Handheld GPSr's. How do *you* use them?

pbuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 07, 2005 Posts: 17

I'm slowly coming to a usage scenario I'd like to check out with the more
experienced users.
I'm talking about using a handheld GPSr, with limited map capability
as apposed to a topographical map, on foot or a bike, i.e. not
following the roads only. Take the example of a walk over the
more remote areas of Dartmoor.

As a boy scout we stand there, work out our position with sightings
and a map/compass, then pinpoint our position, work out the direction to the next
(way)point, then move on.

GPS takes out the 'work out our position', but (if I'm right) still leaves
the question 'where am I?' on this (now non-existant or minimal) map.

Presumption: Ive traced a track on something like memory-map OS map,
and uploaded the n way points to the GPSr.

I now have a blank screen with a series of dots (the track I want to follow).
Is it a case of following the GPSr 'arrows', headings or compass,
and hoping that the planning was good, and that I'm not about to
walk over the ede of the bog | cliff etc?

Is this how such units are used for geocaching etc?

I guess the advantages of using a PDA are that there are topographical
maps available? The downsides being battery life?

Walkers? Cyclists?

How else are you using these please?

pbuser

mikealder · Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 8:30 pm Post subject:

With the PDA, if you purchase the Memory Map software for the PC you can deposit the map covering the area of interest, including a track/ route, then using this within the program on the PDA it will follow you chosen route. The resolution is the same as a paper map and so very detailed in comparison to what you describe, for extra life get an external battery pack (you will probably have to make it though, its not too difficult, I get around 10 to 12 hours with the PDA and GPS from my external pack, and it recharges in less than 30 min from the mains - good excuse to find a pub for lunch) - Mike

pbuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 07, 2005 Posts: 17

mikealder · Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 4:49 pm Post subject:

I can well understand your concerns with respect to rain, you can get a waterproof case for the PDA but they can be costly, a simple alternate is a sealing see through plastic bag, like the type you carry a traditional map in combined with an elastic bandto seal the cable exit point. For battery power - yes I use an external home made pack, there is another post in this section by a chap who built one for his mountain bike (have a search for it - it contains pictures and can be addopted to be carried in a jacket etc. its not too heavy either - we aren't talking about car batteries but high power rechargable AA size cells >2,500mA/Hr. For the maps it depends which scale you go for, the 1:50,000 scale maps are in 12 regions and each one is around the 300 to 400 MB in size, but you don't need the entire map just the section you are interested in. I have a number of SD and CF cards in various capacity. As for the PDA I far prefer the PPC over and above the palm based units, the reason being far more software that is of use, there are thousands of applications for the Palm, but not many I find of much use for mapping, the XDA is good (and cheap with a mobile phone contract) with both TomTom for car nav and Memory Map for walking. Any PDA with VGA style screen looks better in use (IPAQ-4700, Dell X50V eg.) but they cost more. If you are thinking of a new device, get one with both CF and SD slots, make sure the SD is SDIO compatible - it gives you more options later on. I can't be more specific on manufacturer or model as this is too specific to personal preferances - Also if you want external connectivity bear in mind built in WI-FI and/ or Bluetooth depending what you want - Mike

barryd · Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 6:09 pm Post subject:

Hi
Everything you say you want to do can be done with a basic handheld GPS unit without topo mapping. My Garmin Etrex Venture is much more rugged than my Pocket PC, less fuss and easier to power - it typically runs on two AA batteries for as long as I want to go walking, and all I need for "just in case" is a couple of spare AAs in my pocket. Obviously the topo maps on my Pocket PC are a visually richer and more functional option, but a basic GPS paired with a paper map and compass is just fine for hiking and a lot cheaper.
I'd suggest you look through the reviews on this site to get a better idea of what various brands and price brackets of handheld GPS will do. Or try the Garmin website where you can download the user manuals and read about them in detail.
Best wishes
_________________
Barry Davies

pbuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 07, 2005 Posts: 17

pbuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 07, 2005 Posts: 17

barryd · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:08 pm Post subject:

