Some Guidelines for Effective Field-Use of the GPS Unit
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PRBO Conservation Science 4990 Shoreline Highway Stinson Beach, CA 94970 415-868-1221 www.prbo.org Guidelines for Field Use of Garmin GPS Units GPS Checklist: Copy an updated version of the master "allpc" shapefile and other digital basemaps, including topo quads and aerial photos, from the GIS server (V: drive) before the field season starts. Know what coordinate system (e.g., UTM, zone 10) and datum (e.g., NAD83) your project uses. The PRBO default is UTM, WGS84 (same as NAD83). In the UTM coordinate system, your zone depends on where you are (see map). Download your GPS coordinates daily, using GPS Utility (www.gpsu.co.uk/) or Waypoint+ (www.tapr.org/~kh2z/Waypoint/) shareware. It is not uncommon for Garmin units to die in the field. You will need a PC Interface cable to download your data and a registration key for GPS Utility. If you are unable to download, record your coordinates by hand in the field. Always carry extra batteries, especially if you’re not planning to revisit the site, and turn off your GPS unit when not in use to avoid draining the internal lithium battery. Contact Garmin (www.garmin.com) for replacement or repair under warranty if your unit dies. UTM Zones Submit copies of your GPS coordinate files to the GIS lab at the end of the field season for archiving and general mapping purposes. In the Field GPS Unit Setup Before taking waypoints in the field, the GPS navigation display should be set up to match the coordinate system, horizontal datum, and units used at a particular field project’s location. The most common coordinate system used on PRBO projects is UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator), with some projects also using decimal degree coordinates (latitude/longitude). Most projects use a NAD83 (North American Datum of 1983) or WGS84 (World Geodetic System of 1984) datum. NAD27 is also used by some projects that work with federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service. Your GPS navigation display only controls what you see in the field. When you download coordinates, it is not your GPS unit settings that determine which coordinates you save, but the settings on your download program (i.e., GPS Utility or Waypoint +). However, it is best to standardize all coordinate system/datum settings in order to avoid confusion. The following general directions are based on the Garmin II, III, 12, and 76 series, but should be similar for other Garmin units. Please refer to your user manuals for specific instructions. GPS Field Guidelines, Page 1 of 6 By D. Stralberg & C. Rintoul, Updated March 2004 PRBO Conservation Science 4990 Shoreline Highway Stinson Beach, CA 94970 415-868-1221 www.prbo.org How to set up your Garmin GPS unit’s navigation display: 1. Navigate to the MAIN menu using either the PAGE or QUIT buttons. 2. Scroll down to the SETUP menu using the multi-directional pad and press ENTER. 3. From the SETUP menu, go to the NAVIGATION or LOCATION menu. 4. The POSITION FORMAT or LOCATION FORMAT menu item is where you will choose the type of coordinates that your GPS will display and record. Cursor down, highlight the currently selected value and press ENTER to scroll through the list of formats and highlight the one that applies to your project/location. For UTM, select UTM/UPS; for decimal degrees, select hddd.ddddd; for degrees- minutes-seconds (DMS) – select hdddmm.mmm. 5. Under the MAP DATUM or DATUM menu item, highlight the one that applies to your project/location, and press ENTER. Most commonly used are NAD83 and NAD27 CONUS. 6. CDI Scale settings (not found on all units): The course deviation indicator (CDI) lets you select the +/- range (sensitivity) of the CDI bar scale, letting you know how much your current course is deviating from your destination waypoint. It is probably best to keep this at its lowest setting (+/-0.25) to prevent you from straying too far from your destination. 7. Under the UNITS menu, select METRIC. 8. The HEADING or NORTH REFERENCE category applies whether or not you will be navigating using true north or magnetic north (automatic or user-defined). All units on a project should maintain the same settings as this will affect what direction you will need to travel to get from site to site. This especially applies if you are using your GPS unit to record compass bearings in your directions for the next person who needs to find the points! Record on your point count directions whether your bearings are true north, magnetic north, and/or what user-deviation (declination) was set when recorded. This will make finding poorly flagged points much easier for future observers when satellite coverage is poor. (See note on true vs. magnetic north.) How to log waypoints: 1. Navigate to the satellite reception display using either the PAGE or QUIT buttons and wait until a 3D GPS location is reported (2D means your accuracy will be low, but it’s usually better than nothing). 