Which GPS

Mark' [email protected] said:

Anyone got any views on which is better (features, ease of
use) for trail walking - Garmin Vista, Magellan Meridian
Colour, or the forthcoming Magellan eXplorist series?

Don't know anyone who's got an eXplorist (nor seen a
review). Most important question: what's its use? Mark .
Mark Cavendish Cardiff, Wales

Mark said:

Anyone got any views on which is better (features, ease of
use) for trail walking - Garmin Vista, Magellan Meridian
Colour, or the forthcoming Magellan eXplorist series?

For the UK and Europe, nobody offers a hand-held GPS with
mapping which has detail suitable for hillwalking, and
there is no software which allows download of maps to the
devices(*). The maps offered, even with makers add-on
software, are road maps only, showing roads as
approximate straight lines - fine for driving, possibly
useful for road cycling, but no help for walking. The
topographic maps featured on the makers websites and
advertising are USA only.

Garmin have stuff on their website which allows you to try
out the mapping software on your computer, seeing the screen
you'd get on the handheld device. I suggest you look at it
and the regions of interest.

I'd suggest looking at a lighter, cheaper and simpler
device, unless the mapping capability is needed for a car.

(* there is a reverse engineered home-brew mechanism for
some Garmin devices, but the work to create a map is huge
and not something you'd undertake lightly for a single hill,
let alone a whole area).

- Nigel

--
NC - Webmaster for 2mm.org.uk2mm.org.ukOpen ↗ Replies to
newsgroup postings to the newsgroup please.

Mark said:

Anyone got any views on which is better (features, ease of
use) for trail walking - Garmin Vista, Magellan Meridian
Colour, or the forthcoming Magellan eXplorist series?

I'm getting a tad fed up of all the GPS discussions, but
talking in terms of features, I consider the following to be
the most important (in order) for me.

1. Track capacity. Must be able to record at least a
week's worth of walking. 10,000 track points is a
reasonable minimum. The Lowrance iFinder is king with
100,000 track points.

2. Altimeter. After many discussions I've decided that an
altimeter is an important feature for me, primarily
because it gives a steady reading rather than jumping up
and down like the standard altitude readout. Note that I
don't consider this important for the average GPS user.
GPS altitude is more than good enough for most walkers,
I just happen to want very accurate (or at least stable)
altitude readings. Best units are the Garmins - Geko
301, Vista, 76S etc.

3. Accuracy. Most units are much of a muchness, but many
people reported problems with the earlier eTrex models,
in particular not being very good under trees (although
there's a lot more to this issue). Lowrance are renowned
for accuracy and the ability to get a good lock quickly,
but the best I've read about for getting and keeping
lock is the Magellan SporTrak. Very good if you do a lot
of walking under trees and in deep valleys.

4. Light weight. I don't care about super light weight
units like the Gekos, but I don't want anything too
heavy and bulky, so the Magellan Meridian is out. The 72
and 76 series are quite large, but not heavy (only two
batteries). Besides, they need to be big because of
their larger screens, which is a mapping issue.

5. Compatability. Some of the main software programs only
support Garmins (some are adding support for Magellan)
so Lowrance isn't the best choice in that department. If
you are planning to use a GPS with any particular
software, check the software's GPS support first.

6. Maps. Always a contentious issue. Many claim that maps
(usually road only) are useful even for walking whilst
others claim that they're completely uneccessary for
walking. Definitely handy for driving to your walk
though, especially if you can run your GPS off the car
battery enroute. Topographic maps for the UK are just
becoming available (Magellan SporTrak/Meridian, Garmin
76 series) so we're about to enter a new era. The latest
256 colour mapping units are very expensive though.

7. Battery power. Whilst I don't mind replacing my 4 AA
unit with a 2 AA unit (with the same longevity), I'm not
too impressed by the sound of the Gekos with their AAAs.

8. Waterproofness. This is standard for most units, but
inexplicably the iFinder is not waterproof, so with lack
of compatability that makes the otherwise brilliant
iFinder not such a good choice.

Feel free to rearrange the above priorities to suit your
requirements. Bear in mind also the waypoint capacity and
route capacity. 500 waypoints if sufficient, 1000 is better.
I couldn't care less about routes. Also bear in mind that
the "10 saved" routes offered by many Garmins compresses the
data and discards information, so you aren't saving the full
information in each track.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For mega track capacity I'd recommend the iFinder, or the
Meridian with multiple card storage. For sufficient track
capacity, most of the latest Garmins with 10,000 points.

