindowintheSelectedFilessection,click"Browse,"
navigatetoandselecttheB021520Bfile.ClickOpen.ForanOutputFile,navigatetothe_:\GPS2GIS\HAWAIIdirectory.
Rejectthesuggestedname"grouped.xxx"anduseTOWARDS.SSFinstead.Thegroupingmethodshouldbe"Onegroupperinputfile"andthefeaturetype
youcreateshouldbe"Lines."Readthe"Tip"atthebottomofthepage,thenclickOKandtheutilitywillfinish.(Ifitcomplainsthatthefilealreadyexists,
selecttheoptionthatletsyouoverwriteit.)PleaseseeFigure35.
{__}OpentheSSFfilesVOLCANO,AWAY,andTOWARDS.UnderView~Layers~Featureschangethe"NotInFeature"linestyletothethinnestgreen
line.Changethe"Line_generic"symboltomoderatelythinunconnectedblackdots.Checktheboxessothatallwillbeshownonthemap.Oncetheyare
displayed,thedotsfromTOWARDSwilloverlaymuchofthelinefromAWAY.Youcanformanideaofthedegreetowhichthesetracksarecongruent.
{_}MakesuretheunitsareMeters.Pickasouthernpartoftheroadtothevolcanoandzoomuponitalot(sothatmaybeonlyfiveorsodotsof
TOWARDS.SSFshow).Whatistheapproximatedistancebetweenthedots?__________________

Figure35.Usinggroupingtochangefeaturetype.
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{_}Zoomwayuponasingledot(pickonethatstandsawayfromthelineabit)sothatonlyitappearsonthemapwiththegreenline.Whatisthedistance
betweentheTOWARDS.SSFdotandtheAWAY.SSFline?_.Sincethewidthofthistwolaneroadisonlyaboutsixmeters,towhatdoyouattributethe
differenceyoumeasured?_ZoomExtents.
{_}YouveseenthewindowthatwillallowyoutokeepNotInFeaturedatafrombeingdisplayed.Findthatwindowandturnoffthevolcanotrackandthe
driveawayfromit.The"BigIsland"hastwomajorcities.UsingamaporatlasortheInternet,determinefromwhichcitytheGPStrackTOWARDthe
volcanooriginated.
{_}Finally,fromtheDatamenu,turnoffthePositionPropertieswindow.FromtheViewmenuturnofftheMap.

PROJECT3BRooftop
Inthisexerciseyouwillfindasinglepointin3Dspacethatapproximatesthelocationofanantennathatcollecteddataatafixedlocation.Welookfirstat
afileofpointstakenbyaGPSreceiverwhoseantennawasstationaryoveraperiodoftimebeforeselectiveavailability(SA)wasturnedoff.TheseGPS
readingsweretakenfromthetopofaroofofahouseinaKentuckycity.Theideahereisthatwearetryingtolocateasinglegeographicpointasaccurately
aspossible.Todothatwetakelotsoffixesandaveragethem.Thedatatakenwere"NotInFeature"databutwewillconvertthemtoasinglePointgeneric
datumsowecanplotthefixes.ThenwetakealookatthreefilestakenatthesameplaceafterSAwasturnedoff.
{_}StartthePathfinderOfficesoftwareifitisnotalreadyrunning.
{_}MakeanewprojectnamedROOF_yis,where"yis"representsyourinitials.Besurethe"Project"referencesthedirectory__:\GPS2GIS\ROOFTOP.(You
willbetoldthatthefolderalreadyexistsandaskedifyouwanttocontinueanyway.Youdo.)
{__}PreparetoopenthefileB022721A.SSFwhichyouwillfindinthedirectory__:\GPS2GIS\ROOFTOP.(Therightdirectory,withtherightfilename,
shouldcomeupsinceyouractiveprojectisROOF_yisanditreferencestheROOFTOPdirectory.)Writethedayandmonthofthefile,asindicatedbythefile
name,(_______)andthenopenitbutdontmapityet.
