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Garmin eTrex |
Into this environment entered the handheld GPS, which some
used to participate in Geo-caching, often retrieving and leaving clues and
objects while doing a run. So, I
invested about $225 in a Garmin eTrex Vista, a second generation trekking/hiking
GPS with fantastic features: like topographical maps, a plotting feature
allowing you to map out where you travelled, distance and difficulty reports,
compass bearings and, most importantly, strong access to satellite navigation,
even under canopy. It had not been that
long since the Federal government allowed civilian use of the satellites they
had put into orbit. My main problem with
the eTrex was that, even though they had scheduled classes from REI on how to
use the damn thing, I never got to one and my self-teaching was hindered by the
fact that the instructional CD was inside my house…which is in a valley…which,
unlike a canopy of greenery, prevented satellite reception while watching the
video.
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Better Voice! |
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Too Authoritarian! |
My first experience with Navigational GPS came a few years
earlier when I was travelling to the San Jose area to visit three dental
offices I had never been to before. At
the car rental desk I was asked if I would be willing to test a new device and
fill out a questionnaire, which I did.
The GPS (for that is what it was) got me to my hotel on several
occasions, to all three offices, found me a restaurant, and took me back to the
airport to drop off the questionnaire and the GPS. My comments? 1. I didn’t like the authoritarian male voice.
2. I didn’t like it when it told me I “had
missed my destination” and should “turn around immediately”. And 3. I thought
it would be worth about $500 for purchase and maybe $25 for rental. It is interesting to see that they soon were
marketing GPSs for about $2000, renting them for about $20 and offering a variety
of female voices, none of which sounded like anyone’s wife.
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Garmin Nuvi |
About 2003 my wife, who has a very pleasant voice, even when
telling me I have missed my destination, asked for a GPS for Christmas. Her needs were essentially driving at night
when she felt uncomfortable trying to read street signs and finding her way
home, when the route out was different than how she came in. Eventually I bought her a Garmin Street Pilot
from Spot Chalet for about $1000 and expected that she might never use it.
Surprise, surprise!
She loved it! And she
quickly got quite proficient in its use.
There were a couple of problems: the maps went out of date and updates
were expensive, and it was a little large to pack for travel. Both problems were solved in subsequent years
when new units were smaller and cheaper.
So I quickly inherited two more units, and a unit in my car, and a unit
in my new car, with that unit in my old car, which I sold to me son.
Back to my title: last week I approached the “map out of
date” problem by buying a state of the art Garmin, which now comes with a
lifetime map update feature, allowing me to update two older Garmin
models. It also has a feature similar to
the GPS in my newer car, which allows traffic analysis and provides alternative
routes.
So I now have what Mary calls a “service for six” supply of
functioning GPSs, plus that eTrex, which recently functioned as an example of
what a compass might look like in the old days.
Have any of you similar GPS experiences?
In my next Post I think I’ll explore my observations of Kids
and Cars in my American Culture.
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