Thread: GPS cordinates?

There are 3 different a formats for GPS coordinates ...

Lat/Lon Formats and Symbols

Rickie

Either have your buddy change his Humminbird Positon Format to the same as your Lowrance before he gives you the coordinates ...

Or use a GPS coordinate converter online to change the Humminbird Position Format to the same as your Lowrance ...

Rickie

No, they're not all using the same coords file system. (there are 3 different formats)

(Years ago)
I wrote a set of coords down from a KDFWR fish attractor map and manually entered it into my Lowrance. There were too many numbers to fit, so I dropped the last number. I brought up the map on the Lowrance and looked to see if I could see the waypoint ... it wasn't there. I then pulled up Google Earth on my computer & entered the same numbers, and there was my waypoint --- in the dang desert of IRAQ (seems that last number was important)

I then used a converter program to change the Lat/Long numbers of the map coords to Dec/Deg numbers that the Lowrance used .... wrote those down & then manually entered them into the unit. Checked them on the unit and they appeared right where they should on the unit's map.

I thought about the formats also but when you look at his numbers on his bird they look like the same numbers on my Lowrance but if you google what humminbird uses and what Lowrance uses there 2 different things

This got my attention when I read about the three different formats. I didn't know that existed.....Made me wonder what happens when your on a large body of water like Michigan's big lakes or out miles in the ocean and have an issue and need to call in help for a tow etc.... You give the coordinates off your unit they gonna find you? Do you have to specify what unit your running to get those coordinates?

The three common formats:

DDD° MM' SS.S"	Degrees, Minutes and Seconds
DDD° MM.MMM'	Degrees and Decimal Minutes
DDD.DDDDD°	Decimal Degrees

The values in their sequence are different enough for a rescue entity to know which format the GPS coordinates are in ...

Rickie

I’m missing something here
I run 2 Lowrance units and 1 Garmin unit
The numbers on Lowrance and the Garmin look the same but are different sitting 10 inches apart and not by just a couple numbers

Lowrance says they use USR format
I haven’t heard of a USR format
I went into my settings on my Lowrance unit and changed the format just to see what the numbers look like in each format and there is a big difference in the way that the numbers are oriented