Personal GPS systems

[Joshua]

My girlfriend and I CC, so every week or so is somewhere new.

 

Problem is, my girlfriend has very little spacial awareness and is often nervous about getting lost when heading off into a new town on general scouting duties or walking the dog.

 

Can someone recommend a really good personal handheld GPS that will solve this problem?

 

Any software needs to work with Mac.

 

It will be regularly and well used so robust , waterproof and rechargeable batteries are features that would be nice.

 

Thanks.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Joshua

[MoominPapa]

My girlfriend and I CC, so every week or so is somewhere new.

 

Problem is, my girlfriend has very little spacial awareness and is often nervous about getting lost when heading off into a new town on general scouting duties or walking the dog.

 

Can someone recommend a really good personal handheld GPS that will solve this problem?

 

Any software needs to work with Mac.

 

It will be regularly and well used so robust , waterproof and rechargeable batteries are features that would be nice.

 

Thanks.

The Google Maps app on any Android smartphone, (or iPhone too, I suppose) has a turn-by-turn navigation mode for walking, plus maps, satellite, and streetview. That would seem the best and cheapest option, especially as you get a 'phone for talking and internet access too!

 

MP.

[tillergirl]

beat me to it. My OH has a Nokia N8 which has that same app on it. We find it very useful.

[Guest]

Another vote for a phone with mapping.

 

Or if a dedicated hand held GPS is definitely what you are after one of the Garmin Etrex range

 

http://www.garmin.com/uk/new-etrex-series#3

 

Can't swear that they work in conjunction with a Mac though.

[Graham Davis]

beat me to it. My OH has a Nokia N8 which has that same app on it. We find it very useful.

 

Do you have a link/name for that app, please?

[smileypete]

The Google Maps app on any Android smartphone, (or iPhone too, I suppose) has a turn-by-turn navigation mode for walking, plus maps, satellite, and streetview. That would seem the best and cheapest option, especially as you get a 'phone for talking and internet access too!

I'd just get a basic Android phone with GPS and use Google Maps.

 

There's also apps like Glympse and Real Time GPS tracker which allow 3G enabled remote tracking via web browser in real time. So your GF can call you up and say 'Where am I'?

 

For a cheap 3G data SIM have a look at Samba Mobile, gives free data for watching a few ads.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

[Guest]

I'd just get a basic Android phone with GPS and use Google Maps.

 

There's also apps like Glympse and Real Time GPS tracker which allow 3G enabled remote tracking via web browser in real time. So your GF can call you up and say 'Where am I'?

 

For a cheap 3G data SIM have a look at Samba Mobile, gives free data for watching a few ads.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

 

You can do similar with the 'Where's my droid app' - useful for locating a lost phone but also a lost person too (assuming they have the phone on them of course)

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alienmanfc6.wheresmyandroid&hl=en

[Joshua]

Oh god, please no, I appreciate your help but..

 

'Smart' phones are the bane of our life and as soon as we can live without a G3 signal they will go (they are currently the cheapest option for keeping in touch with family in several different countries).

 

Those clumsy, hit and miss touch screens and far, far, far, far too many idiotic functions make using them a dreaded experience. Attempting to select a function is like trying to pick a coin out of a basket full of snakes. The tiny screens are totally inappropriate for map reading and to run the mapping/GPS functions you have to allow the service provider access to your every move, a bit like wearing a criminals ankle bracelet. I like my privacy too much.

 

No, we need a dedicated GPS and it doesn't need a map, Garmin do something called an e-Trex that looks appealing but I know so little about gps and the options and I don't think the E Trex works with Mac software.

 

Basically, all it really needs is the electronic version of a ball of string that can be given some coordinates using a Mac and Google maps or the like.

[Guest]

No, we need a dedicated GPS and it doesn't need a map, Garmin do something called an e-Trex that looks appealing but I know so little about gps and the options and I don't think the E Trex works with Mac software.

 

Then check out the link I posted in post #4

 

That would be my choice.

[carlt]

Oh god, please no, I appreciate your help but..

 

Basically, all it really needs is the electronic version of a ball of string that can be given some coordinates using a Mac and Google maps or the like.

The Etrex will do just fine.

 

Edited to add: If that's all you need it for then you don't need to link it up to a computer.

Edited January 9, 2013 by carlt

[tafelberg]

You could get her an android/apple phone with GPS built in!

 

Google maps works great!

[geehils]

etrex would be perfect for this and you won't need a PC (it won't connect to a mac anyway).

 

Whenever the boat is moored, save location as a waypoint (a couple of clicks) and then use the GOTO function to navigate back to this waypoint.

 

2 AA batteries last about 24 hours and it's a rugged piece of kit.

 

You will find them nice and cheap on ebay.

[Guest]

etrex would be perfect for this and you won't need a PC (it won't connect to a mac anyway).

 

Their web site is not totally clear that will or won't and googling about would seem to show it is possible but a fair old faff on to do it and probably not worth it in this case given the intended use.

[Joshua]

The Etrex will do just fine.

 

Edited to add: If that's all you need it for then you don't need to link it up to a computer.

 

Provided she can find her way back to the boat, it isn't absolutely necessary that she can find the centre of town but it would be nice! I am assuming plugging it into a laptop would be a quick and easy way of telling it where to take my girlfriend before bringing her back again.

