GPS for retrieval only??

[Udo]

What is the best buy and ease of use, like entry of coordinates? Any
comments and suggestions.
Udo

[[email protected]]

On Jul 6, 2:58 pm, Udo > wrote:
> What is the best buy and ease of use, like entry of coordinates? Any
> comments and suggestions.
> Udo

I like the Garmin, currently using GPSmap 60
CSx

Downloading of waypoints are simple and direct from VISTA or XP. I
have seen them for $500, but on the Internet I think I paid around
$200.

Gary

[COLIN LAMB]

Some GPS units sell for not much more than $50. Most are fairly easy to
enter coordinates. As you pay more money, you will receive built in maps.
The more money, the greater the detail. Some of the more expensive ones
allow you to download detailed city or topo maps for a particular area.

Most of the people who buy gps units either love them or get frustrated and
abandon them. In either case, you will often find them selling them. The
people who use them frequently will upgrade, while the disappointed ones
will abandon them.

One caution about purchasing a used one from a friend. They might have
purchased them for $300 and assume they are giving you a good deal for $150,
when in fact a new unit for under $100 will have better maps.

I recently purchased a Magellan GPS with built in mapping program for $10 at
a swap meet. Newer ones use 2 penlight batteries. Older ones use 4. Try
to get one that uses 2.

Using any of the coordinate systems, you can learn to approximate distance
and direction in your head. It is a fun mental exercise. Be sure to set
the coordinate system and datum to the same as the person reporting.

Colin

[Eric Greenwell]

Udo wrote:
> What is the best buy and ease of use, like entry of coordinates? Any
> comments and suggestions.

Are you looking for detailed directions by road to the coordinate
location? If so, some of the car navigation systems, like TomTom, will
navigate to coordinates, and can be very useful for car navigation for
travel purposes. My wife and I travel in a short motorhome with a long
glider trailer, so a device that minimizes wrong turns, quickly recovers
when one is made, gets us in the correct lane for freeway entrances and
exits, and knows where the Wal-marts are located, is highly prized.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

[Udo]

On Jul 7, 10:02 pm, Eric Greenwell > wrote:
> Udo wrote:
> > What is the best buy and ease of use, like entry of coordinates? Any
> > comments and suggestions.
>
> Are you looking for detailed directions by road to the coordinate
> location? If so, some of the car navigation systems, like TomTom, will
> navigate to coordinates, and can be very useful for car navigation for
> travel purposes. My wife and I travel in a short motorhome with a long
> glider trailer, so a device that minimizes wrong turns, quickly recovers
> when one is made, gets us in the correct lane for freeway entrances and
> exits, and knows where the Wal-marts are located, is highly prized.
>
> --
> Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
> * Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
> * "Transponders in Sailplanes"http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
> * "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" atwww.motorglider.org

Eric,
I was thinking specifically for entering coordinates that would be
phoned in and used in the GPS for helping to find the glider and
pilot.
Udo

[COLIN LAMB]

Knowing the GPS coordinates is only half the battle. Knowing how to get
there is the other half. I canoed to a park once and gave my coordinates to
my wife, who then used a mapping program to locate the spot - which she then
drove to. Only problem was that it was on the other side of the river. She
could look across the river and see us.

You will probably find that GPS units with built in detailed maps will make
you wish you had one years earlier. In fact, the pilot being rescued may be
willing to invest in a detailed GPS for you so that he does not have to sit
as long in the hot sun.

Almost any GPS will allow you to enter coordinates and then point you in
the right direction. It will also give you the distance.

