# All the Aires guide!!



## RichardD (Sep 14, 2009)

Having just purchased a M/H I decided to invest in a copy of the 3rd edition of All the Aires France ready for our first trip when I take early retirement next Spring.

Good service from Vicarious as it arrived next day so I started to investigate suitable Aires using Google Maps.

On entering the GPS co-ordinates for Laruns in the Pyrenees it took me 30kms or so south over the border into Spain.

I thought this might be just some inaccuracy on Google Maps so got out my copy of the CC Europe 1 guide and entered the co-ordinates stated for the several camp sites around Laruns and everyone took my precisely to the location.

I then decided to check out the Calais location stated in the Aires guide and this took me to about 10kms south of Boulogne. The CC guide was accurate!!

Checked out 5 other locations and none of them came up in the correct location.

As a double check I typed GPS co-ordinates into my Garmin and all times CC was correct but Aires was miles out!!!

Has anyone experience this problem??? Need to contact Vicarious on Monday and express my concern.

Regards,

Richard


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Hi Richard

I can practically guarantee you are entering the co-ordinates in the wrong format.

The Aires guide, for reasons best know to Vicarious, uses a format which is different to that most commonly in use.

You need to convert them into degrees and decimals of a degree.

There's an online converter here http://boulter.com/gps/

I've got a downloaded one somewhere, if I can find it. Will add it to this post when found.

Found it. 

Dave


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## alphadee (May 10, 2009)

My Garmin gives 3 different formats to choose from... make sure you choose the correct one. I didn't to begin with!!!


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## RichardD (Sep 14, 2009)

Thanks Guys, I had just worked this out myself.

Reset the Garmin co-ordinates format and they work just fine!!

I thought I must have been doing something wrong.

Cheers,

Richard


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Well done, Richard. In the last copy of All The Aires, we found a couple of inaccuracies (I think they were typos or printing errors). In this one, each has been spot on (we've now stayed at over 100 aires from the guide).

What I've doen is to download a set of POIs from TomTom called "Aires de Services Verifieé", and whenever we program in a new destination, I check that there's a POI at that location, just in case we made a mistake.

Also, we've adopted a slightly different method when visiting a new aire, after almost getting stuck between two parked cars in one town last month. When we get to within a couple of km of the destination, we then start using the signs on the roadside - sometimes our TomTom tries to helpfully send us on a 'quicker' route :evil: 

Gerald


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## MrWez (Sep 25, 2011)

We found this when using the Aires book but fortunately we only ever use the GPS as a rough guide (which is all you should ever do with it). We found one was incorrect but the others we used were fine.

In spite of what a lot of people tell you, civilian GPS units aren't that accurate - for truly accurate GPS you need to be in the US military or one of their allies!

We found the descriptions of how to get to the Aires from the book was of more use, if it happened to agree entirely with the GPS then that was a bonus!

As you have found out, there are numerous formats for displaying co-ordinates. There's supposed to be an international standard but like all of these things, there's arguments over whose standard is best and which one should be used.

As a result they persist in using their own standards! Helpful 'eh?


MrWez


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## jud (Aug 15, 2009)

RichardD said:


> Thanks Guys, I had just worked this out myself.
> 
> Reset the Garmin co-ordinates format and they work just fine!!
> 
> ...


hi richard d.and when you buy the German stellplatz you will need to change the sat nav again they are different formats as well .jud


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

MrWez said:


> In spite of what a lot of people tell you, civilian GPS units aren't that accurate - for truly accurate GPS you need to be in the US military or one of their allies.


That's an interesting comment Mr W.

I'm not disagreeing of course, but what degree of accuracy do we need as civilians?

If I want to go to a particular Aire I always check it (_if possible_) on Google Maps - Street View. If it doesn't appear where it should be, it's invariably because the co-ordinates are wrong . . . not because the GPS gadget is inaccurate.

