Etrex users HELP!!

[+Naefearjustbeer]

I have just got the basic etrex GPS and i am getting confused with different map datums etc. What do you have your datums and format set to for geocaching. I had mine set to wgs84 and hddd,mm,mmm and I managed to find a couple of caches ok. I was not using a map at the same time. Would it be better to be set to ordnance survey as your map datum so that you can work from a map as well? If so what is the best way to download the co ordinates to your gps from a cache page. I try to get a map from streetmap.co.uk but my co ordinates dont seam to point anyway near where I expect.

[+Chris n Maria]

It sounds like you have the GPS setup right. To convert locations to OS Reference the best bet is to take a look at Robs Page at http://www.roblisa.com/geocache/ which does the conversions for you and links to Streetmap.

 

Chris

"We're not lost - we just don't know where we are"

London & UK Geocaching Resources: http://www.sheps.clara.net

[+jeremyp]

Firstly, whatever datum your GPSr is set to, the download from the PC always uses WGS84. So if you have your GPS set to OSGB36 when you download the coordinates from geocaching.com it doesn't matter.

 

Secondly, I agree with the previous poster. The easiest way to get the Streetmap map is to use the link at http://www.roblisa.com. It always seems to point to the right place.

 

If your using a real OS map, set your GPS to OSGB36 while using it. One slight gotcha that has confused me once or twice is that with a lat/log position you quote the latitude first (i.e. how far North or South you are) but with OS grid references you quote the Eastings first (i.e. how far east or west you are).

 

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jeremyp

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

[+Naefearjustbeer]

Ahh the penny drops i thought you had to have your gps set to the format of the co-ordinates of the cache page. I did not realise that you could have your gps set to a different format such as ordnance survey grid. Now that i know that I hope I get on better I also think I might of been getting my east and west confused with the positive/negative thing.

 

Cheers

 

Donnie

[+Naefearjustbeer]

Ahh the penny drops i thought you had to have your gps set to the format of the co-ordinates of the cache page. I did not realise that you could have your gps set to a different format such as ordnance survey grid. Now that i know that I hope I get on better I also think I might of been getting my east and west confused with the positive/negative thing.

 

Cheers

 

Donnie

[+jeremyp]

If you type the coordinates in by hand you'll need to have the datum set right, but the PC serial communication protocol uses WGS84 exclusively.

 

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jeremyp

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

[Documentally]

I have somehow messed up my etrex legend C's settings and don't know how. I used to be able to input the Lat: 052:04:52N Lon: 003:09:06W directly into the gps off multimap but now all the settings show somthing i am not familiar with. I tried to have a flick around to no avail. I guess i could just set it to 'British Grid' and 'Ord Srvy GB'...

 

Is that what everyone else does?

[+The HERB5]

GoTo

MainMenu->Setup->Units->Position Format

 

and have a fiddle.

 

If the points are in the wrong place try

MainMenu->Setup->Units->Map Datum

Edited August 19, 2005 by Nebias

[+Birders]

Should you really enter Lat degrees with a leading zero? Latitude degrees can only be two figures and on all our bits n' bobs it is entered as 2 digits....

[Documentally]

Should you really enter Lat degrees with a leading zero? Latitude degrees can only be two figures and on all our bits n' bobs it is entered as 2 digits....

yea sorry that was a typo..

[+Naefearjustbeer]

wow this is an old topic back on the go again!!

[+derrylynne]

This topic was a great help to me. I have sometimes felt it would be helpful to have the gps set to ordnance survey mode but did not know if it could be done. As we are often out in the 'wilds', it is helpful as we carry a real map with us to be able to line up with the gps to tell us exactly where we are. Great. Thanks a lot for this topic.

[+allieballie]

I'm confused! I usually have my GPSr set to the lat/long and WGS84. If I wanted to check where I was on the OS map I would physically reset the GPSr to "British Grid" and "OS....." (whatever it is on the list), then I would have to change setting back to lat/long and WSG84 to find caches which I always hunt for using lat/long.

 

Is that wrong then? Is there a way of using both at the same time, or are people on this thread talking about searching for caches using the OS grid ref given on the cache page rather than the lat/long?

[+The Blorenges]

On my Vista C I set the Units/Position format to British Grid - Ord Survey. Then go to the trip screen, choose the bottom field and set it to 'Location Lat Long' and it shows exactly that. What you can't do is have it the other way round which is annoying cos I normally use decimal deg/mins lat and long.

 

Hope this helps

 

Chris