Colin

[Udo]

Colin
Does it mean the units you are talking about, of around $300, will do
the job? If so which of those would be best. My wife is planing to buy
a unit this week. The brand is Nextar regular for $350.00. Do you
think it will do the job that you mentioned?
Udo
Here are some of the specs.
Main Features:
*3.5" color display with touch screen
*Built-in speaker
*Built-in GPS receiver SIRF III
*Built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery
*SD card slot for MP3 play
*Turn by turn voice prompts
*Automatically recalculate the route when
missing a turn
*2D or 3D map viewing mode
*Day and night mode
*Speed alert
*English, Spanish and French supported
*Text to Speech (TTS) - Clearly pronounces
instructions including street names (English)
*1.6 million points of interest (POI)
*Preloaded with US and Canada maps
*Navteq on board


On Jul 8, 11:45 am, "COLIN LAMB" > wrote:
> Knowing the GPS coordinates is only half the battle. Knowing how to get
> there is the other half. I canoed to a park once and gave my coordinates to
> my wife, who then used a mapping program to locate the spot - which she then
> drove to. Only problem was that it was on the other side of the river. She
> could look across the river and see us.
>
> You will probably find that GPS units with built in detailed maps will make
> you wish you had one years earlier. In fact, the pilot being rescued may be
> willing to invest in a detailed GPS for you so that he does not have to sit
> as long in the hot sun.
>
> Almost any GPS will allow you to enter coordinates and then point you in
> the right direction. It will also give you the distance.
>
> Colin

[Michael Ash]

Udo > wrote:
> Colin
> Does it mean the units you are talking about, of around $300, will do
> the job? If so which of those would be best. My wife is planing to buy
> a unit this week. The brand is Nextar regular for $350.00. Do you
> think it will do the job that you mentioned?

Make sure it will let you input GPS coordinates and navigate to them. My
Tomtom Go doesn't let you do that. I didn't care at the time since I
bought it long before the idea of cross country retrieves was on my mind,
but it would be nice to have it now. So far I seem to be doing ok with
addresses and directions, but I'm thinking about replacing it with
something that will have that capability.

I don't suppose anyone out there knows how to fix mine up to allow GPS
coordinate input? I found a third-party add-on which claimed to allow this
but it appeared to be of questionable quality and tapping the icon on the
GPS screen didn't do anything.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[Bill Daniels]

It would also be nice if the device allowed Lat/long coordinates to be
entered in any comon format. It's frustrating when your input data is in
Deg/sec/min format and the device wants it in degrees and decimal minutes.
Small mistakes here can lead to big problems.

Bill Daniels


"Michael Ash" > wrote in message
...
> Udo > wrote:
>> Colin
>> Does it mean the units you are talking about, of around $300, will do
>> the job? If so which of those would be best. My wife is planing to buy
>> a unit this week. The brand is Nextar regular for $350.00. Do you
>> think it will do the job that you mentioned?
>
> Make sure it will let you input GPS coordinates and navigate to them. My
> Tomtom Go doesn't let you do that. I didn't care at the time since I
> bought it long before the idea of cross country retrieves was on my mind,
> but it would be nice to have it now. So far I seem to be doing ok with
> addresses and directions, but I'm thinking about replacing it with
> something that will have that capability.
>
> I don't suppose anyone out there knows how to fix mine up to allow GPS
> coordinate input? I found a third-party add-on which claimed to allow this
> but it appeared to be of questionable quality and tapping the icon on the
> GPS screen didn't do anything.
>
> --
> Michael Ash
> Rogue Amoeba Software

[Eric Greenwell]

Michael Ash wrote:
>
> Make sure it will let you input GPS coordinates and navigate to them. My
> Tomtom Go doesn't let you do that. I didn't care at the time since I
> bought it long before the idea of cross country retrieves was on my mind,
> but it would be nice to have it now. So far I seem to be doing ok with
> addresses and directions, but I'm thinking about replacing it with
> something that will have that capability.