2. If you have a WAAS-enabled unit (GPS 76 series, some Geko and Rino units), go to the general setup menu and make sure WAAS is enabled. 3. Hit the ENTER or MARK button to record your position. Use the multi-direction pad to enter an ID code for your waypoint. For point counts, enter the full site/station code if possible; it will make your life easier later. If you need more than six digits for your point count site/station code or nest code (and you are using an older Garmin that restricts the number of digits to 6), then take careful notes so that you can rename the waypoint record later. If your unit has an AVERAGE function, make sure to select this option and wait a minute or so before selecting SAVE. 4. Waypoints can be deleted or edited using the WAYPOINT LIST or POINTS menu. How to navigate to a waypoint: GPS units differ in their navigation functions, but in general, look for the NAV or GOTO button. Select the waypoint of interest and choose which window you want to use (compass needle or map) using the PAGE button. GPS Field Guidelines, Page 2 of 6 By D. Stralberg & C. Rintoul, Updated March 2004 PRBO Conservation Science 4990 Shoreline Highway Stinson Beach, CA 94970 415-868-1221 www.prbo.org Coordinate Systems, Map Projections, and Datums UTM coordinates are “projected” coordinates, which means they reference a map projection (Transverse Mercator). A map projection is a method for converting the earth’s three-dimensional round surface to the two-dimensional planar surface of a map. Other commonly used map projections at PRBO include Albers equal-area and Lambert conformal conic (“equal-area” and “conformal” describe the properties of these projections). Latitude and longitude coordinates (degrees-minutes-seconds or decimal degrees) are referred to as geographic coordinates, meaning that they refer to an exact location on the earth’s three-dimensional surface. For more information on map projections see this USGS webpage: http://mac.usgs.gov/mac/isb/pubs/MapProjections/projections.html Whether you are using projected (e.g., UTM) or geographic (e.g., lat/long) coordinates, you will need to reference a horizontal datum, which can be described as a base reference for a coordinate system. It includes the position of a point of origin, a network of surveyed control points, and a model for the shape of the earth. For more information on horizontal datums, see this ESRI website: http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/0401/datum.html True vs. Magnetic North It's said that a compass points north. That isn't exactly true. The magnet in a compass aligns itself with the magnetic field of the planet. This field flows between the earth's two magnetic poles, the northern of which is the magnetic north pole. True north is the axial pole centered at the top of the planet where the meridians of longitude converge. Magnetic declination--the amount and direction of difference between true and magnetic north—changes with location. At Palomarin, for example, magnetic north is to the east of true north and the difference is approximately 15°. The variation is therefore 15°E. The variation in Chicago is 0°. From there true north is in line with magnetic north. The map below shows 2004 magnetic declination contours for the continental U.S. To calculate the declination at a specific study site, go to the following NOAA website: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/seg/gmag/declination1.pl. GPS Field Guidelines, Page 3 of 6 By D. Stralberg & C. Rintoul, Updated March 2004 PRBO Conservation Science 4990 Shoreline Highway Stinson Beach, CA 94970 415-868-1221 www.prbo.org GPS Field Guidelines, Page 4 of 6 By D. Stralberg & C. Rintoul, Updated March 2004 PRBO Conservation Science 4990 Shoreline Highway Stinson Beach, CA 94970 415-868-1221 www.prbo.org In the Office Downloading GPS Waypoints An important part of collecting GPS data is retrieving it quickly and efficiently, so that it may be used for analysis purposes later. Daily data downloads are STRONGLY encouraged in order to prevent loss of data. Every field office should have at least one data / PC interface cable (make sure that your cables match your GPS units). Once you are set up, this should take less than 5 minutes per day, and will save you frustration later if your GPS unit falls off a cliff containing the only copy of your data. Upload and download instructions can be found at http://www.prbo.org/tools/gps/gps.htm.