For accuracy and lock I'd recommend the SporTrak.

For map use I'd recommend the 76 series, Vista, SporTraks,
Meridians and iFinder.

For topo map use the 76CS and the latest Magellans.

For altimeter, I'd recommend the Geko 301, Vista or 76S.

For basic use the SporTrak or Geko 201.

Paul
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"Mark" <[email protected]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Anyone got any views on which is better (features, ease of
use) for trail walking - Garmin Vista, Magellan Meridian
Colour, or the forthcoming Magellan eXplorist series?

Whichever uses up less of the worlds resources and
creates least waste in terms of plastic and batteries.
(I'm also rebelling against consumerism, following on
from another post.)

Mark [email protected] said:

Anyone got any views on which is better (features, ease of
use) for trail walking - Garmin Vista, Magellan Meridian
Colour, or the forthcoming Magellan eXplorist series?

I'm no expert, but I did read around a lot before I bought
one (a Magellan Meridian). There's no clear winner, but
here's a number of good and bad points - you have to
choose the compromise that suits you best. I don't own a
Garmin, so if I'm inaccurate on them, I apologise. There
are very few details available of he eXplorists yet, so it
can't be assumed that they behave the same as the current
Magellan models.

Meridian Colour is not always legible in sunlight, and often
needs the backlight. The result is poorer battery life. The
SportTrack colour has a slightly different screen and might
be better.

Meridians can expand memory using easily available SD cards,
making it practical to store much larger / more maps than
Garmin. Irrelevant if you don't want a mapping unit.

Garmin have spent longer refining their software : they seem
to have a better selection of features of interest to gadget-
minded walkers such as average speed, trip time, ascent etc.
Many of these exist in some form on Magellans, but perhaps
not so conveniently.

The newer Garmins have a very poor design of PC/power
connector that is OK for occasional PC connection but poor
for extended use on external power (e.g. in a car). I'm not
sure whether this applies to the 76 and 60 models.
Magellans have a screw-in connector which is very solid,
but might be inconvenient for quick connection /
disconnection as in a car .. except that they also sell a
car cradle which connects the power and data automatically
when it's clipped in place.

Some Garmins can store very long track records (10000
points) but Meridians can save an indefinite number of
shorter (2000 point) tracks to SD card, making it easier to
keep a record of a multi-day track.

Most Garmins (all except 76 and the new 60 models) have
patch antennae. For best signals, these should be held out
flat, rather like a compass. If you're just keeping a
tracklog, the top pouch of a rucksac or clipped to a
shoulder strap is OK. The poorer sensitivity and narrower
field of view of these antennae can be an advantage in
certain areas (such as wide canyons) where reflected signals
can cause location errors. An external aerial is often
required in a car, but some of the smaller models don't have
a connector.

Most Magellans (at least the modern ones) have quadrifilar
helix antannae. These appear to be more sensitive than
patches and have a wider field of view (typically centred
around the end of the receiver rather than its top face).
The result is that they are less likely than an eTrex to
lose signal under tree cover, but may be more likely to
suffer from multipath errors. It also usually works in a car
without an external aerial (but metallised windscreens can
be a problem).

Magellans seem to expect alkaline batteries to be fitted.
Since you'll almost certainly use NiMH rechargeables unless
you own a battery factory, the result is that the Magellans
give rather short warning of the end of battery life. I
think Garmins can be told which battery type is fitted,
giving more accurate end-of-life estimates.

PC-based mapping software (such as Anquet etc.) is more
likely to support Garmin than Magellan. Some support both.
Conversion software exists to translate between most
formats, though.

None of the currently available GPS receivers seem to be the
best option for everybody - this is probably inevitable, as
the best feature set for walking use is different from that
for car use. However, Garmin seem to go to some trouble to
differentiate their models more than weight and size would
require : this can mean that features you'd expect to find
aren't present because the model is targeted at a different
market. An example of this is the eMap (now obsolete, I
think) which looks like a non-waterproof entry-level
handheld mapping receiver but was aimed at the car market
and had very few of the useful trail features. (I used an
eMap for a while and found it such a pain to use that I was
prejudiced against Garmin).

Garmin have held the strongest market position for some time
and have a bigger installed base, at least in consumer
models. Magellan appear to have recently decided to fight
back, and as a result sometimes offer better value for money
(perhaps in an attempt to take some market share). This is
particularly noticeable in mapping receivers : Garmin still
have better price points on simple models like the Geko (but
perhaps the eXplorist will try to break that).

