[Novalug] almost clueless hardware quandary

[Beartooth]

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008, Nick Danger wrote:

> Many a time :-) But I usually only use GPS when Im lost, and 
> I'm not usually lost when its something like "go 70 miles down 
> I95". If Im looking for a side street or something I usually 
> don't need to refer ts the GPS screen. I got my first GPS in 
> fact just for the speedometer since the one in my truck had 
> died. It was cheaper to get a GPS then to get my speedo fixed.

 	The uses of GPSs are multifarious, indeed; and I suspect 
yours are much the commoner, both among the general public and 
among technoids.

 	Curmudgeon that I am, I use a GPS precisely when I'm 
*not* lost : mapping my hunting trails turns out to be a 
surprisingly instructive enterprise.

 	In Northern Virginia is a public hunting ground (the 
Thompson, between 638 and 688 North of VA 55) which I had been 
visiting every weekend for about ten years when I got my first 
GPS. I had trails all over it -- well known to me, I thought, 
albeit kept as inconspicuous as I could make them. (It's the 
closest WMA to Babylon on Potomac, and gets the heaviest hunting 
pressure.)

 	When I made maps to scale, I discovered that two of those 
trails ran within about fifty yards of one another on one stretch 
-- something I hadn't guessed.

>>     One question will be how much of the linux stuff is usable 
>> to one who is neither technoid nor geographer; another will be 
>> whether it does *topo* maps. A road, to me, is mainly just a 
>> convenient way between trailheads -- and not just heads.
>
> Topo maps don't list trails. I suggest checking out your states 
> DOT and Electrical companies. I went off roading in WVa using 
> logging roads from a map that was done by the gas company. 
> Unfortunately Garmin/Magellan dont usually use maps from 3rd 
> party sources like that.

 	One of us is confused. I'm talking *foot* trails -- from 
the Appalachian Trail, through fire roads, down to the most 
inconspicuous game trail you can follow. The last, of course, you 
have to find on the ground, preferably in winter; the first has 
whole suites of software devoted to it.

 	What I want the laptop for is finding vehicle routes 
between those: where can I park my truck close enough to the AT 
to be able to use it for scouting in the off season? How 
can I take my visiting hunting buddy by an easier 
cross-country route to a good spot than the way I've been 
going? Where should I park to do it? Things like that.

>> between is public land, and the road is a public road. Also 
>> *if* the road is in passable condition, with no three foot 
>> deep gullies, or large trees, across it.
>
> Again, Garmin/Magellan wont list anything that is not a public 
> road and forget gullies or trees.

 	They do once I map them in. That's the main use of a GPS 
to me. I have individual den trees and sitting rocks mapped, for 
stands with good views of those trees -- lots of them.

>>     Actually, out here in the mountains, there's a good chance 
>> of finding one even in the grocery. And I did find my Y-cable.
>
> I am going to make my own from bent aluminum. Im still looking 
> for a nice flexable gooseneck, I have a feeling I might have to 
> canablize an IKEA lamp for one.
>
> Good luck with the search and when you get it all done, let us 
> know what you get working.

 	If this address is one you'll accept attachments at, tell 
me, and I'll send you an old sample. I don't think I can to the 
list, and wouldn't want to ...

 	But what I mean to do is simply install Garmin, Delorme, 
and Maptech software (which I have now on the other (XP) hard 
drive of this machine), and go at it with my GPSs.

-- 
Beartooth Implacable, Curmudgeonly Codger Learning Linux
On the Internet, you can never tell who is a dog --
supposing you care -- but you can tell who has a mind.