Sat Nav question?

Monkey Spanker

Well-Known Member
As a regular on the Suffolk RTA callout list, I am often tasked to find injured deer in the most obscure places!
I've just quized my local Police control centre as to what information they can provide, other than a basic description which is what I have used up til now in conjunction with a 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey map. Sadly, they cannot even give an OS grid!:confused:
What they can give me though is either the nearest postcode, or the Lat/Long (Eastings/Northings).
My question is, is there a basic Sat Nav which will allow me to enter either or preferably 'both' of the above?
I've so far found a Garmin nuvi 200 which appears to allow Lat/long but I'm not sure about the post code bit. Anyone got one that can confirm?
Before anyone tells me to get an iphone - I can't as I'm tied into a phone contract for about another 18 months!:doh:
Any suggestions welcomed.
MS:)
 
Right, it appears my first post was slightly misleading!:oops:
I've just spoken to my local police Air Support unit who have a better understanding of grids/maps than 'Doris' in the control room!
What they are actually offering is a OSGB grid and NOT a Lat/Long. This is 10 figures which is actually two sets of 5 figures. The first figure of each set is the block prefix (which is shown as a pair of letters on a OS map). So, once you know which 100km block you are in, you are left with a 8 figure OS grid.
So........
What I actually need is a Sat Nav capable of accepting a Post Code or an OS grid!
MS:)
 
All satnavs take a post code as far as I know. The only thing you have to be aware of is that rural post codes can cover a decent area whereas a grid reference is much more precise. I'll check my Garmin later and see if it takes a OS Grid Reference.
 
All satnavs take a post code as far as I know. The only thing you have to be aware of is that rural post codes can cover a decent area whereas a grid reference is much more precise. I'll check my Garmin later and see if it takes a OS Grid Reference.

my nissan navara one doesnt:evil:
 
All satnavs take a post code as far as I know. The only thing you have to be aware of is that rural post codes can cover a decent area whereas a grid reference is much more precise. I'll check my Garmin later and see if it takes a OS Grid Reference.

TTBFMK OS grid ref numbers are lat/long numbers.

My Garmin Nuvii does both post code and grid ref.
 
If you go to the Multimap web site (now owned by Bing) and enter the postcode, you will be placed on the map, then select the ordnance survey map option, you should be able to print it out and mark the grid reference from that. Furthermore, for some areas you get the really large scale map which is really very detailed.
 
MS

I have a Garmin Nuvi 1690. It accepts full postcode or "coordinates". There is a choice of three formats for the latter:

h ddd.dddddo
h dddo mm.mmm'
h dddo mm' ss.s''
(the lower case o is supposed to be superscripted).

I don't know if this makes sense to you - doesn't mean much to me. If you want to send me some coordinates I'll try and input them and let you know where it is, or I can e-mail you the instruction manual and you can see if your folks can sort it out.

Andrew
 
I have a Garmin 215w which only gives the following options in Lat/long
h ddd mm ss.s
h ddd mm.mmm
h ddd.ddddd

However there are web sites avaialble which will convert post codes to OS Grid to Lat/long or any combination of this. A couple I have found are:

http://www.movable-type.co.uk/scripts/latlong-gridref.html

http://www.nearby.org.uk/conversions.cgi

I would suggest testing it first before committing to ensure the results are reasonably accurate. It would be a nightmare trying to find an injured deer when the co-ordinates you have are not very accurate.

Mulac
 
MS

I have a Garmin Nuvi 1690. It accepts full postcode or "coordinates". There is a choice of three formats for the latter:

h ddd.dddddo
h dddo mm.mmm'
h dddo mm' ss.s''
(the lower case o is supposed to be superscripted).

I don't know if this makes sense to you - doesn't mean much to me. If you want to send me some coordinates I'll try and input them and let you know where it is, or I can e-mail you the instruction manual and you can see if your folks can sort it out.

Andrew

Hi Andrew,
That is the format for normal Lat/Longs (Northings and Eastings) and the letters stand for Hours, Degrees, Minutes and Seconds.
What I need is something that I can stick an Ordnance Survey of British National Grid into.
There are various ways of doing conversions online but i need to be able to jump up in the middle of the night and quickly punch the grid in and go! Haven't got time to fire up the computer in that situation!
Thanks anyway;)
MS:)
 
MS, can't you nick something off an Apache! ;)
Or just take the whole thing and use it for the dispatch!:p

I've posted this link before, but it is great for a map to ground comparison and has the OS 10 figure grid and Lat/Long displayed on the right. Other grids are selectable too! Great for having a look around a new piece of ground before you even get there! I've used it to look for rides and likely highseat positions etc. Bang the grid in a hand held GPS and it will take you right there! The wonders of modern technology! How long will it be before you have a live satellite overview of your ground so that you can spot deer from above and then stalk them??!!:rolleyes:
Heres the link:
http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm
MS:)
 
I have a handheld gamin with the os maps in it and it will do GB grid and you can then chose to go to the grid ref by road or cross country. These devices are designed for out door activity type navigation but will also give turn by turn directions while on road. Can't remember if it does postcode as not soemthing i use but i'm pretty sure it does. I have never seen a dedicated in car version that will do os grid nav.
 
I have a Garmin nuvi 660 and under Where to? you can select Co-ordinates and then Format, and one of the four Formats offered is the British National Grid which is in the format of two letters (for square) followed by two sets of five numbers (for the Grid Reference). Please note you must put all five numbers in each of the Grid Reference fields to get the correct location.

On my Nokia E71 phone, I use ViewRanger ViewRanger Shop - a brilliant piece of software which works with my phones built in GPS receiver - you can record your Stalks/Tracks etc. The Beacon facility is also very useful if you are stalking on your own or with others as you can share your exact location.

Using ViewRanger's YourMap Self-Select Mapping you can purchase separate OS 1:2500 map squares for your local area.

MS I wouldn't recommend using the Post Code to attend an RTC, from past experience, you are better speaking directly with the person who has reported the RTC to the Police/RSPCA as you will get a more accurate position for your Call Out.
 
+1 to Roe Hunter's comment about postcides. Most (all?) satnav devices lead you to the centre of a postcode - might be OK in a town, but in the middle of nowhere they are pretty large.

Andrew
 
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