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Position Formats Supported by Garmin Outdoor Devices

Garmin GPS devices are set by factory default to hdddomm.mmm’ or hdddomm.mmmm’. This means it is set to latitude and longitude in degrees and minutes (or lat/lon DM), with decimal minutes. There are other Position Formats available to choose from on your Garmin GPS, especially if you are using coordinates from a map, or other source, that are not using the same Position Format as the factory default on your Garmin GPS. To change the position format on your Garmin GPS device, refer to your device's owner's manual.

How Coordinates and Position Formats Work to Identify Locations on a Map

To establish the position of a geographic location on a map, a map projection is used to convert geodetic coordinates to two-dimensional coordinates on a map; it projects the datum ellipsoidal coordinates and height onto a flat surface of a map. The datum, along with a map projection applied to a grid of reference locations, establishes a grid system for plotting locations. Common map projections in current use include the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS), the United States National Grid (USNG). Coordinates on a map are usually in terms northing N and easting E offsets relative to a specified origin.

Global navigation makes use of lines of latitude and longitude to pinpoint a particular location on the Earth’s surface. It is given as geographical coordinates.

Position Formats Supported by Outdoor Products

  • Latitude and Longitude h-hemisphere (N,S,E,W), d-degrees, m-minutes, s-seconds.

    NOTE: Up to 8 or 9 digits can be entered for each coordinate, depending on the device being used and what version of software it is running. Some devices only support 8 digits per coordinate, even with the latest software updates.

    • hddd.dddddo or hddd.ddddddo Latitude and Longitude in Degrees only.

    • hdddomm.mmm’ or hdddomm.mmmm’  Latitude and Longitude in Degrees and Minutes only.

    • hdddomm’ss.s” or hdddomm’ss.ss” Latitude and Longitude in Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds.

  • Austrian Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Austria. Uses the Map datum Austria.

  • Borneo RSO Rectified Skew Orthomorphic (RSO) Borneo map projection system used in Brunei and East Malaysia. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • British Grid System used only for map positions in the United Kingdom. Uses the Map Datum Ord Srvy GB.

  • Dutch Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Holland. Uses the Map Datum Dutch.

  • EOV Hungarian Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Hungary. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • Estonian Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Estonia. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • Finnish Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Finland. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • German Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Germany. Uses the Map Datum Potsdam.

  • Icelandic Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Iceland. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • Indonesian Equatorial/Irian/Southern Systems used only for map positions in the country of Indonesia. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • India (Zones 0, IA, IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA,IIIB, IVA, IVB) This is an abbreviated form of the original zones that cover the country of India: Kalianpur 1880 India Zone 0, Kalianpur 1880 India Zone I, Kalianpur 1880 India Zone IIa, Kalianpur 1880 India Zone IIb, Kalianpur 1880 India Zone III, Kalianpur 1880 India Zone IV, Kalianpur 1937 India Zone IIb, Kalianpur 1962 India Zone I, Kalianpur 1962 India Zone IIa, Kalianpur 1975 India Zone I, Kalianpur 1975 India Zone IIa, Kalianpur 1975 India Zone IIb, Kalianpur 1975 India Zone III, Kalianpur 1975 India Zone IV. All zones use Map Datum WGS84. 

  • Irish (ITM) Irish Transverse Mercator. System used only for map positions in the country of Ireland. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • Irish (IG) Irish Grid. System used only for map positions in the country of Ireland. Uses the Map Datum Ireland 1965.

  • Latvian TM Latvian Transverse Mercator. System used only for map positions in the country of Latvia. Uses the Map Datum LKS92.

  • Loran TD System was developed during WWII as a radio naviagtion system and is an acronym for LOng RAnge Navigation. TD is Time Differential. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • Maidenhead The Maidenhead Locator System is a geographic co-ordinate system used by amateur radio operators to succinctly describe their locations. Its purpose is to be concise, accurate and robust in the face of interference and adverse transmission conditions. The Maidenhead Locator System can describe locations anywhere in the world. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • MGRS The Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) is the geocoordinate standard used by NATO militaries for locating points on the earth. The MGRS is derived from the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid system and the universal polar stereographic (UPS) grid system, but uses a different labeling convention. The MGRS is used for the entire earth.

  • New Zealand System used only for map positions in the country of New Zealand. Uses the Map Datum Geod Datm '49.

  • New Zealand TM System used only for map positions in the country of New Zealand. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • QNG Grid Qatar National Grid. System used only for map positions in the country of Qatar. Uses the Map Datum Qatar National.

  • RT 90 Later version of the RT 38 coordinate system for maps in Sweden, still used by the government. Uses Map Datum WGS84.

  • Swedish Grid (RT 38) Old Sweden National Grid system. Uses Map datum WGS72.

  • SWEREF 99 TM Latest Swedish Transverse Mercator grid coordinate system. Uses Map Datum WGS84.

  • South African Grid System used only for map positions in the country of South Africa. Uses the Map Datum WGS84.

  • Swiss Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Switzerland. Uses the Map Datum CH-1903.

  • Taiwan Grid System used only for map positions in the country of Taiwan. Uses the Map Datum WGS72 or WGS84.

  • US National Grid The United States National Grid (USNG) is a point reference system of grid references commonly used in the United States. It provides a nationally consistent language of location in a user friendly format. It is similar in design to the national grid reference systems used throughout other nations. The USNG was developed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee.

  • UTM UPS (Universal Transverse Mercator/Universal Polar Stereographic) This is a pair of position formats: the UPS system is used for the polar regions, and the UTM system covers everywhere else. The UTM system is not a single map projection but a series of sixty, each covering 6-degree bands of longitude. Uses Map Datum WGS84.

  • W Malayan RSO Rectified Skew Orthomorphic (RSO) Malayan map projection system used in Malaysia. Uses the Map Datum Kertau 1948.

  • User Grid To input and define a position format that is not included on the device.

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