GPS units

Morning dudes!

Well I can't say I know what most of this technical jabber is about but I can so far vouch for ORUX maps on my S5.

On my last hike in July we were making our way to our first cave early afternoon. This time however we found an easier route and thus finding the cave took a little longer. Oh wait I have this programme installed on my phone! So I whip it out while my two mates are debating in which direction the cave is and walk off in another direction. I followed my phone, hoping she wouldn't stand me up

Long story short, I looked so clever having been taken right ontop of the cave by the coordinates I punched in myself .... The only thing I'm grudging was the fact that my friends were out of earshot when my phone piped up that I was 15 m from my destination

@Silverthorne. Haha, good story. I can vouch for oruxmaps as well - very powerful and full of useful features.
Unfortunately what I cannot vouch for is the battery life of every smartphone I have ever tried. Once smartphones come with a battery life of more than a day, then I think that apps like this will start to eat into the sales of dedicated hiking GPS units.

PeterHowells wrote: @Silverthorne. Haha, good story. I can vouch for oruxmaps as well - very powerful and full of useful features.
Unfortunately what I cannot vouch for is the battery life of every smartphone I have ever tried. Once smartphones come with a battery life of more than a day, then I think that apps like this will start to eat into the sales of dedicated hiking GPS units.

Peter I always take a battery backup with me. Since I dont carry a camera and GPS (as I use the phone for both) I rekon the extra bit of weight from the battery backup is worth it. It gives me 2 full charges and when I'm not using the phone its in ultra power saving mode... I rekon I could use my phone for 5+ days before she kicks the bucket

Not strictly GPS related but more about co-ordinate systems in SA.

Attached is a "cut & paste" document(shamelessly borrowed from a dept of surveys and mapping document) which I put together when I was still trying to get my head around the differences between the elipsoids and co-ord systems.

Might help someone else do the same......


Cheers
W

HI All.

Not sure if this has been explained/discussed - (Probably has)- but here goes.

Looking for help - i was given a Dakota20 and i am keen to test it out, however i need to get my hands on some Drakensberg topo maps. Any ideas where i can download - for free or bought? Is there any word out on whether the bought is more superior than the free?

Im really keen for EASE of use.

thanks for any input

Evening guys
Been thinking of getting a GPS.
I would only need it for occasional use, such as finding caves or finding the top of passes, especially in mist or bad weather.
Would a basic unit like the Garmin Etrex 10 suffice? I believe that it is limited in that it can't have maps loaded onto it etc?
I'm not really too concerned about stats and things like that, as I say just to be able to find loaded waypoints in a crunch. Would I regret the basic device later?

Thanks for any input.

Hi Papa Dragon,

See my post of 4 Nov 2014 earlier in this thread, which I think is quite applicable as a response to your question too.

The basic gps may suffice for your requirements now, but I suspect as you become more familiar with it, and learn more about it, you may want to use it more extensively and may then regret not having the ability to load maps and use the gps for more.

Thanks Tony, I'll check around at what's available. Probably the Etrex 20....