X1 <- c("N40ø47.30'", "W32ø50.83'")
X2 <- c("W111ø58.67'", "E96ø51.11'")
df <- data.frame(X1, X2)
df$X1 <- sub('^.(.*).$','\\1',df$X1)
df$X2 <- sub('^.(.*).$','\\1',df$X2)
df
WDEgPC0gYygiTjQww7g0Ny4zMCciLCAiVzMyw7g1MC44MyciKQpYMiA8LSBjKCJXMTExw7g1OC42NyciLCAiRTk2w7g1MS4xMSciKQpkZiA8LSBkYXRhLmZyYW1lKFgxLCBYMikKZGYkWDEgPC0gc3ViKCdeLiguKikuJCcsJ1xcMScsZGYkWDEpCmRmJFgyIDwtIHN1YignXi4oLiopLiQnLCdcXDEnLGRmJFgyKQpkZgo=