What GPS



M

Muzz

Guest
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
 
C

Chris Lawrence

Guest
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
 
B

Brian

Guest
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.
 
A

Andreas Van Hoo

Guest
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:p[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.
 
A

Adrian

Guest
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
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
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/
 
M

Muzz

Guest
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
 
C

Colin Dawson

Guest
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.
 
C

Chris Lawrence

Guest
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
 
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