GPS format for spot

A couple years ago, I landed out at a contest and my retrieve took quite a while because the driver could not find me even though my position was known. It turned out that the contest person in charge of retrievals had one format in her locating program, and the output from the spot was in decimal. This caused the retrieve to look for me in slightly the wrong place. My question is, which format should be used, and is there a setting on the spot page where the output format can be changed.

Thanks,

3Y

I don't think SPOT can be changed. The person in charge of retrieve desks need to be properly schooled in converting degrees.decimaldegrees to degrees, minutes.decimalminutes and charting same.

BillT

At 02:02 08 April 2016, Bill T wrote:
I don't think SPOT can be changed. The person in charge of retrieve desks
need to be properly schooled in converting degrees.decimaldegrees to
degrees, minutes.decimalminutes and charting same.

BillT

Surely that is the Retrieve Crew's responsibility.

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 4:34:11 PM UTC-7, Blake Seese 3Y wrote:
A couple years ago, I landed out at a contest and my retrieve took quite a while because the driver could not find me even though my position was known. It turned out that the contest person in charge of retrievals had one format in her locating program, and the output from the spot was in decimal.. This caused the retrieve to look for me in slightly the wrong place. My question is, which format should be used, and is there a setting on the spot page where the output format can be changed.

Thanks,

3Y

Both formats (decimal degrees and hours, minutes & seconds) are used by various devices. People need to know how to convert between the two. At a contest the retrieve desk should give the retrieve crew the location in BOTH formats.

BTW,
Convert hours, minutes to fractional degrees:
fractional_degrees = hours / 60 + minutes / 3600

Convert fractional degrees to hours, minutes:
hours = integer part of [fractional_degrees * 60]

minutes = integer part of [(fractional_degrees - hours/60) * 3600]

seconds = (fractional_degrees - hours/60 - minutes/3600) * 216000

On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 8:08:03 PM UTC-4, 2G wrote:
On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 4:34:11 PM UTC-7, Blake Seese 3Y wrote:
A couple years ago, I landed out at a contest and my retrieve took quite a while because the driver could not find me even though my position was known. It turned out that the contest person in charge of retrievals had one format in her locating program, and the output from the spot was in decimal. This caused the retrieve to look for me in slightly the wrong place. My question is, which format should be used, and is there a setting on the spot page where the output format can be changed.

Thanks,

3Y

Both formats (decimal degrees and hours, minutes & seconds) are used by various devices. People need to know how to convert between the two. At a contest the retrieve desk should give the retrieve crew the location in BOTH formats.

BTW,
Convert hours, minutes to fractional degrees:
fractional_degrees = hours / 60 + minutes / 3600

Convert fractional degrees to hours, minutes:
hours = integer part of [fractional_degrees * 60]

minutes = integer part of [(fractional_degrees - hours/60) * 3600]

seconds = (fractional_degrees - hours/60 - minutes/3600) * 216000

There has to be apps for cell phones that can do this easily.
What apps for this are preferred? Who recommends what?

On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 9:57:09 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 8:08:03 PM UTC-4, 2G wrote:
On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 4:34:11 PM UTC-7, Blake Seese 3Y wrote:
A couple years ago, I landed out at a contest and my retrieve took quite a while because the driver could not find me even though my position was known. It turned out that the contest person in charge of retrievals had one format in her locating program, and the output from the spot was in decimal. This caused the retrieve to look for me in slightly the wrong place. My question is, which format should be used, and is there a setting on the spot page where the output format can be changed.

Thanks,

3Y

Both formats (decimal degrees and hours, minutes & seconds) are used by various devices. People need to know how to convert between the two. At a contest the retrieve desk should give the retrieve crew the location in BOTH formats.

BTW,
Convert hours, minutes to fractional degrees:
fractional_degrees = hours / 60 + minutes / 3600

Convert fractional degrees to hours, minutes:
hours = integer part of [fractional_degrees * 60]

minutes = integer part of [(fractional_degrees - hours/60) * 3600]

seconds = (fractional_degrees - hours/60 - minutes/3600) * 216000

There has to be apps for cell phones that can do this easily.
What apps for this are preferred? Who recommends what?

I would just put the coordinates into google maps and the that app direct me there on the shortest route, while adjusting for traffic... no need to worry about conversions!

On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 7:47:21 PM UTC-7, Giaco wrote:
On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 9:57:09 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 8:08:03 PM UTC-4, 2G wrote:
On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 4:34:11 PM UTC-7, Blake Seese 3Y wrote:
A couple years ago, I landed out at a contest and my retrieve took quite a while because the driver could not find me even though my position was known. It turned out that the contest person in charge of retrievals had one format in her locating program, and the output from the spot was in decimal. This caused the retrieve to look for me in slightly the wrong place.. My question is, which format should be used, and is there a setting on the spot page where the output format can be changed.