Hi again
As I said my eTrex Venture is relatively low end spec, but it hits or gets close to many of your requirements. Main qualifications/answers for my model are:
- Up to 20 routes, each with up to 50 waypoints, on my unit - use the table on the Garmin website to compare with other better models
- Waypoint names, positions and symbols are editable on the unit
- You would drive yourself mad trying to set up this many waypoints and routes on the unit (unless masochistic), so do all that on a PC application then easily upload them and then use the unit just for tweaks or to add the odd extra waypoint when travelling
- Many Garmins including mine have a serial port interface - only a few models (so far?) use USB
- Yes to track saving and download to PC, waterproof, battery life etc.
- Compass and topo maps not on my model, but on some of them
- Not sure about your concerns re maps, as most companies use proprietary formats
- Have to take issue with the "crap after-sales" comment - I've seen nothing but glowing praise for their support service on many threads on the Groundspeak (geocaching) forums. I've not had to use it myself yet, mind you ...
Best wishes
_________________
Barry Davies

barryd · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:11 pm Post subject:

Just thought I'd add that I only use the Garmin on foot normally. When cycling I use a Pocket PC with topo mapping as I prefer the scrolling map and voice commands I can get from it.
Sorry if this knocks you back to square one!
_________________
Barry Davies

piedwagtail91 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 18, 2005 Posts: 4

i used to use a garmin summit on the bike clipped into a bar mount. i've just got a vista c with the rip off city select europe( had to buy a car kit but don't have a car) and it's great.it'll record rides of 200+ miles easily( up to 10000 points). i usually plan rides on tracklogs and can send a 100 mile ride as a saved tracklog easily.for walking i've just tried doing all the gisburn forest paths as an overlay. it's a bit messy but using tracklogs/ mem. map i just went over every path in the forest and sent it to the gps. you need to be accurate when going over a track for a second time but it works and saves taking paper maps.
i've just dowloaded the contour map from the smc site and put that on the gps. i can see where all the hills are now.high capacity rechargeable batteries last for about 24 hours, and i always take a couple of spares.
this set up gives me all i need to know. there is no tourist info as on paper maps but i keep all the cyclist cafes, bike shops or other stuff as waypoints so i have all the relevant info on screen.
the city select provides the base map and i store several different areas of map and contours together to load as necessary. all the rides /walks come as an overlay from tracklogs/ mem map.
i use it to plan rides out to areas for geocaching and haven't had any problems so far except for deleteing a cache waypoint instead of selecting goto!

pbuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 07, 2005 Posts: 17

pbuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 07, 2005 Posts: 17

Shortform quotes. Great info p.

piedwagtail91 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 18, 2005 Posts: 4

the summit won't take maps only"overlays which can be a bit hard to follow on roundabouts with lots of exits, this is why i changed to a vista c. which will take the city select maps. i save the mapsets on the pc and only put them in the gps when i go out of my "home "area set. the home set is roughly from liverpool up to the north lakes and about three quarters way across the country.
i have another set made up with contours for scotland , a set for wales and a set for the peak district, download through a usb is only a couple of minutes.
i think the vista c has 24 mb of memory which is plenty for my needs.
the base or the city select map( the garmin built in base map only has main roads and motorways) isn't see through, the contour map goes over the top(i think) and just shows contours and names of hills, all the roads and waypoints are still visible througth it.
the tracks from tracklogs/ mem map then go over that. highlighting the roads from city select.these can on this model be changed to any colour you like on screen which makes them very easy to follow even with navigation off. with navigation of the tracklog on you get a beep before every turn, i use this when on my own but when i'm with the club i leave it off as some don't like the "noise".
using this set up makes geocaching easy, you can just plot a route to the waypoint for the cache. finding teh cache is another story though!

pbuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 07, 2005 Posts: 17

piedwagtail91 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 18, 2005 Posts: 4

yes a tracklog can be a walk/ride/drive you've done with the gps and saved or can be traced on the pc and then loaded to the gps as a saved tracklog.
yes it's the scottish moutaineering club.
i would study all your options, download demos of mapping software and read up and ask advice as much as possible because it'e all too easy to make an expensive mistake with this stuff!

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