Maps

[Derbys Lad]

I recently took over as secretary of my club and a member needs a loft location. I have never done this sort of thing before. I contacted the RPRA and the surveyor who used to do this and they said that I need a 1:2500 map to mark the location on. I have looked on the Ordance Survey and other websites and they are quite expensive. Does anybody know where I can get a copy of one of these maps from? How do other clubs do loft locations?

[Tony C]

Try your local library.

 

Where are the maps with your other members on?

[Guest]

Hi, we have used in our club the OS landranger series which are 1 : 50000 and the RPRA have accepted them. However if you only need one map and it must be 1:25000 it will cost about £7.50 and in our club new members purchase the map if there is not one already available. The 1:50000 doesn't save you much, about £2 I would have thought.

When I became Sec of a new club back in 1972 I purchased maps from the local planning dept and I think the scale on those was 1:12000, they used to print them off in black and white to order, However it cost if I remember £24 to purchase enough for our 32 loft club, which was the equivalent of my weekly wage at the time. If things have kept pace then they will be costly, but it costs only a visit or phone call to enquire, if you can get them they are far more 'accurate' because the scale is so big there is less chance of user error.

[Guest]

Tony C is right most libraries carry OS but they wil be 1:50000, unless you live in an area where the council is wealthy and can afford to but the dearer 1:25000, never seen one yet (they'll have the odd one but more likely to have the full range of landranger)

[Guest Hjaltland]

I was wondering if the Lat and Long you get off the Google maps is accurate enough for you? e.g my loft: Click on the image will give you the bigger pic.    The website is at: http://www.gorissen.info/Pierre/maps/googleMapLocationv3.php

[Guest]

Just been through all this but the prices are far from the ones stated on here first of all the rpra will acept 1;50,000 but the correct one is 1 25,0000 and cost £72 pounds if you use 1,50000 you stand a very good chance you will miss pinpoint the location by as much as 200 yds we had a dispute that has been running for over ten years and we had to get it right the best place to go is one of the big out door centers they will help it cost £18.50 and you get the sec of map you need the librarie does have it but when you photo copy it has to have the northerly and easterly marked on it and because you have photo copied you wont have it if you still have problems with it pm me and i will try and help uou

[Guest Vic]

Before I decided to dis- involve myself with the political side of local clubs, I did supply the whole  area that involved our local clubs with up to date ordinance council maps, that showed gardens in minute detail, including lofts that had been erected within a year or two at the time.    

[Guest TAMMY_1]

agree with frankdooman, prices are very expensive, i have in fact just bought a map for our club which was for the same reason , to resolve a dispute over a members distance, he had taken them by getting a reading off the computer and it did turn out they were wrong, the only accurate way is a map and the map i just bought was on a scale of 1-1250 which is as accurate as you can get, i tried all the libraries and councils and they wanted a fortune because every map is copywrited and the map i got cost thirty pounds for an a4 size copy, just to cover one house, actually shows a good bit of the town a full size town map will cost over £200 and i think you will find you cannot get them from councils or libraries, i tried all these options, the place i obtained our map is

 

map kiosk

2 wogan street

stafford

st16 3pu

phone 01785 241010

 

mapkiosk.com

 

i did also buy one from the os oulander range sent it in to the shu and they would not accept it saying the scale was to big and had to get a bettter one, there are limits as to what size is acceptable now, scale 1-1250 is bang on and the shu office asked me to give them the same details where i bought the map as it was great detail and the readings are perfect

[madmaxlofts]

if hes a rpra member dont you just need his rpra loft number

theve got his lang and long then they can auto map him out

[Guest TAMMY_1]

if hes a rpra member dont you just need his rpra loft number

theve got his lang and long then they can auto map him out

 

maybe he is a new member and then they wont have anything for him, if he is an older member then they should have his details, but the address i have posted above is excellent for one loft and the scale is crystal clear and the reading is exact, the problem i said before with our member getting computer readings and then the readings off the scale map gave a difference of between 800 and 900 yards and if the map readings had been i place he would not have won three of the races he was credited with, when i spoke to the shu secretary about this, it was actually her that contacted me to ask where i got the map,she said that this just highlights the problems of taking computer readings, they are not as accurate as the map despite claims the computer is exact, not so.Our club will never use computer readings again, a map will always be used.