-adrian

Bitstring <[email hidden]>,
from the wonderful person Kevin Hayes
<[email hidden]> said <snip>

Quoted message said:

It seems that Lowrance are bringing out the iFinder H2O
which is waterproof. Don't think it is available in the UK
at the moment?

lowrance.comiFINDERH2O.aspOpen ↗

I'm not sure why the 'lack of waterproofness' is regarded as
such a big problem - there are plenty of after-market
waterproofing solutions available, starting with that good
old standby, a polythene bag and some scotch tape
(essentially free) and going up from there. Not like you
need internal access to the GPS (until it's time to change
the batteries), unlike a CD or Cassette player.

Even the IP7-rated Garmin's generally don't have a
waterproof battery compartment, and require drying out after
a soaking.

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and
indistinguishable from human typing.

On 20/6/04 6:33 pm, in article [email hidden], "Mark"

[email protected] said:

Anyone got any views on which is better (features, ease of
use) for trail walking - Garmin Vista, Magellan Meridian
Colour, or the forthcoming Magellan eXplorist series?

Quite impressed with the Magellan Colour Trak. Must
admit I don't really use it much but a mate who uses his
a lot confirms that it is very quick a getting a fix and
pretty accurate.
--
Andy Howell Birmingham, UK

NC said:

For the UK and Europe, nobody offers a hand-held GPS with
mapping which has detail suitable for hillwalking, and
there is no software which allows download of maps to the
devices(*). The maps offered, even with makers add-on
software, are road maps only, showing roads as approximate
straight lines - fine for driving, possibly useful for
road cycling, but no help for walking. The topographic
maps featured on the makers websites and advertising are
USA only.

Your information is slightly out of date. Magellan have just
released Ordnance Survey topographic maps and Garmin are due
to release theirs soon. The latest 256 colour mapping models
are not cheap though.

Paul
--
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photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

. Mark Cavendish Cardiff, Wales

Will we be seeing you sometime for a stroll in some of the
hills of south Wales, Mark? There's quite a contingent of
southWalians here now, what with Bill Grey and Paul Sauders
(Swansea), you in Cardiff and me in the Rhondda. And there's
someone else around somewhere too, I'm sure - I just can't
remember who for the moment.
--
Fran If you need my email address please ask.

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mark said:

Anyone got any views on which is better (features, ease
of use) for trail walking - Garmin Vista, Magellan
Meridian Colour, or the forthcoming Magellan eXplorist
series?

I'm getting a tad fed up of all the GPS discussions, but
talking in terms of features, I consider the following to
be the most important

(in

Quoted message said:

order) for me.

1. Track capacity. Must be able to record at least a
week's worth of walking. 10,000 track points is a
reasonable minimum. The Lowrance iFinder is king with
100,000 track points.

2. Altimeter. After many discussions I've decided that an
altimeter

is

Quoted message said:

an important feature for me, primarily because it gives
a steady

reading

Quoted message said:

rather than jumping up and down like the standard altitude
readout. Note that I don't consider this important for the
average GPS user.

GPS

Quoted message said:

altitude is more than good enough for most walkers, I just
happen to want very accurate (or at least stable) altitude
readings. Best units are the Garmins - Geko 301, Vista,
76S etc.

3. Accuracy. Most units are much of a muchness, but many
people reported problems with the earlier eTrex
models, in particular not

being

Quoted message said:

very good under trees (although there's a lot more to this
issue). Lowrance are renowned for accuracy and the ability
to get a good lock quickly, but the best I've read about
for getting and keeping lock is the Magellan SporTrak.
Very good if you do a lot of walking under

trees

Quoted message said:

and in deep valleys.

4. Light weight. I don't care about super light weight
units like

the

Quoted message said:

Gekos, but I don't want anything too heavy and bulky, so
the Magellan Meridian is out. The 72 and 76 series are
quite large, but not heavy (only two batteries). Besides,
they need to be big because of their larger screens, which
is a mapping issue.

5. Compatability. Some of the main software programs only
support Garmins (some are adding support for Magellan)
so Lowrance isn't the best choice in that department.
If you are planning to use a GPS with any particular
software, check the software's GPS support first.

6. Maps. Always a contentious issue. Many claim that maps
(usually road only) are useful even for walking whilst
others claim that

they're

Quoted message said:

completely uneccessary for walking. Definitely handy for
driving to your walk though, especially if you can run
your GPS off the car

battery

Quoted message said:

enroute. Topographic maps for the UK are just becoming
available (Magellan SporTrak/Meridian, Garmin 76 series)
so we're about to enter

a

Quoted message said:

new era. The latest 256 colour mapping units are very
expensive

though.

