Converting Coordinates?

[+ILBandit]

I put the coords. from the cache pages into google maps, and it always pops up a location. In my job, i work with Quallcomm satalite systems in a bunch of trucks, and when I do a location check on one of my drivers, it has coordinates posted at the side of the display, but they are different from the ones on the cache pages, and they won't pull up a location when I put them in the search field of google maps. Here is what they look like...

 

0410330N 0885549W

 

I'm fairly new to all of this, and I know there are different ways the long. & lat. can be displayed, Is there a way to convert the "Quallcomm version" to the regular version that I am used to? So I can use an online map to get a better idea of when they are? Or so I can put the numbers in my E-trex as a waypoint?

Edited February 4, 2006 by ILBandit

[+Munin]

There's several formats that could match those digits, so let's have you check out the maps for a few spots and see which one looks like the correct interpretation.

 

My favorite guess (since it turns out to be closest to a road, which seems sensible if it came from a truck tracking system) would be that it's in ddmmss (degrees, minutes, seconds) format - 41°03'30"N 88°55'49"W. Google Maps seems to understand ddmmss coords if you add a few spaces in between the numbers to separate the degress from the minutes from the seconds, ex:

 

Google Map for 41 03 30N 88 55 49W

 

My next guess would be the dd mm.mmm (decimal minutes) format, essentially the same as what Geocaching.com uses (except that gc.com goes to three decimal places), in which case these coords might be 41°03.30'N 88°55.49'W. Adding some spaces and decimal points is enough of a hint for Google Maps to figure out the format:

 

Google Map for 41 03.30N 88 55.49W

 

If neither of those look like the right spot, then perhaps it's in decimal degrees (dd.ddd) - 41.0330°N 88.5549°W. Again, Google Maps can figure out the format if you give it a hint by adding decimal points to the coords, ex:

 

Google Map for 41.0330N 88.5549W

 

One handy online site for coordinate conversion is JeEep.com's (note there's three E's in that site - jeeep, not jeep ) coordinate conversion page. You can use it to go back and forth between any of the three coordinate formats mentioned above.

[+Cardinal Red]

Your coords: 0410330N 0885549W look like Degrees, Minutes, Seconds to me.

As in N 41 Degrees, 03 Minutes, 30 Seconds / W 88 Degrees, 55 Minutes, 49 Seconds.

According to MapQuest this is North Central Illinois on the SE corner of the intersection of 17 and E 12th Rd.

Approx centrally located between Garfield, Leeds, Reading and Ancona. Am I close?

 

The Groundspeak standard is Degrees, Minutes and Decimal Minutes. As has been pointed out there are online converters available. Or a GPS cold do any of these conversion for you.

But here's the math.

 

30 Seconds Divided by 60 = .5

49 Seconds Divided by 60 = .817

Giving you: N 41 Degrees, 03.500 Minutes / W 88 Degrees, 55.817 Minutes

 

Another popular mapping format is simply Degrees and Decimal degrees

3.500 Minutes Divided by 60 = .05833

55.817 Minutes Divided by 60 = .93028

Giving you N 41.05833 Degrees / W 88.93028 Degrees

 

All 3 formats point to exactly the same location.

They are just expressed differently.

Hope this helps.

[+ILBandit]

There's several formats that could match those digits, so let's have you check out the maps for a few spots and see which one looks like the correct interpretation.

 

My favorite guess (since it turns out to be closest to a road, which seems sensible if it came from a truck tracking system) would be that it's in ddmmss (degrees, minutes, seconds) format - 41°03'30"N 88°55'49"W. Google Maps seems to understand ddmmss coords if you add a few spaces in between the numbers to separate the degress from the minutes from the seconds, ex:

 

Google Map for 41 03 30N 88 55 49W

 

My next guess would be the dd mm.mmm (decimal minutes) format, essentially the same as what Geocaching.com uses (except that gc.com goes to three decimal places), in which case these coords might be 41°03.30'N 88°55.49'W. Adding some spaces and decimal points is enough of a hint for Google Maps to figure out the format:

 

Google Map for 41 03.30N 88 55.49W

 

If neither of those look like the right spot, then perhaps it's in decimal degrees (dd.ddd) - 41.0330°N 88.5549°W. Again, Google Maps can figure out the format if you give it a hint by adding decimal points to the coords, ex:

 

Google Map for 41.0330N 88.5549W

 

One handy online site for coordinate conversion is JeEep.com's (note there's three E's in that site - jeeep, not jeep ) coordinate conversion page. You can use it to go back and forth between any of the three coordinate formats mentioned above.

 

Yes, the first one you posted is the exact one, putting the spaces in there must do the trick, Thanks for the info.

 

Cardinal, thanks for the info also, didn't realize I could just do a little math and convert it over.

 

I will try putting the spaces in, and play around with it more at work tomorow.

 

EDIT**** just wanted to let you know, I tried it on google, and did the "divide by 60" thing, it works great on the Google, and works great on putting it into my GPS. thanks again for the info. It was alot easier than I thought!

Edited February 5, 2006 by ILBandit

[+Cardinal Red]

ILBandit Posted 2/5/2006, 10:20 AM

just wanted to let you know, I tried it on google, and did the "divide by 60" thing, it works great on the Google, and works great on putting it into my GPS.

Glad this is working out for you but I want to clarify a small detail I don't think you caught.

 

Cardinal Red Posted 2/4/2006, 06:05 PM

As has been pointed out there are online converters available. Or a GPS cold do any of these conversions for you. But here's the math.

Say you have coordinates in Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds and you want to convert them to something else. Set your GPS to HDDMMSS.s and directly enter the coordinates. Note: H stands for Hemisphere (N,S,E,W)

 

Now change the GPS setting to HDDMM.mmm or HDD.ddddd or UTM or ANYTHING.

The GPS will display the coordinates in whatever format it is currently set to.

There is no limit to how many different ways you can look at this information and you can always go back to looking at the originally entered format.

[+ILBandit]

Thanks for the info, I tried it out on the GPS,works great.

I knew you could put info in there different ways, but I didn't really know anything about the different formats.

There are alot of things I don't completely understand about GPS, but I'm learning a little at a time. (thanks to this forum, and all the helpfull members)

[+geognerd]

In topics like this I always like to point out Fizzymagic's GeoCalc, which is an excellent little program for converting coordinates into various formats.