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What Format Is This???

Imajika

By Imajika
in GPS technology and devices

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Imajika

+Imajika

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I am trying to figure out how to get coordinates like the ones listed below into a format my GPS will recognize but I am having a heck of a time. Can someone shed some light on the subject for me please? :huh:

 

68S

 

E5949401 N9965816

 

There are two other sets of coords listed as well in the same format.

 

I am not asking for anyone to 'cheat'. I just don't understand this format at all.

 

THANKS!

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Neo_Geo

Neo_Geo

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CLICK HERE for coordinate conversions.

 

From:

http://coloradowreckchasing.tripod.com/UTM...TMeshiking.html

 

UTM

 

The most useful alternative coordinate system is UTM. UTM stands for Universal Transverse Mercator. That's nice. This doesn't explain why it's useful. In a nutshell, it is useful because it is a decimal-based system which allows you to very accurately transfer coordinates to and from your USGS quad map.

 

Consider the problem of trying to plot coordinates in a degrees, minutes (that's the ' symbol) , seconds (the " symbol) system. How does one interpolate 40 seconds? In practice, 40 seconds is 2/3 (or 60%) of the way between minutes. In UTM, the interpolation is already contained in the coordinates you have.

 

If you have a modern USGS quad map, you should be able to find tick marks along the edge with a string of numbers - 4130 for instance. If you were to pencil a grid across your map based upon these marks, you would find that you have divided up your map into a series of squares each 1km (1000meters) on a side. So when you go to plot your coordinate: say 4130600 you would know that this is 600 meters from the edge of the 4130000 line. Try it on your map and see for yourself. When I'm transferring coordinates to/from my USGS maps I will ONLY USE UTM. It's wonderful!

Edited by Neo_Geo
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Blaidd-Drwg

+Blaidd-Drwg

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Posted

68S

 

E5949401 N996581

 

This isn't UTM. First off, there are 60 gridzones, each 6 degrees wide. So the 68S does not exist. Second, the easting has one too many digits. The central line in a UTM gridzone is designated 5. It never reaches two digits in lenght. The normal configuration for a UTM is 6 digits of easting and 7 digits of northing. There may be as many 8 digits of northing. I don't have any idea what this format is. :huh:

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NightPilot

+NightPilot

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Are you certain you posted the correct numbers? It looks like standard coordinates with the spaces and decimal point removed, except for the fact that latitude only goes up to 90 degrees, not 99. If the E and N were reversed you would have a good coordinate, N59 49.401 E99 65.816, and this is definitely not in the US, it appears to be somewhere in Siberia. If you have posted the correct numbers and letters, then I have no idea what it is. Where did you see this?

Edited by NightPilot
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Imajika

+Imajika

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Are you certain you posted the correct numbers?  It looks like standard coordinates with the spaces and decimal point removed, except for the fact that latitude only goes up to 90 degrees, not 99.  If the E and N were reversed you would have a good coordinate, N59 49.401 E99 65.816, and this is definitely not in the US, it appears to be somewhere in Siberia.  If you have posted the correct numbers and letters, then I have no idea what it is.  Where did you see this?

I am positive these are the right numbers. However, the cache owner told me that these numbers are also encrypted. I thought they were but now I know for sure and I am working on that. I have just never seen numbers with NO decimals, etc. so we were trying to figure out what format they could be so we could work on figuring out what they really are. I am thinking that they ARE standard coords with the decimels removed now and once I have the right numbers it will fall into place.

 

I figured out the code this morning but now I am trying to figure out what the heck these coords are. At the time I cracked the code, I didn't know the coords were also encrypted. The cache owner emailed me about an hour ago and said that they were encrypted also. Which makes perfect sense now that I think about it (duh for me!). That 68s at the top there was confusing me. :huh:

 

No one has found this cache yet so I am trying to figure it out for my team. :huh:

 

The cache

Edited by Imajika
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Blaidd-Drwg

+Blaidd-Drwg

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Posted
<_< OK, I'm changing my mind on what these are. I believe them to be UTM. If you look at the cache hiders location, you can make some assumptions. I believe the locations are within a 1km by 2km area north of Arvada, Colorado. Since I'll never be able to get to this cache, or at least not in the near future (I live in OK), I'd be happy to share my thought on this puzzle with you via email.
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Imajika

+Imajika

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No! I don't want anyone to solve it for me! I just had a minor question about the coordinates format. I didn't see that the coords were encrypted also (which makes perfect sense NOW). So I mentioned in my previous post that I now realize they are encrypted and I will need to do some more research! :huh:

 

I have never asked for anyone to solve a puzzle for me and I'm not starting now. It kind of ruins the fun for me, ya know? This is why I didn't post the cache page in my initial post. :P

 

Please no hints! I want to do it on my own! I all ready cracked the coded paragraph yesterday morning by myself. Now I just need to figure out the coords and I do believe they are in UTM. I was just trying to get a general opinion on if I was barking up the right tree with my UTM theory. <_<

 

So thanks to everyone that offered to help!

 

Closing the thread now! I'll let everyone know if I find it!

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