Re: Garmin GPS

["Mike Bostock" <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In your message regarding Re: Garmin GPS  dated Tue, 13 Feb 2001 15:08:55
- -0500, Paul Fox said that ...

>  > without causing concern.  The map view is too detailed for use IMHO for m/c
>  > use and changing view with gloves on is tricky (haven't tried it with
>  > summer gloves yet but I wouldn't imagine it would be an awful lot better). 
>PF-  
>PF-  i don't have the III-plus -- i have the GPS-III.  so the amount of
>PF-  memory is sort of a moot point for me.  :-)
>PF-  
>PF-  i use my gps in a completely different way.  i use the map view exclusively,
>PF-  and have never done any route planning or waypoint downloading.  i
>PF-  use it as a moving map, and most purposes i find the builtin base map
>PF-  to be fine.  i can't imagine not having a paper map as well in any case,
>PF-  and the combo of the basemap and the paper map is just fine.  in any
>PF-  case, my eyes have gotten so i can't read the paper map easily without
>PF-  glasses, whereas i _can_ read the gps map, since it's always centered
>PF-  on my current "context".  (and since my wife, who rides with me, has
>PF-  fine eyesight, and _can_ read the map, we make a good team.  she knows
>PF-  where we're going, and i know where we are.  :-)

I think there could be a 'national' difference here.  I suspect that the
US basemap is probably a lot more accurate than the European version and
possibly more detailed (after all it is a US produced product).

I have had the GPS 3+ for 6 months now and have used it extensively in
maritime and road (car) scenarios and more recently on the ST.  I am
currently planning my 1 week tour of northern Spain through France and
back to the UK via Brittany in May (working ahead but it fills the winter
evenings) http://www.sprint-st.org/routes.html.  I have the Map Source CDs
for UK Roads and Recreation, France Roads and Recreation and the World Map
(which is essentially the Garmin basemap).  I did not purchase Spain Roads
and Recreation since the Garmin web site says it only covers about 50% of
the roads and we will only be doing about 280 miles in Spain anyway.  The
world map is _not_ sufficiently accurate to route plan.  So I have
prepared the route in M$ Autoroute 2001 (Europe) (I hate to admit that -
but it is quite a good product) and manually (since there is no copy/paste
facility on Autoroute location sensor) transferred the Lat and Long
waypoints going through Spain onto the Garmin World map.  There is a
significant difference between where M$ says the roads are and where the
Garmin world map says they are.  Having found locations within 150 feet
using Autoroute and a UK Postcode I tend to believe M$ (I emphasise that
this is the only issue on which I believe M$ :-) ).

I break each route into half days, so, as the ferry lands in Santander at
midday, the first is 1P, the next 2A, the next 2P etc.  You have a maximum
of 30 waypoints per route and 20 routes in memory [maximum number of
waypoints = 400] (more than enough for 7 days on the road).  The only
'maps' I will upload onto the GPS unit will be those around destination
points ie night stops, and around especially major conurbations - eg
Poitiers.

I think that ability to have the GPS almost level with the top of the
screen in the configuration I have previously described is the safest
(paramount), most convenient and easiest to use.  You can accurately gauge
your speed in MPH or KPH (depending on the local limits - eg in Spain and
France I will be switching it to metric measurement), you can easily see
how far it is to the next waypoint and with careful naming of the
waypoints know exactly what type of turn you will be making.  It means
taking a bit of time doing route preparation but "time spent in
reconnaissance is seldom wasted" (Clauswitz - I think).  MY choice would
definitely be the GPS III plus.

Whatever you chose do have some practice with it first on routes that you
already know - I played around with the configuration just on my way to
work and back - and I think I know the way to my own practice by now ;-)

The alternative is to take a laptop with you and then you can upload the
maps to your GPS at each stop :-))  The Toshiba Portege looks good at
1.5kg and I am seriously thinking about it - but then I am a sad person :-p

- -- 
Mike Bostock
http://www.toothfairy.co.uk/
Wales & SW ST Riders
http://www.sprint-st.org/

'99 Red ST

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