Site co-ordinates !

TJ49
TJ49 Forum Participant Posts: 39
edited May 2016 in Caravan & Motorhome Chat #1

Apologies if this hase been discussed before,

We went to Hebden Bridge the other weekend and fed the coordinates into the sat-nav, which said there was no road there but it would take about 4 hours. The closer we got to Hebden Bridge the longer the sat-nav said it would take to get there !

I have just tried to load the coordinates for several sites when we got to Scotland in a couple of weeks. Every ones said there was no road there.

It appears that the coordinates in the site guide are for the reception, which may be in the middle of a field !

The ones in the ACSI hanbook worked fine in the EU last year.

Does anyone else have the same problem or is it the sat-nav fitted to Autotrails that is the problem.

 

Comments

  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #2

    coordinates can be put in with different formats....

    degrees, minutes, seconds (dms)

    degrees, and decimal (d.dddd)

    you need to check which type your device is expecting....it is easy to toggle it to the type used by CC etc ....

    you could download the cc POI (point of interest) file and then you can just navigate directly to that point on the map rather than typing in long number which are easy to get wrong...Wink

  • TJ49
    TJ49 Forum Participant Posts: 39
    edited May 2016 #3

    The CC use  D.dddd, and ACSi use D.mm.ss that part is easy.

    When I cheked the coordinates in Google Earth they point to the site reception.

    My next step is to try coordinates from Google for the road just outside the site and see if they work.

    I will have a look at the CC poi file,

     

  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #4

    do the ACSI coordintes seem to work on your sat nav?

    the sat nav has to be set to accept the appropriate format, so of the ACSI one work, the cc ones wont, unless you change the receiving input format on the sat nav, however i think google is clever enough to convert either....

  • Kennine
    Kennine Forum Participant Posts: 3,472
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    edited May 2016 #5

    Sat navs are made to a price.  That reflects in their accuracy.  what is concerning is that some in the CC rely solely on a sat nav.

    They are only one in a number of navigation aids. -- OS maps are really accurate, Caravanners should learn to use a map and  compass. Google earth is a good navigation aid to be used while planning a journey.

    Sat navs give rough directions but should not be used to the exclusion of all other methods of navigation.

    K

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,867 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #6

    May I ask why you are using co-ordinates rather than downloading the POI's (points of interest) from the Club website here 

    David

  • briantimber
    briantimber Forum Participant Posts: 1,653
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    edited May 2016 #7

    Why don't you try putting in the post code of the site? Always works for me with my Garmin, as K says, do not rely solely on sat navs, use it in conjunction with a good map...Cool

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,390 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #8

    Why don't you try putting in the post code of the site? Always works for me with my Garmin, as K says, do not rely solely on sat navs, use it in conjunction with a good map...Cool

    Whether you use co-ordinates or POIs, I would say use your sat nav but for the last few miles use the directions given by the site after all these should advise you the best route to it.

    peedee

  • ocsid
    ocsid Forum Participant Posts: 1,395
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    edited May 2016 #9

    I hope the CC app has more accuracy than I have found with the handbook published coordinates,  but suspect they are from the same data base.

    I have notified the club of errors in a number of the published ones for CLs .

    For these post codes are a poor substitute in that invariably they are of the owners property  rather than the field the CL is located in.

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited May 2016 #10

    Site co-ordinates? I thought that was the warden's uniforms.

  • Rob2CathDavies
    Rob2CathDavies Forum Participant Posts: 145
    edited May 2016 #11

    Please don't rely on postcodes - they are shared by a number of properties.  When we were working as wardens, our last site shared a postcode with a farm where there was no possibility of turning a caravan in the yard, necessitating unhitching etc. The farmer
    was fed up with members arriving there because of their satnav!  Postcodes are designed for making sure mail goes in the right bag.  So unless you wish to post your caravan or motor van to the site, and then follow on later, please use the site directions
    from the book or website!

  • MJ730
    MJ730 Forum Participant Posts: 184
    edited May 2016 #12

    Please don't rely on postcodes - they are shared by a number of properties.  When we were working as wardens, our last site shared a postcode with a farm where there was no possibility of turning a caravan in the yard, necessitating unhitching etc. The farmer
    was fed up with members arriving there because of their satnav!  Postcodes are designed for making sure mail goes in the right bag.  So unless you wish to post your caravan or motor van to the site, and then follow on later, please use the site directions
    from the book or website!

    Write your comments here...Agreed a postcode is there for Royal Mail and will only get you to the area.Thats why the club give directions in the handbook for sites as well as CLs.

    Mike

  • TJ49
    TJ49 Forum Participant Posts: 39
    edited May 2016 #13

    Apologies to all !

    Normally I rely on OS maps but use the sat-nav as a guide, and not very often in the UK.

    So when I read the coordinates for Strathclyde I read 55.xxx and typed it in, read -4.xxx and entered E4.xxx, when it told me there was no road near there. Which is not surprising as E4.xxx is two thirds the way to Denmark, in the North sea.

    One day I will get the hand of this modern technology. Until then I will continue to use paper maps.

    Thanks for all your comments and advice.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #14

    the site coordinates are given as

    Lat: 55.8040342 Lon: -4.0465446 (the decimal format)

    google maps accepts these and lands you in the correct place.

    however, google maps also tells you in deg/mins/secs where you are

    55°48'14.5"N 4°02'47.6"W

    your main issue is that you cannot tell East from WestEmbarassed as the second coordinate clearly has Stranraer just over 4 deg WEST of Greenwich not EAST as you've found out....Undecided

  • JCB4X4
    JCB4X4 Forum Participant Posts: 466
    100 Comments
    edited May 2016 #15

    I much prefer to use O/S Grid References myself

    Each to their own Cool.

  • Aspenshaw
    Aspenshaw Forum Participant Posts: 611
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    edited May 2016 #16

    I spent 90 minutes yesterday trying, successfuly in the end, to load the Lat/Long into my basic Garmin satnav for our tour of Scotland. Looks like we'll be camping in fields!

    Now might leave the satnav at home - again, and rely on maps as usual; just like the Caravanners of the Year.

  • briantimber
    briantimber Forum Participant Posts: 1,653
    1000 Comments
    edited May 2016 #17

    Use post codes aspenshaw, they will get you to the close vicinity, you then have to use your eyes and site directions......  That's what we do with our Garmin and its never failed us yet. We also have the CCC atlas which is very good ...Cool

  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #18

    I spent 90 minutes yesterday trying, successfuly in the end, to load the Lat/Long into my basic Garmin satnav for our tour of Scotland. Looks like we'll be camping in fields!

    Now might leave the satnav at home - again, and rely on maps as usual; just like the Caravanners of the Year.

    our pals had a sat nav that wasnt a tomtom (i have two and would have been able to advise on most things incl POI files) and they couldnt get lat/long into the device.....just no entry point, so they had to use postcodes....

    if youve nothing else, its a help i suppose, however they always followed it litterally to the end....

    disaster after disaster......Undecided

    with the POI files loaded, its just....

    navigate to....

    place on map....

    touch icon for appropriate POI (site/cl/aire/garage/gpl/......)

    it could not be easier....