I don't own a GPS yet as I prefer to look at a map to get a complete overview of where I intend to go.
I will buy one before I go travelling too far into unfamiliar territory.....but I will still check out the map as well.
Firefly said
10:57 AM May 14, 2011
Well I don't think it is personally.
Take me outside and spin me around twice and I have no idea where I am
AND I am a sheila and read maps the right way round, which of course, to the male is upside down.
We have two GPS's, one has the Hemma maps and it always looks like we are going the wrong way when I look at that one.
But we still use maps a fair bit regardless. It can really be said about all sorts of modern gadgets can't it, even emails, now thats the lazy way to mail people isn't it, but now, its sometimes the best.
jack biggles said
11:42 AM May 14, 2011
I was stupid long before GPS came along.
Firefly said
11:44 AM May 14, 2011
WARNING!!
Never take a sip of coffee as you read Jacks posts.....
Quietly wipes the computer screen clean...
jack biggles said
11:48 AM May 14, 2011
Sorry hun!
Landfall said
11:51 AM May 14, 2011
I am still looking for an honest GPS.
When I make a wrong turn with ours, it politely says "reroute calculation, etc."
What us Aussies would really like is one that says, "You idiot, can't you folow simple directions. Now find somewhere to turn around! Geesh."
An Aussie would see the humour in that, an American would pull out his firearm and shoot the bloody thing off his dashboard.
Dusty
milo said
12:16 PM May 14, 2011
yeah I agree Dusty, we need some one to make some normal , fairdinkum aussie voices, like G'day mate, where are we going today? Crikey mate , you missed the turn, chuck a youie if can wow we made our destination, bet you cant do that again!!
some thing like that, i know the tom toms can change the voices on them ,just havent found the right one yet...
Beth54 said
01:21 PM May 14, 2011
My son had his on Sean Connery for awhile. He 'put Sean on' while I was in his car, and it's a novel idea, but like son, I think I'd get annoyed with 'him'.
On the Ipswich Motorway (Q), where they're doing roadworks, there's a sign say 'ignore GPS, follow signs'. It's really just for the exit to the Warrego Highway which used to be on the left, now it's on the right.
I don't have one, and probably won't bother, because of the cost. I'm pretty good at reading maps,,,and no, I don't turn them,,,but because I travel alone, sometimes it'd be good to have 'someone' call out instructions.
-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 14th of May 2011 01:26:25 PM
rockylizard said
01:24 PM May 14, 2011
GDay...
I do not have a sat/nav thingy in my life. I use my Camps 5 and another Hema Maps book - that is how I initially plan my trip.
However, I then use Google Maps to plot the route and see how far, directions and via points. I then use Street View in Google Maps to 'see' the intersections so I have some idea of what to expect. One thing I find is very helpful is to locate a service station in a town I am planning to refuel in, use Street View to 'see' the servo and how easy/hard/impossible it is to get the tug and van into (and out of). Google Satelite is also useful to gain an idea of road surface and to locate/view free-camps too. Then I keep the Camps 5 Book in the car with me for reference.
Google Maps is also excellent for finding one's way around towns instead of a street directory (which none of us carry for every town in OZ). Good for locating 'landmarks' etc using Street View.
The following two excerpts from the SMH article are interesting -
An NRMA study found drivers spend an average of 1.2 seconds each time they glance at their GPS device. At 60km/h, that equates to travelling 19 metres every time they sneak a peek. (and at 100kph?)
In 2009, two neuroscientists in Canada coined the term ''developmental topographical disorientation'' to describe otherwise healthy people who cannot recognise landmarks to work out their whereabouts.
I think both these are very relevant in the danger of sat/nav thingies when in a vehicle by oneself.
All of that said, I guess I just love maps and using them. I would always relate my trip to a 'paper map' no matter what system I used.
Cheers and happy travelling
John
Beth54 said
01:28 PM May 14, 2011
rockylizard wrote:
GDay...
I do not have a sat/nav thingy in my life. I use my Camps 5 and another Hema Maps book - that is how I initially plan my trip.
However, I then use Google Maps to plot the route and see how far, directions and via points. I then use Street View in Google Maps to 'see' the intersections so I have some idea of what to expect. One thing I find is very helpful is to locate a service station in a town I am planning to refuel in, use Street View to 'see' the servo and how easy/hard/impossible it is to get the tug and van into (and out of). Google Satelite is also useful to gain an idea of road surface and to locate/view free-camps too. Then I keep the Camps 5 Book in the car with me for reference.
Google Maps is also excellent for finding one's way around towns instead of a street directory (which none of us carry for every town in OZ). Good for locating 'landmarks' etc using Street View.
