> For the most part, a GPS alone will be useless. Hey, you know where you
> are, but that's about it. ANd you don't get instant feedback on whether
> you're going in the right direction or not (a compass updates
> accurately, continuously).
Huh? I think you may be thinking of how they used to be. I will agree that
you should not rely solely on a GPS for navigation if you are doing some
serious navigating like across open water such as large lakes or offshore,
or anywhere you will be totally lost if your GPS dies. But they now
actually tell you a ton of things like heading, ground speed, elevation,
cross track error, ETA, and distance to where you are going, hell they even
tell you what time it is (GPS sats have atomic clocks on-board). On units
now you do get instant feedback if you are going in the right direction.
The only thing is you need to be moving, doesn't have to be fast though
maybe 1.5mph or higher. In this area a compass is better, but some of the
higher end units may have magnetic compasses built in. They also aquire
satalites or "lock on" much faster now. Usually around a minute or so on a
cold boot but it can be longer if you have travled a long distance with it
turned off or if you turn it on while moving (like in a car).
> GPS also has trouble in deep valleys, under
> heavy clouds, and in thick forest. I've also had a GPS get totally
> confused on a completely exposed peak (Mt. Marcy, highest in the state)
> with 6 sattelites in "sight" and not a cloud in the sky
Again, they are much better now. All but the very base models will handle
clouds, rain, and heavy foliage with no problem. Like Sam said they can
even aquire a lock from inside your house!
In the Dak I use it mostly as a toy. But they can come in handy. I always
take it whenever I travel. And if I go someplace new I usually mark all the
intersections and turnoffs along the way and build a route to use next trip.
How many times have you been going somewhere and think to yourself "now
where's that turn off... oh this is it-- no... maybe this one...... " With
the GPS if you have already set a waypoint you just look down and say "oh
it's 2.34 miles ahead, and I'll be there in 1minute and 45 seconds". That's
one use but mainly it's just fun to have a digital speedometer for a
change...
If you have a good map you can input lat and long coordinates into it and
navigate to a point you have never been to before. For example I have
Houston Raceway Park coordinates if any DML/GPSers want them. When you
drive down to the DML meet you will have an easy time finding the track.
Cool huh?
--Mike
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Feb 06 2004 - 11:47:57 EST