Dummies Question

[Trippy]

Right ....

I am looking at an OS map of Salisbury Plain and want to go there and ride a pre-designed route over the tracks.

If I had a GPS how do you transfer the information I am looking at on the map to it, I know this will seem really basic to some of you but I really don't have a clue.

I mean say there's a track off a B rd that then has numerous other tracks off it how do I input the information to tell me which tracks to take.

As I say I am clueless when it comes to GPS so please make it simple ( have asked Q's before and got such technical answers I was no better off ) and what sort of money would I need to be spending on which model.


Ta Jim

 

[Mick O'Malley]

No don't, stick to the good old fashion maps, planning your trip, stopping to look at sign posts and getting lost now and then ... much more fun.

.. anyway why would he want to double the value of the bike by fitting a gps

Boom boom.

Regards, Mick

 

[Fanum]

There are two ways of transferring the info to a GPS Jim......manually or by finding a map overlay that's done already and then plotting the route in Mapsource.

To do it manually, first you need to make damn sure your GPS is set to the OS grid system (GRB36) .

On a Garmin unit, you select units setup and then 'Ord Srvy GB.'

Then you would go to your paper map, plot the route you want with a highlighter and then select a point (waypoint) at each turning or junction.....write down its coordinates (as accurately as you can) and name them in a logical way (p1, p2, p3 etc etc)

Then (assuming you're doing this on the GPS not on a PC) go to the GPS, move the cursor away from your current position, select it (press OK) and the screen changes to one that shows the position of the cursor in coordinates.......move the cursor up to the coordinates, edit them to the coordinates of 'P1' then save it .

Repeat for all the points on your route, then you have them in the unit.

To use them, you'd have to set the GPSto route 'offroad' or 'in straight line' so that it doesn't try and route you miles around a road system to get to a point.....it just points a straight line across country to your next waypoint.

You can either set up a route that goes 'via' your way points in order, or just ride from point to point and select the next one manually.

Note...you can do all of that easily on mapsource on the PC as well

the second option involves finding an overlay.......there are lots out there, but I don't know if there's one for the plain.

The overlay is another version of a map....you upload it into mapsource, plot your route on it as normal and load that route into the GPS as normal....then when you arrive at thebeginning of te route, you go to 'map setup' and selectthe overlay map to use, rather than the City navigator or whatever normal maps you have.

Hope that makes sense....it sounds complicated and it is a long process, but it's not difficult.

 

[Trippy]

Boom boom.

Regards, Mick

I know I know

Bill thanks, are those little Garmins that cost about £90 ok fo rthis type of thing or do you need something bigger and better.

 

[Fanum]

I know I know

Bill thanks, are those little Garmins that cost about £90 ok fo rthis type of thing or do you need something bigger and better.

A garmin Gecko or anything that you can put W/P's into would be fine for this, as you're not needing it to show roads etc....it'll just point you in the direction of the next W/P and you simply follow the arrow.

A gecko or similar will set you back £100 though....for £200 you could get a quest 1 that would do all that , still fit in your pocket so you can stick your next point in when you're in the pub, plus it'll give you the whole nav thing on all European roads.

Unless you truly only need it for the one thing, I'd get a quest meself

 

[Trippy]

Thanks I'll give it some thought

 

[Trippy]

http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/garmin-etrex-legend-description.html


Would one of these do what I want. It says it has mapping, does that mean it has all roads on it?

Thicko

 

[xbootie]

Jim i looked at getting one of these a while back but was told i could'nt, but should be up to the job for what you want - not sure about the road map bit though have a look on the screenshot page

This is like the one Dave C has - the one one that kept getting us lost !!!! or was it his fat chubby fingers pressing the wrong buttons

 

[JasonT]

Quest availability and price ..

Following one from Fanum ... I agree - the Quest is a great piece of kit - but aren't the supplies getting low / price going up ... whats the cheapest you can get them from (and where!)

J