{__}ChangethecoordinatesystemtoUniversalTransverseMercator.SettheUTMzoneto16North.13ChangethedatumtotheNorthAmericanDatumof
1927(NAD1927)(ConusmeansContinentalUS,CoterminousUS,thelower48states).Makecertaintheunitsaremeters.Setthetimezonecorrectlybased
onthefiledate.(ThecityisintheEasterntimezone.DaylightsavingstimerunsfromthefirstSundayinApriltothelastSundayofOctober.)

Figure36.Thetimespanoftherooftopfile.
{_}Under"View"select"TimeLine."Notetheappearanceofawindowshowingthestartandendtimesofdatacollection.Stretchitouthorizontally.Zoom
toExtents.(SeeFigure36.)Usethe"F1"keytogetcontextsensitivehelp.Readaboutthetimeline.Itwillbealotmoreinterestinglaterwhenwecollect
attributedatawiththepositiondata.Examinealsothetableofcontentsofthehelpwindow.Whendone,dismissthehelpwindow.
{__}Whatwastheweatherliketheafternoonthedataweretaken?
{_}Select"Map"under"View."Youwillgetamapboxbutmaynotgetamap.Whynot?__________.Ifyoudontknow,theresahintinthisfootnote
thoughyoucanprobablyfigurethisoutwithoutit.
{_}UnderView~Layers~Features,makesurethereisacheckmarksoPathfinderOfficewillshowNotInFeaturedatauseathinredlinewiththepoints
joined.ApplyZoomExtentstoboththemap(aftermakingitactive)andtheTimeLine(aftermakingitactive).
{__}Nowthatyoucanseeallthefixesthathavebeentaken,whatistheapproximatedistancebetweenthefixesfarthestapart?
{__}Forthemostpart,thetimeadjacentpointsyouseehereareclosetogetherintermsoflocation.TheGPStrackmeandersaroundthespacesortof
casually.Butnotethattowardthemiddleofthewindowsomejaggedspikesappear.Zoomuponthem.Withtheselectiontool,selectapointattheendofone
ofthespikes.
{__}OpenthePositionPropertieswindowandselecttheDOPstab.Usethemousedrivenselectiontoolandthe>and<keystomovealongtheGPSplot.
Notethatapointatoneendofaspikeiscomputedbyusingonesetoffoursatellites,whileapointattheotherendusesadifferentset.
ByusingPositionPropertiesandmovingfrompointtopointwith>and<,youwereabletoseethatsometimeadjacentpointswererecordedinwidely
differentpositions.Whatisgoingonhereisthatthefoursatellite"bestPDOP"constellationswitchesfromonesetoffoursatellitestoanotherandthen
changesbackagain.Thiscanhappenifasatellitessignalisblockedbytheoperatorsbodyorsomeotheropaqueentityoriftheprocessofcalculating
PDOPgivesalternatingresultswhenthevaluesareverynearlythesame.Suchspikesmaketheplotuglyandcausethereceivertousesomeadditional
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memoryforrecordingthesatellitesinthenewconstellation.
{__}InPositionPropertiesclicktheSummarytab.Howmanypointsarethere?_________.Overwhatperiodoftimewasthefilecollected?(ClickFirstand
LastalsoseetheTimeLine.)______________.WhatUTMZonecontainsthepoints?(CheckunderOptions,CoordinateSystem,presumingyousetit
correctly.)__________.Whatcitycontainsthepoints?(Youmighthavetochangethecoordinatesystemtolatitudeandlongitudeandthengotoanatlasora
worldwidewebsite__________.)

Makeasinglepointthatrepresentsthefixes
WepreviouslyusedtheGroupingutilitytoconvertraw(positionsonly)GPSfixesintoaLine_genericfeaturerecallconvertingtheGPStracktowardthe
volcanoinProject3A.ThistimewewillconvertasetofrawGPSfixesintoasinglepoint,offeaturetypePoint_generic.Ingeneral,Groupingallowsyouto
useoneormoreinputfilestocreateoutputfile(s)withfeatures.Wewilluseittoaverageasetofpointsinafile(thatis,makeasinglepointsuchthatthex
coordinateisthearithmeticmeanofallthexvalues,samefory,sameforaltitude[z]).ThefeaturetypePointgenericallowsustopickasymbolformapping
thepoint.