The following two excerpts from the SMH article are interesting -
An NRMA study found drivers spend an average of 1.2 seconds each time they glance at their GPS device. At 60km/h, that equates to travelling 19 metres every time they sneak a peek. (and at 100kph?)
In 2009, two neuroscientists in Canada coined the term ''developmental topographical disorientation'' to describe otherwise healthy people who cannot recognise landmarks to work out their whereabouts.
I think both these are very relevant in the danger of sat/nav thingies when in a vehicle by oneself.
All of that said, I guess I just love maps and using them. I would always relate my trip to a 'paper map' no matter what system I used.
Cheers and happy travelling
John
Yes, I've used Google maps a bit too, and now that I have a laptop to take with me, I guess I'll use it more.
petengail said
03:54 PM May 14, 2011
I dont have one and dont intend getting one, after all wouldnt it diminish management's coaching/instructing role? lol
Happywanderer said
04:34 PM May 14, 2011
I don't like them and won't be getting one. Give me a paper map and my own brains anyday. Never got lost yet. Street and road signs help too. What more could you ask for.
Beth54 said
05:07 PM May 14, 2011
Happywanderer wrote:
I don't like them and won't be getting one. Give me a paper map and my own brains anyday. Never got lost yet. Street and road signs help too. What more could you ask for.
Oh I've gotten lost plenty of times, but always seem to find my way again!
-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 14th of May 2011 05:08:30 PM
jimricho said
05:38 PM May 14, 2011
Travel Bug wrote:
I don't own a GPS yet as I prefer to look at a map to get a complete overview of where I intend to go.
I will buy one before I go travelling too far into unfamiliar territory.....but I will still check out the map as well.
It's my personal view that used this way GPS is great AID to navigation. A good dose of common sense helps too.
I have found mine helpful for finding the caravan park in a town I'm unfamiliar with, also for knowing the distance to the next town or other waypoint.
For those who follow GPS directions blindly and without reference to other navigational clues I don't think it's case of making them stupid, I think they already are!
Science and technology are the new religion. We expect it to solve all problems and to perform perfectly and feel let down when it fails to meet this impossible goal.
wendyv said
05:45 PM May 14, 2011
I live in a street that once - 25 years ago - was a through road, but which has been closed off by bollards and plantings, since then. Took me a while to twig why there has been a steady increase in the number of vehicles going up the road and coming straight back again. Although the Melways shows it as a no through road, and it is clearly signed at the corner, obviously sat-nav systems think it is a through road. It is also a narrow road and the truckies that have to do a twenty point turn at the end do not look impressed as they pass by again.
jimricho said
05:49 PM May 14, 2011
wendyv wrote:
Although the Melways shows it as a no through road, and it is clearly signed at the corner, obviously sat-nav systems think it is a through road. It is also a narrow road and the truckies that have to do a twenty point turn at the end do not look impressed as they pass by again.
I rest my case about a dose of common sense!
Beth54 said
06:02 PM May 14, 2011
Yep, know that one too. To get to my daughters place, Google maps says I can go a certain way, but I know it's a private road, and a dirt track at that!
rockylizard said
07:07 PM May 14, 2011
Beth54 wrote:
Happywanderer wrote:
I don't like them and won't be getting one. Give me a paper map and my own brains anyday. Never got lost yet. Street and road signs help too. What more could you ask for.
Oh I've gotten lost plenty of times, but always seem to find my way again!
-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 14th of May 2011 05:08:30 PM
Gday...
Well - us boys NEVER get lost ....
we just get geographically embarrassed
Cheers (now where was I again?)
John
Beth54 said
07:48 PM May 14, 2011
rockylizard wrote:
Beth54 wrote:
Happywanderer wrote:
I don't like them and won't be getting one. Give me a paper map and my own brains anyday. Never got lost yet. Street and road signs help too. What more could you ask for.
Oh I've gotten lost plenty of times, but always seem to find my way again!
-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 14th of May 2011 05:08:30 PM
Gday...
Well - us boys NEVER get lost ....
we just get geographically embarrassed
Cheers (now where was I again?)
John
Yeh, sure, you keep telling yourself that.
Cruising Granny said
08:04 PM May 14, 2011
I've been caught out by Tom a couple of times. Like Albany up a steep cul-de-sac. It sure tested my van reversing negotiation skills - backwards, forwards, backwards, forwards, watch the power pole and the car parked on the footpath, backwards, forwards, backwards, forwards. Phew! Down the hill, across the street, and blow me down, there's the caravan park! Street configurations are changed by councils but the GPS programmers aren't up with the changes, so we fall victim to slow people-programmed technology. I find it a great help as Jim says, in unfamiliar towns, but I still consult the map. When I'm planning I Google Maps, and collate it all before I leave, in association with the paper map book. Now I have the Truckies Atlas for the over-dimension routes around the country. There apparently is a GPS programme to cover this too, but I wouldn't trust it completely. The fines for taking the wrong road with a big load is huge for all involved. I believe we still need to use maps and brains, referring to the GPS. It's also handy to check the remaining distance to the destination. In relation to your warning Firefly, may I suggest you swallow FIRST. Then read and laugh.
