"John Doe" wrote in message ...> Some were touting their Forerunner GPS unit not long ago. How's it> going? Do you still use it?
The people that I know who have them (Fortrex and Forerunner) like them, during the summer. No GPS reception in the dome (www.roller-dome.com).
A few people have bought a wheel sensing speedometer recently. The display gets tied to the skate toe. One used a treadmill at a health club to adjust the calibration of his and said that it correlated well with timed laps at the dome. The calibration will change as the wheel wears but that is not a factor at the dome since the floor is so smooth that wheels last many years.
I also know a number of people (myself included) who have the Garmin Etrex series GPSs. The Etrex is a general purpose unit that can do a lot more than the Fortrex and Forerunners but are not as light. The Foretrex and Forerunner would be useless for Geocaching. One friend wears his etrex on his wrist. I have found that wearing it on my belt does not work well. The GPS signals are blocked by water, so a body blocks the signals well. I have found that it works well clipped to the back straps on my helmet. Unfortunately, several of us have also discovered that they are not durable when mounted on a bicycle. It seems to loosen some of the connections between the LCD and it's drivers, giving an erratic display. The bicycle handlebar mount made by Garmin is also weak and breaks easily.
I have found that wearing it on my belt does not work well. The GPS
signals > are blocked by water, so a body blocks the signals well.
I have used etrex on my drinking belt on backside, so my body won't block signals. I have used etrex also to track my skiing trips during winter season. I'll recommend to use etrex's neoprene Carrying Case with belt clip, that will give some protection agains accidental drops.
I want it for an odometer and maybe speedometer. Read a lot of comments in the archives.
I ordered an eTrex Legend. Preliminarily speaking, this is what I like about it. ... big display, much higher resolution than lesser models ... like the Venture, it includes the PC interface cable ($30 separately, probably works with the other models) ... unlike the Venture, it includes "Americas Highway" which hopefully shows some roads and not just highways (here in the United States) ... two times more waypoints, five times more tracking points than the Venture
The receiver might not be as good as the Geko 201, and the Legend is 5.3 oz versus 2.3 oz for the Geko.
Seems to me this is going to be a fun addition to inline skating. I would think that we can use it even more than joggers since we cover more terrain.
I don't think the altitude function is potentially very useful, who knows.
Thanks to the prior posts a while back for bringing it to mind.
Matthew Russotto 4 March 2005 22:30:46 [ permanent link ]
In article <Xns960F724B96C89wisdomfolly@151.164.30.42>, John Doe <jdoe@usenet.is.the.real.thing.com> wrote:>I want it for an odometer and maybe speedometer. Read a lot of>comments in the archives. >
I ordered an eTrex Legend. Preliminarily speaking, this is what I>like about it.
I've got an eTrex Vista, to replace my lost and lamented GPS 12.
The Vista supports uploaded maps; I've figured out how to get PennDOT highway maps into it, and am working on contours.
I don't think the altitude function is potentially very useful, who>knows.
I think it probably will be; it'll let you know how bad that hill REALLY was. It tracks total ascent, too, and provides a nice elevation profile.
I haven't used mine for skating yet, thanks to winter, but I have used it on a bike a few times.
-- There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can result in a fully-depreciated one.
"John Doe" wrote ...>I want it for an odometer and maybe speedometer. Read a lot of> comments in the archives.>
I ordered an eTrex Legend. Preliminarily speaking, this is what I> like about it.> ... big display, much higher resolution than lesser models> ... like the Venture, it includes the PC interface cable ($30> separately, probably works with the other models)> ... unlike the Venture, it includes "Americas Highway" which> hopefully shows some roads and not just highways (here in the United> States)> ... two times more waypoints, five times more tracking points than> the Venture
For "odometer and maybe speedometer" I would have suggested the Fortrex or Forerunner. Much lighter Easier to read display Wrist band seperate Can be purchased with built in rechargable battery.
It claims to be able to download tracks to a computer but cannot have maps added to it. I say claims because I have not actually seen it done. Garmin's software is about $100 for uploading and downloading maps. There are free programs that can download programs and place the tracks on non garmin topo or street maps.
The base map in the Garmin Etrex is pretty useless. Major roads only. You need to buy one of their map packages to get useful maps. Garmin's map data format is proprietary but there is information on the web about how to create your own maps for them.
John Doe wrote:> I want it for an odometer and maybe speedometer. Read a lot of> comments in the archives.
Max. speed function is nice function which I like.
I ordered an eTrex Legend. Preliminarily speaking, this is what I> like about it. > ... big display, much higher resolution than lesser models > ... like the Venture, it includes the PC interface cable ($30> separately, probably works with the other models) > ... unlike the Venture, it includes "Americas Highway" which> hopefully shows some roads and not just highways (here in the United> States) > ... two times more waypoints, five times more tracking points than> the Venture>
In Legend tracking also have five different automatic interval plus distance or time interval options. Most accurate automatic option resulted 8902 track points on 313km skating trip / 912point on 42km. I'll think that yellow etrex / geko don't have track interval selection option.
The receiver might not be as good as the Geko 201, and the Legend is> 5.3 oz versus 2.3 oz for the Geko. >
Seems to me this is going to be a fun addition to inline skating. I> would think that we can use it even more than joggers since we cover> more terrain. >
I don't think the altitude function is potentially very useful, who> knows. >
If one skates in terrain with lots of hills altitude function is nice as track point store also altitude.
