Why isn't MLS using the U.S. National Grid?
Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:48 am
I've been attempting to work with the built-in GEO Codes fields in MLS and figuring out what to put in there. This can be a daunting task, and has resulted in a short crash course on different types of mapping and ideas that others have used to GEO Code their Ward or Stake.
I have come to the conclusion that there has been no standard adopted by the Church. Perhaps it's time we start to think of implementing a Church standard for this? I think that a likely candidate is the United States National Grid system.
Right now, each Ward has it's own GEO Coding idea, then each Stake has it's own. That is a form of mass confusion in my mind. Should an emergency happen, just how long will it take to become familiar with the Ward's GEO Coding system? Would you be able to tell someone in another Ward or an emergency service just how your GEO Codes work so help needed at a particular location could get there? Perhaps we should stock different colored flares?
In all my recent reading on this, I have run across several national as well as worldwide grid systems. I recently learned the United States has it's own National Grid system called (oddly enough) the United States National Grid. It has the ability to pinpoint a location that's easily understood. A good explanation can be found in the poster at http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/ ... Poster.pdf (The poster is large, and probably best to try to read online vice printing it) This illustrates the use and potential for the USNG. From what I've read, but not researched yet, many of the newer under $100 GPS units have the ability to work with the USNG as well as the traditional grids/coordinate systems.
The USNG's project page is at http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/ ... index_html and appears to have been completed in 2001!
There are a lot of information sites, one shows an example of the system using Google's Mapping API at http://www.fidnet.com/~jlmoore/usng/ - further information and a pretty good explanation, as well as programming code/examples, is at http://www.fidnet.com/~jlmoore/usng/help_usng.html More info is also at http://mississippi.deltastate.edu/
I'll make this short, but once you have the area and region down (basically prefixes), the following grouping numbers would have the following accuracy.
4 digits - 2306 - locates a point with a precision of 1,000-meters (a neighborhood size area).
6 digits - 234064 - locates a point with a precision of 100-meters (a soccer field size area).
8 digits - 23480647 - locates a point with a precision of 10-meters (the size of a modest home).
10 digits - 2348306479 - locates a point with a precision of 1-meter (within a parking spot).
I'd like others thoughts on getting this implemented in MLS.
I have come to the conclusion that there has been no standard adopted by the Church. Perhaps it's time we start to think of implementing a Church standard for this? I think that a likely candidate is the United States National Grid system.
Right now, each Ward has it's own GEO Coding idea, then each Stake has it's own. That is a form of mass confusion in my mind. Should an emergency happen, just how long will it take to become familiar with the Ward's GEO Coding system? Would you be able to tell someone in another Ward or an emergency service just how your GEO Codes work so help needed at a particular location could get there? Perhaps we should stock different colored flares?
In all my recent reading on this, I have run across several national as well as worldwide grid systems. I recently learned the United States has it's own National Grid system called (oddly enough) the United States National Grid. It has the ability to pinpoint a location that's easily understood. A good explanation can be found in the poster at http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/ ... Poster.pdf (The poster is large, and probably best to try to read online vice printing it) This illustrates the use and potential for the USNG. From what I've read, but not researched yet, many of the newer under $100 GPS units have the ability to work with the USNG as well as the traditional grids/coordinate systems.
The USNG's project page is at http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/ ... index_html and appears to have been completed in 2001!
There are a lot of information sites, one shows an example of the system using Google's Mapping API at http://www.fidnet.com/~jlmoore/usng/ - further information and a pretty good explanation, as well as programming code/examples, is at http://www.fidnet.com/~jlmoore/usng/help_usng.html More info is also at http://mississippi.deltastate.edu/
I'll make this short, but once you have the area and region down (basically prefixes), the following grouping numbers would have the following accuracy.
4 digits - 2306 - locates a point with a precision of 1,000-meters (a neighborhood size area).
6 digits - 234064 - locates a point with a precision of 100-meters (a soccer field size area).
8 digits - 23480647 - locates a point with a precision of 10-meters (the size of a modest home).
10 digits - 2348306479 - locates a point with a precision of 1-meter (within a parking spot).
I'd like others thoughts on getting this implemented in MLS.