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1 Apr 2008
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: England
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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.
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1 Apr 2008
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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.
__________________
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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S
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1 Apr 2008
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Quote:
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GPS can be a blessing .. but you need maps to go with it and the knowledge of how to use them
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I did not know that! I thought they were map replacements, not just a handy extra.
Quote:
... 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.
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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
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1 Apr 2008
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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
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2 Apr 2008
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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  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.
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2 Apr 2008
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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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. 
Hopefully at this years HU meet Tim will once again give a talk and teach me a bit more about it.
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'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.
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1 Apr 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Birdy
I also didn't know you needed a computer to continually calibrate the little box of tricks.
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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.
__________________
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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S
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3 Apr 2008
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Bayou Vista, Texas, u.s.a.
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Don't sweat it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Birdy
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.
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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.
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3 Apr 2008
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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.
__________________
Jan Krijtenburg
My bikes are a Honda GoldWing GL1200 and a Harley-Davidson FXD Dyna Super Glide
My personal homepage with trip reports: https://www.krijtenburg.nl/
YouTube channel (that I do together with one of my sons): motormobilist.nl
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7 Apr 2008
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Get one!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Birdy
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?
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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
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Some great quote about hard core travel that nobody has said yet.[/URL]
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7 Apr 2008
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Girls, as I said, I've got an eTrex, in a nice yellow colour - can I join you at the spa?
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