TomTom GPS?
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
code-frog wrote:
2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map
If you know what you're doing, then you've got everything you'll need already...
Sunrise Wallpaper Project | The StartPage Randomizer | The Windows Cheerleader
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
Hey Rex, I tried out my friend's Tom Tom during Christmas. His was a lower end version (around 150 bucks) - Tom Tom One 3rd edition I think. The UI was awesome, but the GPS was quite inaccurate. If you even slightly deviated from its route, it would take minutes to recalculate. Once it didn't recalculate at all and kept telling me I reached my destination. Eventually I ended up buying the Garmin nuvi 350 (around 320 bucks). It's been excellent so far as accuracy goes. And it also announces street names. Its UI is not as fancy as Tom Tom's though. But I think as far as a GPS goes accuracy should be its best point.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link -
What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
Here's a good place to look for information: GPS feature guidelines: Hiker's Corner GPS Tips[^] And here's the Hiker's Corner GPS Feature Comparison[^] chart. The model links in the comparison chart will take you to a shopping search engine that give price ranges.
Mike Poz
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Hey Rex, I tried out my friend's Tom Tom during Christmas. His was a lower end version (around 150 bucks) - Tom Tom One 3rd edition I think. The UI was awesome, but the GPS was quite inaccurate. If you even slightly deviated from its route, it would take minutes to recalculate. Once it didn't recalculate at all and kept telling me I reached my destination. Eventually I ended up buying the Garmin nuvi 350 (around 320 bucks). It's been excellent so far as accuracy goes. And it also announces street names. Its UI is not as fancy as Tom Tom's though. But I think as far as a GPS goes accuracy should be its best point.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com linkAh, I see you chose the Nuvi 350. I agree with you, accuracy is the most important requirement. Up-to-date maps are a plus as well. I don't use it as much as I used to now that I have a Crackberry with GPS.
Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God" Me blog, You read
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
code-frog wrote:
What do you guys think of TomTom GPS?
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :suss: I can't allow you (or anyone else) to waste money. So email me for a more objective response and the reasoning behind it. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Music | Articles | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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code-frog wrote:
What do you guys think of TomTom GPS?
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :suss: I can't allow you (or anyone else) to waste money. So email me for a more objective response and the reasoning behind it. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Music | Articles | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
Ravi Bhavnani wrote:
So email me for a more objective response and the reasoning behind it.
Afraid they'd sue you if you poured out your thoughts on the Lounge? :-) Wow that must have been one ghastly experience you had with a Tom Tom then.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link -
What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
I have the TomTom One XL-S, got it for my wife for Christmas, and took it on my trip to Detroit over the Christmas holiday. Growing up in Detroit I knew my way around and used the TomTom to see how it would perform and it took me the same way about 95% of the time, the other times it took an alternate route that I might not have taken but ultimately got me to my destination. And the recalculating of a new route happened quickly. My wife was initially mad, but now loves it. For hiking and geocaching, handheld units are available like the garmin eTrex. Check out http://www.geocaching.com/about/buying.aspx[^]
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
code-frog wrote:
I'd like to start...teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment...
So why not use a compass instead? GPSs should be used only after you/him are proficient with compass navigation.
"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." - Ellen Goodman
"To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne
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code-frog wrote:
I'd like to start...teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment...
So why not use a compass instead? GPSs should be used only after you/him are proficient with compass navigation.
"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." - Ellen Goodman
"To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne
Received Tom Tom for Christmas and used it for few days to drive around Houston. It has a name – Agnes - and she is annoying with her "backseat driver" driving instructions! This gadget should be called “GPS for car dummies” because its voice instructions don’t give you a clue where you are and IMHO it may be dangerous in heavy traffic if you pay attention to the little screen instead to the road ahead. I am not into gadgets and feel that Tom Tom is a gaget with its limited vocabulary, which is probably reflected on its price. And no, I would not use it for hiking and “survival” after using it on the road. In your scenario – you have map and a compass – you need a Swiss army knife more that Tom Tom or any GPS!
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
make sure you get a gps based on the sirf 3 chipset ... it simply has no equals in speed and accuracy i use my n810 with the wayfinder gps stuff talking to my external $50 navibe sirf3 based gps unit and it rocks ... and i have a full computer when i get to where im going :)
"mostly watching the human race is like watching dogs watch tv ... they see the pictures move but the meaning escapes them"
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
I run it on a Mio P550 PDA, and it "just works". The only problem I've had with it is that if the map is inaccurate, the route following algorithm gets a bit confused - other than that, it seems fast, responsive and quick to plan routes (at least on this device, in the UK).
