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I havee been reading on other places all of the stories about people getting stranded, or mis-directed by GPS use.
So first off a GPS receiver is a relatively 'dumb' computer it is very limited in what it does. It's another tool to use in navigation but shouldn't be viewed as the be all end all.
I teach land navigation to our local Search & Rescue Group, and as part of that we stress the basics of map reading & compass use.
Before you leave on a road trip to a new location double check on a paper map the route suggested by your gps. In particular pay attention to turns/route changes. Is this the way you would have choosen?
Did you tell it to take you via the shortest route or the quickest route? Here in the mountains of washington, the unit will often try and route you via the shortest route which may be down old logging road spurs.
How old is your in vehicle unit & thus how current are the maps?
For land navigation with the gps you should know how to:
determine the coordinates of your current position
enter waypoints, either by marking your current location or by entering coordinates.
use the 'goto' function
change the unit from true north to magnetic north
change the map datum (the default setting is usually WGS 84) it is important that if working with another unit that both be set to the same map datum.
Other suggestions are do you know the difference between True north & magnetic north and what the the declination is in your area.
So here is a simple way I usually use my handheld GPS while hunting in a new area. I mark where I park, turn the unit off. Hunt, or as My Wife says go on 'Armed nature walks'. When I'm ready to return to the truck, I turn on the unit & use the goto function to determine a compass heading. I then set this on my compass, & turn off the unit and follow the bearing on the compass. If for some reason I think I have gotten off course I do the whole process again.
So my suggestions for all who want use a gps is don't rely on just it.
So first off a GPS receiver is a relatively 'dumb' computer it is very limited in what it does. It's another tool to use in navigation but shouldn't be viewed as the be all end all.
I teach land navigation to our local Search & Rescue Group, and as part of that we stress the basics of map reading & compass use.
Before you leave on a road trip to a new location double check on a paper map the route suggested by your gps. In particular pay attention to turns/route changes. Is this the way you would have choosen?
Did you tell it to take you via the shortest route or the quickest route? Here in the mountains of washington, the unit will often try and route you via the shortest route which may be down old logging road spurs.
How old is your in vehicle unit & thus how current are the maps?
For land navigation with the gps you should know how to:
determine the coordinates of your current position
enter waypoints, either by marking your current location or by entering coordinates.
use the 'goto' function
change the unit from true north to magnetic north
change the map datum (the default setting is usually WGS 84) it is important that if working with another unit that both be set to the same map datum.
Other suggestions are do you know the difference between True north & magnetic north and what the the declination is in your area.
So here is a simple way I usually use my handheld GPS while hunting in a new area. I mark where I park, turn the unit off. Hunt, or as My Wife says go on 'Armed nature walks'. When I'm ready to return to the truck, I turn on the unit & use the goto function to determine a compass heading. I then set this on my compass, & turn off the unit and follow the bearing on the compass. If for some reason I think I have gotten off course I do the whole process again.
So my suggestions for all who want use a gps is don't rely on just it.
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