SatNavs and GPS dongles are generally accurate to within 10 metres or less, which is not good enough to send a missile up a terrorist's back passage (_in his house_!! :roll: ) but plenty good enough for finding an Aire. :lol:

The ones you simply cannot find from the published coordinates tell us more about the care taken by person who submitted them than the accuracy of the SatNav, don't you think? 

_(BTW - Mrs Zeb always has a paper map close at hand. Wonderful gadgets though they undoubtedly are, they are not the answer to a maiden's *every *prayer!!)_

Dave


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

There are one or two mistakes in the new book but generally its accurate. I wish however they would just put the co-ordinates in decimal format though which is just easier to type in.

I love the way they put a copywrite notice every now and again in the book stating the GPS co-ordinates are theirs and cant be reproduced or given to others. How can you own a GPS co-ordinate?


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

To convert one format to another apparently........

http://www.csgnetwork.com/gpscoordconv.html


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

GPS signals are very much more accurate now since the Cold war ended.
Using a extension aerial on my Garmin I can get an accuracy of 10 feet.

Besides hunting round for an obscure aire is half the fun


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

barryd said:


> How can you own a GPS co-ordinate?


Answers on a postcard please? :lol: :lol:

Interesting question Barry. :wink:

I guess the only grey area comes when you pass on the coordinates, since nobody would be likely to pass them in isolation, and with no other associated information.

If you simply said, "_These are the coordinates to a collection of Aires_" I can't see how you could be infringing copyright. If you included even the names of the Aires, then you might be in the wrong. I don't know, and I doubt if anyone else could be very specific without the benefit of a legal test case.

I wonder what the attitude would be if someone posts, _"There's a cracking good Aire in the excellent Vicarious book . . . . page number . . . . coordinates . . . name of Aire."_

That is undoubtedly "passing it on" but it is also giving them a lot of free advertising to a huge and dedicated audience. Could they . . . would they object to that?

An interesting question indeed.

Dave


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Stanner said:


> To convert one format to another apparently........
> http://www.csgnetwork.com/gpscoordconv.html


Do pay attention that lad at the back! 8O :lol: :lol:

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-1160750.html#1160750

Assuming it works correctly (_and I think it does_) the Excel spreadsheet is handy for when you can't or don't want to go online.

It would be good if someone would test it and offer a second opinion. I had to adapt it from a far more complex example - and I *think *I got it right!! :roll:

Dave


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

As I posted in another thread:

On a TomTom there is no need to convert coordinates. You can input them in any of the three formats. No need to change any settings. It just works.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

trevd01 said:


> As I posted in another thread:
> 
> On a TomTom there is no need to convert coordinates. You can input them in any of the three formats. No need to change any settings. It just works.


Yes my TomTom accepts anything but some others dont so why dont they just put the decimal I.e 46.333333?

Its just easier to enter as well.


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

We did find one was wrong last year. 
The Coordinates were for another town with a similar name, but in a different area


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Yes my TomTom has so far not missed a beat when finding a site.
It is well worth downloading the POI from T.T. library where there seem to be far more Aires than even V.Books include but of course they include none of the supporting information. The USB is catching up quickly too.
Alan


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

One of the things about the downloaded POIs is that it doesn't tell you what type of aire it is. Many of them are just service points, and not _aires de stationnment_.

Gerald


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Grath said:


> We did find one was wrong last year.
> The Coordinates were for another town with a similar name, but in a different area


Just done a re check and I was wrong about the details.
The Cords are correct but the position on the main map is wrong.
It is Auterive page 359 and number 22 on the map.
It's position on the map should be just below number 59 at Muret


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

geraldandannie said:


> One of the things about the downloaded POIs is that it doesn't tell you what type of aire it is. Many of them are just service points, and not _aires de stationnment_.
> Gerald


Depends where you download them from Gerald. :wink:

I can't remember where I got mine from (might have been Archies ?) but I have two sets - one for proper Aires and another set for Aires de Stationnement.

They are in .csv format for Autoroute, and have been posted on here fairly recently if you want them.

Dave


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