GPS
 

"DaveS" wrote



Especially the ones in cars.





I can see using one in true wilderness setting and the mentioned "meeting a
float plane" but one of the funniest things I've had happen to me recently
is:


I was coming home a "back way" when a Lexus coming the opposite direction
slowed markedly and the driver waved at me, somewhat frantically, I
slowed, realized he wanted to talk, then stopped and backed up so that we
were drivers window to drivers window in the middle of the country road.
Being up high in my pickup I could see a MapQuest print out next to him and
his onboard GPS, all aglow.

He asked, "How do I get to Woodward Lake."

He was on the correct road, headed the correct direction, so I simply said,"
You're headed the right way just go straight about 4 or 5 miles, you can't
miss the entrance." He glanced at his printout and GPS, nodded mouthed a
vague, "Thanks" and drove off slowly

I stopped at a stop sign in only another hundred yards and checked my
mirror..... he was turning right ( but wrong) at the first intersection.
FWIW, he had passed two big state road signs pointing to Woodward, within
the last half mile, but I doubt he could see them, his puter map, and GPS at
the same time ... and why trust the time proven when new and cute is
available?

GPS
 

"rb608" wrote in message
...
On Feb 22, 11:44 pm, riverman wrote:
And that's the crux of the bisquit. You lose all sense of place when
you use them; instead you rely on the GPS to keep track of your
journey instead of constantly checking landmarks, keeping mental tabs
on surroundings, mapping the 'big picture' in your mind and knowing
where you are on it, etc.

I've never thought I needed one (& still don't); & I see your point;
though I haven't used one enough to have my brain switch off. Thus
far, I've taken it along as an amusement more than a tool, and I've
been sure enough of my route that I've just ignored it when it told me
something other than what I wanted to do anyway.

I have used it a few times in lieu of being prepared with directions
and a map of my own, and it's performed admirably; surprisingly so, in
fact. Still, I doubt I'd ever use it as a primary tool without backup
for anything critical. I'm still too much of a Luddite for that.

Joe F.

Since I kayak in an area where fog can be a problem, handheld GPS is almost
a necessity. I have fixed mount GPS in the boat and since I boat in a 1500
miles of inland waterway with high levees, and they all look much the same,
a GPS is very handy in the Sacramento Delta. Hiking, is not as much a
problem, but when the fog sets in, GPS can be very handy. And Geocaching is
a fun diversion.

GPS
 

On Feb 23, 4:08*pm, "Calif Bill" wrote:
*And Geocaching is a fun diversion.

I agree, but I'm lukewarm overall. I hit most of the ones near my
office & occasionally find a few when headed to a job site if I have
time. Oddly enough, I've never looked for the ones closest to my
home. Never tried it while on vacation but occasionally run into
those who are.

I confess to being a bit put off by some of the geocaching "culture"
as I see it, and there is no f*cking way in hell I will *ever* use the
word "muggle". Maybe I'm insufficiently geeky, but I kinda doubt
that. I'll discuss my calculator with enthusiam; but a Harry Potter
fan I'm not. Maybe I visit the wrong websites.

I just enjoy the simple challenge of travelling to a set of
coordinates. Finding the tiny, hidden caches? Not so much. I found
the spot, don't make me search for some cleverly hidden artifact.
Lazy, I guess.

Joe F.

GPS
 

On Feb 23, 4:07*pm, "Larry L" wrote:
I stopped at a stop sign in only another hundred yards and checked my
mirror..... he was turning right ( but wrong) at the first intersection.

That is a good example of how they will steer you wrong. If your unit
doesn't know there's a road going where you want to go, it'll
basically freak out & tell you to do things that ain't necessarily
so. I have relatives in southern MS outside NOLA, and they tell tales
of driving on reclaimed land that the GPS doesn't know about. It'll
show their position as driving across water while trying to figure out
what to tell them.

Directly adjacent to my property, a new housing development connects
to my road, except that the Garmin doesn't know the road goes
through. The whole time you're driving through the development toward
my house, the unit keeps telling you to make a U turn.

I guess the upshot is that if you know where you're going, you don't
need the GPS; and if you don't know where you're going, you won't know
when the GPS doesn't either.

Joe F.

Joe F.

GPS
 

"rb608" wrote in message
...
On Feb 23, 2:49 pm, DaveS wrote:
Damn if I understand why these things are such an attraction.
Especially the ones in cars. What a distraction, and mistakes these
things make wipe out any advantage they might have. What I find most
amazing is how they seem to reveal who can and who cannot read a map
and do basic orienteering. I can see some advantage at sea and maybe
in calling in air support, artillery, nite ops etc but otherwise ? I
see folks using them just for simple stuff like where is north. I just
don't get it.

A curse of being a capable person is that it's sometimes hard to see
the POV of the incapable. For a lot of people, these things are a
godsend. People who couldn't read a map if they had one. People who
couldn't find north with a compass, or even have a concept of what
north represents. Yeah, they're out there. The people who, if
driving south, have to turn the map around to figure out they need to
turn right to go west.

