Which GPS

Hmm... good timing. A Garmin product is the subject of discussion on
our 'BikeMojo' (http://www.bikemojo.com/speak/showthread.php?t=50746)
site.

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Trapper said:

Hmm... good timing. A Garmin product is the subject of discussion on
our 'BikeMojo' (http://www.bikemojo.com/speak/showthread.php?t=50746)
site.

Thanks for that, but the model they are discussing is out of my price
range anyway.

Oh, by the way, I forgot to say that I would like a unit that can talk
to my computer.

Thanks.

Cathy

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Any of the Garmin eTrex series will talk to your computer. I've got the
very basic eTrex (about $90USD) and I like it a lot. The upgraded
models are even better with more features but the basic model does
everything that I need. Location, current speed, ave. speed,
elevation, distance, tracks, routes, stores something like 500
waypoints, probably some other stuff I haven't figured out how to do.
I've got topo map programs and a data cable and can load routes and
waypoints in either direction. A fun little passtime you need a GPS
for is geocaching. Kind of an electronic treasure hunt game. Check it
out at http://www.geocaching.com/

I think we're definitely moving into JC territory here.

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Thanks underdog. Sounds like the model I've been looking at will do the
job.

Cathy

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If I were to get a new GPS right now I think it would be the eTrex
Legend. It's very similar to my current Venture but with a much larger
capacity for track points, which I think is perfect for what I want a
GPS to do.

Don't forget to budget for map software for the computer; the
usefulness of a GPS increases tenfold when you can upload and download
tracks, routes and waypoints rather than having to fiddle around on a
tiny screen with that little stick thing!

Phil

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Sounds like the eTex legend it is then.
Phil, do you recommend any particular map software?
Thanks,
Cathy

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Choosing which map software to use is probably harder than the GPS,
unfortunately! I use Fugawi because it is the cheapest in terms of
square miles for your pound, but it isn't as feature-packed as some of
the others and doesn't have 1:25000 scale maps. Tracklogs is very
popular with cyclists, but there have been problems with moving track
files and whatnot between versions. Memory Map is possibly the most
popular, but it is also one of the most expensive. I have looked into
getting Memory Map for small areas of interest such as places I go
regularly, but the whole of the UK is somewhat pricey. I think
Loosemoose uses this so he would be a good person to ask for an
opinion.

Phil

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Thanks.
I was looking at the Fugawi maps myself. I must admit I was a bit
shocked at the price. Now I'm going to have to find the money. 😎

Cathy

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I know this may sound a bit odd to the techno gadget freaks out there,
but what's wrong with a map and a compass ? Never any problems with
flat batteries.😉

Chris

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munidobs said:

I know this may sound a bit odd to the techno gadget freaks out there,
but what's wrong with a map and a compass ? Never any problems with
flat batteries.😉

Chris

Well you have it in a nutshell there Chirs - no techno gadget
freaking.

Cathy

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munidobs said:

I know this may sound a bit odd to the techno gadget freaks out there,
but what's wrong with a map and a compass ? Never any problems with
flat batteries.😉

Chris

u cant put a map and a compass on ur rist... or download the data on to
a computor. Or view ur path in 3d and any of this fun stuff

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munidobs said:

I know this may sound a bit odd to the techno gadget freaks out there,
but what's wrong with a map and a compass ? Never any problems with
flat batteries.😉

Oooo, hark at the luddite... 🙂

To be honest I find the navigational aspects of a GPS secondary to the
souped-up-cycle-computer aspects. If I don't know where I'm going I'll
always take a map, but the GPS is great for distance, average and
maximum speed, height gained and whatnot. Show me a compass that can do
that!

Phil

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cathwood said:

Thanks.
I was looking at the Fugawi maps myself. I must admit I was a bit
shocked at the price. Now I'm going to have to find the money. 😎

Cathy

I've got Fugawi. It's usually available on Ebay at a good discount to
shop prices - I think I paid about £70 in total for all of the mainland
UK S of somewhere N of Edinburgh (IYSWIM!). It's quite OK, but I don't
think you can upload maps from it to an Etrex (someone will correct me
if I'm wrong). AFAIK you have to have the expensive Garmin maps for an
on-screen display. You can of course download waypoints etc to the GPS
from a PC, but you can do that with a very basic receiver.

Amongst my collection of GPS systems (which vary in cost from £35 to
£25,000 for the posh one I've got at work) is a little bluetooth GPS
which communicates with my PDA, to which Fugawi maps can be downloaded
in chunks of about 100 sq km to give an OS moving map backdrop.

Another option for mapping is to use a package such as Oziexplorer (or
the mapping version of Fugawi) which lets you scan in a paper map and
calibrate it for use in a PDA or laptop display. Usual functions
available for downloading waypoints etc.

