Novice Needing Advice

[ronofcam]

Hi all,

I've done a search, but have so far drawn blank.

I am an experienced hillwalker who has, thus far, resisted the urge to splash out on a GPS meter on the grounds that I'm tight, and that I don't really need one.

Whilst both of those things are broadly true , I have decided that I am now in the market for a GPS meter that will do the following:

1) Give me a map reference number to 6 places (eg. NN 234 567)
2) Altitude
3) Ascent/descent in metres/feet per minute
4) Compass
5) Barometric pressure
6) Way plotter and guide
7) Be no more than £250ish.

Do any of you fine ladies or gentlemen know of such a product? I'm guessing that Garmin are a good make, based on the amount I've seen written.

Any advice greatfully received!

Cheers,

Ron

[philpugh]

Welcome

Tricky one this....

If you are managing without one then you may be able to continue to do so

For 'normal' hill walking then a very basic unit will suffice - it will give you position and altitude (approx); allow you to enter waypoints and to navigate a route, logging your actual track for later examination on a computer for instance. Altitude from a GPS system is notoriously inaccurate and this is a manifestation of the geometery of the satellites used to get a positional fix. But then barometric altimeters are accurate only if you have a means of recalibrating the 'base' atmos pressure during a climb. In the UK the atmos pressure changes significantly over the period of a decent walk (6 hrs ish)


So 1,2,6,7 can be met

4 - Compass. You get a compass-like facility on most GPS systems but the trouble is they only work whilst moving. There are some with true electronic compass - but these are on units in excess of your budget. Anyway, you would still need to carry a real compass as anything electronic is going to let you down just when you need to rely on it.

5 - Barometric pressure - similar to 4 above - only seen it on top of range (expensive) models (eg GARMIN GPS60CSx) that have mapping built in.

3 - Ascent/Descent rate. Can be calculated by examining track log afterwards - don't think I have seen a unit with this facility - but then I haven't looked as it's not something I am generally interested in when walking. A walk is either flat or hilly as far as I am concerned and rate of ascent is not important - but 'view breaks' for recovering my breath seem to be nowadays

So - if I heven't put you off - I would look at a basic GPS - something like the GARMIN GPS60. It's well within your budget, has excellent battery life and is tough as old boots. I own one of these and togther with good OS mapping (I carry paper maps generated from Anquet or Memory Map) and a real compass, I haven't managed to get too lost yet - and I have a record of walks that I have done, for future reference.
_________________
Phil

[ronofcam]

Hi Phil,

Good skills!

Thanks for your detailed response. For me the most important thing is being able to pinpoint where I am on a 1:25 000 landranger map! If the Garmin gives me a 6 digit map reference then I'm happy.

Does the model you suggest do that?

[philpugh]

Yes - in common with a lot of GPS systems you get 10 digit resolution (eg XY eeeee nnnnn)

The GPS position will be accurate to 5-15 metres under normal conditions. It's more than accurate enough for 1:25K mapping. Altitude can be up to 100 metres or more out - and will continually vary when stationary.

When you get one - read the instructions as they are capable of working in lots of map datums. As long as you select OSGB for the datum then you will be fine. The GPS60 actually prevents you from having OS grid reference read out and any other datum than OSGB. My first GPS didn't and you could find yourself out by 50-100 metres all the time!
_________________
Phil

[ronofcam]

Phil,

Many thanks once again. Your knowledge of GPS hardware is to be admired and feared in equal measure!

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