GPS- Handy little unit!

[Gail]

Last night I used my GPS to help me find an airport. I needed to go pick up my daughter.

It gave me a new route that was vastly different than the old familar one. But I decided to try it anyway to see how things would go.

It swung me around the back way. I had no idea where I was, except for what I could see on the screen. If not for the GPS I would have been totally lost in the dark.

But I arrived safely and in time. Not only that, but I think I like this route better. I think it is faster and there are less traffic lights.

:)

[Guest]

Way to go Gail!!

"The adventures of Gail and her Garmin"

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I read where some GPS systems are taking people to the wrong places. Here in Oregon it took a family up into the mountains and they got stuck in the snow on a road that wasn't much more than a trail.

I'd still like to get one sometime, though.

[Gail]

It was nice to have it welcome me into the U.S.

And I know, Pam, that there is somewhat of a risk, too. But they are kinda fun :)

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Did it really welcome you into the U.S.? I would love to get one but can't afford anything right now. No toys for Pam.

[Neil D]

I bought a Garmin last Christmas when I was doing home care. What a life saver!...It saved me time and effort, especially with though people who where out in the boonies/outback of Klamath Falls....Now, I use it to go long distances/trips in "foriegn" cities, like Portland or Seattle....

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

what kind of Garmin did you get, Neil?

[Neil D]

Oooh, I don't remember...I do remember that I went to north Carolina, and the car that I had used a Garmin. If I had programed it to take me to the 5th floor of my hotel, it would have done so....It was that accurate. I then determined that it would be good for me to get one for my home care....At the time, it cost me about $200 as I recall....

[Guest]

You need a Garmin if you come to North Carolina.

[SivartM]

You can't use another brand?

We have a Tom Tom. It was VERY helpful getting us around Washington, D.C. We would have gotten lost a hundred times without it.

[GreatLakesGramma]

My son has had a GPS for several years. When we all went to visit his siblings in another state, we used it for our route As we were starting for home, it directed us to take a police access road to get onto the tollway. It did not like that we didn't follow its directions.

A young fried of my son, whom he met at a singles retreat this fall, and who is seriously directionally challenged, in coming to visit our house, was directed by her GPS to the wrong location. She went right by our house following it. None of the online map services have us in the right place, so the GPS units don't know where we are either.

But this new friend of my son's was taken by her GPS to her temporary new home, where she is doing her dietitian internship, without a hitch.

[LifeHiscost]

But this new friend of my son's was taken by her GPS to her temporary new home, where she is doing her dietitian internship, without a hitch.

Now is that doing her dietitian internship without a hitch or getting to her new home? :smile:

Using a Magellan I've found if the GPS loses it's way, putting in another address will take you to somewhere you can call from or stop to eat while you call, since the GPS has pre-programed restaurant and other business addresses.

Wanting to take my wife out for our anniversary about a year ago and trying to find a suitable buffet, we traveled far with the GPS guiding us, only to find when we arrived it wasn't open. Why didn't I call before we left? Then all the adventure would have been taken away. I think we ended up at an IHOP, also included in the GPS pre-programed address book.

Its' very handy in an emergency on a trip, if you happen to need a hospital, since they are also pre-programed, as well as locating an ATM in a city with which your unacquainted.

Joy!!

[Kountzer]

I've been using GPS units for about 3 years now. I've only had a garmin, but I've heard good things about Tom Tom and the others. It has been my experience that gps units work best when you already know a little about where your destination is. Match what you know with what the gps says and knows. You need to have a street atlas or map. Or else do some pre trip research using google maps or yahoo maps, etc. The gps unit is just a simple computer, whereas the greatest computer ever created is the human brain.

DB

[phkrause]

I've been using GPS units for about 3 years now. I've only had a garmin, but I've heard good things about Tom Tom and the others. It has been my experience that gps units work best when you already know a little about where your destination is. Match what you know with what the gps says and knows. You need to have a street atlas or map. Or else do some pre trip research using google maps or yahoo maps, etc. The gps unit is just a simple computer, whereas the greatest computer ever created is the human brain.

DB

absolutely Knountzer. A number of years ago, actually during 9/11, we went to Florida and rented a vehicle that happen to have a GPS in it. It kept sending us to the wrong places. It was a good thing that I knew where we were going most of the time. My wife keeps telling me that we don't need a GPS because she says I have a built in one in my head. Most of the time I always have a gut feeling when we are not going in the right direction. But I do believe that years ago the GPS systems were made to not be that accurate as they are today. Mainly becasue they can be used for guiding bombs etc. So when they first sold them they had that in mind, but now they are pretty accurate.

pk

[abelisle]

Ran 4 miles in the woods near my house. Here's a Google Earth map of where I ran. The red lines are GPS tracks from my Garmin 305 which is a training device that uses GPS technology to track your workouts, record your pace and time and even your HR (heart rate) through the whole workout.

The area on the map is within the confines of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, NY. The golf course on the left is Split Rock, the one on the right is Pelham Bay.

Alex

[phkrause]

Ran 4 miles in the woods near my house. Here's a Google Earth map of where I ran. The red lines are GPS tracks from my Garmin 305 which is a training device that uses GPS technology to track your workouts, record your pace and time and even your HR (heart rate) through the whole workout.

The area on the map is within the confines of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, NY. The golf course on the left is Split Rock, the one on the right is Pelham Bay.

Alex

That's cool Alex. To the left of that looks like co-op city? Oh I took another look and I see you marked it already. LOL

pk

[Amelia]

I have GPS on my cell phone. I love it. The only downside is that sometimes she puts my destination on the wrong side of the road.

[Renewed_faith]

I too have a GPS in my phone and I can say that I no longer get lost driving out of my driveway. I live in a place where I can not find my way out of a wet paper bag so the GPS has come in handy. Since I purchased the phone with the GPS I have never gotten lost and I have safely made it to wherever I was going. However, it has tried to make me do *U* turns because I have intentionally gone the opposite way it was telling me to. I found that amusing!