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I don't understand Grid References - are there any sites to help me?
Here's a quick link to the Ordnance Survey's beginner's guide to grid references: link

Grid references locate places on the map. They consist of one (Ireland) or two (Great Britain) letters followed by an even number of digits. The letters define a (100x100)km^2 square (a 'myriad' in Geograph-speak) and are best looked up on an overview map. The numbers locate the position within that square. To find a location, split the block of numbers in two. The first block is the easting, i.e. the distance from the western edge of the myriad. The second is the northing - the distance from its southern edge.

Grid references always specify square areas, not points. The more digits there are, the smaller is the square referred to, and the higher is the precision of the grid reference. For each pair of digits, the precision increases by a factor of ten: SN58 defines a square of (10x10)km^2, 50km to the east and 80km to the north of the origin of myriad SN. SN5881 is a (1x1)km^2 square 58km east and 81km north of that origin. SN 58272 81324 is a (1x1)m^2 area. When stating a grid reference, the precision given should be in line with the accuracy of the position (how well do we actually know where we are?) and with the size of the object (a building doesn't fit on a 1m^2 footprint).

The system Geograph still uses in Ireland works in exactly the same way, although the Ordnance Surveys of Ireland and of Northern Ireland have recently introduced a different system for their maps. This article link explains the differences.
· More information on this topic... · contributed by Rudi Winter, Jun 2011 · Provide an alternative answer!

Photo Contributors :: Contributing

Is there a way to enter latitude and longitude directly when submitting?
Most GPS receivers allow you to change the datum and display format to OSGB36 and British National Grid, the convention used by the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain. If you're using a GPS built into a mobile phone, this may not be possible, and your coordinates will always be in WGS84 lat/lon format. If you also use your GPS phone to take your geographs, it should store the positions in the GeoExif header, which Geograph should interpret correctly as camera position.

Otherwise, you can use the Google map part of the submission routine ('locate/find on map') and enter your lat/lon coordinates in the format 'loc:N51.7252,E0.5905' in the box below the Google map. This will look up the grid reference for the location and insert it as _subject_ position into the submission dialogue. You may have to adjust this unless the subject was right in front of you.

Alternatively, there is a conversion tool here on Geograph Tools link from which you can copy and paste. There's also a bulk conversion tool on the Ordnance Survey website link which will convert lat/lon co-ordinates into grid references, although this uses a slightly different datum for the lat/lon base and will produce a small error (insignificant for Geograph purposes).

(Question asked by Roga and answered by barryhunter, oasthouse and DHL on the forum link )

· 2 of 150 questions shown. View All


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