Grid Ref or Lat/Lon

Grid Ref or Lat/Lon


  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .

arthursc

Well-Known Member
For those who are out on the hill or in general, if and when you use a personal sat nav device be it dedicated hardware or a smart phone, which unit of measurement do you use?

OS Grid Reference (Default for MAPs)

OR

Latitude and Longitude (Default for Smartphones)
 
OS as the map in your hand can have boundarys marked on it and doesn't run out of battery's!!
 
Being a keen boaty person I always use Lat/Long as it's absolute and universal and there is no reliance upon a particular map to make sense of it.
 
I hav a maps app on the iPhone which is set up to show my present position
With that I then zoom into the map of area or forest I am stalking/hunting in and I can pin-point my exact location (within 15m approx)
Fence lines ,rides in the trees , water course , roads , house or buildings
I can even drop a pin to mark the location of the motor or destination point and just stalk my way to it
Simplest thing ever to use and as I always carry my phone I am never with out it
You can even drop a pin to mark the location of a shot deer and then hav no problems going back to find it the next morning
Very impressed
 
If you mean when you are on the hill and in the do do and want someone to help, the various control rooms will work in either lat/long or grid. Your responders however will almost always be using grid.

Bear in mind also that the responders can now be mapped using GIS and guided in to the very location you give. I'm old school and prefer grid.
 
Everything works on Lat and Long it only when it gots to ordnance survey the use grid as a smaller reference ,better known as British national grid.
Look in the corners of every map you'll see your lat and long reference .

Learn how to use conventuals means map and compass first before using Sat Nav devices Map and Compass never go wrong ,battries never die .
 
I always use grid ref because you can easily and accurately reference it to your map and as almost everyone navigating on land in this country are using, or have access to, grid then there is no problem when it comes to interfacing with others, not that I've ever met any others in the places I end up.

I am in two minds about the map and compass thing - I always carry two maps (if you've never had one blow away you aren't trying hard enough) and two compasses when walking alone in remote areas but I have also been using handheld GPS since long before SA was turned off and have never had it fail me once. In the cold, wind etc. it is easy to make a mistake with the map whereas it is simple to hold the GPS in your hand and let it put a big "you are here" marker on a moving map display so I might argue that navigating off the GPS, especially in less than ideal conditions, is both safer and more accurate than using the map.
 
I use lat and long as it's what my phone works on althought I carry a map and a compass (doesn't need batteries), been on the look out for an app that will convert but can't seem to find one, would be very usefull for exact plotting.
 
I always use grid ref because you can easily and accurately reference it to your map and as almost everyone navigating on land in this country are using, or have access to, grid then there is no problem when it comes to interfacing with others, not that I've ever met any others in the places I end up.

I am in two minds about the map and compass thing -mmmmmm It is the only thing that doesnt go wrong I always carry two maps (if you've never had one blow away you aren't trying hard enough) and two compasses but you say you carry two maps and compasses, why if your in two minds about them ??? when walking alone in remote areas but I have also been using handheld GPS since long before SA was turned off and have never had it fail me once. In the cold, wind etc. it is easy to make a mistake with the map whereas it is simple to hold the GPS in your hand and let it put a big "you are here" marker on a moving map display so I might argue that navigating off the GPS, especially in less than ideal conditions, is both safer and more accurate than using the map.


I can go ,any where in the world with a map and compass, if your down on the ice you'll also need a watch never failed me yet ,but ive been failed with GPS sat nav systems on quite a few occassions down to machine failure.

With a map and compass i can sit in the house work out all my barings, distances job sorted ,ive never lost a map yet and don't intend to jail offence .

For those that don't know how to read a map and use a compass it is a good idea to learn how to15 minutes will give you the skill required , a gps won't tell you theres a cliff ahead a map will .
 
A compass can lie - just walk around Scafell Pike with one to find out how much.
All systems have benefits & failings - best to use as many as possible to be sure. Have a map, compass & gps/phone & you should be ok.

Ian
 
For those that don't know how to read a map and use a compass it is a good idea to learn how to15 minutes will give you the skill required , a gps won't tell you theres a cliff ahead a map will .

I suspect most people with the intelligence and wit to use a GPS are also able to use a map and compass and understand the limitations of both plus they will have the benefit of a nimble and flexible mind that allows them to use all the tools that are available to them.
 
I suspect most people with the intelligence and wit to use a GPS are also able to use a map and compass and understand the limitations of both plus they will have the benefit of a nimble and flexible mind that allows them to use all the tools that are available to them.

Say that to most mountain rescue teams and the will have a good laugh to themselves or it maybe cry due to the number of deaths each year .

I watch people all the time that can't even orientate a map to the ground and cannot put a map to north with a compass ,but think because they have a reference to the summit and one for the car park with a gps there sorted.

Wait till your in the situation and find someone who in white out conditions has walked off a cornice edge because of a gps error ,mmm just keep following the arrow ,they are a good tool but in some situations also a bad one, if used in conjunction with a map ,with a compass as a back up ,there fine .

It is the understanding of just those limitations the many people don't understand and tend to go way above limitations, skills and abilities ,if they took the time to sort them out with knowledge, experience and capabilities, there would be far less navigation errors amounting to people being killed or seriously injured in Scotland's mountains every year that actually have all the aids to navigation with them when eventually found .
 
Back
Top