Needing guidance on plotting GPS graphics.

I am what I guess you could call a backyard-programmer. Unfortunately, hailing from Dodge City Kansas, proper VB training has been out of reach so I am self-taught. I have been programming in VB for well over 10 years, but good technique is not... um my forte but i'm doing my best :D

Anyway. My second hobby is treasure hunting with a metal detector. I am wanting to write a program to plot a debris field(2D/3D) gathered from GPS readings taken in the field. I have not had much experience in writing graphics apps even plotting a simple line, and while i'm sure(as usual) I could figure it out, I want to do it right not just do it for once.

I do not at this time need an app that can interface with the GPS, but it could always be a possibility if I get a better GPS. At this time all I need is a way to manually input the GPS readings, type of target(i.e. relic, bullet, coin etc.) and comment, then have it graphically display the results. I need to take into consideration future needs such as zoom-in/zoom-out so proper technique is why I am asking you gurus for some advice and guidance.

Is there some advice/guidance you can give as to where I might begin my research for it's design? Are there any good examples of plotting GPS-to-graphics display around? Any help would be greatly appreciated and documented with the name in the code. I believe in giving credit where due.

Thanks!!!

any graphics sort of tutorials related to 3D graphics in vb, would work; their coorinate system will be analogous to your gps readings of lat, long and height. i dont do vb graphics however, and have had only limited exposure to java graphics, so im not of much use, but look for some opengl tutorials perhaps.. or direct3d?

Thanks cjard. I have started working on my first concept and have reached the point of coding the plotting. My plan is to save the plot to a file(map) so that it can be reloaded and edited. I guess I should use objects(controls?) to represent Waypoints and marks to make assigning variables to them such as comments, type etc.

http://home.swbell.net/terryada/tware/images/gps1.jpg