O-p12-13 Tom Hutton:O-p12-13 Tom Hutton 29/12/2008 12:24 Page 13
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and they can then trace out the exact route they plan to
follow on an on-screen map, and then download it to the
unit. Then, using a variety of pages, they should be able to
follow the exact line of the route the whole way round,
with perhaps one hundred or more waypoints making
sure they don’t take any wrong turnings. They can of
course, also download waypoints and use this receiver just
like the one above.
If they want a barometric altimeter – more accurate as
long as it’s regularly calibrated – and an electronic
compass – again needs calibration but will help
navigation when standing still, unlike the GPS one that
only works when moving; then they should go for the
higher end units in this category.
And if they want the dog’s, then fine, they can splash
the cash; but I’ve yet to be convinced of any real benefit of
some of the features of the latest generation of Garmin,
Magellan and Lowrance.
Then there’s Satmap. It’s in a league of its own in many
ways – you look at the screen and you can see your exact
position marked on an OS map, taa daaah! And if you
want to plan a route to follow, you can do so on the unit,
rather than having to use a PC.
But it has downsides too: the maps are expensive –
perfect perhaps for exploring your home area, or usual
haunts, if you’re that kind of walker/biker etc; but I can’t
see me wanting to spend the best part of a hundred notes
on the Lake District map just because I was going there on
a week’s walking holiday. And then there’s that trip to
Scotland next year… It also suffers from horribly short
battery life – again perhaps fine for those half day sorties So if the buyer knows what they want it for, the electronic device, and is still subject to all the usual
around your own patch, but you’d want to carry two spare chances are, there’s a unit out there for them, and all the failings. So before anyone walks out the door clutching
sets at least if you were out on a two-dayer in the retailer has to do is tell them which, and why. But even if their new toy, it might be worth checking whether they
Highlands. it’s the most perfect GPS in the world, it’s still an need a map and a compass too.
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