Loffty said
08:29 PM May 14, 2011
Never been lost.
Geographically Challenged a few times,
but never lost
Cruising Granny said
08:36 PM May 14, 2011
I never get lost. Someone always tells me where to go. But do I go there? Not on your life - unless I want to.
jimricho said
07:34 AM May 15, 2011
I think in some cases there's a misunderstanding of just how "Sat Nav" (GPS) works....
The only information provided by the satellites (the "Sat" part of "Sat-Nav") is the data to determine the position of the instrument at that point in time i.e. the lat and long (plus a time reference), nothing else.
ALL the other information and smarts are contained within the GPS instrument itself (the "Nav" part of "Sat Nav"). This includes the mapping and street data and all the other fancy info as well as the computer that translates this into driving instructions etc.
The GPS is not connected to any network, internet or otherwise (except when plugged into a home computer or laptop to download updates). If the data in the GPS contains errors or out of date data (they all do) those errors will remain until such time as it is updated, and then will only be corrected if the errors have been corrected in the new updated data (which at times they aren't)
If the GPS says one way and the road sign says another.....follow the road sign and let the GPS recalculate.
jules47 said
07:49 AM May 15, 2011
I put my GPS on sometimes when travelling alone - just to have someone to argue with!!!!!! "Turn left in 600 metres" - "don't tell me where to go!" But seriously I have found it handy to have it in some cities, just so I can concentrate on traffic, without worrying about which turn to take next.
Firefly said
08:13 AM May 15, 2011
We use ours on long trips as it gives a good indication to arrival times for us. I find that handy when I am soooo over being in the car and its letting me know I am about to be free.
The Other Half works it out almost to the minute but I prefer to cook than navigate so Tom helps me out there.
jimricho said
08:53 AM May 15, 2011
Firefly wrote:
We use ours on long trips as it gives a good indication to arrival times for us.
My main use too, I turn off the audio so that "Karen" (Garmin GPS) doesn't nag me.
goinsoon said
05:56 PM May 15, 2011
The only reason I use a GPS is it gives me something else to argue with besides the missus
Esmeralda said
05:45 PM May 17, 2011
I would have never found my way around all those circles and thingies in Canberra without the Navman, even if I got a bit bamboozled between vear right and turn right but key we went around the block once or twice. I would also never have found a petrol station because they always seem hidden away. But I really enjoyed Canberra - bl**dy cold though!!
The following article on Sydney Morning Herald's DriveLife sections discusses the folly of using GPS alone for navigation....
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/is-satnav-making-us-stupid-20110512-1ej9d.html
I don't own a GPS yet as I prefer to look at a map to get a complete overview of where I intend to go.
I will buy one before I go travelling too far into unfamiliar territory.....but I will still check out the map as well.
Well I don't think it is personally.
Take me outside and spin me around twice and I have no idea where I am
AND I am a sheila and read maps the right way round, which of course, to the male is upside down.
We have two GPS's, one has the Hemma maps and it always looks like we are going the wrong way when I look at that one.
But we still use maps a fair bit regardless. It can really be said about all sorts of modern gadgets can't it, even emails, now thats the lazy way to mail people isn't it, but now, its sometimes the best.
I was stupid long before GPS came along.
WARNING!!
Never take a sip of coffee as you read Jacks posts.....
Quietly wipes the computer screen clean...
Sorry hun!
When I make a wrong turn with ours, it politely says "reroute calculation, etc."
What us Aussies would really like is one that says, "You idiot, can't you folow simple directions. Now find somewhere to turn around! Geesh."
An Aussie would see the humour in that, an American would pull out his firearm and shoot the bloody thing off his dashboard.
Dusty
like
G'day mate, where are we going today?
Crikey mate , you missed the turn, chuck a youie if can
wow we made our destination, bet you cant do that again!!
some thing like that, i know the tom toms can change the voices on them ,just havent found the right
one yet...
My son had his on Sean Connery for awhile. He 'put Sean on' while I was in his car, and it's a novel idea, but like son, I think I'd get annoyed with 'him'.
On the Ipswich Motorway (Q), where they're doing roadworks, there's a sign say 'ignore GPS, follow signs'. It's really just for the exit to the Warrego Highway which used to be on the left, now it's on the right.
