anyone an engineer?

J

joescrivens

Suspended / Banned
Messages
15,052
Name
Joe
Edit My Images
Yes
I need to know how to convert a decimal bearing like

78.69006753 into a bearing ° ' "

anyone know what my calculation should be
 
I get 78deg 41 sec 24seconds from an online converter, but that's not what you're after is it?????????
 
Last edited:
Yeh! keep travelling North and dont stop (y) Feel free to call me stupid here Joe, but you are trying to convert a bearing into a bearing :thinking:
 
Wait. So it's the whole number as degrees.

Then the next 2 decimals as a decimal x 60

So 0.69 x 60 is 41

Then the last bit x 3600

.006753 x 3600 is 24

Yay
 
joescrivens said:
Wait. So it's the whole number as degrees.

Then the next 2 decimals as a decimal x 60

So 0.69 x 60 is 41

Then the last bit x 3600

.006753 x 3600 is 24

Yay
Click to expand...

Ferked if I know :shrug:
 
to find the mins multiply the decimal by 60, then take the deciminal of that and muliply that by 60 for the seconds
 
u8myufo said:
Yeh! keep travelling North and dont stop (y) Feel free to call me stupid here Joe, but you are trying to convert a bearing into a bearing :thinking:
Click to expand...

in a way

I'm converting a decimal bearing into a bearing in a different format
 
joescrivens said:
Wait. So it's the whole number as degrees.

Then the next 2 decimals as a decimal x 60

So 0.69 x 60 is 41

Then the last bit x 3600

.006753 x 3600 is 24

Yay
Click to expand...

This solution is flawed, it works by chance in this case and will not always give the correct answer. Do not rely on it if you intend to put the results to any serious use.

The site linked by mand gives the correct way to do the calculation, which is primary school arithmetic and not a task for an engineer.
 
Calculating the degrees, minutes, seconds is based on 60 minutes in a degree and 60 seconds in a minute.

So.....

78.69006753

78 Degrees - it's the whole number so stays the same. So subtract the whole number 78 and carry on.

0.69006753 x 60 = 41.4040518 - so you have 41 minutes. Now subract the 41.

0.4040518 x 60 = 24.243108 seconds

Final answer - 78 degrees 41 minutes and 24.243108 seconds
 
Last edited:
Krisstiffer said:
Calculating the degrees, minutes, seconds is based on 60 minutes in a degree and 60 seconds in a minute.

So.....

78.69006753

78 Degrees - it's the whole number so stays the same. So subtract the whole number 78 and carry on.

0.69006753 x 60 = 41.4040518 - so you have 41 minutes. Now subract the 41.

0.4040518 x 60 = 24.243108 seconds

Final answer - 78 degrees 41 minutes and 24.243108 seconds
Click to expand...

Nice one, I had figured that out whilst seeing a flaw in my previous method, thanks for clarifying it with such a helpful post (y)
 
Krisstiffer said:
Calculating the degrees, minutes, seconds is based on 60 minutes in a degree and 60 seconds in a minute.

So.....

78.69006753

78 Degrees - it's the whole number so stays the same. So subtract the whole number 78 and carry on.

0.69006753 x 60 = 41.4040518 - so you have 41 minutes. Now subract the 41.

0.4040518 x 60 = 24.243108 seconds

Final answer - 78 degrees 41 minutes and 24.243108 seconds
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you can't have decimals in the answer when using degrees, minutes and seconds - they're Imperial units (y)

For most purposes anything smaller than a second is too small to either measure or set which is one of the reasons the decimal system was introduced. The military use a measure called the "mil" - 6400 in a circle vs 3600" - but the average squaddie using a Silva compass struggles to set anything better than +/- 25mils.
 
Last edited:
You can perfectly have decimal seconds in an answer when you've converted to degrees mins and secs. Ever heard of a thou (of an inch)
 
Can safely say I've never needed to know that in a workshop!
 
joescrivens said:
I need to know how to convert a decimal bearing like

78.69006753 into a bearing ° ' "

anyone know what my calculation should be
Click to expand...

joe takes solving geocaching clues much too seriously :LOL:
 
Bristolian said:
Sorry, but you can't have decimals in the answer when using degrees, minutes and seconds - they're Imperial units (y)
Click to expand...

Sorry but have to disagree - just ask any self respecting astronomer.......

For example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse

And yes I know there are milliarcseconds and microarcseconds - just shows that we use the metric principles below a second - so decimals are perfectly valid :)
 
Krisstiffer said:
Sorry but have to disagree - just ask any self respecting astronomer.......

For example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse

And yes I know there are milliarcseconds and microarcseconds - just shows that we use the metric principles below a second - so decimals are perfectly valid :)
Click to expand...

Oh so sorry, I didn't realise Wikipedia was an absolute authority :)

I do accept that the use of decimals has become commonplace but there was never any provision for them in the Imperial system, only fractions.
 
Bristolian said:
Yes, it's a FRACTION - 1/1000
Click to expand...

And the definition of decimal is actually 'decimal fraction' what we use as the decimal system is just a combination of fractions of powers of ten - tenths, hundredths etc

<\maths teacher>
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top