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Convert coordinates to postcodes, possible?

(Mike Mitchell)

5/23/2012 10:09:00 AM

I found a POI ov2 file for my TomTom satnav. I've also found a
converter to convert it to a .csv file, which looks like this
(extract, all places in UK):

-1.31337 , 51.06291,"[Winchester]"
-1.29532 , 50.69838,"[Newport]"
-1.18029 , 50.8528,"[Fareham]"
-1.14652 , 50.7147,"[Ryde]"
-1.11911 , 50.79512,"[Gosport]"
-1.05433 , 50.81713,"Mc Do Ocean Park"
-1.04257 , 50.89375,"[Waterlooville]"
-0.77563 , 50.83602,"[Chichester]"
-0.67442 , 50.78276,"[Bognor Regis]"

I think those figures are map coords, but I don't know how to relate
them to a map.

I want to write a VB6 app to convert that file of coords to a list of
postcodes.

Any ideas? Also, any explanation of those values above would be
useful...

Thanks.

MM
16 Answers

Dee Earley

5/23/2012 10:32:00 AM

0

On 23/05/2012 11:09, MM wrote:
> I found a POI ov2 file for my TomTom satnav. I've also found a
> converter to convert it to a .csv file, which looks like this
> (extract, all places in UK):
>
> -1.31337 , 51.06291,"[Winchester]"
> -1.29532 , 50.69838,"[Newport]"
> -1.18029 , 50.8528,"[Fareham]"
> -1.14652 , 50.7147,"[Ryde]"
> -1.11911 , 50.79512,"[Gosport]"
> -1.05433 , 50.81713,"Mc Do Ocean Park"
> -1.04257 , 50.89375,"[Waterlooville]"
> -0.77563 , 50.83602,"[Chichester]"
> -0.67442 , 50.78276,"[Bognor Regis]"

Ahh, you look like a local :)

> I think those figures are map coords, but I don't know how to relate
> them to a map.

They are normal decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum. These are the
standard for representing geo locations.

> I want to write a VB6 app to convert that file of coords to a list of
> postcodes.

Good luck, Royal mail charge a small fortune for the postcode data (it
is their property after all) but there are open projects to try and
derive this information:
http://www.freethepos...
http://www.npem...

--
Deanna Earley (dee.earley@icode.co.uk)
i-Catcher Development Team
http://www.icode.co.uk...

iCode Systems

(Replies direct to my email address will be ignored.
Please reply to the group.)

Jimekus

5/23/2012 10:37:00 AM

0



Deanna Earley wrote:
> On 23/05/2012 11:09, MM wrote:
> > I found a POI ov2 file for my TomTom satnav. I've also found a
> > converter to convert it to a .csv file, which looks like this
> > (extract, all places in UK):
> >
> > -1.31337 , 51.06291,"[Winchester]"
OS X 448212
OS Y 129510
Nearest Post Code SO23 8AH
Lat (WGS84) N51:03:46 ( 51.062910 )
Long (WGS84) W1:18:48 ( -1.313384 )
LR SU482295
mX -146205
mY 6599172
M Actual : FFFDC4E3_0064B204
Street : FFFDC5B0_0064B158
Road : FFFDDD20_00648E30
Road64 : FFFE0C00_00649600
Road128: FFFE0C00_00639C00
Click here to see location
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/stre...