Quoted message said:

7. Battery power. Whilst I don't mind replacing my 4 AA
unit with a

2

Quoted message said:

AA unit (with the same longevity), I'm not too impressed
by the sound

of

Quoted message said:

the Gekos with their AAAs.

8. Waterproofness. This is standard for most units, but
inexplicably the iFinder is not waterproof, so with
lack of compatability that

makes

Quoted message said:

the otherwise brilliant iFinder not such a good choice.

Feel free to rearrange the above priorities to suit your
requirements. Bear in mind also the waypoint capacity and
route capacity. 500 waypoints if sufficient, 1000 is
better. I couldn't care less about routes. Also bear in
mind that the "10 saved" routes offered by many Garmins
compresses the data and discards information, so you
aren't saving the full information in each track.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For mega track capacity I'd recommend the iFinder, or the
Meridian

with

Quoted message said:

multiple card storage. For sufficient track capacity, most
of the latest Garmins with 10,000 points.

For accuracy and lock I'd recommend the SporTrak.

For map use I'd recommend the 76 series, Vista, SporTraks,
Meridians

and

Quoted message said:

iFinder.

For topo map use the 76CS and the latest Magellans.

For altimeter, I'd recommend the Geko 301, Vista or 76S.

For basic use the SporTrak or Geko 201.

Paul
--
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photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

It seems that Lowrance are bringing out the iFinder H2O
which is waterproof. Don't think it is available in the UK
at the moment?

lowrance.comiFINDERH2O.aspOpen ↗

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

NC said:

For the UK and Europe, nobody offers a hand-held GPS with
mapping which has detail suitable for hillwalking, and
there is no software which allows download of maps to the
devices(*). The maps offered, even with makers add-on
software, are road maps only, showing roads as
approximate straight lines - fine for driving, possibly
useful for road cycling, but no help for walking. The
topographic maps featured on the makers websites and
advertising are USA only.

Your information is slightly out of date. Magellan have
just released Ordnance Survey topographic maps and Garmin
are due to release theirs soon. The latest 256 colour
mapping models are not cheap though.

I just bought a Garmin Venture .. having decided the mapping
software was really not up to scratch, nor worth paying £50
extra for the GPS system, and then £100+ for the UK topo
maps. For most reasonable walks you can (I discover) load in
enough route information from any old UK PC mapping system
(I use Tracklogs .. www.tracklogs.co.uk) to not get too lost
(and always carry a paper map anyway .. GPS system
can/do/will die at inopportune times. Of course, you can
print your own if you have the digital maps on your PC, and
a colour printer).

There are tons of GPS reviews at:
gpsinformation.netgpsinformation.netOpen ↗

You can also access the user manuals for most Garmin &
Magellan models on line. Nobody knows about the eXplorist -
so far it is just vapourware (and there will always be a new
model along 'real soon now'😉.

I disliked the Magellan PC connector (although I guess with
a Meridian you can put the memory card into some sort of USB
reader). If you are into those sort of price ranges, why not
the Garmin G60C ? That appears to be the bees-knees of 'no
expense spared' handheld GPS (too rich for
me).

The eTrex (Venture, legend, whatever) works pretty good,
although it does struggle under heavy (or even moderate)
tree cover, and you have to hold it right (patch antenna
pointing skywards).

Oh yes - and the =all= eat batteries. The '15 hours' or
whatever assumes you never touch a button. if you do, the
backlight goes on. If it does that, the power consumption
doubles or triples.

Exactly which one is right for the OP depends on lots of
variables - something that is good for an 8 hour walk,
followed by a return to civilization (i.e. a PC!) would not
be so good for '14 days lost in the foothills of the Andes'.

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and
indistinguishable from human typing.

Adrian Godwin said:

Meridian Colour is not always legible in sunlight, and
often needs the backlight. The result is poorer
battery life.

I think the new Garming colour models are supposed to be
very good in sunlight.

Quoted message said:

Meridians can expand memory using easily available SD
cards, making it practical to store much larger / more
maps than Garmin. Irrelevant if you don't want a
mapping unit.

But not irrelevant if you want to store a lot of track
points from a long trip.

Quoted message said:

Some Garmins can store very long track records (10000
points) but Meridians can save an indefinite number of
shorter (2000 point) tracks to SD card, making it easier
to keep a record of a multi-day track.

