Posted this earlier to uk.rec.climbing by accident: Haven't done much hillwalking for five or six years, kids intervened. Now I'm in a position to get back on the hill. I notice that GPS have become quite affordable now. Any advice on a decent £100 quid model? Are they all compatible with the 1/50,000 OS landranger maps ? -- Muzz reply to muzz and not slash
On Sun, 14 Mar 2004, muzz wrote: > Haven't done much hillwalking for five or six years, kids > intervened. Now I'm in a position to get back on the hill. > I notice that GPS have become quite affordable now. Any > advice on a decen= t > =A3100 quid model? The main difference is mapping vs non-mapping. Mapping ones can show your position overlayed on a map, non-mapping just give co-ordinates. However the built-in maps for the UK tend to be sparse with just major roads and are not useful for walking. The other consideration is to buy a multi-channel GPS, since this enables it to get a satellite fix and hold onto them easier than a multiplexing unit. As far as I know most units these days are multi-channel, with 12 channels being the most common and the most you need anyway. Multiplexing receivers were more common a few years back, for example my old Magellan GPS2000 was a two channel multiplexing model. > Are they all compatible with the 1/50,000 OS > landranger maps ? The unit needs to support Ordnance Survey GB co-rdinates and OSGB36 instead of just Lat/Lon, while the datum makes the actual positioning in the field compatible with your position on the OS map. I bought an eTrex from http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/ for 95 quid inc VAT and am very happy with it. This unit can interface with your computer via a serial cable. I use third-party software called GARtrip to download and analyse the tracks recorded by the eTrex. That can show the actual track taken, plot elevation against waypoint, show speeds, time of day you were at each point, etc. I'll have some example charts up later from the Grindleford Gallop walk I did yesterday. --=20 Chris
On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 09:24:06 +0000, muzz wrote: > Posted this earlier to uk.rec.climbing by accident: > Haven't done much hillwalking for five or six years, kids > intervened. Now I'm in a position to get back on the hill. > I notice that GPS have become quite affordable now. Any > advice on a decent £100 quid model? Are they all > compatible with the 1/50,000 OS landranger maps ? For what it's worth, I'm pleased with my Garmin Geko 201. This is not a mapping GPS, so it doesn't show maps. However you can create "routes" on it by programming in waypoints from say an OS map. I bought mine for £130, but I believe you could get it for closer to £100 if you shop around online. If you want to download routes onto the GPS / or download track data from the GPS to the computer then you will need a special lead, which can be around £30. It is much easier to plan routes on the computer than programming in waypoints manually. Only slight issue with the Geko 201 is that it uses AAA cells, which don't have as long a run time as a AA based unit*. I've not really needed to use mine seriously for navigation. The alternative is the basic yellow Garmin Etrex. Hope this is of help. -- Brian * I'm considering knocking up an external battery pack for the reciever.
Geko 201 or 301 is OK. The 101 has no external interface to connect it to a PC. -- Andreas van Hooijdonk http://www.gps-practice-and-fun.com "Brian" <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]... > On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 09:24:06 +0000, muzz wrote: > > > Posted this earlier to uk.rec.climbing by accident: > > Haven't done much hillwalking for five or six > > years, kids intervened. Now > > I'm in a position to get back on the hill. I notice that > > GPS have become quite affordable now. Any advice on a decent > > £100 quid model? Are they all compatible with the > > 1/50,000 OS landranger > > maps ? > > For what it's worth, I'm pleased with my Garmin Geko 201. > This is not a > mapping GPS, so it doesn't show maps. However you can > create "routes" on > it by programming in waypoints from say an OS map. > > I bought mine for £130, but I believe you could get it for > closer to £100 if you shop around online. > > If you want to download routes onto the GPS / or download > track data from > the GPS to the computer then you will need a special lead, > which can be > around £30. It is much easier to plan routes on the > computer than programming in waypoints manually. > > Only slight issue with the Geko 201 is that it uses AAA > cells, which don't > have as long a run time as a AA based unit*. I've not > really needed to use > mine seriously for navigation. > > The alternative is the basic yellow Garmin Etrex. > > Hope this is of help. > > -- > Brian > > * I'm considering knocking up an external battery pack > for the reciever.
