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Frequently Asked Questions on Geodetic Vertical and Water Level Datums for Engineers

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1. Will CORSPCON run in Vista?
Yes, but you may have to log on as an administrator
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2. When translating a point in Puerto Rico I get a message that says “point out of bounds in VERTCON (-29)”. What is the problem?
Corpscon, like Vertcon, only works for vertical conversions in the continuous United States (lower 48). This messages tells you that you are outside this boundary.
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3. I am getting an error when I try to load the corpscon_complete.exe on a Windows 2000 computer. It tells me to check some type of access. Can you tell me what might be wrong?
The program is making sure you have administrator privileges for correct installation.
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4. Will Corpscon convert from/to geographic coordinates to UTM in Canada?
Good question. We have only tested it for conversions within the US. Since the parameters for UTM conversions are for North America, Corpscon should work. Try the program on some known control points that have values listed in UTM and lat, long.
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5. Is there a reason that the Corpscon has the fixed decimal places (3 places) in the output? Is there a way to change the decimal places? Can we add the function to change the decimal places in a future release?
Corpscon has fixed decimal places in the output to prevent people from overestimating the accuracy. Conversions between some datums and some coordinate systems are not exact, only extrapolated between known points.
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6. I downloaded the most current version of Corpscon and am wondering if its possible to convert decimal degrees data taken in WGS84 to State Plane NAD 27 Alaska Zone 1 using this software. I tried running the program and didn't seem to find the option for WGS 84.
Corpscon only converts from NAD83 to NAD27 and reverse since it's based on NGS's NADCON. However the definition of NAD83 is close to WGS84 and therefore some will use NAD83 as WGS84. Be aware that is some cases the differences between NAD83 and WGS84 coordinates can differ as much as a meter.
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7. In the last version of Corpscon (5.xx) in the user defined file, you could specify up to 6 fields of input and output. This morning I have only been able to define 4 fields (and I would like to have just one more). I found myself reading the instructions and working through them, but I couldn’t figure out how to do more than 4. Is there a way to define more than the 4?
In the new version, you only have to specify where the following fields are in the input file: Point Name, Lat, Long, and Elevation (if performing a vertical conversion). The remaining fields are carried over to the output file. For example, you have an input file with ptnumber, ptname, lat, long, elevation, field_code, and attribute. You would specify in the input side that the ptname is in field 2, the lat is in field 3, long in field 4 and elevation is in field 5. On the output side you specify the order of how you would like the converted coordinates and the input fields by specifying the number for each. So if you want the same order as above you specify ptname is field 2, coord_x is field 3, coord_y is field 4, elevation is field 5, Input Field 1 is field 1, Input Field 6 is field 6 and Input Field 7 is field 7.
Click here to expand contentClick here to collapse content  8. How do I get a copy of the Users guide for Using the Corpscon DLL in other applications?
Click here to view or download the pdf document.
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9. What are the Scale Factor and Combined Factor?
The State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS) is distorted, as are all projections. Dividing a distance between two points on the SPCS by the scale factor provides an approximation of the real distance, i.e., the distance measured on the ellipsoid, the surface a GPS works with.

A better approximation is the combined scale factor (combined factor). Dividing a SPCS distance by the combined scale factor approximates the length of a cord connecting the two points.

Scale factor is the ratio of an incremental distance measured on the ellipsoid to the distance on the State Plane grid, whereas combined scale factor is the ratio of the former distance to the distance on the ground.
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10. I input a location in latitude/longitude. Why is the answer off by tens of degrees?
Input longitude must be positive. East is east and west is west, except for Corpscon, where west is east. Try again, without the "-".
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11. Does CORPSCON convert coordinates from/to UTM Zone 20 (Eastern Puerto Rico)?
No, CORPSCON does not include conversions from/to UTM Zone 20 (Eastern Puerto Rico).
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12. I have tried to download CORPSCON several times, but it takes too long or the procedure times out. Can you send me it on CD or disk?
No, CORPSCON is only available via this Web site. If you have problems with the standard version (~10 MB), try downloading the minimum version and the VERTCON and geoid files separately.
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13. Does CORPSCON convert from / to the WGS 84 datum?
No, CORPSCON does not convert from / to the WGS 84 datum. For most applications that CORPSCON is used for, NAD 83 is close enough. AGC has developed a program called GeoTrans which the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) now maintains. GeoTrans transforms between local geodetic datums and WGS 84.
Click here to expand contentClick here to collapse content  14. When I convert latitude, longitude to State Plane or UTM coordinates I get the error message "Could not be converted by NADCON", Why?
1. Check to make sure that the longitude value(s) are positive. CORPSCON does not accept negative longitude values.
2. Are you in Alaska or Hawaii or Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico? Makes sure you have downloaded the files needed for these areas.
3. If you are using an input file, make sure that there is a carriage return after the last line of data in the file.
Click here to expand contentClick here to collapse content  15. Will CORPSCON work outside of the Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico?
No, CORPSCON was only developed to work in these areas listed above. GeoTrans will do conversions in these areas, but does not support State Plane Coordinates or NADCON.
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16. When converting a single point or a list of points using CORPSCON, I get a error message "Can’t open temp file for writing in CMSinglePoint()" or the error message "Can’t open temp file for writing in CMUserDefinedFile()" Why?
Make sure that CORPSCON was installed correctly (i.e. went through the install procedure) and not just copied from another computer or directory. CORPSCON places a file (Corpscon.ini) in the C:\Windows directory during installation which tells the software where (under what directory structure) it was installed.
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17. Does Corpscon have a limit on the number of points it can convert from a file?
No. Corpscon does not have a limit. However, you must have enough hard disk space for Corpscon to create a temporary file as well as your output file. For example, if your input file is 10MB, then you will need a minimum of 20MB of free hard disk space to perform the conversion.
Click here to expand contentClick here to collapse content  18. I would like to get a copy of the source code for CORPSCON. How do I get it?
CORPSCON is based on the NADCON and VERTCON algorithms developed by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS). The source code for NADCON and VERTCON is available on the NGS Homepage ( www.ngs.noaa.gov/PC_PROD/pc_prod.shtml)
Click here to expand contentClick here to collapse content  19. When I use the User Defined Input File to convert a text file containing latitude, longitudes or northing, easting coordinate values with other information (i.e. point name, elevation, feature code,…) after converting I only get a file with some header information in it. What happened? (Version 5.x only)

Make sure that you specified the User Defined Input File Field Specifications the same as your input file.
Example:

Input file contains:

Point name, Latitude, Longitude, Elevation, Feature Code

Make sure the User Defined Input File Field Specifications are set-up as:

User Defined Input File

Contact Us
Due to restricted resources, very limited assistance is available to non-Corps of Engineers users. AGC will maintain this web site and update the Frequently Asked Questions page. Please exhaust these web resources and the CORPSCON help files, before e-mailing the Point of Contact. AGC will provide assistance, where possible, although response to inquiries is not guaranteed.
The POC for this page:
CEAGC-GSA
Corpscon POC