It really depends on what you want out of a GPS. They don't give
stunningly accurate indications of speed unless you're following a
steady straight line for a reasonable distance. They're handy for
working out where you are relative to an on-screen or paper map. With
an appropriate navigation package they're great for route finding on
the road network. They'll tell you the time accurate to a few
nanoseconds.

Martin/

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There's a brand new development in GPS technology. It's called
"High-Sensitivity SiRFstarIII™ architecture". This makes a tremendous
difference when under trees (like many of our rides are). If you are
buying a new GPS today, I couldn't imagine getting one without this. My
previous ones are Garmin eTrex Summit and ForeRunner 301. But my new
one is Forerunner 305. The most amazing thing about these new GPSs is
that they work indoors.

Another recommendation is to use a GPS that's made for cycling rather
than a general purpose one like an eTrex. If you are not interested in
heart rate, then you want a 'ForeRunner 205.'
(http://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner205/)

Look at this article for a detailed example of how much the new SiRF
starIII technology makes a difference under trees. All my old tracks
look like the red ones on this page: http://tinyurl.com/kg2cm (zoom in
on the comparison photos, especially the second one.)

---Nathan

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I dont know much about this new technology but having a
multi-directional antenna rather than a flat one can really help with
trees, canyons, other obstructions and works better in a pack.

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I don't know of any commercial GPS products than these:

Bike mounted: 'Garmin Edge 305'
(http://www.garmin.com/products/edge305/) and 'Garmin Edge 205'
(http://www.garmin.com/products/edge205/)

Wrist-mounted: 'Garmin Forerunner 305'
(http://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner305/) and 'Garmin Forerunner
205' (http://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner205/)

The 3 means in has heart rate and the 2 is a cheaper model without it.
While the Edge models come with bike mounts it seems like you could use
them anywhere.

A friend of mine has a SiRF III unit from Spark Fun. I think it's 'this
one' (http://tinyurl.com/m5kpx) (yes it's barely bigger than a US
quarter.) He has it integrated with mapping software from Delorme that
runs on his Treo650 smart phone. He can see his dot moving on the map
on his phone, even while indoors. Way cool.

This is certainly the way of the future - that's why I said I can't
imagine buying a pre-SiRF III GPS. If what you want right now isn't
available, wait - it's a terrible time to buy for you. But if you like
one of the Garmin's above, don't wait.

---Nathan

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underdog said:

A fun little passtime you need a GPS for is geocaching. Kind of an
electronic treasure hunt game. Check it out at
http://www.geocaching.com/

I found my first cache today! I'm thinking getting a GPS for sailing
and for miscellaneous purposes... maybe I'll get into geocaching too.

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In 2000, when SA was turned off, suddenly personal GPS got a lot more
interesting and Geocaching started getting really popular. About the
same time, really nice models like the eTrex from Garmin started
appearing. We tried geocaching back in Jan 2001 and the GPS took us to
within 16 feet of the cache. It's fun but was sort of too easy, so we
never did it again.

Another really cool thing I remember doing with my GPS was on my trip
to Mexico also in 2001. I held it up to the window of the airplane and
got a fix. The satellites said the plane was at exactly 37,000' and the
barometer said the cabin was pressurized to 6,200'. Having a separate
altimeter not based on satellites is a really nice feature.

---Nathan

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nathan said:

There's a brand new development in GPS technology. It's called
"High-Sensitivity SiRFstarIII™ architecture". This makes a
tremendous difference when under trees (like many of our rides are). If
you are buying a new GPS today, I couldn't imagine getting one without
this. My previous ones are Garmin eTrex Summit and ForeRunner 301. But
my new one is Forerunner 305. The most amazing thing about these new
GPSs is that they work indoors.

From experience they work BETTER indoors than the older technology, but
indoors it is still fairly easy to lose the GPS signal. Not that it
will help you much in finding the ladies loo.

I recently upgraded my old etrex summit to a modern SatNav device:
Ease of use massively better and nice to have a coloured on screen map.
Good also to be able to have advance in-car warning of all those
danger areas where they have decided to place safety cameras. ( That
sentence may get me some flak.)
One other nicety, is that for the roads, it gives the actual distance
you will travel between two points rather that the "Crow Flies"
measurement that the Summit gave.
So my advice would be: don't just think unicycling, think travel in
general before choosing. On screen map essential, Full Post Code
search is good too.

The Summit was a pain in which to set destinations: difficult to find
the X-Y co-ordinate in the first place and then very messy to type it
in.

PS anyone know where I can get Summit co-ordinates for places in
Southern Ireland? Have been unable to find an internet map that was
of use.
I need co-ordinates of the 53.547350, -2.193450 type. Streetmap
works for the UK but not Eire as far as I can see.

Nao

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