Anna :rose: Linting the day away :cool: Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "If mushy peas are the food of the devil, the stotty cake is the frisbee of God"
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
Just make certain that the GPS is built around the SiRFstar III chipset. It's very fast in finding and reading the satellites. It also has the ability to read WAAS (and EGNOS) giving you a 1-2 m precision (on a good day, 5-10 on a bad). All routing software have their ups and downs but I assume that you really don't care about that as long as they show you where are (and not where you think you might be;) Good hiking /Jonas
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Just make certain that the GPS is built around the SiRFstar III chipset. It's very fast in finding and reading the satellites. It also has the ability to read WAAS (and EGNOS) giving you a 1-2 m precision (on a good day, 5-10 on a bad). All routing software have their ups and downs but I assume that you really don't care about that as long as they show you where are (and not where you think you might be;) Good hiking /Jonas
If you are looking for a GPS for hiking, I wonder why you would consider a route navigation GPS like TOMTOM or the Garmin Nuvi. Look at the range of Garmin Etrex. You will find one with features you want for hiking such as backtracking your trail and keeping a record of your hike. TOMTOM doesn't remember where it was 2 seconds ago, let alone 2 days and I suspect the Nuvi is no different. Stuart
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code-frog wrote:
I'd like to start...teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment...
So why not use a compass instead? GPSs should be used only after you/him are proficient with compass navigation.
"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." - Ellen Goodman
"To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne
I wouldn't depend on the Earth's magnetic fields if I were you. Far better to stick with a tried and true yard stick and sextant. A compass is for noobs.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Andy Brummer wrote:
Watson's law: As an online discussion of cars grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving the Bugatti Veyron approaches one.
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I wouldn't depend on the Earth's magnetic fields if I were you. Far better to stick with a tried and true yard stick and sextant. A compass is for noobs.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Andy Brummer wrote:
Watson's law: As an online discussion of cars grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving the Bugatti Veyron approaches one.
Paul Watson wrote:
A compass is for noobs.
You are kidding all of us, right? I am ex-infantry and a compass and a 1:50,000 scale topo map in the hands of someone who knows how to use it is infalable. Before you set out on your trek you need to know what your +/- azimuth is going to be anyways; so that throws out any probs with the earth's "magnetic fields" issue.
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Paul Watson wrote:
A compass is for noobs.
You are kidding all of us, right? I am ex-infantry and a compass and a 1:50,000 scale topo map in the hands of someone who knows how to use it is infalable. Before you set out on your trek you need to know what your +/- azimuth is going to be anyways; so that throws out any probs with the earth's "magnetic fields" issue.
I am kidding around mate :) I use a compass while sailing but also use a GPS and sightings to back it up. It is easy to make a mistake with a compass and having a GPS to wake you up is useful. Fekking annoying doing a compass reading and then realising you are standing over the engine. My dad used to tell me of army manoeuvres outside Bulawayo in Zimbabwe were the dolomite hills made a compass useless. They had to rely on local trackers and would have killed for a GPS.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Andy Brummer wrote:
Watson's law: As an online discussion of cars grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving the Bugatti Veyron approaches one.
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What do you guys think of TomTom GPS? I'd like to start hiking with my son and teaching him basic survival in a mountain environment and was wondering what a decent low-cost GPS (strictly GPS) device would cost and what you guys would recommend? Is there better low-end than TomTom and is TomTom car only? I don't need something that cooks, cleans, wins at poker or anything like that. Just an accurate position reading at my fingertips whenever I need it. Suggestions? I just got 2 compasses and the official U.S. Army land/map navigation hand-book to go over with Grant so that will be are preparation material prior to summer hikes. He will be 8 by the time we start.
For hiking, don't go with a car unit. A hiking handheld, like the Garmin GPSmap 60 CSx, has greater flexibility in routing hikes (no roads, remember?), setting and navigating to waypoints, and geocaching (see www.geocaching.com). The Garmin units mentioned above and its eTrex line seem to be the most popular hiking units.
David Veeneman www.veeneman.com
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I wouldn't depend on the Earth's magnetic fields if I were you. Far better to stick with a tried and true yard stick and sextant. A compass is for noobs.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Andy Brummer wrote:
Watson's law: As an online discussion of cars grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving the Bugatti Veyron approaches one.
My dad and my sister and I used to go hiking in the mountains along the Hudson above New York City. Took the compass only once. It kept pointing to the mountain full of iron no matter where we were. We learned to follow ridge lines or water when we were off the trail.
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Ravi Bhavnani wrote:
So email me for a more objective response and the reasoning behind it.
Afraid they'd sue you if you poured out your thoughts on the Lounge? :-) Wow that must have been one ghastly experience you had with a Tom Tom then.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link