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GPS for training



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 15th 04, 05:41 PM
J999w
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Default GPS for training

I believe this has been covered before, but just a quick note saying that I've
been using my GPS as a hiking odometer and I like it. I can go off trail, up
and down steep hills taking whatever sized step suits the terrain and not worry
about it throwing my distance off. Can also be used biking, skiing, blading,
paddling, etc. I put it in a fanny pack and forget about it, works great.

Can also be used for Geocache hunting! (why I have it in the first place).

That's all.

jw
milwaukee
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  #2  
Old September 15th 04, 05:43 PM
Bob
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which GPS unit do you use? Does it take HR input too? Does it upload to a
computer for storage and analysis? Does it overlay your track on a map?

Bob

"J999w" wrote in message
...
I believe this has been covered before, but just a quick note saying that

I've
been using my GPS as a hiking odometer and I like it. I can go off trail,

up
and down steep hills taking whatever sized step suits the terrain and not

worry
about it throwing my distance off. Can also be used biking, skiing,

blading,
paddling, etc. I put it in a fanny pack and forget about it, works great.

Can also be used for Geocache hunting! (why I have it in the first place).

That's all.

jw
milwaukee



  #3  
Old September 15th 04, 07:13 PM
J999w
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Default

Garmin eTrex ... bottom of the barrel, dirt cheap, basic unit. Doesn't read
palms or read biorhythms. I've seen it as low as $49.95 but can be had right
now for $83 according to Froogle.

jw
  #4  
Old September 16th 04, 05:40 AM
Marsh Jones
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J999w wrote:
I believe this has been covered before, but just a quick note saying that I've
been using my GPS as a hiking odometer and I like it. I can go off trail, up
and down steep hills taking whatever sized step suits the terrain and not worry
about it throwing my distance off. Can also be used biking, skiing, blading,
paddling, etc. I put it in a fanny pack and forget about it, works great.

Can also be used for Geocache hunting! (why I have it in the first place).

That's all.

jw
milwaukee

My wife got me a small one for my birthday. I've used it rollerskiing,
running and paddling. Paddling was most interesting with the GPS. You
could immediately see when you got in/out of wind, current, deep water,
etc. I did notice that the elevation differed by about 75-80ft paddling
across a lake:-) Probably not going to rely on it to map the birkie...

Marsh
New Brighton, MN
  #5  
Old September 16th 04, 07:38 AM
Terje Mathisen
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Marsh Jones wrote:
My wife got me a small one for my birthday. I've used it rollerskiing,
running and paddling. Paddling was most interesting with the GPS. You
could immediately see when you got in/out of wind, current, deep water,
etc. I did notice that the elevation differed by about 75-80ft paddling
across a lake:-) Probably not going to rely on it to map the birkie...


Which is why you'd really want a GPS with built-in barometer if you do
any kind of activity where a 3D track log is useful.

All the higher-end Garmins (with an S for Sensor suffix) have this.

Using this together with OziExplorer allows me to get really nice
elevation plots from trips I make.

Terje

PS. The real use for a GPS is Degree Confluencing, not that upstart
GeoCaching stuff. :-)

http://www.confluence.org/

Terje
(Scandinavian regional coordinator)

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"
  #6  
Old September 16th 04, 02:00 PM
jim farrell
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I did notice that the elevation differed by about 75-80ft paddling
across a lake:-) Probably not going to rely on it to map the birkie...

Marsh
New Brighton, MN


great test on a lake! no wondering if you 'think it is level.' i've
always been suspicious of the altitude feature of my garmont/timex unit.
people who really care about elevation use an altimeter. some units
come with a 'barometric' altimeter built in. however, on one circuit
hike of afton state park, a unit with an altimeter placed the parking
lot at some 50(?) feet higher than when we had started. we wondered if
the approaching storm was enough to lower the pressure that much . . .

jim


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  #7  
Old September 17th 04, 02:27 AM
Scott Elliot
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"jim farrell" wrote in message
...

.....however, on one circuit hike of afton state park, a unit with an
altimeter placed the parking lot at some 50(?) feet higher than when we had
started......

I've raced on ski courses like that. The finish is right beside the start,
but you feel like you have done twice as much climbing as you did downhills.