The iFinder saves multiple tracks uncompressed. 10 x 10,000
points on the standard model and 100 x 10,000 points on the
new H20 model. You could do a seriously long walk with 1
million trackpoints, but it's more practical to use a new
track for each day as you say. With that many trackpoints
you could set it to record far more points than a typical
GPS in order to record extremely detailed tracks. For an
eight hour walk you could record one point every 3 seconds.

Paul
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Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Chris Malcolm <[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

GSV Three Minds in a Can said:

The eTrex (Venture, legend, whatever) works pretty good,
although it does struggle under heavy (or even moderate)
tree cover, and you have to hold it right (patch antenna
pointing skywards).

For some reason mine, as used by me, doesn't struggle under
heavy tree cover. But it struggles under mild tree cover if
I use battery save mode.

I must have the 'wrong kind' of trees ('on the line' then.
Even in 'normal' mode I'm typically down to 2 satellites
as soon as I get under moderate tree cover. Afaik the only
way to see that is to open up the 'satellite' page ..
doesn't seem to be a data option you can display elsewhere
.. you find out later when you look at the tracklog and
discover your altitude changed 500 feet between one step
and the next.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Oh yes - and the =all= eat batteries. The '15 hours' or
whatever assumes you never touch a button. if you do, the
backlight goes on. If it does that, the power consumption
doubles or triples.

I would regard it as a serious flaw in the design of the
s/w if you couldn't stop that happening.

You can't .. there is no 'backlight stays off' option as far
as I can see. You can have 'stays on for 15 seconds, 30
seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes' or 'stays on forever'. 'Stays
off' is not an option (presumably because you'd never be
able to see to turn it on again in the dark).

So every time you touch a button you get 15 secs of high
power drain. Punch a button every 30 seconds (not
impossible when you're 'playing' with it) and the backlight
will stay on a lot.

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and
indistinguishable from human typing.

In article <[email hidden]>,
Mike Clark <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Peter Clinch

url=''URL:/url said:

GSV Three Minds in a Can wrote:

[snip]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You can't .. there is no 'backlight stays off' option
as far as I can see. You can have 'stays on for 15
seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes' or 'stays on
forever'. 'Stays off' is not an option (presumably
because you'd never be able to see to turn it on again
in the dark).

What version of the software do you have? (it should tell
you on the Setup menu) Looking at the current manual it
says, "If the lighting conditions make it hard for you to
see the screen, you can adjust the contrast or turn on
the backlight. Press and release the POWER button from
any screen to turn on the backlight".

Current software revision on the basic eTrex is 2.14, I
don't know about the others.

Pete.

My understanding from observations of my Garmin Summit when
navigating with it at night, is that once the backlight has
been activated once through a press on the POWER button,
then it will be activated for all subsequent button presses
of all kinds. It also automatically activates whenever an
information menu box pops up such as for loss of
satellites, or for hold level in compass mode.

If you don't press the POWER button to activate the
backlight in the first place, then it does not activate
when you press other buttons.

I've not done extensive tests but I think my Geko 301
behaves in a similar way to the Summit.

That is the way all the (5) Garmins I have work. They also
turn the light on as you approach a waypoint in a route if
you are following it (and I imagine they might as you
approach the destination waypoint in a goto).

--

dscs.demon.co.ukdscs.demon.co.ukOpen ↗

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Dave Newton
<[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

How does it cope with addresses which do not have a road
reference in

them?

Not had to go to one of those as yet, Roger, but I imagine
it will cope poorly if at all. What have you in mind? A
farm or similar? I can simply type in a district and
street name or put a post code in and it will then give me
all the streets in that area to pick from but ultimately
you have to tell it a road or street. It let me down for
the first time today when it didn't know an address on
what looked like a new development, but then I discovered
the houses went up six years ago! That's the first miss
out of about forty addresses I've searched for though so a
very good hit rate.

Try "The Three Horseshoes, Wheathill, Bridgnorth". That's
one that usually gets the delivery drivers wandering around
Bridgnorth looking for a road called Wheathill. I am sure
you could do it (to the nearest mile either way) given the
postcode (WV16 6QT).

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and
indistinguishable from human typing.

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> You can't .. there is no 'backlight stays off' option
> as far as I can see. You can have 'stays on for 15
> seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes' or 'stays on
> forever'. 'Stays off' is not an option (presumably
> because you'd never be able to see to turn it on again
> in the dark).

