A long way from DIY, but this forum seems to have a very wide "readership" so a few must be keen walkers and have tried walking satnavs. I've got the UK 50k OS maps on my phone as a back-up for the usual paper and compass, but I'm thinking of buying a dedicated waterproof and ruggedized device that has a good battery life, preferably with at least a sub-set of the 25k OS mapping. Any suggestions?
A proper walker is happy with just an OS map and a good compass, and possibly a Swiss Army Knife for emergencies. All this other stuff is for namby-pambies. BTW, re: the idea of your electronic version being a back-up for the paper version: I think that's backwards.
I would say that a cheap GPS which can give accurate coordinates to marry u= p with a paper map is all that you need. Once you can determine exactly wh= ere you are (e.g. in fog) with some certainty, an electronic map is just th= e same as a paper one, and a paper one's battery doesn't ever run out :-)
I can relate to one walk (pre-GPS days) where I took the wrong fork at a fo= otpath in the fog for a very short distance and ended up in the wrong valle= y. Once I had a suspicion that I was in the wrong place (though uncertai= n), the compass didn't help as the path I was on was heading in a parallel = direction to the one I should have been on. Had I had a GPS I could have s= aid with certainty that I was on the wrong one and re-traced my steps.
Matt
with a paper map is all that you need. Once you can determine exactly where you are (e.g. in fog) with some certainty, an electronic map is just the same as a paper one, and a paper one's battery doesn't ever run out :-)
footpath in the fog for a very short distance and ended up in the wrong valley. Once I had a suspicion that I was in the wrong place (though uncertain), the compass didn't help as the path I was on was heading in a parallel direction to the one I should have been on. Had I had a GPS I could have said with certainty that I was on the wrong one and re-traced my steps.
AOL.
Or get a decent GPS equipped phone and one of these:-
You really need one that understands the application rather than trying to use a navigation device intended for road use. They can record routes and retrace / reverse them, take altitude into account etc.
(pocketable, waterproof, and long battery life are also desirable)
A mate of mine with the Garmin Etrex seems well pleased with it for this application.
with a paper map is all that you need. Once you can determine exactly where you are (e.g. in fog) with some certainty, an electronic map is just the same as a paper one, and a paper one's battery doesn't ever run out :-)
footpath in the fog for a very short distance and ended up in the wrong valley. Once I had a suspicion that I was in the wrong place (though uncertain), the compass didn't help as the path I was on was heading in a parallel direction to the one I should have been on. Had I had a GPS I could have said with certainty that I was on the wrong one and re-traced my steps.
Do not use a 'phone as your only navigation device. What on earth will you do if you are out of the coverage area? As someone else has suggested Garmin do a range of hand-held devices. The basic Etrex works well if you just want to check the grid reference or plot routes, but it doesn't display maps. I use one and have found it very reliable.
However use it as back up to a paper map as even hand-held GPS devices can loose the signal, or their accuracy, if the satellites are masked by heavy foliage or hills.
Happy walking
Chaz Cotton
The Etrex is good. if you want colour and better res, Garmin Oregon or equivalent is good.
I know it's not quite the same, but the USB GPS unit I've just bought from Maplins can pick up 8 different GPS satellites indoors. I think you'd need a lot of trees to mask the signals so you ddin't know where you were.
I don't know about you, but I use an offline OS mapping app (ViewRanger).
In message , Chaz Cotton writes
You can get applications that use maps stored on the device, you don't need any network connection.
The big disadvantage of using a smartphone is the battery life, the turning on the GPS gobble up the battery. Neither my Android (motorola Atrix) nor my wifes iPhone last a day out with GPS on. You can get round this with a plug in battery pack to recharge on the go. But that is of course rather clunky.
Actually, I don't really have any problems with my Etrex Vista HCx (high sensitivity receiver).even under heavy tree cover. Even my phone is ok, though not so good. But yes if out anywhere where it mattered I'd always have a map and compass in the bag
Um, stop making phone calls? There are plenty of apps with off-line maps.
Tim
That's what I've been using on the phone (HTC Desire) ... I'm starting to wonder whether a ruggedized Android phone would be sensible (like a Defy+)
That's what I've been using on the phone (HTC Desire) ... I'm starting to wonder whether a ruggedized Android phone would be sensible (like a Defy+)
Having just bought a modern Garmin Etrex 10 I was amazed at how much quicker it locked onto the satellites than my old Garmin 12 and it even found them when inside our stone walled house . The Garmin 12 had to placed in the upstairs window to get a signal.
So there does seem to have been significant progress in performance over the last few years.
Whatever mapping system you use, ensure it is a proper topographical map, with contours, rivers, foorpaths, etc, ideally the OS map, not the crap you get on most electronic mapping systems which is fine as a /driving/ navigation tool, but bugger all useful for anything that involves more than just tarmac'd roads.
My preference is OS 1:50,000 paper map and a way of finding north (eg a compass or a timepiece). Having a device with a grid reference readout would be a useful future present to myself at some time.
JGH
+1. That's all I would ask for. Just to know exactly where, on a map, I was..
Have a look at the SatMap Active 10. Not cheap, but does everything you want. The rechargeable batteries last for many hours. You can get various bundles (device plus battery packs, maps, bike mount, etc.) depending on what you want to use it for.
Finding your way around the menus is not totally intuitive, but it's fine once you've mastered it. Oh, and it's British!
Agreed. The Etrex-H (high sensitivity) models cope much better with tree cover than the first generation.
-snip-
And I find the GPS on my Android phone extremely unreliable. It usually fails to get a fix.
I think almost any GPS designed for walking rather than Car Navigation will have a full selection of grid reference systems available. My old Garmin GPS (model 12? circa 1994) had OSGB, UTM, latLon in various units, and more. Currently I have a Garmin GPSmap60, I don't use the builtin maps, but over several years have built up a collection of waypoints and saved tracks which form my own personal map of the areas I am interested in. Particularly useful in Italy where even the new series IGM Serie25 are
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