[tubbles]

I must admit that i have not read all the answers thoroughly but, we had a member move to a new location, he moved to what was a great big open air swimming baths years ago and before that it was a hospital. Now when i went to the library i got maps that showed the hospital grounds and then another more recent one showed the baths but NO housing estate. After a good deal of searching i was told to try Blackwells in Liverpool as they get maps that include the latest planning applications. From memory I think it was about 12 pounds but you could see back gardens in the new houses. Local councils normally have the maps so you could phone the planning dept there and if they do not realise the cost of the maps they might do you a copy of the section that you need. Just tell them that you need to see back gardens. Good luck

[Guest anthony]

We use the GPS,it gives you the cordinates both of your loft and the race point,when you have these you can easily work the exact distance from point to point

[Guest Paulo]

1.25000 is best as has fencelines and everything on makes the surveyors job more easy

[Derbys Lad]

Thanks for all of the advise.

 

The local council apparently does not have 1:2500 scale maps, perhaps this explains some of their planning decisions over the years.

 

However, the local library has one from 1989, which includes the members' house, so should be ok. Unfortunately, their photocopier is bust, so I will have to wait for a couple of days. Such is life.

 

RE GPS. I vagely remember reading an article in either the BHW or the RP a couple of years ago which said that GPS should not be used as it has a built in random error. (Something to do with US military security.) All sounded a bit conspiracy theory to me. Does anybody else remember this article?

[me]

pity you don't no anybody who uses GIS at their work and you could get it for nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

Thats correct they used to be up to400 yds out for obvious reasons but the civy gps  are all correct now i have one of the most up to date gps it works from the lap top but the rpra did not pass it this year maybe next year the bit about copyright is correct the library might not let you take a copy for more than one loc they will know that you dont just want it for yoursrlf good luck if you get away with it

[Guest TAMMY_1]

pity you don't no anybody who uses GIS at their work and you could get it for nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

well as you may have have read thats how our members distances were all out , he used gis off a computer and when we did them again with a map he was on average 800 yards out, if you were to ask linda brooks in the shu office she will tell you what she told me they are not happy unless it is a map reading because the computer reading is not accurate, everybody seems to think the satellite readings are exact, they are not as our problem highlighted this, if you want to be exact get a map to the scale of 1/1250 and you will never have any problems in the future with inaccuricies off a computer

[Guest]

Frankdooman, where are you buying your maps from, you can get the landranger series in any Smiths for no more than £7 or direct via OS????

[Guest TAMMY_1]

Frankdooman, where are you buying your maps from, you can get the landranger series in any Smiths for no more than £7 or direct via OS????

 

and they are no use , not a good enough scale

[Guest]

Tammy, what do you mean of no use????????????

1:50 000 is accepted and if you want 1;25 000 they cost a bit more but not anywhere near the figures quoted, check your facts!

[Guest]

My last explorer map cost me £7.49 last year and it was reference OL15 which is two and a half inches to one mile i.e. 1:25 000.

Don't understand where Frank and Tammy are coming from, maps of the moon might be rare and cost that much but OS doesn't!!

[Guest Paulo]

the gps thing is true its called selective availablity and was programmed in so that only the US and other Nato forces got bang on accurately basically to stop the enemy calling in really accurate airstrikes etc using gps co-ord's.

 

Think its being turned off now.

[Guest TAMMY_1]

Tammy, what do you mean of no use????????????

1:50 000 is accepted and if you want 1;25 000 they cost a bit more but not anywhere near the figures quoted, check your facts!

 

there is a big difference in the reading you will get off a map with a scale of 1/2500 which is far more accurate than you will with a scale of 1/50,000 which the shu no longer accept, have you tried pricing one with a scale of 1/2500, and i checked with ordnance survey direct and they wanted an astronomical amount for a map, thats where im coming from

[me]

 

thats how our members distances were all out , he used gis off a computer and when we did them again with a map he was on average 800 yards out,

 

when did he doo them Tammy lad when he came home from the pub on a saturday night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

[Derbys Lad]

I don't want this to turn into a heated debate when I was only asking for some advice.

 

I think some may have mis-read the scales/zeros.

 

1:50,000 scale OS Landranger Maps and a 1:25,000 OS Explorer Maps are both cheap. However, according to the surveyor who used to do our loft positions, both of these are not accurate enough. (Which is a shame because I own both of these maps). If my reckoning is right using a 1:25,000 map gives 4cm to 1km. If the pin hole is 1mm in diameter then this represents 25m. (Not too good at converting to old money, but I get this to be around 22 yards).

 

He recommended either a 1:2,500 or a 1:1,250. You can get these on line from the OS website. You get a sheet of A4, with the required post code at the centre, for about £30. I daren't even imagine the cost of a full size map!

 

Any how I am off to the library tomorrow to get a photo copy of their map. Never knew that a secretary got to find out such interesting things.