{_}MakeanSSFfilethatconsistsofasinglepointthatrepresentsthecentroid(thethreeaverages)ofallthepointsinthefile:UnderUtilitiesselectGrouping
(orpickitofftheUtilitiesToolbar).Fortheinputwewilluseonlythe900pointfileB022721A.SSFintheGPS2GIS\ROOFTOPdirectory.Puttheoutput
intotheROOF_yisProjectdirectory__:\GPS2GIS\ROOFTOP.Thesoftwareproposesthatyoucalltheoutputfile"GROUPED"butyoushouldmakeit
instead"ROOFMEAN.SSF."UnderCreateFeatureType,selectPoints.ClickOK.TheGroupingutilitywillcreateaPoint_genericfilenamed
ROOFMEAN.SSFconsistingofasinglepoint.ThefileB022721A.SSFwillremainasa900pointNotInFeaturefile.
{_}DisplayROOFMEAN.SSFinred,usingaroundsymbol:OpenbothB022721A.SSFandROOFMEAN.SSF.SelectPoint_genericfromtheView~
Layers~Featureswindow,thenselecttheSymbolyouwant.AlsosetthingsupsoyouwilldisplayB022721A.SSFwithathin,lightcyanline.Drawthemap
withbothfilesrepresented.
{__}UsethepointertoselectthepointthatrepresentsROOFMEAN.SSF.(Whenitisselectedaboxwillappeararoundit.)SincetheROOFMEAN.SSFfile
consistsofasinglepoint,whatyouhavehereisagraphicalrepresentationofthe3Dcentroidthethreemeans(averages)ofthe900Cartesianpoints,
thoughofcourseyoucannotseethealtitudedimension.UsePositionPropertiestoassessthealtitude.Whatisit?
ROOFMEAN.SSFrepresentsthebestapproximationyoucanmakeoftheactuallocationoftheantenna,ifallyouhavetogoonarethedatain
B022721A.SSF.
WhenSAwentawaythingsgotbetteralotbetter.
NowthatSAhasbeenturnedoff,individualfixesarealmostalwaysclosertothetruepositionoftheantenna.Todemonstratethis,youwillsimultaneously
openthreefilestakeninthesameplaceastheoriginal,butwithouttheintentionalperturbationofSA.Thenyouwillaveragethefixesinthesefilesandlook
athowtheycomparewithROOFMEAN.SSF.
{_}OpenthefilesA090214A,B,andCtogetheranddisplaythem.Measurethedistancebetweenthefixesfurthestapart.Comparethiswiththedistanceyou
measuredbeforeforB022721A.SSF.Agreatimprovement,no?SointermsofrawfixescollectedbyaGPSreceiver,thevariancehasbeenimprovedby
aboutanorderofmagnitude(afactorof10).
{__}UsetheHelpmenutoreadabouttheCombinecommand(youuseditbefore)thatletsyouconcatenate16GPSfilessothattheyformasinglefile.Then
combineA090214A,B,andCtogethertoformROOF_NOSA.SSF.
{__}UsetheGroupingutilitytoproduceasinglepointfromthefixesofROOF_NOSA.SSFtoproduceROOFMEAN_NOSA.SSF.OpenROOFMEAN.SSF
andROOFMEAN_NOSA.SSFandviewthem.Howfarapartaretheyhorizontally?
Acoupleofthingsareinterestinghere:Firstisthatthetwopointsaresoclosetogetherhorizontally,despitethelargespreadofthefixesofthefiles.
