WISCON

You can quickly and easily transform coordinates from one Wisconsin datum/coordinate system to another using the program WISCON, which is designed for Windows 95/98/2000/XP. It is important to note that WISCON does not handle conversions for structured GIS or CAD data files. It does work with user-entered individual point values, and with sets of point data in certain formats. WISCON is produced by a SMP Software under contract with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). Annual support, maintenance, and enhancement will be provided by the developer under contract with WisDOT.

The software may be purchased online from SMP Software for $150 per copy. Questions and orders may be directed to smpsoftware@msn.com or (703)369-6793. You may also email Gene Hafermann, WisDOT, for questions about previous licenses or if you've lost your CD.

WISCON v. 2.2 supports the following:

Horizontal Coordinate Systems

• Geographic (latitude/longitude)


• State Plane (WI and four adjoining states)


• Universal Transverse Mercator (WI and adjoining regions)


• Wisconsin County (developed by WisDOT)


• Wisconsin Transverse Mercator (developed by WisDNR)


• Great Lake’s Lambert Projection (developed by Army Corps of Engineers)

Horizontal Datums

• North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27)


• North American Datum of 1983, (NAD 83 (1986) adjustment)


• WHPGN (WIsconsin High Precision Geodetic Network), (NAD 83 (1991)
  NOTE: Because the two datums are so different, coordinate transformations between NAD 27 and NAD 83 are only approximate.

Vertical Datums

Vertical Datums

• National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29)


• North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)


• Conversion between orthometric and ellipsoidal heights


• GEOID 96

Unit Conversions

• U.S. Survey Foot


• International Foot


• Meter

ASCII data input/output formats

• GeoLab v2.4 List


• SDMS v3.1 Control (SDMS) is a technical standard for sharing survey data adopted by AASHTO.


• SDMS v3.2 Control


• Wisconsin Summary Index (WisDOT format)


• User definable input/output ASCII formats

You may select any combination of the above options for input or output to convert single coordinate values or large ASCII point files. Results of single point conversions can be printed directly from the display screen.

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Version 2.2

Enhancements

• The show/hide zone function now also works with the datums


• The show/hide zone function now allows selection of blocks of pick list items using Shift-Click to define a block or Ctrl-Click to pick individual items just like selecting multiple files in Windows Explorer


• There is now a function that allows the user to translate a batch of files in one pass as long as they have the same input format, are exporting to the same output format, and are in the same directory. Output files currently go to the input directory and output files are named with same root as the input file with a .OUT extension


• There is a new preference that allows the user to turn off the metadata checker routine to speed up a translation


• Behind the scenes, Geoid 99 is now used instead of Geoid 96


• NADCON files for new state harns have been added and these show up as new datum options

Changes

• The datum names have changed to reflect the national nomenclature. Therefore, the NAD 83 (1991) datum is now called WIHPGN. The item labeled NAD 83 is really the 1986  adjustment.


• There is an added coordinate system called the Great Lake’s Lambert Projection which is a system developed by the Army Corps of Engineers for the Great Lakes area.


• On-Line help has been removed in lieu of a separate user manual in PDF format. This file will be updated to explain items such as the Great Lakes Lambert Projection and the Wisconsin Summary Index in more detail.

Bugs fixed in WISCON 2.2

Those related to the flexible format definitions involving column definitions
One related to creating WSI from a flexible format where point ID was not right justified in column 10. Note: be careful, there is a change in the Single Point Conversion dialog related to the buttons that could cause you a little problem. There are 3 action buttons (OK, Print, and Convert). If you enter your numbers and hit OK, it basically cancels the operation and you need to retype in your numbers. You must click on the Convert button to see your results. I have noted to the developer that the OK button should either be eliminated or changed to read Cancel.

Future enhancements being considered

• Support for graphics formats such as DXF, DGN, ESRI Shape Files


• Support for LandXML format


• Support for more AASHTO SDMS formats such as CAL and PAC


• Add option to allow user to designate output directory for batch file conversions

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