GPS Units
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conorsmith
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:37 am
GPS Units
Are they really worth considering or are they just another expensive little toy?
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brianmacmahon
- Posts: 180
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:37 am
Re:GPS Units
I take it you don\'t like your \"expensive new toy\" ?.
Like everything else it has its upsides and its downsides;
The major downside is that most handheld units EAT batteries when left on.
A good upside is that the unit is handy for monitoring your speed over ground, or in our case speed over water. It can immediately tell you whether you are making progress or are you merely paddling on a treadmill.
It\'s also handy if you are using for training purposes, most of us a have a favourite route. The GPS can have the stored \"Waypoints\" of this route thereby keeping tabs on how fast you complete the route everytime you paddle it. Mostly knowing all this information invariably depresses you, so maybe you are better off not knowing.
However on occasion it can be an invaluable tool. On one excursion with Tadhg the visability decended into nothing. We had to rely completely on Tadhg\'s GPS. However it seemed to have a fault as instead of returning us safely home we ended up in \"Morans\" at the weir ????. After a few pints and some mussells we agreed that Tadhg shouldn\'t be responsible for any further navigation !!!! :laugh:
Like everything else it has its upsides and its downsides;
The major downside is that most handheld units EAT batteries when left on.
A good upside is that the unit is handy for monitoring your speed over ground, or in our case speed over water. It can immediately tell you whether you are making progress or are you merely paddling on a treadmill.
It\'s also handy if you are using for training purposes, most of us a have a favourite route. The GPS can have the stored \"Waypoints\" of this route thereby keeping tabs on how fast you complete the route everytime you paddle it. Mostly knowing all this information invariably depresses you, so maybe you are better off not knowing.
However on occasion it can be an invaluable tool. On one excursion with Tadhg the visability decended into nothing. We had to rely completely on Tadhg\'s GPS. However it seemed to have a fault as instead of returning us safely home we ended up in \"Morans\" at the weir ????. After a few pints and some mussells we agreed that Tadhg shouldn\'t be responsible for any further navigation !!!! :laugh:
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eddieoshea
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:37 am
Re:GPS Units
GPS units are essential for us mere mortals on open crossings where there is no land in sight unless your a master of celestial navigation. Even if it is just to record your track so that you can review it later from the comfort of your armchair and compare it to your planned route. Garmin have a web site to upload tracks to share with others. You also get cool statistics on your track. Here\'s a recent track route;
http://connect.garmin.com/player/29445570
Press Play to retrace the route.
Interesting to see the effect of tidal flow considering we were on the same compass bearing for most of the trip.
A GPS without a data cable and PC mapping software is as useless as a kayak without a paddle.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/29445570
Press Play to retrace the route.
Interesting to see the effect of tidal flow considering we were on the same compass bearing for most of the trip.
A GPS without a data cable and PC mapping software is as useless as a kayak without a paddle.