GPS device - advice and help please (Part 1)

Hahaa, that’s great @MM7MWL :slight_smile:

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Thanks for this information Rob - I will have a read up!

73, GW4BML. Ben

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Ben

If you have an OS subscription, why not just print off the relevant section from the OS map ? Cheaper and lighter than buying many paper maps.

Rick

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See also - “Land Rover Explore R” Android phone (IP68 and various MIL specs)

Currently on offer at about £275

Rick

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Hello all,

I had several Garmin devices in the last 15 years or so and still using it on all of my hikes. Since 2017 I have the Garmin Oregon 700 which is not available anymore. I have been thinking of upgrading to a GPSMAP66 for quite some time … but the old GPS is still working fine and your old things never break when you want them to :slight_smile:

Also using Garmin devices (Edge 830) on my cycling tours …

The Garmin hardware is great, sometimes the software can be a bit buggy and annoying. I had the impression that (mostly with new devices) you also pay for being a beta-tester of the software.

I disagree with some of the previous comments that seperate GPS devices are outdated and smartphones are equivalent. I love to carry my GPS device outside on my backpack … so it is available at all times without stopping and putting down the rucksack. Don’t think that a smartphone would have survived five years being used this way (rain, rocks, …). And with almost all smartphones it is not possible to change the battery back which is a shame IMHO.

My smartphone is meanwhile safely stored inside the rucksack, in silent mode and more of a emergency tool if something goes wrong.

73 Martin, OE5REO

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Time consuming to laminate and take with me each time, otherwise that would be a good idea. The places I go and how I operate, the paper would get soaked or blown away if not laminated. So, a waterproof device would suit me much better with OS Maps installed on.

GPS Map 64s - rugged, runs all day on 2 x AA NiMH’s if you leave the back lighting off. Push button controls work great in the rain - and with gloves on. You can leave the map and compass at the bottom of your pack with the spare AA’s that you’re unlikely to need on a long day hike.

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I said you do not have to be connected not wifi and not cellphone network. The OSM Maps are inside your tablet stored and a tablet has built in GPS, so you can be in the Cairngorms as remote as one can be, it works.

For maps for your gps look at talky toaster.
Excellent maps, i have one installed on my garmin.

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Hi, I would recommend the Garmin gpsmap 66SR.
The SR version has a built in rechargeable battery and is much more accurate due to the amount of satellites it uses.
It’s just a usb cable to charge it.
The 66SI has ‘Inreach’ so you can send text messages via satellite ( let people know your ok) and call the emergency services should you need them. There is a subscription if you want to use that.

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Nah, one word… Ortlieb

Print A4 map, note SOTA info on rear of map, place in Ortlieb case.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193675689540

Why this one? Because it is super flexible plastic and remains flexible in sub-0C temps when many mpa cases go hard and brittle and break.

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Laminating a 1:25000 OS Map at 1:12500 printed scale onto A4 is brilliant. Can be done via Memory Map software on PC (other products are available). The longer routes on the days out that you do Ben might take 4 sides of A4 at that print scale. I’ve been using this method for 17 years since I started activating SOTA!

73 Phil

PS EDIT The A4 laminated maps can be folded in two and trousered in the typical thigh pocket as found on Trespass or Craghoppers walking trousers. I don’t like things like map cases hanging round the neck (risk of strangulation) and you can buy a laminator and 100 pack of sleeves for less than £30 I think. Have had mine for many years.

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@G4OBK @MM0FMF great piece of advice, thanks both. I can’t argue with experience :slight_smile: I will give this a go so I always have back up with me! I can always use works laminator! But, I will be looking at the Garmin 66 for sure to test out over the summer months!

@G4OBK Phil, you were a 5/2 to me in MW at the home QTH today when you spoke to Fraser on Kinder Scout! There must be a lift on 2m.

73, GW4BML. Ben

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Ben, Ive been using garmin devices for years and usually upgrade every 15 years!

This one is less than a month old. GPSMAP 66i. It has InReach, which allows messaging and SOS via the Iridium satellite. £12 a month subscription

The phone is handy, but has the following drawbacks:

  1. It’s not generally waterproof
  2. Touchscreens don’t work in rain
  3. Battery life
  4. Not as shock-proof as a garmin.

You could do without the InReach facility. I need it for a long exped later in the year, with a group, which goes through glens for two days, with no mobile signal.

You can download decent topo maps for free, but need to pay for OS, which I’d advise. That’s the same for your phone too.

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You can self spot on SOTAwatch using an InReach device.

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+1 for the Garmin GPSMAP 66i. Nice unit and good battery life(3 or 4 days on a charge). Seems fine in cold also. I do have the minimum monthly Inreach contract, which I use to track at 20m intervals in remote areas. Mrs insists on it, presumably to find me if I peg it and get a swift life insurance payout :rofl:

I have a free Topo Map with contours, hillshading and hiking trails from Overview. It normally just stays in side pocket of rucksack tracking away. Use OS 1:25000 stored on phone as primary. Plus a Garmin Instinct watch with compass and breadcrumb of my track! Great for getting off a summit again with zero viz.

I have most of the Scottish Highlands in 1:50000 OS Landranger, used to carry all the time but stopped earlier this year. Never pulled them out for a couple of years. Compass still in pack, but feels pointless when I have another 3 on devices.

I would consider myself proficient with paper map & compass, but quite happy to dump it now. See less and less people with a paper map now.

I think the key is having a backup and not just rely on a single electronic device for all navigation.

73 Gavin
GM0GAV

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Ben,

I get a print off from the Summit page when you click the link on OS Map, I do a screen dump, which then allows me to print a Trail map on most summits in the database?

That’s how I end up with a paper copy of the map, I then put it inside a waterproof plastic envelope?? and use a compass similar to this one?

Tony

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This! This a million billion times!

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Thanks Fraser - looks like my fathers day gift is sorted. I would deffo go for the InReach facility because my phone never has good signal in NW or the LD to be fair! I currently have OS Maps on my phone, so I pay the annual subscription, so I’ll do the same for this. I find OS Maps to be brilliant! Also, as Andy mentions, I can self spot using the InReach feature which is very handy :slight_smile:

Hope you caught your flight!

73, GW4BML. Ben

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Thanks Tony - I’ll check this out!

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