Stoopid question about GPS/Tom Tom etc

[rprodgers]

I have a PDA with Tom Tom included as pre loaded software covering Western Europe .

Using an expensive Ortleib cover and attachment I have used it with my bike.

Unfortunately its use on the bike is limited as it only has a 3 hour battery life.

Paul

 

[domtyler]

So the consensus is either splash out on one of the new Garmin Edge 705's or learn to use a paper map? I think I'd go with that, trying to do SatNav for a bike across Europe on the cheap sounds like a recipe for disaster to me!!

 

[Cathryn]

Maps. Surely it's simple to read a map, and I'm a GIRL!

 

[Brock]

Yeah it is really.. But we're BLOKES and like gadgets.

 

[RedBike]

Another Nokia Mobile phone / tomtom user. I get between 1:30 and 2hrs use from one battery. I tried powering it off the dynamo. However, it still only lasted about 2.5hrs.

 

[trio25]

After reading this I'd thought I'd try it out and cycle back from a ride I went on today. Turned it on, put it in a pocket and it directed me a brilliant way back, avoiding main roads and finding lots of hills. It worked a lot better than I expected.

 

[ColinJ]

Maps. Surely it's simple to read a map, and I'm a GIRL!

It's simple to read a map at home in the dry. It isn't quite so simple or convenient if you are out in a warren of criss-crossing country lanes on a wet and windy day and especially when you are crossing the boundaries of 4 separate maps!

I use my Etrex GPS on long rides in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Derbyshire and have never got lost on 15 rides over 200 km. A lot of those places I hardly see anybody so asking for directions wouldn't be much of an option.

When I go to visit my family in the midlands I ride a different bike which doesn't have a bar mount for the GPS so I navigate using the local OS maps. So far, I've lost my way about 4 or 5 times in 4 or 5 rides and that is within a 20 km radius of where I grew up. It's just so inconvenient taking maps out and putting them away again, having to refold them... I try to memorise 7 or 8 turns ahead but end up getting it wrong. I suppose if I used a bar mounted map holder that would make things easier. (Note to self - I actually have one, so must take it down with me on next visit!)

I love maps, but I prefer to look at them in comfort. When I'm riding I don't want to think about where I'm going, I want to concentrate on the ride itself.

I already had lots of paper maps, but when I bought the Etrex I also bought Memory Map OS Landranger mapping for the entire UK. Every time I watch a TV programme about an interesting part of Britain (Coast for example), I check out that area later using Memory Map.

 

[Abitrary]

Yeah it is really.. But we're BLOKES and like gadgets.

Wrong. I don't like gadgets. I like the idea of a gadget that does *everything* like Dr Who's sonic screwdriver.

Until that appears on the market, I just see the rest as being essentially toys for, well, people with the mentality to need toys.

 

[Brock]

Ok after ColinJ's brave revelation that even as a male, he gets lost while using maps, I feel it necessary to reveal my own embarrassing dirty secret. So do I. Even when I have them in a map holder on my bar bag.

Should we start a self help group and get an interview on Richard and Judy?

 

[bonj2]

The main problem with a TomTom from halfords meant for cars is it will be TOO BIG! They're massive... the newer ones are a little slimmer but still quite large. And it won't have a clip to attach it to your bike, don't underestimate the importance of this.

Aren't the car ones rechargeable? The Sony ones certainly are.

You'd be better if you could find a rechargeable one designed for motorbikes, but that would still be pretty big.

My bro's got a motorbike one, but afaik it plugs into his motorbike's battery.

The garmin one is supposed to be good. I've got the 205, which is the one without mapping, and I'm pleased with it.

How the hell does it work if it hasn't got mapping?! Surely that's the whole point of them?

The pages torn from a large scale motoring Atlas served me well and cost less than a tenner. No worries about the batteries going flat.

You're only saying that 'cos you're a nostalgic traditionalist.

If you take a sat nav to somewhere like france, it will take 50% of the fun out of it. Leave all the tech stuff behind and it will be a lot more rewarding.

Half the fun of touring is waiting for FNAC to open on sunday mornings to buy maps.... isn't it?

Abitrary is probably right here.

I was under the impression that most SatNavs have some form of internal battery, especially as nowadays they are quite small and designed to be able to be taken with you and assist you on foot if neccessary.

Correct, as Brock says they do have a battery but it doesn't last long, it's only designed to last for while you are in the house programming it, or when you say take it into a garage so you don't lose the route, etc.

I have an 02 XDA PDAphone that has GPS built in and TomTom installed, and I have used it on my bike a little bit. With my phone I'd guess the battery would last a little over an hour when using the GPS. If there was a mode that would just give you audio instructions while powering down the screen, it'd probably last longer.

They rule. That's what you want. Computer (they can run Windows CE), phone, GPS all in one. I'd have one if money was no object.

The 205/305 models don't have maps. You get a line on the screen to follow, but the screen is otherwise blank. Mind you, I've done 60 milers this way without getting lost. The problem is that if you do get lost all you can do is aim towards the line again. you don't see the roads.

The 705 has full mapping.

How does it know where the line is supposed to go in the first place if it doesn't have maps?

 

[Brock]

They rule. That's what you want. Computer (they can run Windows CE), phone, GPS all in one. I'd have one if money was no object.

Yeah, and since the battery lasts 'a little over an hour' you'd have plenty of power to complete your longest ride without getting lost, eh bonj

 

[RedBike]

My Nokia phone cost me about £50, the gps reciever cost me about £30 and tomtom cost me £5 also off ebay. I just put the phone and the receiver in my back pocket; as you ride along it shouts out directions. You don't really need to look at it.

I also use Viewranger which works very well off road. Nice detailed maps!

 

[ColinJ]

How the hell does it work if it hasn't got mapping?! Surely that's the whole point of them?

...

Correct, as Brock says they do have a battery but it doesn't last long, it's only designed to last for while you are in the house programming it, or when you say take it into a garage so you don't lose the route, etc.

...

How does it know where the line is supposed to go in the first place if it doesn't have maps?

As mentioned earlier, there was a long discussion about these questions in this thread.

My Etrex lasts more than 24 hours on one pair of NiMH AA cells (with the backlight switched off, but not using power-saving mode because it reduces accuracy).

If you are prepared to work out your routes at home and upload them to the GPS, it can give you a really simple line to follow. That's great for things like audax rides because the route is predetermined anyway.

A mapless GPS unit is not such a huge help if you prefer to meander off your preplanned routes from time to time. You won't be shown a road to take to get back on route. It isn't normally a problem because you can see what direction you have to go in so just take the first road going in roughly the right direction and you will probably get there in the end. If there is a major obstacle in the way e.g. a big river, mountain or gorge - you could be in trouble! It would help to have checked that kind of thing out before you set off. You could set waypoints for all major junctions, bridges, ferries, whatever and just make a beeline for them.

One really nice use for a mapless GPS is on rides where you just go out and explore new roads without any pre-thought as to where you will be going. Go where your fancy takes you, with the GPS logging all the twists and turns you make. Ride for about half the time you want to spend on the bike, then just turn round and let the GPS guide you back the way you came.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I want one that shouts directions at me...and that lasts for 8 weeks without charging...and never breaks.

 

[Brock]

..And has fast, zoomable maps down to 1:20 and 3D elevation data, POIs including live lunch menus and beer prices, and a whistle to blow in case you get lost.