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GPS coordinate converter (DMS, decimal, UTM)

Convert between degrees-minutes-seconds, decimal degrees, and other coordinate notations - for EXIF locations and OSINT challenges.

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EXIF records GPS as degrees, minutes, and seconds with a separate hemisphere reference. Mapping services want decimal degrees with a sign. Converting between them is where OSINT challenges lose people, usually to a dropped negative.

The conversion, and the sign

Decimal = degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600. Then apply the hemisphere: south latitudes and west longitudes are negative. EXIF stores the hemisphere in a separate GPSLatitudeRef field, so a converter that reads only the numbers puts a location in Kazakhstan that should have been in Colorado.

NotationExampleWhere you meet it
DMS40 deg 26' 46" NEXIF, navigation, older maps
Decimal degrees40.44611Web maps, APIs, most software
Degrees + decimal minutes40 26.767' NMarine and aviation
UTM17T 630084 4833438Surveying, military grids

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