Satnav

[Andy Shep]

Hi to all,
Does anyone here use satnav in their daily lives , for work or as a means to find photography
locations , I'm looking to buy one this week as my sense of direction is terrible , any recommendations would help narrow the field.

Kind regards
Andy...

[smartie]

I use Tomtom - I have a palmtop (Dell Axim) and got the Navigator 5 version that works on that rather than one that stays in the car. Means I can put the GPS receiver in my pocket and use it when I'm walking as well as when I'm driving and it's also less likely to be nicked. They are a popular item on the thieves' list at present.

I've found it not quite infallible (it once thought I was in a blind alley a mile from where I actually was in Victoria Street in London - confused by all the high buildings around us we thought) but to be very useful for getting me to places in the car when I don't have someone with me to read the map. And even then good for complex routes on little roads when you don't have a really detailed map to hand. For walking I still tend to use a map because I'm accustomed to that, I suppose, but the satnav does work fine.

[richardkm]

Hi

I use several different types. I've got the garmin nuvi 300 for in the car. This can also be used hand held, but for cross country work, I use the garmin gps 5 (V) which is extremely accurate, I've used it in the uk and in the western desert in egypt for surveying, it too can be used in-car, but there's no voice control, just the screen and beeps when you need to do something. My wife has the gpsmap 60c, which is again a dual purpose similar to the 5, but with a colour screen, also very accurate.

[nightshade]

The Lioness bought me a tomtom one for Christmas I contacted them with
regard to using map references, and they said it can be done but have not
tried it yet
I am very pleased with it but you do need to read the instructions carefully

[Jon]

I can recommend Tomtom Europe, had it a couple of weeks now, I think it is great and of course if you go abroad and hire a car, then bob's your uncle.
I wish it read map references, I did research on t'internet an old article said that the sat nav companies would need a different licensing agreement for this to take place, may be things are moving on now.
Nature parks/reserves usually have post codes or are on/near to towns/ junctions and these of course can be easily found.
Jon

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by smartie

I've found it not quite infallible (it once thought I was in a blind alley a mile from where I actually was in Victoria Street in London - confused by all the high buildings around us we thought) but to be very useful for getting me to places in the car when I don't have someone with me to read the map. And even then good for complex routes on little roads when you don't have a really detailed map to hand. For walking I still tend to use a map because I'm accustomed to that, I suppose, but the satnav does work fine.

Not driving a car, I wouldn't need the whole navigation setup but am thinking of getting a GIS - useful if you're on the moors and have forgotten that the clocks have been changed (in October) or if you enter a cloud of heather smoke! I've stuck by maps until now but think it may be worth investigating good models.

I'm glad you find them infallible. Not true for all models - I've had people sending me twelve-character grid references for an alleged record which was five kilometres NW of the actual site. Doesn't seem to happen so much nowadays.

As for satnavs - I've been in cars where people seemed to be more interested in what the nav was saying than what was happening on the road and, of course, you hear the reports of artics getting stuck on bridleways and people taking first right onto a railway line ....

But I'd be pleased for any suggestions about a handheld GIS.

[richardkm]

Originally Posted by Jon

I wish it read map references, I did research on t'internet an old article said that the sat nav companies would need a different licensing agreement for this to take place, may be things are moving on now.

Jon

With the Garmin Nuvi it is possible to input locations either from their postcode or OS grid reference, most useful.

[thunder]

Someone came to see me on Monday - took half an hour to find my house despite detailed verbal instructions and use of satnav which located the 100m stretch of road on which my house is. (Only one other house!). Some people can make a hash of anything! And a colleague dropped his in a wood. I'm sure it knew where it was, but of course he didn't. Someone else found it a year later!

thunder

[Paul mabbott]

Tell me! I think that many people (as a greybeard I can say, "particularly younger ones" ) are becomin unable not only to read maps but to follow moderately simple instructions. They're conditioned to motorway signs and satnav commands.

Perhaps for GIS devices they should have a 'return to master' ability - a little rotor device perhaps?

Originally Posted by thunder

Someone came to see me on Monday - took half an hour to find my house despite detailed verbal instructions and use of satnav which located the 100m stretch of road on which my house is. (Only one other house!). Some people can make a hash of anything! And a colleague dropped his in a wood. I'm sure it knew where it was, but of course he didn't. Someone else found it a year later!
thunder

[Tornado]

I have had a TomTom for two years now, and wouldn't be without it, yes you do get the "odd" time it directs you into the middle of nowhere as many people say, but I stress it most certainly is the"odd" time.

Recently I purchased the maps of europe via a download from TomTom, and plan to use them in two weeks time when I head off to Majorca on a birding trip with my better half.

