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Overlanding Queries Part 2

G

Guest

Guest
Hi Peter,
just my 2 cents regarding GPS ... I'm a fan of simple solutions in that
respect - I think that garmin gps are battle proof and I wouldn't take a
computer instead of garmin. Too much electronics on board is in my
opinion call for troubles ....
But on the other hand GPS is without any doubts useful but in many cases
less then you would expect - at least in my experiences. I can see
people getting to technical about navigation and then the trip can
easily turn into in a "computer game " observing the screens instead of
landmarks & landscape.
I'm using Garmin 276 and Garmin Map60 (as a backup) with very basic maps
(mostly WorldMAP + free topo's) - I do enter way points of pistes or
coordinates of interesting location using MapSource before departure and
that's it ... more or less
my advice would be to keep it as simple as possible ...
Regards,
Tomaz
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 HDJ80 (1HD-FT 24V), OME Lift (6 cm), Safari snorkel, Front runner
long ranger tank (170L)
1996 KZJ95 (1KZ-TE), OME Lift (6 cm), Safari snorkel, auxiliary tank (70L)
 
hi peter
i've been using an ancient garmin iii+ and the tracks4africa digital maps
(that can be uploaded to a garmin gpsr) and have found the first great for
backtracking in national parks and foreign towns and the second great for
initial route planning before you ever leave home. it's a great source of
potential points of interest and places to stay too.
i am also a huge fan of hard copy maps too and the mapstudio african road
atlas is a real hard one to beat for concise and accurate mapping.
rgds
jeremy "--" --
self-drive safaris in east and southern africa
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20:20
 
Peter,
1) Which maps (area, scale) are you thinking of using during the trip?
2) If you are thinking of a standard computer suitable for office use,
you'll need to carry another one as spare. Consider a ruggedized
version and a spare hard drive. A tablet pc can be easily fitted (and
operated) on the dashboard.
3) Track logging is the function of the navigation software, not the
platform. Having said that, some gps receivers with limited internal
memory, have no capacity to record the track for more than a few
thousand points. How useful it is depends on on how often the points
are recoded (say, every 10 sec. or 10 min.). I have a record of
complete trips over 10k miles each, down to every pee stop, using a pc
based sat nav software.
4) You may start from here: http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/links.php
5) The answer to this question depends on your answer to question 1).
If you plan to stick to main roads, you don't even need a gps
receiver, a Michelin map will do. To use back roads or drive
off-piste, you will struggle to find suitable maps for the gps
platform.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80 (auto)
 
Pete

Re> GPS

I've got a compass, hand held Garmin and going to get a few maps.

I find that fancy GPS software and equipment can make you a bit unsure
of exactly where you are - if you know what I mean.

National Geographic have An African Adventure Atlas that I got and has
loads of good maps and info....

Over and out :)

Niall
 
Peter,
For all sorts of scanned maps of Africa speak to Maurizio in ZA who
runs www.madmappers.com. He's got a nice selection of IGN, Russian and
other maps at very good prices.
Avoid TPC and other US made pilotage charts, which are very old and
mostly useless for ground level navigation.
For sat maps use https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/. The maps are for
free, and they are geo-referenced. Also, check
www.sahara-info.ch/GPS/gpscore.htm
A good selection of paper maps is available here:
http://www.themapcentre.com/acatalog/sitemap.html
I do use a ruggedized tablet computer - just for navigation and
storing pictures. For all the other jobs, maybe except e-banking, I
find local internet caffes good enough. Every time I leave Europe for
Africa I find internet and all those modern IT gizmos an interesting
option, not a necessity, so my PC tablet is just all I need.
Send me a private message when you feel like meeting for a chat.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80 (auto)
On 9/27/07, [Email address removed] <[Email address removed]> wrote:
 
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