Thoughwedontknowtheactualtruepointwecaninferthataveragingworks!Secondly,thealtitudesaremuchworsethanthehorizontaldistances.Thatis
simplyacharacteristicofGPSthoughusuallytheerrorsarenotthisgreat.Bearinmindthatwehavenotyetappliedthecorrectionmechanismthatwehave
waitinginthewings.

PROJECT3CNewCircleRoad
Hereyouwillexamineanotherfiletakenwhilemovingtheantennaalongapath.Youwilllookatusingthe"Pan"and"AutopantoSelection"features.
Additionallyyouwillgetanideaofhowdifferentialcorrectioncanimprovedataaccuracydramatically.
Lexington,Kentuckyiscircumscribedbya(mostly)limitedaccessringnamedNewCircleRoad.Unlikemanycities,Lexingtonsstreetpatternresemblesa
bicyclewheelspokesandrimratherthanagrid.Acarproceededfromthesouth,enteredthecircleroadheadingwest,andproceededaroundthecity,
exitingateverymajorspoke,makinga"U"turn,andreenteringthecircle.TheprimaryresultsofthisoperationwereaGPSfilenamed
NEWCIRCLE.SSFandapolicewarningregardingillegal"U"turns.
{_}SetupLayersinViewsothatNotInFeaturefilesaredisplayedwithathingrayline.MaketheDistanceunitsMiles.
OpenNEWCIRCLE.SSFwhichyouwillfindin_:\GPS2GIS\CIRCLERD.TheplotshouldlooksomethinglikeFigure37.
{__}ZoomupsothatthesouthernmostareaoftheGPStrace,includingtheentirenorthsouthsegment,fillsthewindow.
{_}Movetheimageonthescreenusing"Pan":SelectPanfromtheViewmenuortheMouseBaricon.Placethecrosshairsonapointontheimage
(somewhereotherthanthecenterofthewindow)andclick.Notethattheimageshiftssothatthepointselectedmovestothecenterofthewindow.Ifyoulose
theimagecompletely,usethe"ZoomtoExtents"tooltorecovertheentireimage.Thenzoomupagain.
{__}Aswithzoom,youcanalsousedragwithPanactive.SelectapointontheGPStrackanddragittoanydesirednewposition.Ifyoulosetheimage
completely,usethe"ZoomtoExtents"tooltorecovertheentireimage.Thenzoomupagain.
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{__}Usethe"Pan"tooltoslidetheimagenorthwardfromthesouthernmostpoint,thenwestwardaroundNewCircleRoadtothenextexit.Youcanseethe
trackgoinguptherightsideofthearterialgoingnorthnortheast,andagainintherightsidecomingbackafterthe"U"turn.Youcanalsoimaginetheexit
andentrancerampsleadingfromandreturningtothetrackofthelimitedaccessroad.Continuetopanaroundtheimageuntilyoufeelproficientwiththe
panningtool.NowZoomtoExtentsand,withPositionProperties,selectthefirstpoint.
{_}Explore"AutoPantoSelection":IntheViewmenu,withtheMapwindowactive,putacheckbesideAutoPantoSelection,orclicktheAutoPaniconto
turnthisfeatureon.UsePositionPropertiestoselectLasttoplaceamarkeronthelastpointoftheGPStrack.NowclickonFirst(theyareinaboutthesame
locationitwasacompletecircuit).ZoomIntightlyontheselectedpointagain.NowbeginchangingtheselectedpointwiththeNextbutton(">").Noticethat
whentheselectionwouldaddressapointthatisoutsidethewindow,theselectedpointismovedbacktothecenterofthewindow.Panpartwayaroundthe
circleinthismanner,perhapswithdifferentlevelsofzoom.Notethatyoucantlosetheimage.Notealsothatitisprettyjaggedinspots.
{_}Addanewfiletothedisplayonethatmimicsthepreviousone,butwhosepositionshavebeencorrected:11OpenthefilesNEWCIRCLE.CORand
NEWCIRCLE.SSFbyclickingontheminthatorder(withtheCtrlkeyhelddowntoselectthesecondone).SetupLayersinViewsothatLine_generic
featuresareshownwithathinredline.(Notethatthefileselectedfirstislistedlastinthestringoffilenamestobeopened.)

