Using a GPS
 

Does everyone use GPS now? I have always been a fan of the Silva and a map, but then again I have never done a RTW (only 8 months left till start line though.)

I have never used a GPS, or even considered one, should I?

They seem quite expensive, and what do they really offer over the map that costs pennies, the compass that was 'borrowed' from her Maj, and the local knowledge that every second person wants to pass on for free?

Thanks,

Happy Riding,

Joel.

PS, Please excuse my ignorance, I am a complete technophobe, even this computer hates me.

Every one is different .. some people love them ...others don't use them.

With 8 months to go you don't have much learning time for a new toy. Go without .. that is what you had planed .. so do that. Been done for years, still do able. A GPS can be a blessing .. but you need maps to go with it and the knowledge of how to use them ... on a world trip it is a lot of work getting every thing together .. some things yuo can do on the road, like clothing, food .. but the GPS requires a computer to find, calibrate (adjust), add things to .. the things that are stored inside the GPS .. ... too much in 8 months I'd say. Concentrate on the other stuff .. there will be enough of it to do.

Good Luck.

I did not know that! I thought they were map replacements, not just a handy extra.

I'm pretty much set to go, with the exclusion of Visas, I am low maintenance, travelling light, and keeping it simple. I also didn't know you needed a computer to continually calibrate the little box of tricks. As I am not taking a laptop with me, the GPS unit would be an expensive paperweight!

Joel

Hi Joel,
Learning how to get the best from one is worth while, it is a bit like digital camera. You can take photos on auto and get good pictures, but if you what to get the best from today’s digital camera you need to learn how to do that.

I use a GPS and I like them, defiantly enhanced my travels. Brilliant in towns and cities, fantastic for crossing countries on back road and by ways. Easy to share routes, info and tracks. They certainly don't take away you free choice.

GPS came along right on queue as my eyes started to become poor for reading, it became hard to focus / read a map in the tank bag at 50mph. They should be called OGPS, Old Gits Positioning System :)

I still use paper maps but also I have the maps for my next trip loaded in the GPS, all of the Americas with routes across Canada and along the Continental Divide (2500 miles) in the USA, if I meet other travelers who have a GPS they can give me waypoints for camp sites, hotels, bike shops and all sorts of stuff and visa versa. Re finding your hotel in any city is easy. I don't take a lap top and if the gps fails it will be a inconvenience but not the end of the world. Indispensable in a desert or wilderness

Think about getting a used or old model Garmin and see what you think.

Steve

Not continually .. but at least at the start to load maps. And you'll need a lot of time to get the better GPS maps. Noit a calibration, just data transfere. The computer interface can be better tahn teh GPS interface.. and the larger screen size is much better for planing.

You'll find the GPS maps are not as good as the paper maps you can buy along the way (though those usually don't have lat/long marks on them) and the paper maps are better for planing the next day or twos riding.

The GPS is what I use when riding .. well when it has the detail need - then it saves a lot of time. When it does not have teh detail it can be used to place me on the paper map with more precission than using just the odometer. It saves some time then.

Hope I can barge in here, but I just logged in to post a very similar question about the need for GPS. I've not started travelling yet - I'm hoping UK/St Petersburg/Mongolia/Vladivostok by Lada, then ferry to Japan later this year.

Not having worked for Maj, I got my compass from Amazon:wink3: and an excellent book about how to use it. Still need practise though - and being on a desperate budget, the hundred pounds saved would get me another thousand miles. Tempting to get a cheap second-hand one from ebay - one that just tells me where I am - in case I wander off somewhere.

I have had a Garmin 2610 for some time which completely baffled me until Tim Cullis gave his 'talk' about them at the Horizons 2007 meet and enlightened me! There are many features that I still don't understand, and it still tries to 'divert' me to weird places near where I live, and insists that my 'home' location is Taiwan!
However it is very useful, but I would never do a 'distance' trip without the good old tried and tested paper maps.:thumbup1:
Hopefully at this years HU meet Tim will once again give a talk and teach me a bit more about it.

gps
 

Dont own any gps , cant see myself getting any.Basically I m too frugal to spend so much money for something paper maps can do just as well.Besides that I know diddly about running computers.
The way I look at it the gps systems I see toted around on bikes are expensive video games ,status symbols and theft magnets as well as being a distraction to drivers/riders just like cell phones. Then there is the problem of electronics failing and all that time and money for installing new information. What are we to be - motorcycling travellers or computer programmers on the road?
As for planning purposes, personally I travel with very little planning, just a start and rough finish date but nothing hard and fast in between, none of this daily planner stuff with hour by hour and point to point schedules to stick to. Leaves me the option of slacking off or to divert when the weather does not cooperate. With such an attitude could gps be of much utility ? Granted if you are on a limited time and budget in which to complete a trip with intercontinental logistics plans need to be made. But that can be done on paper too. However whats the point of using gps to be like an airplane pilot and fly blind '' on instuments''. You could probably ride across country in a fog and at night with gps , but wheres the fun in that.
As an adventure motorcycle traveller its impossible for you to get lost.So what if you turned into a road you didnot know - you are not lost , you are exploring new territory.

