Change wpts to compass degrees

[PaxEtBonum]

I have used Topofusion mostly for Geocaching but now I am trying to use it to plot property lines onto a topo map. Can anyone out there tell me how to change waypoints to compass degrees, ie., "N56 degrees E 17" etc.
Thanks in advance,
Ray

[tdcarter]

Ray,
I don't know aout the others.. but I'm confused.

Waypoints are a plotted location, static, non-moving.
Compass degrees are a heading, or direction of movement.

So taking your question for what I interpert to be face value, you can't. Apples/oranges.

Clarify? or am I being clear as Mississippi mud?

TC

[Krein]

I'd have to agree, a waypoint is just a position.  It doesn't have a heading....?

OK. maybe I should ask a different way. Say I have 2 waypoints on the map. Can I somehow find out the compass bearings from point A to point B?
Ray

[Krein]

No, you can't get a compass bearing between points using TopoFusion.  My reply could have been more helpful the first time, sorry.

I guess property boundaries are commonly described this way?  I have not encountered a use for this, yet, thus it's not in the program.  Anything you can add to educate would help.  Thanks.

[PaxEtBonum]

I know that some programs do have the headings feature. I don't know why they incorporated it but my own "selfish" reason for wanting it is because I volunteer for a regional land trust that use most of the properties entrusted to them for outdoor recreation such as hiking, biking etc., which means that boundaries must be well marked. We walk property lines (which are not all definitively marked with corner pins and blazes and in some cases pins have been moved). The case I have enclosed below will give you some idea of what I'm talking about:

"Hi Ray,
 Â   I think we are almost there. I would estimate that the "western" blaze marks are wrong.
 Â   The deed reads...  from William S & Louisa Russell, Ipswich Ma for $400 by Perley Varney...  part of the "Cox Pond" woodlot in Rocky Hills District near Rocky HillRd in s. Berwick:
 Â   Beginning at the hemlock tree spotted on 4 sides at the corner of WH Aspinwalls, Horace Goodwing & the "Stiles" lot and running N56 degreesE 17 rods to an iron rod and pile of stones; thence N 33.5 degreesW 80 rods by stones and spotted trees to Cox's Pond thence by said pond 18 rods to Stile's lot, thence by said Stile's lot to a place begun at it being about 82 rods containg 8.75 +/- acres.
 Â   1 rod= 5.5yards= 16.5 feet.
 
 Â   If you or a friend can place these compass pointsand distances on the topo from the pin by the pond, it would really let us see something.
 Â               Jeannie"
 
I know this is only one good use for making headings available but maybe others can come up with other uses.
Thanks for the opportunity of being able to post  this,
Ray

[tdcarter]

Ray,
Would it be easier to write a script that would let you input a starting lat/long, then input a heading and distance, and get the next lat/long.

Actually, I bet if you dig on the net, you could probably find one already wrote. Sounds like something that someone would have wrote into an excel macro.

Probably some orienteering groups would likely be using one.

Sorry, not trying to talk the TF folks out of adding it, just throwing out some thoughts.

TC

[PaxEtBonum]

Writing a script might be an answer, however I know nothing about writing any kind of program and wouldn't know where to go to learn how to.
Ray

[hardwire]

I apologize for jumping in but can't you use the "project waypoint" that uses degrees and distance to create a 2nd waypoint from the first waypoint??? '>

[PaxEtBonum]

Hi hardwire,
I'm still trying to find my way around in TF. Where is "project waypoint" located?
Ray

[hardwire]

The project waypoint is the one that is on the GPS.... I was thinking you could project the other three corners, then upload the waypoints to TopoFusion to put on the topo map.. '>

[Krein]

That sounds like a good idea, hardwire.

What you really need in TF is not a feature that displays waypoints as compass headings, but one that allows you to add a new waypoint given a new bearing.

If you can do it on the GPS and then upload to TF, you're set.  Let us know how it goes.

[Chris]

Better yet, if when you use the draw track tool in TF, the status line would indicate the bearing from the last track piont.  There is already a distance indicator on the status line with the addition of a bearing or heading indicator it would meet the needs of allot of us that want to draw property lines or draw tracks without being hooked up to the GPS.

[Krein]

Agreed, this sounds like a good feature to add that shouldn't take much effort.  Thanks guys.

I too use TF to determine property lines.  luckily the topo maps TF gets from Terraserver have property section lines drawn on them already.  Some of the properties I'm looking for are actually some fraction of a section, like 40 and 80 acre lots.  I had to place the cursor exactly over each corner of a section to determine a longitude and latitude point, then mathematically deriving half of the difference of each point to find the exact middle of the section, then repeat the process to find even smaller fractions of the section.  so I ended up with a piece of paper with a bunch of longitude and latitude points each pair representing a different corner of 40 acre squares.  When finished I was able to use a Trimble gps  to guide me to each coordinate where I found piles of rocks or marked trees within a few feet of where I predicted.  I got lost a number of times and was able to move the cursor  around til it read the same coords as the gps.  
the whole process would have   been much easier if there was an easy way to make a grid to lay over the section lines and lay waypoints that could "snap to " corners or midsections of a line.

[PaxEtBonum]

Thank you Chris. What you suggested is pretty much what I need but I guess I couldnt quite put it in the right words. And thank you Krein for listening.
Ray

Wondering if you have ever looked into putting an direction indicator on the status line along with the distance indicator.