Conversion of Grid Refs to and from Lat Long

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SteveMcBill
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:15 am
Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
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Conversion of Grid Refs to and from Lat Long

Post by SteveMcBill »

Conversion Between Grid Refs and Lat Long for SatNav Users:

Many people now own in-car satellite navigation (SatNav) systems BUT, sadly, most of these systems will NOT allow the input of OS Grid References for navigation purposes. This is a big downside for many naturalists who would love to take advantage of these systems for getting to new and previously unvisited sites.

However, most of these systems will allow you to input Latitude and Longitude (Lat, Long) coordinates. Consequently, what is needed is a small program to convert Grid Refs, which you type in, into Lat Longs which you can then input into your SatNav. The link below takes you to a website with a download link to a very small (45Kb) DOS program which will convert between Grid Refs and Lat Longs in both directions. It runs happily in Windows in a small DOS window and works very well. You need to download the program called "osgb.exe".

http://mdfs.net/Apps/Mapping/GridRef/

Once you have the program you can convert all your recording sites (inc. the ones you have not visited as yet) and set them as 'favourites' in your SatNav. It can also prove very useful if you are away on holiday without Internet connectivity but with your laptop. Don;t forget to use the Degrees, Minutes and Seconds form of the LatLong coordinate to enter into the SatNav - SatNavs do not recognise the digital LatLong version.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Steve :)
P.S.: Don't forget to send in your records through RODIS at: http://www.rECOrd-LRC.co.uk
SteveMcBill
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:15 am
Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Conversion of Grid Refs to and from Lat Long

Post by SteveMcBill »

A New Site for Comprehensive Map Coordinate Conversions:

A new site (to me) for really comprehensive map coordinate conversions is to be found over at:

http://www.fieldenmaps.info/cconv/cconv_gb.html

An excellent resource.

Hope you find it useful.

Steve :)

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