21st Century People....errrrr ....persons

**BMKal** · 27th September 2010, 06:51 PM

I was using a Satnav in a new Commodore last week - first time for me.

Punched in the address of where I wanted to go - was travelling up a major highway (in Perth) when the thing started to tell me to turn left in 200m - then to turn left immediately. I followed the instructions given .................. and turned into a shopping centre carpark, a long way from where I wanted to be.

In the end, I pulled up, used my phone and looked up "Whereis" maps on there to get where I wanted to go.

Have never owned a GPS & have been thinking lately of buying one.

Having second thoughts now though. Bloody thing is worse than my Mrs at giving directions.

**F4Phantom** · 27th September 2010, 07:04 PM

I have a simple tomtom gps and it saves me so much time. GPS systems are for streets, in a place you dont know it is well worth it. However, I also can read a map and do nav by and and by night, with a compass. Yes its a skill worth knowing, but for day to day on the street the gps is an amazing time saver.

**isuzutoo-eh** · 27th September 2010, 07:14 PM

All these horror stories of how woeful GPS street navigation gadgets are, yet my Logic Gear jobby does so well I'm thinking of buying another in case I kill this one. 'Phillipa' does make mistakes, but recalculation is quick, she knows the roads better than me and never raises her voice no matter how often i cause her to recalculate. Her interface is very user friendly too, even a GPS virgin could push her buttons.
I can understand Ron buying a dud GPS, but the rest of you have no excuse for using maps!

Ean Austral · 27th September 2010, 07:54 PM

GPS used properly is the greatest modern tool made available in the last 50 yrs IMHO.. the problem relates to the total reliance on them and the fact that most charting systems are not accurate, this is not the fault of GPS itself..
I have nautical charts that are 20yrs old and in some of the passages thru islands we take we go over the land, the new metric charts are better, but at the end of the day the GPS is a tool to be used, but not totally relied upon..
There is a new term in the Maritime industry that is called GPS assisted grounding..in other words using the GPS and no other means of position plotting and paying the price for it..

On our Canning trip, they were useless IMHO, the map books were far better due to the fact that there were that many new side tracks they weren't on the GPS chart sortware so it was easy to follow the wrong track..Which we did a few times..

Thats my 2c worth

Cheers Ean

**Blknight.aus** · 27th September 2010, 09:18 PM

I do all the route planning on paper, set it all up in the GPS, refine it all then carry the paper maps with me...

have you EVER tried trying to nav on the fly while driving in a series landrover with no door tops in the pouring rain using paper maps?

for me the moving map in oziexplorer CE is a huge asset. But like all good nav courses teach you.

A GPS is a navigational AID, not a solution.

**DEFENDERZOOK** · 27th September 2010, 09:29 PM

those of you having problems with gps.......have any of you updated any of the software.....?

ive experienced some systems that tell you to turn up to 100m before or after a street......
others are spot on.......it may just be a simple update that is required.....

are there any particular brands that are more accurate than others.....?

what brand does everyone have and is it accurate...?

i need to get one soon.......

**digger** · 28th September 2010, 03:23 AM

Series 1 GPS

1204615491_gps-for-rednecks(1).jpg

need I say more?!

**numpty** · 28th September 2010, 06:17 AM

Nice one Digger.

**disco2hse** · 28th September 2010, 07:00 AM

The street I live in is no exit but it points towards a motorway (stops short of it) and towards an industrial area and major arterial route.

Every now and then I see large semi's and tourist buses trundle past, then sloooowwwly reversing back again

There's no room to turn and with cars parked in the street the drivable width is is as low as 3.5m

Until the advent of GPSs you never saw them do that

**p38arover** · 28th September 2010, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by disco2hse

The street I live in is no exit but it points towards a motorway (stops short of it) and towards an industrial area and major arterial route.

Every now and then I see large semi's and tourist buses trundle past, then sloooowwwly reversing back again

There's no room to turn and with cars parked in the street the drivable width is is as low as 3.5m

Until the advent of GPSs you never saw them do that

There are quite few mapping errors in GPS maps. At least with the Navig8r one can report errors and they get updated quite quickly (free to download the updated maps).

I have reported a number of roads that are closed in the middle, just don't exist, or don't go through (like yours). I have also reported incorrect speed zones.

Another problem is the GPS maps don't always have the no right turn info (for example) and the GPS insists one should turn there.

My firmware has also been updated to the current version.

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