And if you have any problems with the unit there is always someone who knows how to solve it on a well known satnav forum.

This little "gem" of a gadget was well worth the money..............well in my book anyway!

Tornado

[ron1863]

I have Navigon Satnav, which I mostly use when in Spain and wouldn't be without. As others have said they do make the odd mistake, my one always makes it in the same place (Granada) where it tries to send me down a dirt track but I know to avoid it. It can be used in a car, bike or walking and you can input postcodes and map references, though I haven't tried this. Thy are worth the money.

[fishingdobbie]

I have a pocket pc with navigon and tomtom software for the car which I find great. I also have memory map Gt Britain, which is divided into 12 topographicle sections, on my laptop, this is great when you go offroad walking etc, (the software which is used in cars is no good once you move away from roads),I download which ever sections I require to my ppc. I also have all the british bird calls on the ppc which is handy. Bert

[Ian Gray]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

Not driving a car, I wouldn't need the whole navigation setup but am thinking of getting a GIS - useful if you're on the moors and have forgotten that the clocks have been changed (in October) or if you enter a cloud of heather smoke! I've stuck by maps until now but think it may be worth investigating good models.

I'm glad you find them infallible. Not true for all models - I've had people sending me twelve-character grid references for an alleged record which was five kilometres NW of the actual site. Doesn't seem to happen so much nowadays.

As for satnavs - I've been in cars where people seemed to be more interested in what the nav was saying than what was happening on the road and, of course, you hear the reports of artics getting stuck on bridleways and people taking first right onto a railway line ....

But I'd be pleased for any suggestions about a handheld GIS.

Hi Paul,
I've also thought about a GPS, but I would miss the sense of joy
when you suddenly realise you know where you are and you've
worked it out all by yourself with a map, compass and
sometimes a big slice of luck

[richardkm]

Like most technology, you need to remeber that they are good tools, but not masters. I can use a map as well as anyone, but even so, looking back there are times in the past when a GPS would have been most useful - such as searching for lost souls in the rain and mist on the top of Kinder. Now, I always take one with me whenever I go into the hills. I may not use it, but it's there if I need it. My wife enjoys Geocaching and uses her GPS constantly to locate caches. The accuracy is so good that it's only the cunningness of the cacher that makes them difficult to find.

Go out and buy a good one, learn how to use it properly and know its limitations, you'll never regret it.

[nightshade]

I could not find the reply I had regarding the use of map references
on the tom tom one so I resubmitted the query as the explanation
was rather long will post the reply
Incidently I still carry maps/road atlas,computers have a nasty habit
of having a fault ratio in proportion to the importance of the task

[Blackdog]

I have a TomTom 700 which has all of Europe on it. I bought when I was travelling around Germany on a regular basis and have found it to be excellent. The only mistake it made was once thinking I was on a short stretch of Autobahn that wasn't there near Paderborn.
Around the UK it has always bee absolutely spot on.

I also have one built into my car which is a bit awkward to enter addresses into but superb for showing me where I am.

For hand held devices for walking, the Garmin ETrex range are very good indeed.

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by Jon

I wish it read map references, I did research on t'internet an old article said that the sat nav companies would need a different licensing agreement for this to take place, may be things are moving on now.
Jon

Most Sat Navs will accept lat and long

It is not too difficult to convert OS grid refs to
Lat and Long

I found an excel sheet on the web that does that.
I can forward for a private email, but I won't be reading
this thread for a couple of weeks as I am away.

[almostnormal]

Originally Posted by Blackdog

I have a TomTom 700 which has all of Europe on it. I bought when I was travelling around Germany on a regular basis and have found it to be excellent. The only mistake it made was once thinking I was on a short stretch of Autobahn that wasn't there near Paderborn.
Around the UK it has always bee absolutely spot on.

I also have one built into my car which is a bit awkward to enter addresses into but superb for showing me where I am.

For hand held devices for walking, the Garmin ETrex range are very good indeed.

i'd agree, my friend has now purchased the tomtom and has figured out how to use it. she's found it to be excellent. which is good because the last one she had told us we were where we wanted to be (a shooping centre in southampton) and we weren't even at the motorway junction for it! don't know what that one was butit wasn't good!

[pressld2]

I bought a Tom Tom 700 a couple of years back ready for a trip to Belgium / Northern France. I had one hairy moment when, after driving off the ferry at Calais, I found myself in the queue for Eurotunnel back to the UK. But I'm pretty sure it was my mistake and not the sat nav.

Don't know if you can enter grid references as I've never tried - would be very useful if you can as not all RSPB reserves have post codes.

Dave P.