I have an old Garmin Quest, not much bigger than a mobile phone and I have to admit not having much of a clue as to its many functions but used with a map, I found it incredibly useful and pretty much use it all the time.

For my trip, even though I just stuck the basic WorldMap on there, to know that you are where you are and at least heading in the right direction or can see when the turn off road you are looking for is up ahead etc is pretty handy, especially somewhere like Bolivia where even the paper maps you can buy had towns in the wrong locations! I hate routing functions though and only really used that in my work for finding addresses.


Having said all that, I couldn't agree with this more!

Nup ... you are forgetting other things on the road .. like an unlit combine harvester... arrrrrrrrrr ... missed! ... think I'll put up the tent now.

Garmins world map v3 that I have looks to have inaccuracies of about a mile .. so the turn coulb be +/- 1 mile from where shown. Just so you know ... it is an aproximation.

If you do have accurate gps information it is really confidence inspiring. Running out of fuel? Nearest petrol is xx miles away in that direction..

Is this the start of a new saying? 'I'm not lost. I'm exploring!'.:wink3: Or, 'GPS - turns a good adventure into a package tour'.

At the end of the day, it's what floats our boat. I'm going to improve my map reading and compass skills. More hands on.

These posts explain the use of the GPS very adquately:

Basically you dont need a GPS system, B U T it does make life easier at times, especially in the highly populated countries of Europe with zillions of small roads, big cities...

Depending on where youre travelling, the GPS may be quite useful. It remembers the track you have travelled, meaning if you get lost (Sahara eg) you can always return to where you started (track-back).

In many countries youll hardly find roadsigns. The GPS shows you very soon, whether youre still travelling in the correct direction.


A computer isnt necessary either, but again, it makes life much easier, esp. when working out routes and transferring them onto the GPS.

Hans

How can I be lost?
 

Not really, there are a number of variations on that, going back hundreds of years via Vasco de Gama (or was it some other guy?) et al: all basically saying that "the true traveller is never lost".

On the utility of GPS, the explorers in various desert regions, even just a few years ago, would have given their grannies away to get their hands on a reliable location fixing system.
For a good read in an earlier era, I suggest "Longitude" by Davida Sobel (sp?). All at sea, but the principles are there!!

I've logged over 3000miles in Europe, with another 6000 starting next week without GPS. I prefer mapping it out, and then giving myself hand written directions in my map sleeve. The only times I really wished for a GPS, was in the big cities. Madrid and Paris are near impossible to navigate when you don't know the area. I've lost hours in the big cities. Not that it's lost time, because I get to see some parts of these cities I wouldn't normally see, but it sure if frustrating.

However, I do have an emergency back-up that I had to use once. I have a GPS photo-tracker, little ball that sits in my bag and geo-tags my photos for me. When I got lost deep in the mountains outside of Salamanca, Spain I was able to tether it to my laptop to get a fixed point. Think I paid under 100USD for the little guy. Plus you need the software, but that's what I've been using to map out my trip.

GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr is the name of the little guy.

Years ago, I used to fix a card to the dash board containing a list of all the towns I'll be travelling through, with the miles and road numbers in between. Looking back, it was a poor mans tomtom, but without the voice. It worked surprisingly well.

Don't sweat it!
 

Joel, If you can navigate without a GPS and get yourself around comfortably, you are WAY ahead of those that totally rely on a GPS. Navigation is an art as well as a science. If you purchase a GPS and use it, it will only enhance what you already know and it a good feeling then to know that if it "shits a bucket" so to speak, you can continue on with confidence.

You can use a GPS in different ways.

You can sit behind the computer and program your whole trip in the GPS. That is fine if you always stick to your original plan.

The other way of using it (the way I do) is using it as an addition to a paper map. Every few hours, I look on the map from where to where I want to go and then use the GPS instead of notes on a piece of paper in the tankbag. I think it is much safer to listen to the directions my Tomtom gives me then to look down at the notes in the tankbag. I plan my trip in little parts while on the road and sometimes I change my mind if I see a nice road.
That is for the open road.

In cities like Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, nothing beats a GPS.In heavy traffic, you don't have the time to look at a map in your tankbag but it's no problem to listen to the directions of the GPS.

