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Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 00:00:45 -0400
From: "Hagman, Christophr K." hagman@roo.susqu.edu
Subject: RE: [D90] GPS Prices
>I was planning on picking up a GPS soon (Garmin
>III+) and was wondering if anyone knew of a good
>(read: cheap) place to get one.
West Marine,
(See at http://www.westmarine.com
or call (800) 262-8464 for nearest store or order by phone - ed.)
and they will match anyone's price. Also the best source is
this page.
http://www.cs.odu.edu/~glaves/chris/
I can' t remember exactly the information is on the page but somewhere on
that page is GPS stuff and it will point you in the right direction.
Chris Hagman
1997 Land Rover Defender 90 AA-Yellow #1701
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Date: Fri, 7 May 1999 11:49:25 -0400
From: "childress, barnett" childress_barnett@emc.com
Subject: [D90] Military style lensatic compass
Hi all,
If your interested in a good rugged compass check out Stocker & Yale's home
page @ http://www.stkr.com . Or call them at 603
983-8778. Stocker & Yale provide the U.S. Armed forces with compass's. They sell
direct.
They offer 2 models:
One with a fluorescent bezel or one with tritium in glass (like pistol night
sights) model Sandy 183-001 that I just purchased.
They also offer military issue watches and binoculars.
Barnett
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 18:36:46 +0100
From: "Rob Smith" rob@archenland.demon.co.uk
Subject: RE: [D90] Garmin MapSource info
>I have a Garmin GPS III+ and I was wondering if there was a way to save my
>trip logs into my computer. I have successfully uploaded a map from my map
>source CD to the GPS unit but I can't seem to do it the other way.
Take a look at 'gardown' - a free thing from the web which allows up and
downloads. Drawback is that it is a DOS program, but it works.
One of the URL is:
http://www.anali.demon.co.uk/gardown.htm
Rob Smith
Mine's the blue 110
Dan Hayes added:
Chris, I use free Waypoint+ (http://www.tapr.org/~kh2z/Waypoint/) to
download waypoints and routes from my GPSIII to my computer.
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From: Jim Hall[SMTP:jimfoo@uswest.net]
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: LRO: GPS Laptop Software
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From: Rick Grant[SMTP:rgrant@cadvision.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2000 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: LRO: GPS Laptop Software
At 08:48 23/08/00 -0500, Herman Stude, wrote
>Any of you fine people use mapping software plugged into your GPS's and
>laptop computers?
There's quite a lot of different ways to go about it but the most
reasonable would be to see what suits the gps/computer combination you have.
A really good web site, in terms of content not layout, to check out is:
http://joe.mehaffey.com/
> Now that you GPS'ers have opened this up, how about sharing some of your
> knowledge about these little gadgets and making some recommendations.
>...............
> So what does one really look for when buying one of these things?.....
One of my favorite subjects.
Here are what the books and salespeople won't tell you!
1. How big are the numbers!? My magellan 315 gives me 4 lines of numbers big
enough to read easily from my driving position, while my Garmin GPS III gives
me 2
2. Does it have a map? Some of the units now have moving maps built in. If
you drive much on numbered roads in unfamiliar territory, this can be worth its
weight in gold! My 315 does not, but the Garmin GPS III does.
3. How many batteries does it use and how long do they last. My Magellan uses
2 AAs and they last about 20 hours. My GPSIII uses 4 AAs and they last about 25
hours.
4. Aftermarket support. Garmin GPS units enjoy far better shareware and
freeware support for uploading and downloading points of interest to other
software. This was critical to me.
5. Can you use an external antenna? The magellan units have a built-in
antenna, while the Garmin units have a detachable one that lets you easily plug
in an external (hi power) one. Useful if you navigate in tree cover or in
urban areas.
There are other factors but most are not nearly as important as these. I own 3
GPS units. One that came with my Delorme StreetAtlas 5 software some 4 years
ago, a Magellan 315 that I keep in the BMW, and my Garmin GPSIII which is
hardmounted into the Range Rover with an external antenna. They each have
their advantages. The old Delorme was useful because it was about free. The
magellan has good battery life and its small, light, and gives me the easier to
read screen. The Gamin has a moving (small) map but lets me hook up to my
laptop and external antenna with ease.
You might also seek to get an education on units and software at the best site
on the net for this stuff: http://joe.mehaffey.com/
Best of luck!
-Perrone
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From: Jeff Gauvin[SMTP:jeff.gauvin@lsil.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2000 5:06 PM
Subject: Re: [D90] advice on choosing map
At 03:40 PM 8/8/2000, you wrote:
>However I don't know which map software ("road & recreation"
>or "topo") I should get.
>What is the difference between these two?
>Would "road & recreation" be enough for most off-roading
>and other outdoor activities (such as hiking and camping)?
I've got both. Here's what I've noticed so far:
1) R&R has much better street level detail for cities. No contest
here. TOPO data for cities seems 20 years out of date.
2) Forest roads and 4x4 trail detail seems better on TOPO, but R&R
has a surprising level of detail too. In fact, R&R has some roads
not on TOPO (and vice versa). R&R is better at labeling roads, though.
In general I think the accuracy of the TOPO maps is better. R&R data
is from US Census Bureau sources (TIGER), and TOPO data is scanned
from maps.
