Re: GPS Recommendations


Steve B. wrote:
> "Jason Settles" <rjs@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message .
> > Does anyone use a GPS while cycling?
> >
> > I'm looking for recommendations/suggestions for usage.
> > I would like something small that will upload/download to a computer.
> > Something that will also track altitude and/or grade changes will riding.
> >
> > I have experience with a Garmin III Plus as well as considerable software
> > background so I am open to high tech suggestions.
> >
> > Thanks in advance for any assistance.
> > *Jason. in Indy
>
> I have used the original Garmin Vista, and did experience the auto-shut-off
> issue related to loose Lithium batteries, but also had luck with a rubber
> shim. The Lithiums do extend battery life, are expensive, but are almost a
> required item as the Vista eats alkalines.

NiMH are cheaper than lithiums and work great. I have 2500 maH ones
that I am using now, but have been using 2100 maH NiMH batteries in my
Legend and Vista for the past 5 years and they work fine with
sufficient life.

> The software does allow an up-load of a track to PC as well as download of a
> map, but does not allow routes to be complied on a PC and downloaded, or
> I've never been able to do it !

Geez, I guess all those routes I compiled for my tour down the west
coast and my tours in Italy, Switzerland, France, and Spain are all
figments of my imagination. Not! It is trivial in the Garmin software
to create routes and download to the unit.

> though I think you can download routes from
> Delorme products - never bothered though.

Only sort of; DeLorme takes its route and creates a series of waypoints
that get downloaded. OK, but not as useful as a route.

> The built in tracklog is good for
> about a 22 mile ride, or one way track, before it "wraps around" the log of
> waypoints it writes.

I did 300 miles in France in May all in the Active Log of my Vista with
no wrap around. You need to work more with the unit and find out how
the setting affect things. Lower the sampling rater; a high sampling
rate is fine if you are flying an aircraft or driving at 80 MPH, but on
a bike it is useless.

> You also want to set it to the finest resolution so it
> will write a lot of waypoints on a track log,

Semantic correction; it writes track points, not waypoints. Waypoints
are a much different thing.

> else it cuts corners on twisty
> roads and the ride log reads short.

It will still do this even at the highest sampling rate.

> Thus a regular $25 bike computer can be
> more accurate,

No, if calibrated correctly the cyclocomputer will always be more
accurate. Accuracy of distance travelled is not the reason one rides
with a GPS. It is to help navigate and provide a track that can be
analyzed later.

> especially in the woods, where any GPS may lose a signal.
>
> Bottom line is it's an expensive gadget for everyday riding, but useful if
> you are riding in an area where you might get lost, and/or are creating a
> cue ***.

Better ways to get a cue ***.

Again, the main purposes to ride with a GPS are to navigate, to find
items, and to provide a track log for later analysis. We have, for
example, been caught in a sudden thunderstorm in Italy and queried the
GPS to locate a train station to make it back to the town in which we
were staying. We have used it to locate nearest hotel, nearest Mexican
food restaurant, the location of specific museums, rental car agencies,
etc. Those are the reasons I tour and ride with my Vista.

- rick

.

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