I use a Tomtom Rider 2, hardwired to the accessoires contact on my (old) GoldWing. It costs me € 599 including the Ram mount and the bluetooth headset and maps of Western Europe. It does not have all the bells and whistles most Garmins have but I don't need them so why pay for it.
I'm thinking about buying a second Ram mount and power cable for my BMW.

Post Its
 

Hey, never mind "years ago" it's still a good technique! :rolleyes2:

Those little yellow post-its work well enough, if you fix them somewhere to your front that is protected from the wind (I have only lost one or two over the years - usually on a motorway at high(ish) speeds). I've used them like "tear-offs" a la the racing guys and got a whole day of navigation out of a set of them, without looking at the map during the ride. Then spend a bit of time over a beer in the evening, writing up the next day of riding and arguing the pros and cons of various routes with the other riders.
All kept in the tankbag with the map(s).
This reminds of that old saying about what writing implement to use: USA space technology developed the universal pen that always works in a vacuum, the wet etc etc. I do as the Russians are reputed to do in their space effort - I use a pencil, it works in all weathers. :thumbup1:

Have to admit, I often use AA Route Planner for work trips - especially if it's an early start and I'm still packing. I still check it against the map.

Hedging my bets
 

When looking at a thread such as the one shown in the link below, the usefulness of electronic/GPS navigation systems is apparent:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ouctou-18256-2

Exchange of information is easier; overall, I am agreeing with earlier posts about achieving a balance of using paper maps in conjunction with electronic satnav/GPS.
The exact balance in this use is up to the individual, and there are lots of types of electronic gismos in the market to do this.
I may wait a bit longer, until the basic ones are given away with the cornflake cereal packets!! :rolleyes2:

My wife got the Tomtom one, that we use in our car, for free with a phone subscription......... (and then I liked it so much I bought the Rider for on my bikes)

You need to differentiate between the two types of GPS.
The one that you load and display maps and it guides you along roads - or the point and shoot type that just points you as the crow flies between waypoints.
I have the latter, a Garmin eTrex, bought it via e Bay very cheap and it does me for what I want.
I put in a waypoint/route manually and follow that as best as I can down whichever road seems the right one.
If it works for me in Cairo where there are no GPS maps then it can't be too bad.
Bear in mind that out in the desert/bush there are not that many roads to get confused over.

I beg to differ on that point Mark. I found that navigation in the Sahara was the hardest of anywhere I have travelled. Bear in mind that this was 30 years ago, and well before GPS, but the problem was that there were so many tyre marks in the sand, leading off in different directions, and it was impossible to differentiate between what could be the main route, and a nondescript local track. In addition, the track from Tamanrasset to Agadez (900kms) was so badly rutted that I always had to ride 1 km away from the centre of the track and sight up the next 44 gallon drum/cairn of rocks every 2 km. Occasionally one would be missing and it was nervewracking being out there alone with no confirmation that you were still on the right route and hadn't missed a slight turnoff.

Garry from Oz.

I'm using my GPS Garmin 60CSx since september, 2007. And it's great to use on trips.
Here in Brazil and South America, we've lots of maps, and roads to use, I don't know in another countries, but, it helps a lot when you're a little bit lost... :eek3:

farqhuar - yep you're right.
What I meant was that a point and shoot GPS rather than a fully loaded map thingy is good enough for me, and better than just a map, because as long as I know what direction to go in, even where there are multiple tracks, I've done OK. It is better than having just a map and then being confused when the track has multiple split offs.
If I'm in doubt, when I looked at the route in the planning stage, I load up a few waypoints and follow them.
I probably didn't clarify what I meant.

Get one!
 

Hey Jo!

Firstly, if two giggly girls can learn to use a GPS in a week or so - so can you. (it took us much longer to figure out a torque wrench... to give you an idea)

Ofcourse, it DID help that our tutor set up waypoints for us, that lead to shopping centres with MEGA SHOE SALES --- somehow our inner compasses found that easily enough.

Don't let the gadget crazy blokes dazzle you with all the fancy GPS's that read maps and bedtime stories....

GET A SIMPLE GPS (we paid £60 each for a Garmin ETREX on ebay) that SIMPLY gives you your location, can record waypoints and EXTRA BONUS... if you use your imagination... it works just like a compass... because it only has an arrow, pointing in a direction.

Jokes aside -- it depends where you're travelling - but we believe its an INVALUABLE safety tool: always have maps -- but having something that can pinpoint your exact location in case of rescue/getting lost etc. is essential.

PLUS -- if you buy a basic model, you can spend your time getting to grips with it --- and if you like it --- you can upgrade!

If you're struggling, you're absolutely WELCOME to join us on some orienteering excercises... we've heard there's a DELIGHTFUL little beauty spa somewhere in the sticks of essex... and we're just getting the waypoints together.

xx

Girls, as I said, I've got an eTrex, in a nice yellow colour - can I join you at the spa?