The newer Tomtom's have this feature (I'm using TT 6 on a PDA), so
perhaps an upgrade is possible.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

[Michael Ash]

Eric Greenwell > wrote:
> Michael Ash wrote:
>>
>> Make sure it will let you input GPS coordinates and navigate to them. My
>> Tomtom Go doesn't let you do that. I didn't care at the time since I
>> bought it long before the idea of cross country retrieves was on my mind,
>> but it would be nice to have it now. So far I seem to be doing ok with
>> addresses and directions, but I'm thinking about replacing it with
>> something that will have that capability.
>
> The newer Tomtom's have this feature (I'm using TT 6 on a PDA), so
> perhaps an upgrade is possible.

Thanks for the tip. It appears that my hardware is limited to TT 5 and so
can't have this feature, but I will try a little harder before I give it
up.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[COLIN LAMB]

Hi Udo:

I did a Google search for different Nextar models, but I never found a list
of the features -just selling highlights. Unlike the handhelds, which all
allow you to enter various coordinates, the auto gps units are often not too
concerned about some of those features, since most people simply enter an
address.

So, you must do your homework to make sure the particular unit you are
looking at has the features you want. I purchased an auto gps a few yers
ago when they were in their infancy. I figured they would become obsolete
quickly, so I purchased the cheapest Garmin I could find. It did not have
coordinate input. I need to enter an address. I have about 10 handheld
units so I can live without it. I can also work around the deficiency as I
carry a laptop with a mapping program. I can enter the coordinates into the
mapping program and it will "synthesize" an address, which I can then enter
into the GPS. I have used this frequently, although I will probably buy a
newer unit soon. I saved enough in the original purchase that I can
purchase a new one and still have a lower outlay than if I had purchased a
full featured one originally.

I suspect that features are disabled to force you to purchase the more
expensive models - but competition should solve that.

As others have mentioned, you should make sure your model will accept
coordinates entered in various formats - and make sure your wife can operate
it. Do not expect that a software upgrade will correct any deficiencies of
your purchased model. Manufacturers rarely are interested in upgrading
something they have already sold.

Colin

[Michael Ash]

Michael Ash > wrote:
> Eric Greenwell > wrote:
>> Michael Ash wrote:
>>>
>>> Make sure it will let you input GPS coordinates and navigate to them. My
>>> Tomtom Go doesn't let you do that. I didn't care at the time since I
>>> bought it long before the idea of cross country retrieves was on my mind,
>>> but it would be nice to have it now. So far I seem to be doing ok with
>>> addresses and directions, but I'm thinking about replacing it with
>>> something that will have that capability.
>>
>> The newer Tomtom's have this feature (I'm using TT 6 on a PDA), so
>> perhaps an upgrade is possible.
>
> Thanks for the tip. It appears that my hardware is limited to TT 5

But apparently I'm an idiot. After getting the software installed on my
computer it updated my GPS and now I can navigate to coordinates. Thanks
for prompting me to dig into this! And it was a free update, too, woohoo!

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[COLIN LAMB]

The really nice thing about the car GPS units are that when you take a wrong
turn, it simply recomputes and tells you the new way.

It never says "I told you so" or "you should have asked directions like I
suggested".

Colin

[Eric Greenwell]

Udo wrote:
> Colin
> Does it mean the units you are talking about, of around $300, will do
> the job? If so which of those would be best. My wife is planing to buy
> a unit this week. The brand is Nextar regular for $350.00. Do you
> think it will do the job that you mentioned?

Schucks Auto Supply had an ad today, offering the Nextar unit for $199.
If you don't have this store nearby, check their website, or one of
their partner stores probably has it, also.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

[Udo]

Thanks Eric,
Luckily I checked with Nextar by phone and it does not except
coordinates. I contacted Garmin and Nuvi 350 will, at ($499).
The Tom Tom One, at $350,00 will as well, as per the sales person.
I go with the Tom Tom One. It will arrive after I get back from the R3
contest. I just will not land out as my wife assures me.
Udo

> Schucks Auto Supply had an ad today, offering the Nextar unit for $199.
> If you don't have this store nearby, check their website, or one of
> their partner stores probably has it, also.