Author Topic: Compass or GPS?  (Read 26689 times)

sussamb

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #75 on: 08:58:35, 29/09/15 »
If the signal is down ... then it is au revoir GPS.

That's not even true.  Even without a GPS signal a GPS still works but as a simple electronic map.
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Owen

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #76 on: 11:03:32, 29/09/15 »

I don't know for sure, but I'd be very suprised if most people who go out walking in the countryside, take any map and compass, or any any other navigation aid with them.
Rob.


I walk predominately in the mountains I've not come across many people without maps, not so sure about compasses or the ability to use one. I think the problem isn't whether you take a GPS or map and compass or both it's more about knowing what to do with them.   

Rhino

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #77 on: 12:33:44, 29/09/15 »
Probably somewhere in the past in a pub most likely the same conversaion took place with regards to the horse and cart and the motor car. Thats how i view this issue  :)
 
 
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sussamb

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #78 on: 13:46:55, 29/09/15 »
Crikey Rhino, you mean you use a car, I'm still using my trusty horse and cart  ;D
« Last Edit: 13:55:46, 29/09/15 by sussamb »
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Rhino

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #79 on: 14:07:19, 29/09/15 »
Yes I have a car but kept me old horse and cart out back to keep the grass short and somewhere to sit on an evening  ;D 
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fernman

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #80 on: 22:23:24, 02/10/15 »
Just read the following report in Grough (hope they'll forgive me for quoting it here). Now what do you say?

Outdoor enthusiasts in the North-West of Scotland are being warned they will not be able to rely on GPS devices for two weeks this month.
Ofcom, the official regulator for radio communications, said jamming of Global Positioning System signals will take place from 5 October to 16 October.
The jamming is part of the Joint Warrior military exercise involving UK military personnel, ships and aircraft, and European, Canadian and USA armed forces.
The signals, used by hand-held GPS devices, mobile phones and vehicle sat-nav systems, may be blocked during the exercise, in the areas around Loch Ewe and Faraid Head near Durness.
The jamming means walkers and other outdoor fans will have to use conventional navigation methods – paper map and compass – when finding their way in those areas.

sussamb

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #81 on: 07:37:13, 03/10/15 »
Well you still don't need a paper map.  As I've pointed out before even if there is no GPS signal you still have an electronic map :)
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UKHiker

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #82 on: 18:12:33, 04/10/15 »
ViewRanger app on phone but always carry a map and compass. Using a map often gives a batter appreciation of the entire area rather than the small display of a digital map. I also find it difficult in bright light to see the phone display and when its raining I don't really want to get the phone out.


But perhaps I should invest in an all weather GPS system, maybe I'll put that on the Christmas list.
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sussamb

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #83 on: 19:17:18, 04/10/15 »
I also find it difficult in bright light to see the phone display ....

Me too :)
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Rhino

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #84 on: 12:50:39, 05/10/15 »
ViewRanger app on phone but always carry a map and compass. Using a map often gives a batter appreciation of the entire area rather than the small display of a digital map. I also find it difficult in bright light to see the phone display and when its raining I don't really want to get the phone out.


But perhaps I should invest in an all weather GPS system, maybe I'll put that on the Christmas list.

I have recently invested in an all weather GPS system the Garmin gpsmap64s. I am not impressed with it compared to my Iphone and Viewranger however i can use it wearing my gloves in extreme weather and it has double my iphone battery life and unfortuntly there the positives end. It probably will end up as an extreme weather use only with the phone as backup and then become back up to the phone at all other times.
It is better than a map and compass though   :)
 
« Last Edit: 13:20:09, 05/10/15 by Rhino »
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altirando

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #85 on: 13:33:20, 05/10/15 »
Made me think.  Do wonder what sort of terrain you are all on to need these aids.  Wales, Lakes, Peaks, the main routes nowadays are mostly beaten paths, be absurd to blunder along them peering at a screen.  A map is indispensable for planning a walk, but mostly to find the way through a tangle of lowland trails, some of which might not be rights of way.  The only time I can remember using a compass (do not normally carry one) was in deep cloud and fog on Kinder Scout, although the groughs form a pattern that acts as guidance.  On really serious ground, in the alps say, the navigation is critical down to a few feet so no aid is of much use except perhaps an altimeter.  Have you all been brainwashed to spend money unnecessarily?

sussamb

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #86 on: 13:47:09, 05/10/15 »
Not sure how anyone can 'blunder along' if they're following 'beaten paths' as you put them  :D

In any case there are still places in this country (thank goodness) where you're not following beaten paths. 

I assume you use a map?  That too is an aid, and overtime would cost me far more in buying maps than my GPS does, so I don't view it as 'spending money unnecessarily'.  I also use it for geocaching, hard to do with just a map ;)
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ninthace

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #87 on: 14:20:13, 05/10/15 »
The problem you can encounter in well trodden areas, such as the Lakes and Snowdonia, is that there is a plethora of paths, some are mapped, some aren't, and some are mapped wrongly.  The main advantage of a GPS is that it facilitates the exploitation of these minor tracks as well as off piste walking, especially in reduced visibility, allowing you to explore the areas the crowds avoid.  I also used my GPS in the Alps this year where I found it an invaluable nav aid on ridge routes to ensure the selection of the right path and to monitor progress along an unfamiliar ridge.


Yes you can do it with a map and compass etc, but a GPS is just so much quicker and easier, and does not actually involve blundering along looking at a screen.  A quick glance from time to time is all you need to stay abreast of progress, position and route ahead whereas a map often brings you to a dead stop while you refer to it.



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Rhino

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #88 on: 14:34:34, 05/10/15 »
Made me think.  Do wonder what sort of terrain you are all on to need these aids.  Wales, Lakes, Peaks, the main routes nowadays are mostly beaten paths, be absurd to blunder along them peering at a screen.  A map is indispensable for planning a walk, but mostly to find the way through a tangle of lowland trails, some of which might not be rights of way.  The only time I can remember using a compass (do not normally carry one) was in deep cloud and fog on Kinder Scout, although the groughs form a pattern that acts as guidance.  On really serious ground, in the alps say, the navigation is critical down to a few feet so no aid is of much use except perhaps an altimeter.  Have you all been brainwashed to spend money unnecessarily?

 
Really Altirando some of your posts do make me laugh the sweating one certainly did and so does this  ;D  you are clearly a cut above the rest of us mere mortals who have to resort to such instruments to find our way about  :)
 
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ninthace

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Re: Compass or GPS?
« Reply #89 on: 14:48:53, 05/10/15 »

 
Really Altirando some of your posts do make me laugh the sweating one certainly did and so does this  ;D  you are clearly a cut above the rest of us mere mortals who have to resort to such instruments to find our way about  :)

Ah Rhino my dear chap, we are but mere mortals, perspiring freely while clumping along in leaden boots while vainly seeking the path, whereas he floats along on gossamer wings, wearing shoes crafted from the finest spider silk and clad in spun thistledown while his path is guided by whispering naiads. 😅
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