 

To be fair to my girlfriend, with town centre moorings being so naturally popular, we more often than not, have to moor out of town, so the journey into town is not always that straight forward.

 

I'll check out the eTrex Mac compatibility.

 

 

Edit to say:

Advice coming in quicker than my reply, note lack of Mac compatibility

Edited January 9, 2013 by Joshua

[Guest]

Provided she can find her way back to the boat, it isn't absolutely necessary that she can find the centre of town but it would be nice! I am assuming plugging it into a laptop would be a quick and easy way of telling it where to take my girlfriend before bringing her back again.

 

My older etrex has a 'bread crumb trail' feature - I'm sure the new ones will too - it just asks you to follow a trail of on screen 'bread crumbs' and it brings you back the exact way you have come.

[system 4-50]

Their web site is not totally clear that will or won't and googling about would seem to show it is possible but a fair old faff on to do it and probably not worth it in this case given the intended use.

I have downloaded the old canal additional map to my new etrex 20 successfully using a mac but I used a round-about route so it may require a different unzip for you. My problem was not realising that the resulting map, with an external filename of gsupmapp or something similar would be called "output.file" in the list of maps on the etrex.

Additionally the supplied map on the etrex is poor.

Getting the thing fully setup is very much a bit of a faff, and I have not got there yet.

The device itself looks very good.

 

Do a search on etrex on this forum for more detail.

[Canalwatcher]

I have a Memory Map Adventurer 2800 that is self contained and has the entire OS 1:50,000 mapping of Britain on it. I think you need something that shows the OS mapping as often you want to know what public footpaths or bridleways connect with the canal. Although self contained there is compatible PC software so may not be for you - but get something with OS mapping is my recommendation.

 

Mick

[Richard Fairhurst]

Any eTrex with USB port (i.e. any apart from the old yellow ones) connects fine to a Mac. I have an eTrex Legend HCx connected to my Mac right here.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Richard Fairhurst

[Joshua]

Any eTrex with USB port (i.e. any apart from the old yellow ones) connects fine to a Mac. I have an eTrex Legend HCx connected to my Mac right here.

 

Thank you for that Richard, as a man interested in navigation, would you recommend that model, any annoying features, anything better?

 

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

Any eTrex with a colour screen and the ability to load mapping should be fine. The Legend HCx is the last generation of models, and has served me very well indeed, but if I were buying now, I'd go for its replacement, the eTrex 20. As geehils says, it just uses normal AA batteries, so you don't have to worry about losing the charger or anything like that.

 

The eTrex itself doesn't come preloaded with maps; you can buy them from Garmin, but I just use free downloadable OpenStreetMap ones which are fine in most places (and more detailed in many). You'll need a MicroSD card to store them on; this just slots into the back of the eTrex.

[GSer]

I think Garmin offer Apple compatability via 'Garmin Basecamp' software.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Indeed, but it's worth noting that you don't actually need the software unless you want to create your own tracks/routes on your computer. If (like me) all you want to do is copy a downloaded map onto the eTrex, and occasionally copy GPX files off it showing where you've been, you simply press a couple of buttons to put the eTrex into 'USB Mass Storage' mode. It then appears on your desktop like a USB stick.

[Grace and Favour]

My older etrex has a 'bread crumb trail' feature - I'm sure the new ones will too - it just asks you to follow a trail of on screen 'bread crumbs' and it brings you back the exact way you have come.

 

That's fine, as long as the ducks don't have an etrex under their wing!

[Joshua]

I ended up buying a GPSmap62s because I was offered a very good deal and it came with the full UK discovery maps.

 

I have two questions that I wonder someone might be able to help me with.

 

Firstly how the devil do I get the maps off the GPS chip and onto my laptop? It is tedious to have to keep connecting the GPS to the Laptop to see the background maps when looking at downloaded tracks.

 

I have tried searching the GPS and Chip directories but can find no map files that I can access to download into Base Camp and the latter does not seem to offer such an option?

 

Second question, Can I directly access the track data or graphics using graphic software like Illustrator or Photoshop? Again I have searched for this data on the chip and Garmin unit but can’t find it. I would like to mess about with my tracks to produce much more graphically rich and data intense maps than Base camp allows.

 

I have tried googling but find there is surprisingly nothing directly on these issues but then again I am probably not being very clever with my searches!

 

I could always put the track up in Basecamp then screen grab it but I wondered if there was direct access to the original data in a graphic format?

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

[Joshua]

Indeed, but it's worth noting that you don't actually need the software unless you want to create your own tracks/routes on your computer. If (like me) all you want to do is copy a downloaded map onto the eTrex, and occasionally copy GPX files off it showing where you've been, you simply press a couple of buttons to put the eTrex into 'USB Mass Storage' mode. It then appears on your desktop like a USB stick.

 

Sorry to ‘wake you up’ on this Richard, but I think you are probably the forums resident map expert.

 

 

 

I have found a partial answer to my own first question above in that I copied the contents of the mini chip (the OS Discovery maps) to a flash drive (memory stick) and then renamed the memory stick using the folder name of the mini chip and bingo, my mac/BaseCamp reads it so I no longer have to plug by Garmin into my mac.

 

I had an idea, would it be possible to create a virtual device (say an android virtual device) and put the contents of the Garmin chip into that so the OS maps reside on my hard drive?

 

What software do you use for manipulating GPX files and is there a filter for converting them into a format that classic graphic programmes can read?