MikeD

5/23/2012 11:25:00 AM

0



"Deanna Earley" <dee.earley@icode.co.uk> wrote in message
news:jpieat$ar8$1@speranza.aioe.org...
> On 23/05/2012 11:09, MM wrote:
>> I found a POI ov2 file for my TomTom satnav. I've also found a
>> converter to convert it to a .csv file, which looks like this
>> (extract, all places in UK):
>>
>> -1.31337 , 51.06291,"[Winchester]"
>> -1.29532 , 50.69838,"[Newport]"
>> -1.18029 , 50.8528,"[Fareham]"
>> -1.14652 , 50.7147,"[Ryde]"
>> -1.11911 , 50.79512,"[Gosport]"
>> -1.05433 , 50.81713,"Mc Do Ocean Park"
>> -1.04257 , 50.89375,"[Waterlooville]"
>> -0.77563 , 50.83602,"[Chichester]"
>> -0.67442 , 50.78276,"[Bognor Regis]"
>
> Ahh, you look like a local :)
>
>> I think those figures are map coords, but I don't know how to relate
>> them to a map.
>
> They are normal decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum. These are the standard
> for representing geo locations.
>
>> I want to write a VB6 app to convert that file of coords to a list of
>> postcodes.
>
> Good luck, Royal mail charge a small fortune for the postcode data (it is
> their property after all) but there are open projects to try and derive
> this information:
> http://www.freethepos...
> http://www.npem...
>

Actually, to me they look like standard latitude/longitude coordinates
(although the lat is usually listed first). I typed a few of them into
Google Maps and guess what? It found the listed city.

Nobody owns latitude/longitude coordinates, although if you want them in a
useful, searchable database format, you may have to buy that (or spend years
compiling the data yourself).

Mike

Dee Earley

5/23/2012 11:32:00 AM

0

On 23/05/2012 12:25, MikeD wrote:
>
>
> "Deanna Earley" <dee.earley@icode.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:jpieat$ar8$1@speranza.aioe.org...
>> On 23/05/2012 11:09, MM wrote:
>>> I found a POI ov2 file for my TomTom satnav. I've also found a
>>> converter to convert it to a .csv file, which looks like this
>>> (extract, all places in UK):
>>>
>>> -1.31337 , 51.06291,"[Winchester]"
>>> -1.29532 , 50.69838,"[Newport]"
>>> -1.18029 , 50.8528,"[Fareham]"
>>> -1.14652 , 50.7147,"[Ryde]"
>>> -1.11911 , 50.79512,"[Gosport]"
>>> -1.05433 , 50.81713,"Mc Do Ocean Park"
>>> -1.04257 , 50.89375,"[Waterlooville]"
>>> -0.77563 , 50.83602,"[Chichester]"
>>> -0.67442 , 50.78276,"[Bognor Regis]"
>>
>> Ahh, you look like a local :)
>>
>>> I think those figures are map coords, but I don't know how to relate
>>> them to a map.
>>
>> They are normal decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum. These are the
>> standard for representing geo locations.
>>
>>> I want to write a VB6 app to convert that file of coords to a list of
>>> postcodes.
>>
>> Good luck, Royal mail charge a small fortune for the postcode data (it
>> is their property after all) but there are open projects to try and
>> derive this information:
>> http://www.freethepos...
>> http://www.npem...
>
> Actually, to me they look like standard latitude/longitude coordinates
> (although the lat is usually listed first). I typed a few of them into
> Google Maps and guess what? It found the listed city.

Yes, That's what I said.

> Nobody owns latitude/longitude coordinates, although if you want them in
> a useful, searchable database format, you may have to buy that (or spend
> years compiling the data yourself).

I know, the database I was talking about was the postcode data.

As for a searchable database of names and location, check out
OpenStreetMap and Nominatim.

--
Deanna Earley (dee.earley@icode.co.uk)
i-Catcher Development Team
http://www.icode.co.uk...

iCode Systems

(Replies direct to my email address will be ignored.
Please reply to the group.)