I don't have one, and probably won't bother, because of the cost. I'm pretty good at reading maps,,,and no, I don't turn them,,,but because I travel alone, sometimes it'd be good to have 'someone' call out instructions.
-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 14th of May 2011 01:26:25 PM
GDay...
I do not have a sat/nav thingy in my life. I use my Camps 5 and another Hema Maps book - that is how I initially plan my trip.
However, I then use Google Maps to plot the route and see how far, directions and via points. I then use Street View in Google Maps to 'see' the intersections so I have some idea of what to expect. One thing I find is very helpful is to locate a service station in a town I am planning to refuel in, use Street View to 'see' the servo and how easy/hard/impossible it is to get the tug and van into (and out of). Google Satelite is also useful to gain an idea of road surface and to locate/view free-camps too. Then I keep the Camps 5 Book in the car with me for reference.
Google Maps is also excellent for finding one's way around towns instead of a street directory (which none of us carry for every town in OZ). Good for locating 'landmarks' etc using Street View.
The following two excerpts from the SMH article are interesting -
An NRMA study found drivers spend an average of 1.2 seconds each time they glance at their GPS device. At 60km/h, that equates to travelling 19 metres every time they sneak a peek. (and at 100kph?)
In 2009, two neuroscientists in Canada coined the term ''developmental topographical disorientation'' to describe otherwise healthy people who cannot recognise landmarks to work out their whereabouts.
I think both these are very relevant in the danger of sat/nav thingies when in a vehicle by oneself.
All of that said, I guess I just love maps and using them. I would always relate my trip to a 'paper map' no matter what system I used.
Cheers and happy travelling
John
Yes, I've used Google maps a bit too, and now that I have a laptop to take with me, I guess I'll use it more.
Oh I've gotten lost plenty of times,
but always seem to find my way again!
-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 14th of May 2011 05:08:30 PM
It's my personal view that used this way GPS is great AID to navigation. A good dose of common sense helps too.
I have found mine helpful for finding the caravan park in a town I'm unfamiliar with, also for knowing the distance to the next town or other waypoint.
For those who follow GPS directions blindly and without reference to other navigational clues I don't think it's case of making them stupid, I think they already are!
Science and technology are the new religion. We expect it to solve all problems and to perform perfectly and feel let down when it fails to meet this impossible goal.
It is also a narrow road and the truckies that have to do a twenty point turn at the end do not look impressed as they pass by again.
I rest my case about a dose of common sense!
Yep, know that one too. To get to my daughters place, Google maps says I can go a certain way, but I know it's a private road, and a dirt track at that!
Gday...
Well - us boys NEVER get lost ....
we just get geographically embarrassed
Cheers (now where was I again?)
John
Street configurations are changed by councils but the GPS programmers aren't up with the changes, so we fall victim to slow people-programmed technology.
I find it a great help as Jim says, in unfamiliar towns, but I still consult the map.
When I'm planning I Google Maps, and collate it all before I leave, in association with the paper map book.
Now I have the Truckies Atlas for the over-dimension routes around the country. There apparently is a GPS programme to cover this too, but I wouldn't trust it completely. The fines for taking the wrong road with a big load is huge for all involved.
I believe we still need to use maps and brains, referring to the GPS.
It's also handy to check the remaining distance to the destination.
In relation to your warning Firefly, may I suggest you swallow FIRST. Then read and laugh.
Never been lost.
Geographically Challenged a few times,
but never lost
But do I go there?
Not on your life - unless I want to.
The only information provided by the satellites (the "Sat" part of "Sat-Nav") is the data to determine the position of the instrument at that point in time i.e. the lat and long (plus a time reference), nothing else.
ALL the other information and smarts are contained within the GPS instrument itself (the "Nav" part of "Sat Nav"). This includes the mapping and street data and all the other fancy info as well as the computer that translates this into driving instructions etc.
The GPS is not connected to any network, internet or otherwise (except when plugged into a home computer or laptop to download updates). If the data in the GPS contains errors or out of date data (they all do) those errors will remain until such time as it is updated, and then will only be corrected if the errors have been corrected in the new updated data (which at times they aren't)
If the GPS says one way and the road sign says another.....follow the road sign and let the GPS recalculate.
But seriously I have found it handy to have it in some cities, just so I can concentrate on traffic, without worrying about which turn to take next.
We use ours on long trips as it gives a good indication to arrival times for us. I find that handy when I am soooo over being in the car and its letting me know I am about to be free.
The Other Half works it out almost to the minute but I prefer to cook than navigate so Tom helps me out there.
My main use too, I turn off the audio so that "Karen" (Garmin GPS) doesn't nag me.
The only reason I use a GPS is it gives me something else to argue with besides the missus
