UTM or lat/long?

[Neil]

What do you prefer lat/long or UTM coordinates? Personally, I find the UTM to be a lot easier to deal with.

 

[SAR-EMT40]

For land navigation UTM coordinates or MGRS is the gold standard, or a user defined variant of them.

Keith

 

[DougPaul]

It depends on which community you are in--some use one, some use the other. So use whatever the group that you are communicating with uses.

Also applies to the datum.

I personally use Lat/lon, and WGS84.

So my vote would be: "whichever".

Doug

 

[MichaelJ]

UTM. I'm zone 19 and proud.

 

[Jay H]

I use Lat/Long in my GPS because it happens to be the default and what I use my GPS for, is mostly backup it is moot. For orienteering, it's pretty much UTM these days and I have used it in such an event.

Jay

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I use lat/long in degrees, minutes and seconds.

 

[tonycc]

I selected "other" since my answer is both, it really depends on the situation.

For hiking and navigating from point a to point b utm is my preference since it relates to understandable, consistent units (meters).

However, for global placement, Lat/Lon is much easier to relate to in human terms. I know what latitude certain borders are, and about where certain longitudes place me.

For astronomy Lat/Lon is the gold standard. There is no UTM version for Right Ascension/ Declination. You travel 15 degrees in one hour due to Earth's rotation no matter what your Latitude. Latitude realates directly to the ability to determine what objects are in the sky sometime during the day.

Tony

 

[Pucknuts61]

UTM.
I just find it easier to use to read maps.....as long as I have the right UTM tool. DOH!

But I do have my GPS and software set to UTM too.
Bill

 

[JOD]

lat/ long

I can convert to any other system I need at home/ work.

 

[Neil]

Latitude realates directly to the ability to determine what objects are in the sky sometime during the day.

Tony

Very timely(sept 22). Up here in Montreal I'm at 45 deg North. At the equinox is the sun 45 deg from the horizon at noon?

 

[tonycc]

Very timely(sept 22). Up here in Montreal I'm at 45 deg North. At the equinox is the sun 45 deg from the horizon at noon?

Almost exactly! Also, the pole star (Polaris) is always about 45 degrees (90 degrees minus your latitude) above the horizon.

Tony

 

[Rich Owings]

Personally, I like UTM. Though I have heard it called "coordinates for dummies!"

Rich Owings


"We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books." - Edward Abbey