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.
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 -
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
I completely agree. Tom2 is for in-car, so is Garmin Nuvo. Look for something more simple like Garmin eTrex (in which you can load maps) or Gecko etc (no mpas, just location/trails/waypoints). I've got three Garmin units for different uses and am very happy with them (some Garmins have games built-in, my kids love it). Alternative is a PDA/phone with GPS receiver (either built-in or seperate ($50) bluetooth thingy). Software is available commercialy and freeware with all level of sophistication, e.g. OziExplorer or GPSmap (both WM5/6). Final recommedation: go GEOCACHING. Is extremely fun for a kid to find a hidden treasure using the GPS (^])