UTM Using your GPS with the Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinate System Paperback – February 1, 2007

Sometimes it's nice to have a physical booklet you can peruse and go back and refer to. Yes, there is a ton of information about UTM (including from the MapTools company), and I have viewed MANY, but I like having this handy guide if I don't want to get on the computer or phone. You can tell John takes pride in his company and sharing information with others interested in working with Topo maps. I like the fact that this includes a UTM Grid tool for 1:24000 scale map (and the book has a practice map of this scale so you can use the tool with that. Finally, some people complain that the UTM grid tool is too small. Hey, it fit's over one of the grid squares on the map!. You can get a larger roamer tool also, but I like the small size. Very happy with the purchase and the company.

If your a map Geek like I am this little book it AWSOME !! It opens up a new skill set and gives you another set of tools in your back pocket per say.If you go to the BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA I would say GET THIS BOOK !This is NOT A REPLACMENT for the core skill of map and compass but... it sure helps when your out there and those little words in your head we've had at some point ( OH CRAP..!! ) when your bobbing on a big lake in a bunch of islands and you thought you were at one spot on the map but really was not as far as you thought. Or... you ... AHEM... COUGH... Take a wrong turn on what looks like a nice portage and but turns out the be the Keckabec Tail on a more remote part in the BWCA and your gut is saying...this doesn't feel right Just stop ! pull out the map and compass orient the map to North get out the GPS and use your new skills and find your A$$. Then have a good laugh and a story to tell when you get back.

Covers UTM and GPS without fluff, frills, bells, and whistles - I consider this a big plus! Yet coverage of the topic is as detailed as I needed.A comment has been made about the small size of the included grid tool scaled for 1:24,000 (7.5 minute topo map). The size is exactly one grid square, which makes the tool exceedingly handy for marking maps using the UTM grid. Yes, that does make the numbers for the protractor around the tool's edge small, but at 66 years of age and near-sighted, I still had no difficulty reading the numbers. I consider it another big plus that the author was kind enough to even include the tool.The book's handy size, 5.5 X 8.5, makes it a go-to reference manual that will be used and used and used....Many thanks to Mr. John Carnes for writing this book!!

This is a fantastic and brief introduction to UTM.

(Full disclosure: I buy and re-sell this book from the author)If you use a GPS and have looked at the traditional latitude and longitude numbers and said to yourself "how will I ever find this on a map"...especially after seeing a map...this book is for you.While UTM is based on the metric system, it's stupid simple to use once you understand it. And John makes it easy to understand...easy enough that you don't even need the "grid square" tool to estimate where a GPS location is on a map.This is not, however, a map-and-compass book. You won't get any instruction on how to shoot a bearing, determine/calculate declination, etc. But how to use a GPS to plot a position on a map, it's excellent.

Every through hiker on CDT (anywhere else for that matter) ought to read this book and study its contents. Comprehensive yet simple enough for everyone to understand. No reason to waste on average 1-2 hours a day trying to figure out where you are or where you should go. This book will solve that problem for every hiker. You got GPS? You still need this book. VERY modest price for VERY valuable info. There is application for GPS also-READ the title "Using your GPS with the Universal . . . ". You need this if you hike. Thanks to John Carnes! I head out to CDT this May 2013. I sure do appreciate this book. Thanks again.

This book came with a UTM grid tool (1:24,000 scale) which made it a very good value.This book has some specific examples of how to use UTM with your GPS and used a Garmin E-Trax for several examples.I'd state that if you just want the basic instructions, they are available on-line or from a catalog offered by the manufacturer, but if you want to get into a little more detail the book will help you out.As an example of where this book will go above and beyond is instructing on how to add UTM scales on a map not UTM coded.I'm using this for a scouting group and the detail was appreciated.

Bought the book to complement my collection. It is easy to understand, and provides valuable information. In addition, there is a UTM Grid tool for 1:24,000 scale maps in the last page of the book. Will recommend it to anyone who is into orienteering and land navigation, and also those in the search and rescue field as a refreshing reading (the book is only 50 pages long and easy to carry in a backpack or car glove compartment).