Chris Lawrence <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>... > > I bought an eTrex from > http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/ for 95 quid inc > VAT and am very happy with it. This unit can interface > with your computer via a serial cable. I use third-party > software called GARtrip to download and analyse the tracks > recorded by the eTrex. That can show the actual track > taken, plot elevation against waypoint, show speeds, time > of day you were at each point, etc. > The computer cables for these are quite expensive (I don't think they usually come with the receiver, but you might find a deal that includes one). A friend who bought an etrex got a pfranc plug and made his own cable. He says this plug is actually better than the real Garmin one (it's smaller and allows the rubber flap to sit better). http://pfranc.com/projects/e2Plug/index.htm -adrian
In article <[email protected]>, Adrian <[email protected]> writes >Chris Lawrence <[email protected]> wrote in >message news:<[email protected] >losys.wlan>... >> >> I bought an eTrex from >> http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/ for 95 quid >> inc VAT and am very happy with it. This unit can >> interface with your computer via a serial cable. I use >> third-party software called GARtrip to download and >> analyse the tracks recorded by the eTrex. That can show >> the actual track taken, plot elevation against waypoint, >> show speeds, time of day you were at each point, etc. >> > >The computer cables for these are quite expensive (I don't >think they usually come with the receiver, but you might >find a deal that includes one). > >A friend who bought an etrex got a pfranc plug and made his >own cable. He says this plug is actually better than the >real Garmin one (it's smaller and allows the rubber flap to >sit better). http://pfranc.com/projects/e2Plug/index.htm > > >-adrian And the UK distributor of the pfranc plugs also sells complete cables (using the same connector) much cheaper than the original cable. http://www.lynks.co.uk/ -- http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/
On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 11:45:33 -0800, Adrian wrote: > > A friend who bought an etrex got a pfranc plug and made > his own cable. He says this plug is actually better than > the real Garmin one (it's smaller and allows the rubber > flap to sit better). > http://pfranc.com/projects/e2Plug/index.htm > > > -adrian http://www.pfranc.com/projects/g45contr/emap/diy/index.htm DIY connectors, which I may try when I build an external power pack for my geko 201! -- Brian
Chris Lawrence wrote: > I bought an eTrex from > http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/ for 95 quid inc > VAT and am very happy with it. This unit can interface > with your computer via a serial cable. I use third-party > software called GARtrip to download and analyse the tracks > recorded by the eTrex. That can show the actual track > taken, plot elevation against waypoint, show speeds, time > of day you were at each point, etc. Great minds etc. Before reading this I ordered the above unit from the above web site for the above price ( well 99 quid all in ). Thanks for the advice anyway. -- Muzz reply to muzz and not slash
Here's another vote for the eTrex. It's a great piece is hardware. Rebust enough to endure my abuse. Personally, I use GPSUtility on my PC to save tracks and prepare walks. It does everything I need. > Are they all compatible with the 1/50,000 OS > landranger maps ? The eTrex is compatible with all OS Maps.and most other maps too. Col.
On Sun, 14 Mar 2004, Chris Lawrence wrote: > I bought an eTrex from > http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/ for 95 quid inc > VAT and am very happy with it. This unit can interface > with your computer via a serial cable. I use third-party > software called GARtrip to download and analyse the tracks > recorded by the eTrex. That can show the actual track > taken, plot elevation against waypoint, show speeds, time > of day you were at each point, etc. > > I'll have some example charts up later from the > Grindleford Gallop walk I did yesterday. The photos and charts are now online at http://photos.holosys.co.uk/c135686.html Use the 'Full Size' button to see the details in the charts which were created using GARtrip from the data recorded in the basic yellow eTrex. I attached the eTrex to the top of my daysack by placing it in a strong plastic bag, folding down the top of the bag over a strip of thin card to make a thick sturdy strip, sellotaping that to keep it together, hole punching the strip and attaching it to the shoulder straps with some decent string. That keeps it face up with a clear skyview all the time. -- Chris