What version of the software do you have? (it should
tell you on the Setup menu) Looking at the current
manual it says, "If the lighting conditions make it hard
for you to see the screen, you can adjust the contrast
or turn on the backlight. Press and release the POWER
button from any screen to turn on the backlight".

Current software revision on the basic eTrex is 2.14, I
don't know about the others.

I'm at 2.70 on the Venture. I was actually pretty impressed
that it shipped with the latest firmware (from 'only' 2
months ago) given that things like my MP3 player usually
turn up with 12-18 month old firmware in them.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My understanding from observations of my Garmin Summit
when navigating with it at night, is that once the
backlight has been activated once through a press on the
POWER button, then it will be activated for all subsequent
button presses of all kinds. It also automatically
activates whenever an information menu box pops up such as
for loss of satellites, or for hold level in compass mode.

If you don't press the POWER button to activate the
backlight in the first place, then it does not activate
when you press other buttons.

Will have to try that somewhere dark and see if that's what
happens. Using it at night, yes it does what you say, with
the backlight coming on at each/every button press (and
staying on for the defined period .. 15 seconds seems way
longer than I really need).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've not done extensive tests but I think my Geko 301
behaves in a similar way to the Summit.

That is the way all the (5) Garmins I have work. They also
turn the light on as you approach a waypoint in a route if
you are following it (and I imagine they might as you
approach the destination waypoint in a goto).

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and
indistinguishable from human typing.

Quoted message said:

2. Altimeter. After many discussions I've decided that an
altimeter is an important feature for me, primarily
because it gives a steady reading rather than jumping
up and down like the standard altitude readout. Note
that I don't consider this important for the average
GPS user. GPS altitude is more than good enough for
most walkers, I just happen to want very accurate (or
at least stable) altitude readings. Best units are the
Garmins - Geko 301, Vista, 76S etc.

My Summit is very accurate if you take the time and trouble
to calibrate it properly! Otherwise it's usually within a
few metres or so.... In our old house I actually had a spot
height for the road outside the door and used to calibrate
it with that! Sad or what? Nowadays I just follow the magic
pointer and don't ask questions!

Lewis

NC said:

Mark said:

Anyone got any views on which is better (features, ease
of use) for trail walking - Garmin Vista, Magellan
Meridian Colour, or the forthcoming Magellan eXplorist
series?

For the UK and Europe, nobody offers a hand-held GPS with
mapping which has detail suitable for hillwalking, and
there is no software which allows download of maps to the
devices(*). The maps offered, even with makers add-on
software, are road maps only, showing roads as approximate
straight lines - fine for driving, possibly useful for
road cycling, but no help for walking. The topographic
maps featured on the makers websites and advertising are
USA only.

Garmin have stuff on their website which allows you to try
out the mapping software on your computer, seeing the
screen you'd get on the handheld device. I suggest you look
at it and the regions of interest.

I'd suggest looking at a lighter, cheaper and simpler
device, unless the mapping capability is needed for a car.

(* there is a reverse engineered home-brew mechanism for
some Garmin devices, but the work to create a map is huge
and not something you'd undertake lightly for a single
hill, let alone a whole area).

- Nigel

If you S Wales people will send me your walk tracklogs
(preferably Garmin logs with max possible points) in a
format I can read (preferably OZI .plt files), then I
will send you in return a Garmin - compatible footpaths
map to try out.

It's made using the 'home-brew' above - Covers some of
Brecon Beacons & Balck Mountains at the moment. Works ONLY
on Garmin mapping gps, eg Vista.

Jim Hutton

In message <[email hidden]>, GSV Three
Minds in a Can <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Dave Newton
<[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

How does it cope with addresses which do not have a road
reference in

them?

Not had to go to one of those as yet, Roger, but I imagine
it will cope poorly if at all. What have you in mind? A
farm or similar? I can simply type in a district and
street name or put a post code in and it will then give me
all the streets in that area to pick from but ultimately
you have to tell it a road or street. It let me down for
the first time today when it didn't know an address on
what looked like a new development, but then I discovered
the houses went up six years ago! That's the first miss
out of about forty addresses I've searched for though so a
very good hit rate.

Try "The Three Horseshoes, Wheathill, Bridgnorth". That's
one that usually gets the delivery drivers wandering around
Bridgnorth looking for a road called Wheathill. I am sure
you could do it (to the nearest mile either way) given the
postcode (WV16 6QT).

At the end of Dovehouse Lane?

--
Jake