reef mapper

Thanks embra - I live and work in the Caribbean so a lot of GPSr features and packages aren't a bargain. It would be great if the PN-40 allows user defined settings and has a package with options other than US maps - I could really use it starting this week! A couple of Datums of interest are Naparima (Trinidad), HMS Challenger (Barbados), Antigua Astro, Fort Charlotte (St. Vincent). Projection settings are likely in the same place as settings for degrees vs UTM etc. It would be user-defined TM options. At least that's where it is on Garmins. I'm really hoping the PN-40 stacks up - it will be a great step forward for people outside the US and Europe. Meanwhile the "old" 60Csx gives me position, water depth and temperature on screen when I'm mapping by kayak!

[quote name='embra' You're getting a little above my pay grade. There are a jillion datum choices, but I don't know that you can define your own. Thanks, I'll check with the Xmap group once the forums are running again. Re datums, GPSrs do have quite a few but they are only a fraction of the >1000 in existence. Almost all the islands I work in have their own, not in any unit, which has to be configured with the transform parameters for WGS84 to local. Same with projections, which also have to be configured if one is doing mapping rather than just navigation. I wrote to Delorme about adding it to the PN-20 as it was initially not an option. I believe it was added but I've never used or even seen one. Cheers.

I'm busy preparing airphotos for my 60Csx - part of a big mangrove mapping project. The PN-40 sounds like it would a great tool right now. In case someone knows: will it support user datums and projections? I would have to get Xmap to load images, but would they have to be calibrated in Xmap or could I import already calibrated images?

Exactly right on both points and well worth emphasising. This cloud/rain thing continues to be misunderstood and perhaps that is understandable. But - some secondary effects can be problem. A recent model GPSr that will give a reasonable fix under vegetation will be suffer if the leaf canopy has been drenched with rain.

As he said - to get the best from your unit, start with the best view of the sky (e.g. not bending over it) and stationary. Get a fix and then move.

Go and do your own online work Best and cheap don't go together. The question should be "what should I buy to do what I want?". Delorme or Mobile Mapper to do post processing to be within a metre of real space; some supermarket special to find a pizza outlet.

I was overseas a few weeks ago, in Florida, and it worked great there too.

This "overseas" issue looks really amusing to"the rest of the world" - 95% of which is overseas. WAAS is a very localised service covering a very small area; in Europe use EGNOS. BTW you don't take more time to get the ephemeris data because you are "overseas" - it is because you have moved far enough from your last download to require an update. It could even be within the same continent

Thanks for the update. I've been thinking of a similar approach for field work where I would like to follow progress on an aerial photo and be able to use my mapping application as well..

Oh no! I thought that with Xmap you could load any calibrated raster files.

For the other 200-odd countries in the world it looks like the major advantage is being able to load one's own calibrated images. Thats got my interest.

OMG I fell off my chair laughing so hard. Hey, no laughing - I've been that guy!

Not quite the same problem though - you first need to find out if the unit is actually capable of outputting Garmin data before you can convert it to USB (and that can a whole other headache). I would suspect a fault with the unit. Can you find someone who has an Etrex-PC setup that is working and connect yours to it, to make sure yours is OK?

Is COM1 the port where the checker finds the NMEA output?

The port checker looks for both Garmin data and NMEA. If it detects the NMEA stream then the problem isn't with the cable.

You may want to try this utility to verify which COM port is involved: http://www.oziexplorer3.com/utils/gps_port_checker.html

I don't know about GC but I use a laptop + GPS a lot in the field. While it is always for work, live tracking with a high resolution aerial photo or satellite image on screen is a treat as well. It gives the greatest versatility of any mobile GPS setup as you can use any vector or raster files you want as the background. The downside IME is the fact that laptop screens, including the EEE, don't work well in open daylight. Adding a hood is an option that mappers use but that adds more handling issues. Certainly you wouldn't want this as the only system; an inexpensive hand-held is going to be more manageable at times. OziExplorer is a very good and affordable application for live tracking.

They are independent. A user TM or UTM in m can be used with all other settings in feet, Fahrenheit and fathoms etc. Hard reset does sound like the thing to try.

Time to join the rest of the world?

Your body will reduce signal strength when it is between the GPSr and a satellite. While a 60Csx won't benefit from an ext under tree cover when both have the same view, the ext is still useful when it is more convenient to put it in the best location. I can put my ext on a 30 foot pole and get it above tree cover in many cases when mapping mangroves and other low forests - not everyones need though! Try holding the unit close and bending over it to see the signal strength drop.

WAAS certainly isn't a biggie down there - you can't use it outside of the US and a few nearby bits and leaving it turned on outside of its range can make the results worse.

I used the "tell it where you are" option once with a new 12CX, because I read about it in the manual. Since then I've never used any prompts after a major geog change and like others I also travel a lot for mapping projects that depend on functioning kit - 60Csx, Delorme Blue Logger, Earthmate, etc. 10 minutes is way more than anything I've ever seen. I'm off to the UK tomorrow and will time the Garmin's repositioning when it finds itself 3500 miles away in London!

Cheap ones may well work but when they don't (two of them in my case) this is the way to go: http://www.pfranc.com/cables/index.shtml

Thoughts are going to be as varied as the number of models Garmin is now fielding. The 60Csx is more versatile - but not everyone needs all the options. I use the ext ant frequently, as well as the serial port for both input and output of NMEA data. The 76 series works fine but to me it like holding a limp pop tart in shape. I really dislike buttons that are hidden on the side of a unit, out of view. Of course one would eventually learn what does what by feel. Personal preference is often decided by the least important factors. There is nothing like being able to handle the thing to be able to make a useful decision. And there is nothing more annoying than day after day looking at the unit you bought to save a few $$ and knowing that it isn't really the one you wanted.

Even the non-mapping 76 has US tide tables. But presumably nothing for UK units?