---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 06:32:32 +0200
From: Peter Nugter <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: about USGS quadbase - corrected

------------------ Dear MAPS-L subscribers,

As more than a few subscribers will have experience with USGS and their
products I hope some of them may be able to solve my little problems with
the USGS quad dBase.

1)
I tried to add all map products of USGS to my dBase.
I knew there is an ASCII file containing about 58,000 records that can be
found on http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/pub/metadata/maps/
One has to look for the file usgsquad.tar.gz

However the 8 values referring to the upmost(-western, -eastern,
-southern and -northern) points are given as DECIMAL degrees instead of
the "easier" SEXAGESIMAL ones.
I asked USGS for a sexagesimal conversion and they told me that I had to
search on http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/
Indeed using the Earthexplorer one is able to choose between sexadgesimal
and decimal values and one is also able to export the results as a
metafile. But then a new problem is occurring. Explorer depicts only 9
fields for each record of which only one gives "degree values" (the SE
corner or better said the SE upmost value!). The SW, NE and NW are
missing.
On the contrary when clicking on "show all fields" I then really see all
fields BUT ONLY FOR 1 RECORD!
So there is an export function on Earthexplorer, there even is a function
to get all the corners as sexagesimals but I can only get either 1 result
with ALL information or ALL results with 1 (SE) corner!
Now confronting USGS with this problem they told me that it is easy to
convert...
They even gave me an example..
39.125 translates to 39 degrees, 7 minutes, 30 seconds
39.250 translates to 39 degrees, 15 minutes, 0 seconds and so on.

But I think they are not realizing that this is not a pleasant job doing
this 58,000 times. Of course I know there are some less or more obscure
and sweat producing ways by using complex SQL REPLACE commands or
VBA-scripts to convert. But why so complicated?
USGS uses the sexagesimal values (they call it "degrees-minutes-seconds")
as they can be shown by clicking on "show all fields". So why not make
them available?
Who is able to help me or has better contacts inside USGS than I seem to
have?

2)
Exploring the above mentioned file usgsquad.tar.gz I was wondering that
only 22 records have the currentness date "2000". And even "zero" "2001"!
This means:
a) USGS only updated 22 maps in 2000 and 0 maps in 2001 up till now
or
b) the file is rather old
Who has a better file? Or other suggestions?

Thanks for helping.

Peter Nugter.