GPS

[dickfoster]

I do use a GPS unit but I'm waiting on an economical, high quality civilian "inertial" system...they do not rely on any outside source of data...i.e., satellites, RF transmitters etc.,etc... they are entirely self contained systems...

Used to love LORAN and thought it was a valid redundant system seeing as it was land based...not sure "inertial" system technology will be cost effective for the average consumer for a while though...

Inertial navigation is OK for nukes since you don't have to rely on external navigational aids or signals that are easy to jam but you do have to know where you're starting from and where you're going accurately. As a former and original member of the Defence Mapping Agency and Geodetic Survey Squadron many of our missions were to accurately locate our nuclear missiles and the surrounding gravity fields and to accurately locate picture points for things like B1s and B2s to calibrate their Inertial systems while enroute. Then again you also have to know where your target is too or you're not going to be hitting much of anything, no matter how big your nuke is. It's easy for inertial systems to have errors creep in and accumulate over the course of travel. The price and complexity of an inertial system increases exponentially the more accuracy you need and the further you're going between fixes.

 

[jack707]

That kinda depends on where and how far you're going.

I'm talking about woods or forest. Streets are hit or miss I use the map in the glove box.

 

[k0ua]

I'm talking about woods or forest. Streets are hit or miss I use the map in the glove box.

Jack, I gotta tell you man, a GPS with turn by turn talking navigation is a heck of a lot better than a map and quite a bit safer for the driver too. I aint telling you to take the map out of your glove box, as it is good for backup, but If you have half a dozen homes to find in a day, and you don't know the town like the back of your hand, the GPS units whether standalone or Google driven can really make your life easier. And a good GPS out in the woods, the big woods, can get your cold tired wet arse back to camp instead of freezing it off.

 

[dickfoster]

I'm talking about woods or forest. Streets are hit or miss I use the map in the glove box.

Now how about you get our your maps and compass and get yourself to say Umiat Alaska. Let us know when you get there. I suggest you take one of these along for when you do get yourself lost. :laughing:
SPOT Satellite Messenger, Spot Personal GPS Tracker from BackCountry Adventures in BC Canada

 

[TractorGuy]

The Garmin I had in my boat was invaluable years ago. Mostly because I could chart my own path through the rocks and oyster bars and have a way to remember the way back without crashing. Entering Lat and Long to known fish holes was also a big plus. If I still had a salt water boat I couldn't imagine life without one.

In the car my Garmin Nuvi sent me on wild goose chases and got me lost on dead end roads several times. That coupled with them wanting me to pay for map updates that weren't going to be any more accurate than what it came with spelled the end for that machine. My Samsung Galaxy S5 with Google Maps does a fantastic job and so far has never steered me wrong.

 

[techman]

Garmins are great units. Keeping up with the latest maps is important to find things like restaurants (get one with lifetime map updates). Phones are also good, but limited coverage, not uncommon it the west, can be an issue, along with being on the phone and missing instructions. Offline maps can fill the gaps, but having everything up to date in a GPS is nice.

BTW no GPS or phone will take you the way to go if it is on your home turf. People get frustrated when they know a "shortcut" and the GPS does not route them that way. So I say do not use your GPS if you know the way already. However if you are on strange turf, the GPS will find the way for you. Maybe not the shortest or best, but it will get you there. As far as car systems, expensive to buy and update. In my wife's new Subaru she had to get the GPS as part of a package for other things. It is terrible. Bad, round about routes, not always finding an address, etc. Can't hold a candle to the interface and ease-of-use of Garmin. I complained to Subaru, but they never answered me.

Paul

 

[jack707]

Now how about you get our your maps and compass and get yourself to say Umiat Alaska. Let us know when you get there. I suggest you take one of these along for when you do get yourself lost. :laughing:
SPOT Satellite Messenger, Spot Personal GPS Tracker from BackCountry Adventures in BC Canada

At work people talk about gps taking to a dead end! I been doing it for 14 years finding power houses and paper mills my dispatcher told when I called in look for the stacks!!!

 

[dickfoster]

Garmins are great units. Keeping up with the latest maps is important to find things like restaurants (get one with lifetime map updates). Phones are also good, but limited coverage, not uncommon it the west, can be an issue, along with being on the phone and missing instructions. Offline maps can fill the gaps, but having everything up to date in a GPS is nice.

BTW no GPS or phone will take you the way to go if it is on your home turf. People get frustrated when they know a "shortcut" and the GPS does not route them that way. So I say do not use your GPS if you know the way already. However if you are on strange turf, the GPS will find the way for you. Maybe not the shortest or best, but it will get you there. As far as car systems, expensive to buy and update. In my wife's new Subaru she had to get the GPS as part of a package for other things. It is terrible. Bad, round about routes, not always finding an address, etc. Can't hold a candle to the interface and ease-of-use of Garmin. I complained to Subaru, but they never answered me.

Paul

Garmin has lifetime updates if keeping current with POIs and stuff is important to you. You only pay once and it's not very much. Some units come with lifetime map updates. I have life time updates for my Nuvi 500 which I use in the truck because it has topos for off road and street road and highway support for getting there and back. I have an auto centric 70LMT in my wife's car which has lifetime map updates. I got it for the large screen, backup camera and traffic avoidance. We were using the lifetime traffic avoidance this weekend to get through rush hour traffic in the San Francisco bay area Friday afternoon and navigate all the bad traffic in Sacramento caused by heavy rain yesterday. Traffic avoidance really works well and was invaluable this weekend. It picks the best route based on existing traffic conditions and keeps you up to date with what's going on up ahead.

 

[dickfoster]

At work people talk about gps taking to a dead end! I been doing it for 14 years finding power houses and paper mills my dispatcher told when I called in look for the stacks!!!

Well most of that is due to bad map data not the GPS itself. I had the unit that was in my wife's car (note the word WAS) lead me out into the middle of a prepared field where I found nothing. I said I'd arrived but I could see nothing but the curvature of the earth. Somehow it found a same address but in the wrong county somewhere out in The San Joaquin Valley. I had to call my wife on the cell phone to look up directions on the puter.
It was one of those cockamamy half avenue addresses out in the middle of farmland. Who knew they had so many half avenues and even some 3/4 avenues. What kinda street name is 18 3/4 avenue anyway? Why it's not even half assed. It was a Panasonic in dash unit that set me back a lot and a poor excuse for a GPS. It got lost in Idaho once because it ran off the map data CD that was in it. It's a pretty pitiful excuse for a GPS when you have to tell it where it is. It's gone now because I never trusted it after that and the dayum thing broke two or three times and was replaced once. I finally took it out and replaced it with the Garmin that's in it now when the touch screen would no longer calibrate correctly. She really loves the new one. The Panasonic POI update CDs were way too expensive too.
Garmin makes good GPS units. I still have my old Garmin 12XL that I use for backup. It ain't much for fancy features but it knows where it is and it works. I've even used it in foreign countries to find my way back to my hotel.

 

[Ford850]

I like my Garmin Nuvi. I get free map and POI updates, and they are pretty good about including large construction projects where ramps are gone etc. Once you get used to them, you'll wonder how you got around without them. Total confidence to go anywhere.