WGS84 and OSGB

[LeonF]

Just bought the North Sea Waypoint directory to find they are all related to OSGB and EDS. My new charts are all WGS84. Should I worry about the difference ? Can I reset my GPS to OSGB, enter Waypoints then reset to WGS84? Would appreciate any info. Thanks.

L.A.R.Ferguson

 

[davel]

You should check the manual that comes with your GPS to confirm how it handles chart datums.

My own Garmin 12 will allow you to select the datum to be used for indicating position and supports both OSGB and EDS (amongst others).

A word of caution, however, if you use your GPS to link to a plotter (as I do). The setting must usually be set to WGS84. The plotter will then take care of the conversion from WGS84 to the datum used by the displayed chart.


Dave L.

 

[tome]

Bit of a minefield. You should be able to change the GPS datum to OSGB or ED50, enter waypoints, then revert to WGS84 datum. To be sure, check that the waypoints you entered have changed by a small amount when you select WGS84.

Plotters are not universal: some expect WGS84 and perform the conversion, others expect local datum so care is needed.

Remember that if you use published waypoints so will everyone else so each is a potential collision point in poor visibility (see GPS assisted collision thread in scuttlebutt)

 

[JeremyF]

Looks like a potential problem. When tired you wont remember the keystokes needed to swap over datum systems.

I wouldnt risk it - take the book back and swap it for one with WGS84. It must be based on pretty old data if it isnt using WGS84

Jeremy Flynn