MikeD

5/23/2012 2:29:00 PM

0



"Deanna Earley" <dee.earley@icode.co.uk> wrote in message
news:jpihqq$jfv$1@speranza.aioe.org...
> On 23/05/2012 12:25, MikeD wrote:
>>
>>
>> "Deanna Earley" <dee.earley@icode.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:jpieat$ar8$1@speranza.aioe.org...
>>> On 23/05/2012 11:09, MM wrote:
>>>> I found a POI ov2 file for my TomTom satnav. I've also found a
>>>> converter to convert it to a .csv file, which looks like this
>>>> (extract, all places in UK):
>>>>
>>>> -1.31337 , 51.06291,"[Winchester]"
>>>> -1.29532 , 50.69838,"[Newport]"
>>>> -1.18029 , 50.8528,"[Fareham]"
>>>> -1.14652 , 50.7147,"[Ryde]"
>>>> -1.11911 , 50.79512,"[Gosport]"
>>>> -1.05433 , 50.81713,"Mc Do Ocean Park"
>>>> -1.04257 , 50.89375,"[Waterlooville]"
>>>> -0.77563 , 50.83602,"[Chichester]"
>>>> -0.67442 , 50.78276,"[Bognor Regis]"
>>>
>>> Ahh, you look like a local :)
>>>
>>>> I think those figures are map coords, but I don't know how to relate
>>>> them to a map.
>>>
>>> They are normal decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum. These are the
>>> standard for representing geo locations.
>>>
>>>> I want to write a VB6 app to convert that file of coords to a list of
>>>> postcodes.
>>>
>>> Good luck, Royal mail charge a small fortune for the postcode data (it
>>> is their property after all) but there are open projects to try and
>>> derive this information:
>>> http://www.freethepos...
>>> http://www.npem...
>>
>> Actually, to me they look like standard latitude/longitude coordinates
>> (although the lat is usually listed first). I typed a few of them into
>> Google Maps and guess what? It found the listed city.
>
> Yes, That's what I said.


You did? I, for one, had no idea what WGS84 meant. <g>

Mike

Karl E. Peterson

5/23/2012 4:26:00 PM

0

MikeD has brought this to us :
>>>>> I think those figures are map coords, but I don't know how to relate
>>>>> them to a map.
>>>>
>>>> They are normal decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum. These are the
>>>> standard for representing geo locations.
>>>>
>>> Actually, to me they look like standard latitude/longitude coordinates
>>> (although the lat is usually listed first). I typed a few of them into
>>> Google Maps and guess what? It found the listed city.
>>
>> Yes, That's what I said.
>
> You did? I, for one, had no idea what WGS84 meant. <g>

Yeah, "decimal degrees" was the clue. <g> Really, though, there's no
basis for guessing a datum based just on coordinates, other than common
usage.

WGS84 is what most GPS systems use now, and is just the current best
global coordinate system we have. There have been many. (Basic
problem: Earth only approximates a sphere.) This one uses an origin at
the center of the Earth, and is thought to be generally accurate to
within 2cm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Geode...

Lots of subregions have even more refined systems for accurate
measurements locally. We use NAD83 here in the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/...

--
..NET: It's About Trust!
http://vfre...

(Mike Mitchell)

5/23/2012 4:37:00 PM

0

On Wed, 23 May 2012 07:25:01 -0400, "MikeD" <nobody@nowhere.edu>
wrote:

>
>
>"Deanna Earley" <dee.earley@icode.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:jpieat$ar8$1@speranza.aioe.org...
>> On 23/05/2012 11:09, MM wrote:
>>> I found a POI ov2 file for my TomTom satnav. I've also found a
>>> converter to convert it to a .csv file, which looks like this
>>> (extract, all places in UK):
>>>
>>> -1.31337 , 51.06291,"[Winchester]"
>>> -1.29532 , 50.69838,"[Newport]"
>>> -1.18029 , 50.8528,"[Fareham]"
>>> -1.14652 , 50.7147,"[Ryde]"
>>> -1.11911 , 50.79512,"[Gosport]"
>>> -1.05433 , 50.81713,"Mc Do Ocean Park"
>>> -1.04257 , 50.89375,"[Waterlooville]"
>>> -0.77563 , 50.83602,"[Chichester]"
>>> -0.67442 , 50.78276,"[Bognor Regis]"
>>
>> Ahh, you look like a local :)
>>
>>> I think those figures are map coords, but I don't know how to relate
>>> them to a map.
>>
>> They are normal decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum. These are the standard
>> for representing geo locations.
>>
>>> I want to write a VB6 app to convert that file of coords to a list of
>>> postcodes.
>>
>> Good luck, Royal mail charge a small fortune for the postcode data (it is
>> their property after all) but there are open projects to try and derive
>> this information:
>> http://www.freethepos...
>> http://www.npem...
>>
>
>Actually, to me they look like standard latitude/longitude coordinates
>(although the lat is usually listed first). I typed a few of them into
>Google Maps and guess what? It found the listed city.
>
>Nobody owns latitude/longitude coordinates, although if you want them in a
>useful, searchable database format, you may have to buy that (or spend years
>compiling the data yourself).