3) R&R has very few hiking trails. TOPO has major ones (like Pacific
Crest Trail, Barr Trail, etc.), but is still missing many. Some smaller
ones are just marked with a symbol, not showing the actual route.
4) The main attraction of the TOPO maps is, of course, the contour
info and more info on geographic features (mines, hot springs, arches,
etc.)
5) TOPO maps take up a *LOT* of memory -- it's all those extra lines.
If you can afford only one, get R&R -- it has better city data (for
getting around strange cities) and can store much larger area, and
is has a good level of backcountry detail. Neither has every 4x4
trail -- for that you'll want to download waypoints & routes from
internet sources.
Here's a hint for Garmin Mapsource users: when installing the S/W,
don't install it from the CDROM. Instead, copy the whole dang disk(s)
to a directory on your hard disk and install it from there. That way
you can run w/o the CDROM and it loads & pans much quicker. It seems
to remember the installation path. This way if you have both R&R and
TOPO you can instantaneously switch views from one map type to the
other and compare detail for any given area, or mark a few waypoints
from the TOPO map and only copy the R&R map to the GPS.
Jeff Gauvin
'94 D90
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From: Jeff Gauvin[SMTP:jeff.gauvin@lsil.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2000 4:42 PM
Subject: Re: [D90] gps unit advice
At 03:57 PM 8/16/2000, you wrote:
>is the garmin gps 3 plus the concensus for best
>portable gps? or are there any others people think are
>better without getting too expensive.
Look at the Garmin GPS12Map (same as III+ in different
case, plus audible alarm) and at the eMap, also.
The eMap is arguably the better device for strictly
automotive use since it has more memory for downloading
maps, but the 12Map and III+ have more features that
are useful for hiking and are more weather resistant.
I bought a 12Map, but I do a fair bit of hiking & biking
so that figured in. The extra memory of the eMap would
be nice, though.
So, figure out what you're going to use it for then
decide from there.
Can't comment on Magellan units as I haven't used them.
Lowrance has a new unit coming out called the iFinder;
same category as the eMap and probably worth a look.
Jeff Gauvin
'94 D90
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From: GerberBaby@aol.com[SMTP:GerberBaby@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 4:06 PM
Subject: [D90] Dashboard Laptop Mounting
jmorris2@utk.edu writes:
> How did you mount the laptop on your dashboard?
The laptop is positioned in the middle of the dashboard, over the ashtray I
never use. It's in a tray I fabricated from angle stock, which pivots
between two brackets. The brackets are L-shaped, and bolt to both the
surface of the dash (not very strong), and downward to either side of the
transmission tunnel (stronger). This configuration minimizes the load on the
dashboard itself. A turnbuckle adjusts the angle of the laptop, which can
pivot between horizontal (for easier viewing of my CB, which is immediately
below it, under the dashboard), or angle downward.
I've routed the laptop's cabling down through the ashtray hole, for power,
serial connections to my GPS and OBD-II diagnostic socket, and cellular
modem. I also remounted my rear-view mirror higher, to make room for the
laptop's screen.
The vertical supports also serve as mounting points for various other
accessories: cell phone, GPS, CB mic bracket, and PalmPilot.
Hope that description makes some sense. I'll have to take some pictures.
Trevor Tarr
'97 D-90
------------------------------
I was on hold with Garmin for only about 15 minutes, and when the guy
came on I was pretty surprised! Hehe.
Anyway, he has heard of this before, it's a common problem, and if I
would have thought of it (honestly I didn't think it would be there),
I *should* have checked the FAQ.
If the unit is left off for longer than 28 days, the orbits of the
satellites have shifted enough that the OMINAC data is lost. The GPS
stores the pertinent information for the satellites that it 'saw' in
the sky last time it was on. IF the GPS has sat long enough for
those sats to move out of range, OR the unit has moved more than 400-
500 miles, the satellites are in the wrong position for the GPS to
detect (or at least the satellites the GPS had in it's memory, and is
programmed to 'look' for). When it doesn't see those satellites, it
thinks it is lost and can't get a fix on the sats it does see.
There are two ways to essentially reset the GPS (I don't know if this
is true for the V, it probably is since most of the buttons are the
same).
#1. Hold down the 'page' button while powering on. This puts the
GPS into a 15-20 minute non-interruptible (short of powering down, or
removing batteries) search for contacting the satellites it does
see. It's essentially a super-duty version of the initial sat.
contact (which, if it can't find them on initial power-up, will ask
you to select location method). If you can't get a good lock with
the auto locate, or the use map function, the above remedy should
prove useful.
#2. Hold down the 'menu' button while powering on. This resets the
unit to the original factory specs. It COMPLETELY ERASES all of your
waypoints, data points, etc... back to zero. When you are tired of
looking at your old bread crumb trail, and have downloaded all of
your waypoints to your computer, this is a good way to 'clean the
slate'. #2 also puts the GPS into a 15-20 minute search for
contacting the satellites. (contacting is probably the wrong term,
it's the one the Garmin tech. used. of course we know that the GPS
doesn't actually make contact, rather just picks up on the signal
being sent)
Other than #1 or #2, the tech suggested I send them both in for
factory repairs. No charge.
I did step #2 on my older III+ and I have a good lock so far. I'll
keep you posted. I used the self-contained antenna and just put it
on the window sill for the search. Seems to have worked.