Figure37.GPStrackaroundNewCircleRoad.
Butitisinstructiveforyoutoseetheresults,especiallysincethedatayoutookinProject2Bmayturnouttobedisappointing.

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{__}ZoomupagainonthesouthernareaandusePositionPropertiestoselectthe"First"point.BesurethatAutoPanison.Beginmovingalongthetraceas
before.Toseetheimprovementcreatedbycorrectingthedata,notetheunevennessofthegrayline,comparedtotheredone,alongthefirstpartofthepath.
AlsonoticethelittledetourthegraylinetakesjustpriortothepointwherethecarentersNewCircleRoad.
{__}UndertheFilemenuclickClose.Themapwindowwillbecomeblank.
PROJECT3DSAGoesAwayBackgroundFilesHelpYouSeeItOn1May2000theWhiteHousesuddenlyannouncedthatselectiveavailability(SA)
wouldbeturnedoff.ThetransitiontookplacejustaftermidnightEasternDaylightTimeonTuesday2May2000.Closertohome,afilewascreatedusinga
Geo3,withtheantennaatafixedlocation,fromabout11:30P.M.on1Mayuntilabout12:30A.M.on2May.ThefilesBEFORE.SSFandAFTER.SSFwere
createdbydividingthatfilewiththeRecordEditoraPathfinderOfficeUtilityProgramthatwillbedescribedshortly.Thepointofdivisionwasthetimeat
whichSAwasturnedoff.
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{_}MakeaProjectnamedByeByeSA_yis.Haveitreferto_:\GPS2GIS\ByeByeSA.
{__}SettheTimeZonetoEasternDaylight.
{_}StartingwithFile~Open,examinethecontentsofthefolderByeByeSAin__:\GPS2GIS.OpenBEFORE.SSF.Note,byclickingonFirstandLastinthe
PositionPropertieswindow,thatthisfileconsistsoffixestakenonMay1st,approximatelybetween11:30P.M.andmidnight.Measurethespreadoffixes.
Whatdistanceistherebetweenthefarthestapartpoints?
YouwouldliketocontrastBEFORE.SSFwithAFTER.SSF.WecouldopenthesetwofilestogetherbutsincetheyarebothNotInFeaturefilesitwould
behardtoseethemdistinctlyasseparate.Wewouldliketoseethemwithdifferentsymbolizationsowecouldcomparethem.Asbefore,wecouldmakeone
aLine_Genericfile,butletsexamineanotherway.PathfinderOfficeallowsyoutodisplayafileinthe"background"thatis,thevisualaspectsofthefile
appearsintheMapwindow,butnofeaturesinthefileareselectable.Wewillusethis"background"abilitytodisplaythefileAFTER.SSF.
{_}UsingtheUnitsandCoordinateSystemchoicesundertheOptionsmenu,setuptheproperparametersforthisproject:SettheOptionstoU.S.StatePlane
1983coordinatesystem,KentuckyNorthZone(1601).ThedatumisNAD1983(Conus).TheDistanceunitsandCoordinateunitsareSurveyFeet.TheTime
ZoneremainsEasternDaylight.
{_}UsingView~Layers~FeaturesmakeNotInFeaturedataappearasathinredline.
{_}UsingFile~Background,checktoseeifanyfilesareinthelistofbackgroundfilestoload.HighlightanysuchfileidentifiersandclickRemovetoempty
thewindow.Nowclick"Add"andnavigateto__:\GPS2GIS\ByeByeSA\AFTER.SSFandpounceonit.OkaytheLoadBackgroundFileswindow.Under
View~Layers~Background,chooseamoderatelythingreenlinetorepresentNotInFeaturedata.Onceitloadsyoushouldseeagreenblobsurroundedby
redlines.Zoomuponthegreenareaandmeasurethespreadoffixes._.Quiteanimprovement!
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