# Coordinate Converter

> Parses a latitude and longitude given either as signed decimal degrees or as degrees-minutes-seconds text (with N/S/E/W letters, symbols, colons or spaces) and returns all three standard forms: decimal degrees, DMS and degrees with decimal minutes, with hemisphere letters.

- Calculator id: `coordinate-converter` · Category: Time & Geography (`time`) · Tool name: `convert_coordinates`
- Canonical page: https://tttkmbb.com/time/coordinate-converter · This document: https://tttkmbb.com/time/coordinate-converter.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/time/coordinate-converter.json

## Purpose

Parses a latitude and longitude given either as signed decimal degrees or as degrees-minutes-seconds text (with N/S/E/W letters, symbols, colons or spaces) and returns all three standard forms: decimal degrees, DMS and degrees with decimal minutes, with hemisphere letters.

**Use when:** You have coordinates in one notation (e.g. 33°52′6″S from a map or a marine GPS in degrees-decimal-minutes) and need them as decimal degrees for an API, or the other way round.

**Do not use when:** You need distances or bearings between points (use haversine-distance or compass-bearing) or conversions between datums or projected systems such as UTM.

## Input

| Parameter | Type | Unit | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `latitude` | string |  | required | Latitude as decimal degrees (-33.8688 or 33.8688S) or DMS/DM text such as 33°52'6"S, 33 52 06 S or 33°52.1'S. |
| `longitude` | string |  | required | Longitude as decimal degrees (151.2093 or 151.2093E) or DMS/DM text such as 151°12'33"E or 151 12 33 E. |

## Output

| Field | Type | Unit | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `latitude_decimal` | number | ° | Signed decimal degrees, north positive. |
| `longitude_decimal` | number | ° | Signed decimal degrees, east positive. |
| `latitude_dms` | string |  | Degrees, minutes and seconds with hemisphere letter, seconds to 0.1″. |
| `longitude_dms` | string |  | Degrees, minutes and seconds with hemisphere letter. |
| `latitude_ddm` | string |  | Degrees and decimal minutes (GPS/marine style), minutes to 0.001′. |
| `longitude_ddm` | string |  | Degrees and decimal minutes with hemisphere letter. |
| `latitude_hemisphere` | string |  | N or S. |
| `longitude_hemisphere` | string |  | E or W. |
| `decimal_pair` | string |  | 'latitude, longitude' in decimal degrees, ready to paste into a map search. |

## Formula

`decimal = sign × (degrees + minutes / 60 + seconds / 3600), sign −1 for S or W; DMS: degrees = trunc(|decimal|), minutes = trunc(60 × fraction), seconds = 3600 × remaining fraction`

Accepts °, ′, ″, ', ", :, comma or spaces as separators and a hemisphere letter at either end; a minus sign and a hemisphere letter together are rejected. Latitude must lie within ±90°, longitude within ±180°; seconds are rounded to 0.1″ (≈3 m).

## Data Sources

- Geographic coordinate conversion (Wikipedia) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_coordinate_conversion (reference, retrieved 2026-09-24)
- ISO 6709 – Standard representation of geographic point location by coordinates (Wikipedia) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_6709 (reference, retrieved 2026-09-24)

Data freshness: `static`. Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output.

## API

- `GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/coordinate-converter?latitude=…&longitude=…`
- `POST https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/coordinate-converter` with JSON body `{"inputs": {…}}`
- Response: unified envelope (`success`, `request`, `result.values`, `result.units`, `sources`, `freshness`, `timestamp`, `next_actions`, `links`); see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/response-format.md
- Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/coordinate-converter · OpenAPI operationId `convert_coordinates` in https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json
- Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use, see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/rate-limits.md.

## MCP

- Server: `https://tttkmbb.com/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, JSON-RPC 2.0, no auth)
- Tool:  `run_calculator` with `{"calculator_id": "coordinate-converter", "inputs": {…}}`

## Example

- Sydney in DMS: inputs `{"latitude":"33°52'6\"S","longitude":"151°12'33\"E"}` → `{"latitude_decimal":-33.868333,"longitude_decimal":151.209167,"latitude_dms":"33°52′06.0″S","longitude_dms":"151°12′33.0″E","latitude_ddm":"33°52.100′S","latitude_hemisphere":"S","longitude_hemisphere":"E","decimal_pair":"-33.868333, 151.209167"}`
- New York in decimal degrees: inputs `{"latitude":"40.7128","longitude":"-74.0060"}` → `{"latitude_decimal":40.7128,"longitude_decimal":-74.006,"latitude_dms":"40°42′46.1″N","longitude_dms":"74°00′21.6″W","longitude_ddm":"74°00.360′W","latitude_hemisphere":"N","longitude_hemisphere":"W"}`

```
GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/coordinate-converter?latitude=33%C2%B052%276%22S&longitude=151%C2%B012%2733%22E
```

## Limitations

You need distances or bearings between points (use haversine-distance or compass-bearing) or conversions between datums or projected systems such as UTM. Accepts °, ′, ″, ', ", :, comma or spaces as separators and a hemisphere letter at either end; a minus sign and a hemisphere letter together are rejected. Latitude must lie within ±90°, longitude within ±180°; seconds are rounded to 0.1″ (≈3 m). All values are computed from the formula above; no measurement or live data is involved.

## FAQ

**Which input formats are recognised?**

Decimal degrees with sign or hemisphere letter (-33.8688, 33.8688S, S33.8688), degrees-minutes-seconds with symbols, colons or spaces (33°52'6"S, 33:52:06 S, 33 52 6 S) and degrees with decimal minutes (33°52.1'S). Letters other than N/S/E/W are rejected.

**How precise is one decimal place of seconds?**

0.1″ of latitude is about 3 m on the ground; six decimal places of decimal degrees (≈0.11 m) are kept in the numeric outputs.

## Related

- [Haversine Distance Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/time/haversine-distance.md) — Distance between two decimal-degree points.
- [Compass Bearing Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/time/compass-bearing.md) — Heading between two points.
- [Angle Converter](https://tttkmbb.com/conversion/angle.md) — General angle unit conversion (degrees, radians, gradians).