Scott


  #8  
Old September 17th 04, 03:22 AM
Marsh Jones
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great test on a lake! no wondering if you 'think it is level.' i've
always been suspicious of the altitude feature of my garmont/timex unit.
people who really care about elevation use an altimeter. some units
come with a 'barometric' altimeter built in. however, on one circuit
hike of afton state park, a unit with an altimeter placed the parking
lot at some 50(?) feet higher than when we had started. we wondered if
the approaching storm was enough to lower the pressure that much . . .

jim


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http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
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Not hard to imagine, actually. Barometric pressure varies about .1" per
100ft (Not exact, but close enough for eyeballing stuff). A fast moving
front can raise or lower the barometric pressure by several tenths in a
very short time period.
I'm still curious about the update period for the barometric units. I
wonder if they can be accurate enough to handle the short, quick
transitions at somewhere like the Birkie at ski speeds. Hiking, they
certainly should. In any case, they are all cool toys. I'm still not
sure I'll take it to the BWCA next week, though.

Marsh
  #9  
Old September 17th 04, 07:35 AM
Terje Mathisen
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Marsh Jones wrote:
I'm still curious about the update period for the barometric units. I
wonder if they can be accurate enough to handle the short, quick
transitions at somewhere like the Birkie at ski speeds. Hiking, they
certainly should. In any case, they are all cool toys. I'm still not
sure I'll take it to the BWCA next week, though.


The barometer is used together with the GPS signals to compute a new 3D
position every second, but as you note, it is possible that a very
short/quick dump might be skipped entirely.

At the same time as the barometer is used for short-term altitude
differences, the GPS altitude is used to calibrate the barometer, with a
time constant of about 3 hours.

Terje

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"
  #10  
Old September 19th 04, 08:11 PM
Rick Mitchell
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Early this summer, I purchased the Timex "Bodylink" This is a watch/heart
monitor and gps system. I've found it to be very accurate. Here's a couple
of points on it.

The watch is very easy to operate. The various function buttons actually
make sense. (This hasn't always been true for Timex watches in the past.)

The heart rate monitor works very well. As soon as you have the chest
transmitter on, the watch starts displaying HR. I've had problems with
Polar HR monitors in the past. They often wouldn't start displaying
accurate HR until 10 to 20 minutes into an activity. One negative about the
Timex Bodylink is that although it records average HR, time in certain
HRzones, etc., it does not record max HR.

The gps part (Timex calls it a Speed/Distance Sensor), is a small plastic
device (3" x 3"x 1.5") and probably weighs about 4 ounces (just guessing.)
It comes on an elastic arm strap, but can also be clipped on to a fanny
pack, belt, etc. When the gps device is on, the watch can display a ton of
information: distance traveled, speed, pace, etc. (all in either miles or
kilometers). The watch can display three readings at once, and you can
toggle through a bunch of choices: HR/elapsed time/distance travled;
HR/time/pace; HR/lap time/speed (too many options to list here.

I use it all the time on my bike as a bike computer. I attach the gps
device to my saddle bag and then strap the wrist watch on to the handle bars
where I can easily view it. The odometer/distance readings are dead-on
accurate. If you are reading your speed/pace, you are seeing your
speed/pace of about 10 seconds ago.

I haven't used it for running as much, since just after I received it, I
suffered an ankle/tendonitis injury. So I haven't been running this summer.
I have used it on my few rollerski outings, with the gps device clipped to a
water bottle waist belt. The pace info was really helpful.

I've even used it on a couple of lake swims by putting the gps device in a
small waterproof plastic "otter box" and attaching the box to the strap on
the HR transmitter. Was able to get the distance of certain lake swims that
I like to do. The gps device is "water-resistant" but not water proof.

As far as negatives:

I already mentioned that it does not record Max HR.

It only records one workout at a time. If you start a new workout, it will
erase all of the old data. The watch does record all of the "laps" you want
of any workout

You do need relatively open sky overhead. The gps device will frequently
lose its signal in heavy tree cover. The watch will do "pace and distance
smoothing" if you select this option. I assume this means that it averages
out your speed and distance to make up for missed satellite signals.

The gps device works on two AA batteries. The watch will tell you when they
are getting low. I change them about once a month.

I'm looking forward to using this winter on the snow!

Rick Mitchell


"J999w" wrote in message
...
I believe this has been covered before, but just a quick note saying that

I've
been using my GPS as a hiking odometer and I like it. I can go off trail,

up
and down steep hills taking whatever sized step suits the terrain and not

worry
about it throwing my distance off. Can also be used biking, skiing,

blading,
paddling, etc. I put it in a fanny pack and forget about it, works great.

Can also be used for Geocache hunting! (why I have it in the first place).

That's all.

jw
milwaukee




 




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