Data Logger/Aquisition - Polygons

[JonathanMerrills]

Hello,

I need to purchase some hardware that will allow me to log points whilst I walk around the edge of a landform in order to create a polygon in ArcMap.

I'm not sure what the cost and availability of such things are but beyond price, obviously accuracy and portability are prime concerns, as is ease of compatibility with ArcMap. I am UK based.

Forgive me if this is a common question but I'm short on time and a real novice in this field. Any help or information that you can give would be very much appreciated.

kind regards

[DanPatterson_Retired]

We routinely use Garmin handheld GPS units in our undergraduate classes to collect either point and track data (the more you spend the more bells and whistles).  We then use DNRGPS a free software package to save the results directly to shapefiles.  The accuracy is generally within a few meters (as compared to known points and tracks), particularly if you are within a WAAS enabled area (don't know about the UK).  I have never seen the worst case precision/accuracy issues reported for the GPS units unless operating under heavy canopy.  Your task will be to define the accuracy in area determination that you can live with given the areal extent of your features, etc.

[stefanstamenov]

I think in UK is EGNOS

[stefanstamenov]

Thanks for the DNRGPS

[MichaelDavis3]

Keep in mind that everything you need to do can also be accomplished with any modern smartphone running iOS or Android.  There are numerous low cost or free apps available that can record points and output them in GPX format.  Use software like the previously mentioned DNRGPS to convert the GPX points to shapefile, or use the GPX import tool in ArcToolbox.

For iOS I've had great luck with GPS Kit.  iOS devices (and many Android devices) use both GPS and GLONASS satellites and seem to collect data on par with most Garmin-type consumer GPS receivers.

I'm not as familiar with Android, but I'm sure there are others on these forums that can recommend equivalent software.