That said, I do see the utility. For the couple times I actually used
one to go someplace unfamiliar, it saw it as a map I didn't have to
stop the car to unfold and look at.

I'll also go as far as to say I don't think it's less of a crutch than
looking up an address on Google Maps & printing out the map. If you
do that, you're not relying on your own skills, but those of a
database. Except that this database and map are GPS-based and can
travel with you. Same thing, just better technology.

I'll certainly agree with the downsides, though. I see too many
people programming (or playing with) these things while driving. In
that sense, they're dangerous distractions; but just a casual glance
at the screen or a brief audio prompt isn't much of an issue for me.
In fact, I can see where they'd increase safety in the way they offer
advance notice of an upcoming course change or waypoint instead of a
driver having to dart across three lanes because they didn't realize
their exit was coming up. It's like most things, safe enough if used
properly.

Yin and yang for me; but I'm geeky enough to like the gadget aspect
and too poor to buy one just for the entertainment value.

Joe F.

The nice thing is it is hard to have a map for all the places you go. And
is a lot easier to use the wife's Nuvi and get out MS Streets and Trips on
the laptop. Plus like a week ago when I went to Gold Beach, OR. Coming
back we found a great hamburger place. Great American Burger in Redway, CA.
Off 101 a little ways. In an area without a lot of towns.

GPS
 

On Feb 23, 9:42*pm, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:
riverman wrote:
rb608 wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Anybody on roff have suggestions in the under $300 range ?
I don't have one, but #1 Son has a Garmin Nuvi 255W. *I tried it out a
few trios, & it's pretty cool.

I am a map and compass virtuoso (not a luddite) from many years
leading canoe trips into the backwaters of Northern Canada. ...

I do fine with map & compass too, my Silva Ranger is a great tool,
but I have only one thing to say about Canadian topos and Her Royal
Majesty's cartographers. They suck. Big time SUCK.


Yeah, they do! On the Snake/Peel (first descent, about 15 years back)
we were happily floating along, noticing that we were losing about 4
meters per mile, consistently. Then we went off the side of one topo
sheet onto another, and noticed that they had instantly decreased our
elevation by 100 meters. We knew that elevation had to come in
somewhere (we were floating to tidewater) and for the rest of the
trip, we kept waiting to come across a 300-foot waterfall.

In the end, we concluded that the elvations on the first topo were
just 100 meters too high, but that seemed pretty irresponsible of
them.


But having said that, I'm going to get one anyway for that northern
Ontario trip we were talking about. I'll have to meet a floatplane at
a spot on the map where I've never been and I want to make damn sure
I don't miss my ride.


Yeah, what's up with that? I can still fit it in after my Western
Canada drive, since SWMBO wants to fly to the Mideast to visit the
grandkids.

--riverman

GPS
 

On Feb 24, 3:49*am, DaveS wrote:
On Feb 22, 4:27*pm, Ken Fortenberry

wrote:

Damn if I understand why these things are such an attraction.
Especially the ones in cars. What a distraction, and mistakes these
things make wipe out any advantage they might have. *What I *find most
amazing is how they seem to reveal who can and who cannot read a map
and do basic orienteering. I can see some advantage at sea and maybe
in calling in air support, artillery, nite ops etc but otherwise ? I
see folks using them just for simple stuff like where is north. I just
don't get it.

Dave

The best purpose for one in a car is when you need gas, food, etc. You
can ask it where the closest gas station is, and it will take you
there, and bring you back to your route the fastest way.

--riverman

GPS
 

riverman wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
But having said that, I'm going to get one anyway for that northern
Ontario trip we were talking about. I'll have to meet a floatplane at
a spot on the map where I've never been and I want to make damn sure
I don't miss my ride.

Yeah, what's up with that? I can still fit it in after my Western
Canada drive, since SWMBO wants to fly to the Mideast to visit the
grandkids.

The departure date from Savant Lake, Ontario is July 18 or thereabouts
and the plan is to take 10 days to paddle 7 days worth of easy paddling
so as to leave plenty of time for fishing.

I'll send an email to the usual suspects as soon as West Caribou Air
gives me a confirmation on the dollars.

--
Ken Fortenberry

GPS
 

On Feb 23, 8:27*am, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:
I've never had a need for a GPS, I guess I'm just a map & compass
luddite, but I can foresee occasions where one might come in handy.

I don't want or need a lot of bells and whistles, I do want a USB
port that can connect to my Mac, waterproof and long battery life,
but basically I just need something to tell me I'm in the general
vicinity of where the floatplane is going to land to pick me up.

Anybody on roff have suggestions in the under $300 range ?

--
Ken Fortenberry

Maybe you need one of these?
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/sat-nag/index.html

--riverman
(or maybe you already have one?)