military coordinate scale and protractor

#Military coordinate scale and protractor how to
#Military coordinate scale and protractor pdf

For civilian use, this factor is not as critical to land navigation. For example, if you have a genuine military protractor with a date from the 1990s, it may not be as accurate as one with a more current date. The purpose of these updates is to account for the changes in the magnetic declination of the earth. Thus, genuine military protractors and military topographic maps have to be updated often. Moreover, military protractors and maps are for use in training and operations. Since they may not be under contract with the Department of the Army to supply these products, they would be in violation of the law if they put the U. Why? Because once a company does that, the product becomes the property of the U. However, they are prohibited by law from putting the above label on them. There are military style map protractors available by civilian vendors online. There is a label on the military-issued ones that reads something like this: The significant difference between the genuine military protractors and the civilian copies is labeling. Also, you can find military protractors sometimes being sold in military surplus stores. However, some are scaled for commercial maps, like a UTM map, rather than military maps. This style of the protractor is available on the civilian market. These protractors are for use with the military topographic maps. They use the metric system for measuring distance and feature both compass degrees and mils around the edges. They are scaled to the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS). The most recognizable map protractor is the one that is in use with the U.S. This article will focus on those protractors used with land navigation and topographic maps. There are different types of protractors for each of these applications. They are helpful tools for navigating on air, land, or sea. The three primary functions of protractors for map reading are plotting points on a map, measuring distances and determining azimuths (angles). Map protractors have some essential functions regardless of their calibrated scale. Therefore, it is good to know the two basic kinds of map protractors. However, land navigation with a paper topographic map can be cumbersome without the aid of a map protractor and a compass. Other people prefer to use some kind of GPS and Map application on their smartphone or tablet. Many people prefer to use GPS devices such as those from Garmin®. Land navigation is an essential part of both emergency survival and enjoying the outdoors. This coordinate value describes the southwest corner of the 10- meter square in which you’re target is located.There are three outstanding map protractors to consider for your land navigation needs. Then, read the values indicated on the plotter, in this case 89300478. You slide it along that line until the plotter’s vertical axis lines up with the X. Using your plotter to locate your target within a 10-meter square, you line up the plotter’s horizontal axis with the 04 northing line. Your target is therefore located in the 1,000-meter square identified as 8904. The closest northing line to the south of your target is 04.

The closest easting line to the west of your target’s location is 89. Once again, start at the bottom left of the map, and READ RIGHT UP. Reading the plotter, your coordinates are 88240450 Plot Map Coordinates - Plotting Point B To do so, place the horizontal axis of the 1:25,000-scale plotter on the 04 northing line, as shown, moving it until the vertical axis lines up with the targeted X. So, now you’ve located your target within a one kilometer square, now use the plotter to locate it within a 10-meter square. The intersection of these two lines (8804) puts you at the southwest corner of the 1,000 meter square containing your target location.

Next, go up that easting line until you come to the closest northing line to the south of your target location, in this case 04. Remember, the coordinate itself does not pinpoint the target, but simply describes the southwest corner of the 10-meter square in which the target lies. In this case, our plotted coordinates will locate our targets within a 10-meter square. We’ll plot three targeted points: A, B, and C.

#Military coordinate scale and protractor how to

Once you understand the UTM and MGRS grid systems, and know how to use one plotter, you can pretty easily figure out how to use most other plotters. There are civilian plotters available in other scales, such as 1:24,000. In these examples, we’ll be using a “blank map” with a 1:25,000 grid. This tool is designed to work with the military’s 1:25,000-scale maps, as well as the 1:50,000 and 1:100,000 maps. Let's see now how to plot map coordinates using a military protractor.

#Military coordinate scale and protractor pdf

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