Speed and altitude plots can be easily generated with oziexplorer software. Ozi can load track points from etrex and wiev route also on map, so it is possible to evaluate ie. speed on each map position.
"B Fuhrmann" <b-fuhrmann-usenet@mplsfridayDELETEskate.com> wrote:>"John Doe" wrote ...
I want it for an odometer and maybe speedometer. Read a lot of>> comments in the archives. I ordered an eTrex Legend.
...
For "odometer and maybe speedometer" I would have suggested the>Fortrex or Forerunner.> Much lighter> Easier to read display
Legend (four color grayscale) 2.1 x 1.1 at 288 x 160
Foretrex 201 (black and white) 1.4 x .9 at 100 x 64
I can't imagine the Foretrex being easier to read. Font sizes probably are adjustable.
...>The base map in the Garmin Etrex is pretty useless. Major roads>only. You need to buy one of their map packages to get useful>maps. Garmin's map data format is proprietary but there is>information on the web about how to create your own maps for them.
Considering how small portable GPS displays are, by my reading, I am pleased with the idea of only highways and major roads. Making my own maps sounds fun too.
On Fri, 04 Mar 2005 19:08:31 GMT, Pekka M <pekkaDOTREMOVEDOTmoilanen@ppa.inet.fi> wrote:>John Doe wrote:>> I want it for an odometer and maybe speedometer. Read a lot of>> comments in the archives. >
Max. speed function is nice function which I like.
The problem with max speed is that is based on a single reading. Even after the demise of selective availability, individual GPS readings are subject to random errors. This isn't so bad for position since you can average over several readings but it can give really nutty results for speed. It helps to download the tracklog. The outliers are pretty easy to spot in context.
russotto@grace.speakeasy.net (Matthew Russotto) wrote:>John Doe <jdoe@usenet.is.the.real.thing.com> wrote:
I ordered an eTrex Legend.
I've got an eTrex Vista, >The Vista supports uploaded maps; I've figured out how to get>PennDOT highway maps into it, and am working on contours.
I don't think the altitude function is potentially very useful,
I think it probably will be; it'll let you know how bad that hill>REALLY was. It tracks total ascent, too, and provides a nice>elevation profile.
The eTrex Legend doesn't include the Vista's compass and altimeter. It's like the difference between the Geko 201/301.
The eTrex Legend/Vista has more stuff than the Geko 201/301. ... data cable ... twice as many waypoints ... bigger display, almost three times the resolution ... built-in maps (mostly United States) ... user memory for map storage (whatever that means exactly)
The downside. ... somewhat larger, twice as heavy ... no built-in games (probably doesn't matter)
The unknown. ... different user interface
All of that is judging by technical information, not by experience.
One thing I'm concerned about is whether the eTrex Legend unit I ordered includes the Americas Highway basemap. Apparently it includes either of three basemaps, the other two are for either the East Coast or West Coast (Atlantic Highway or Pacific Highway). Too late now, time will tell. I'm primed for this toy.
One thing I'm concerned about is whether the eTrex Legend unit I >ordered includes the Americas Highway basemap. Apparently it includes >either of three basemaps, the other two are for either the East Coast >or West Coast (Atlantic Highway or Pacific Highway).
Never mind. Apparently that's not for our West and East coast, apparently the Pacific and Atlantic base maps are for territories east and west of the United States.
Pekka I tried to write to you, some time ago, to order a "Laakeripesuri", but the letter was returned saying "Tuntematon" : are you hiding away from the police ?
Yeah I still use mine occassionaly for skating, a garmin etrex.
I use to be keen and download the data, overlay it on street maps, and also colour code it for speed. For example, I could see all the hills where we went over 60km/h.
It was also good for giving average speed and obviously total distance.
Pekka I tried to write to you, some time ago, to order a "Laakeripesuri", > but the letter was returned saying "Tuntematon" : are you hiding away from > the police ?>
XSFred >
I'm not hiding the police or the mailman But obvioysly thr mailman was bit lost with his/her tasks. Fortunately letter was returned.
br Pekka M
PS XSFred, I worte you email yesterday, in case you don't get it let me know.
Matthew Russotto 10 March 2005 23:05:42 [ permanent link ]
In article <Xns9610B2836D58wisdomfolly@151.164.30.42>, John Doe <jdoe@usenet.is.the.real.thing.com> wrote:>russotto@grace.speakeasy.net (Matthew Russotto) wrote:>>John Doe <jdoe@usenet.is.the.real.thing.com> wrote:>
I ordered an eTrex Legend. >
I've got an eTrex Vista, >>The Vista supports uploaded maps; I've figured out how to get>>PennDOT highway maps into it, and am working on contours.>
I don't think the altitude function is potentially very useful,>
I think it probably will be; it'll let you know how bad that hill>>REALLY was. It tracks total ascent, too, and provides a nice>>elevation profile.>
The eTrex Legend doesn't include the Vista's compass and altimeter. >It's like the difference between the Geko 201/301.
Ah, sorry, I thought the Legend had the altimeter but lacked the maps. GPS-only altitude isn't all that useful on the ground; the geometry is unfavorable. -- There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can result in a fully-depreciated one.