Thanks,

3Y

Both formats (decimal degrees and hours, minutes & seconds) are used by various devices. People need to know how to convert between the two. At a contest the retrieve desk should give the retrieve crew the location in BOTH formats.

BTW,
Convert hours, minutes to fractional degrees:
fractional_degrees = hours / 60 + minutes / 3600

Convert fractional degrees to hours, minutes:
hours = integer part of [fractional_degrees * 60]

minutes = integer part of [(fractional_degrees - hours/60) * 3600]

seconds = (fractional_degrees - hours/60 - minutes/3600) * 216000

There has to be apps for cell phones that can do this easily.
What apps for this are preferred? Who recommends what?

I would just put the coordinates into google maps and the that app direct me there on the shortest route, while adjusting for traffic... no need to worry about conversions!

Yeah, I did that once. The route directed us over a very rough "road" that had washouts. The first one we crossed by pulling the trailer across suspended by the tongue and rear end; the second one was too deep to consider. Had to back-track and find an alternate route. I had to do this conversion to compare our location from a Tom-Tom GPS to a set of maps we had.

On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 5:08:03 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 4:34:11 PM UTC-7, Blake Seese 3Y wrote:
A couple years ago, I landed out at a contest and my retrieve took quite a while because the driver could not find me even though my position was known. It turned out that the contest person in charge of retrievals had one format in her locating program, and the output from the spot was in decimal. This caused the retrieve to look for me in slightly the wrong place. My question is, which format should be used, and is there a setting on the spot page where the output format can be changed.

Thanks,

3Y

Both formats (decimal degrees and hours, minutes & seconds) are used by various devices. People need to know how to convert between the two. At a contest the retrieve desk should give the retrieve crew the location in BOTH formats.

BTW,
Convert hours, minutes to fractional degrees:
fractional_degrees = hours / 60 + minutes / 3600

Convert fractional degrees to hours, minutes:
hours = integer part of [fractional_degrees * 60]

minutes = integer part of [(fractional_degrees - hours/60) * 3600]

seconds = (fractional_degrees - hours/60 - minutes/3600) * 216000

Ah, yes, I forgot to send my girlfriend to the contest desk for coordinates last time I landed out...
Or, I'll just send that conversion info then to my girlfriend with a Psychology degree, let me cut and paste that into an email to her right now. Then I'll fly off into the great unknown this summer, particularly the majority of areas with great soaring and no cell coverage in the western US, with absolute confidence that she will show up stat with trailer in tow. Remember, this is a case where spot was the only form of communication, it's main function...

Or you could get a navigaton GPS and set the coordinate input format to the format that your Spot outputs. Voila, enter the numbers exatly as seen from the spot info.

Sorry 2G, just poking fun, lots of different retrieve scenarios out there....

On Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Monday, April 11, 2016 at 5:08:03 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 4:34:11 PM UTC-7, Blake Seese 3Y wrote:
A couple years ago, I landed out at a contest and my retrieve took quite a while because the driver could not find me even though my position was known. It turned out that the contest person in charge of retrievals had one format in her locating program, and the output from the spot was in decimal. This caused the retrieve to look for me in slightly the wrong place. My question is, which format should be used, and is there a setting on the spot page where the output format can be changed.

Thanks,

3Y

Both formats (decimal degrees and hours, minutes & seconds) are used by various devices. People need to know how to convert between the two. At a contest the retrieve desk should give the retrieve crew the location in BOTH formats.

BTW,
Convert hours, minutes to fractional degrees:
fractional_degrees = hours / 60 + minutes / 3600

Convert fractional degrees to hours, minutes:
hours = integer part of [fractional_degrees * 60]

minutes = integer part of [(fractional_degrees - hours/60) * 3600]

seconds = (fractional_degrees - hours/60 - minutes/3600) * 216000

Ah, yes, I forgot to send my girlfriend to the contest desk for coordinates last time I landed out...
Or, I'll just send that conversion info then to my girlfriend with a Psychology degree, let me cut and paste that into an email to her right now. Then I'll fly off into the great unknown this summer, particularly the majority of areas with great soaring and no cell coverage in the western US, with absolute confidence that she will show up stat with trailer in tow. Remember, this is a case where spot was the only form of communication, it's main function...

Or you could get a navigaton GPS and set the coordinate input format to the format that your Spot outputs. Voila, enter the numbers exatly as seen from the spot info.

Sorry 2G, just poking fun, lots of different retrieve scenarios out there....

Better to think about it now rather than in a field somewhere that you just spent the night...