Yes, I discovered some time later that the values are round the wrong
way. When I typed them in the right way, as if by magic the locations
appeared! If one types the coords into Streetview, it returns a bunch
of data, including the nearest outer postcode. This would suffice.

What do I need this for? When I'm on a long journey by road I like to
know where the nearest McDonalds is. I tried sussing out the POI
malarkey in my TomTom, but it's just too damn difficult (like TomTom
generally). I went to the McDonalds website where you can use the
store locator to find restaurants in a specific area. But I want to
see where they are along the 200 mile route and I don't want to repeat
the locator search for every ruddy town on the route. I suggested to
McDonalds that they superimpose their store locator map with the twin
arches right across the UK, but I only got a standard response to say
"thank for my interest in McDonalds".

I did some other Googling and found said POI ov2 for TomTom, but if
anyone has a recent Start20 they will know what terrible problems
TomTom (the company) has had with the upgrade process using MyTomTom
(the web-based app). So since I'm only a day away from travelling, I
didn't want to f**k up the existing setup, something that is dead easy
to do.

Maybe I'll just make a sandwich...

MM

(Mike Mitchell)

5/23/2012 4:40:00 PM

0

On Wed, 23 May 2012 09:25:59 -0700, Karl E. Peterson <karl@exmvps.org>
wrote:

>....generally accurate to
>within 2cm.

When I'm starving hungry after a long trip, that's about the rapidly
closing distance between a Big Mac and my mouth.

MM

Karl E. Peterson

5/23/2012 5:09:00 PM

0

MM laid this down on his screen :
> I did some other Googling and found said POI ov2 for TomTom, but if
> anyone has a recent Start20 they will know what terrible problems
> TomTom (the company) has had with the upgrade process using MyTomTom
> (the web-based app). So since I'm only a day away from travelling, I
> didn't want to f**k up the existing setup, something that is dead easy
> to do.

I *definitely* understand the trepidation of updating one of those
right before leaving! I have a TomTom XL-something, and enjoy it on
the road. But making sure it's ready for the road is an entirely
different matter.

Have you considered, though, creating your own ov2 file? Maybe...

http://www.po...

> Maybe I'll just make a sandwich...

There's another choice. But I don't get something...

> That POI file I downloaded
> contains only the latitude/longitude coords of McDonalds.

Does this file not work directly on your TomTom? (I've never looked
inside an ov2, so I have no idea on the format.)

--
..NET: It's About Trust!
http://vfre...

Mayayana

5/23/2012 9:15:00 PM

0

| Hmmm, seems a tad clueless about "soda pop" and "fruit stands".

I'm afraid that's a sign of the times. A disk of mad
cow gristle starts its life on a patch of decimated
rain forest in Brazil, joins a bun of baked foam
pseudo-bread that was probably shipped last year
from a warehouse in Mexico, meets up with a pickle slice
that may have been processed next door to a hazardous
metals reclamation site in China; add some reconstituted,
freeze-dried onion flakes, plus a dollop of reddish,
colloidal something-or-other... and you have a chance
to buy that particular delicacy at 3 mile intervals along
your travel route... But the small, local farms that might
sell you a peach or an apple can't afford to stay in
business anymore... Bon appetit. :)