Other things to do with your GPSr

[+Phil and Ruth]

Apart from Geocaching & Trigpointing (and Groundspeak's Benchmarking & Waymarking etc.) I've been wondering what else we can take part in with our GPSr.

 

So far I've found:

• Geograph - photographing every grid square
  
• OpenStreetmap - building a free streetmap
  
• Free The Postcode - collecting postcode position data to build a free database
  

Anyone got anything else to add to the list?

[+PopUpPirate]

Garmin units come with a few daft games built in

[+Bear and Ragged]

Too many DNF's and it's used to stop the car rolling downhill...

 

 

Or... Download walks from Country Walking magazine and follow the trail.

Hopefully with a few caches on the way.

[nobby.nobbs]

stone the blashphemer!!!!!!!

[+FollowMeChaps]

I leave mine on when going to different places on foot, car or best still by plane (though you need a window seat and a sympathetic airline).

 

I then download the tracks to EasyGPS http://www.easygps.com/ and save as a gpx file. Now, using GPS Visualiser http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map?form=googleearth, convert the gpx file to a kml to see the results in Google Earth. You can zoom in and see where you went around roundabouts , etc. If climbing hills or flying use the tilt function and see your rise & falls.

 

Sad or what?!!!!

[+The Flying Boots]

The speedometer in our van packed up so we use it as a speedo.

[+The Bolas Heathens]

Isaac enjoyes playing Virtual Maze and Gecko Smak with our GPS. It's hilarious to watch him darting this way and that in a totally random manner .

Edited November 14, 2006 by The Bolas Heathens

[+adambro]

The speedometer in our van packed up so we use it as a speedo.

 

Erm.... thats not entirely legal.

[+OldNickCov]

The original reason I bought mine (apart from being a gadget lover) - geotagging. I take a lot of photos, and quite a few of them end up on Flickr, tagged with their lat & long. I was getting tired of noting OS grid references and later converting them using a spreadsheet.

[+Boardslider]

I used to use my old Etrex running and kitesurfing, then I bought a garmin forerunner...

[+The Flying Boots]

The speedometer in our van packed up so we use it as a speedo.

 

Erm.... thats not entirely legal.

 

It'll have to do until we get it fixed

[+FollowMeChaps]

Erm.... thats not entirely legal.

But it's far more accurate!

[+Tiger-Eyes]

we hired a boat on the broads this year, speed limit signs everywhere but no speedometer on the boat , luckily we were geocaching and had our gps with us which proved very handy when the river authority boat kept following us

thoough we did get pulled over when trying to get on the bank to find a cache oops

[barryhunter]

Chasing Bench Marks: http://www.bench-marks.org.uk (related to trigpointing)

 

Visiting ancient sites: http://www.megalithic.co.uk

 

photographing lakes: http://www.uklakes.net

 

bird watching: http://www.birdguides.com

 

and a few more like Follys and Milestones

http://www.nearby.org.uk/lll.cgi

 

(ok some very tenous links to GPS, but the GPS helps you find the location )

[Sheards]

Erm.... thats not entirely legal.

But it's far more accurate!

 

I use mine (Set to KM/H) as a speedo when I'm driving in France

[+LollyBob]

GEODANCING!!

 

Ok it was just a bit of fun we had last week after watching some people learning ballroom dancing as we waited for the rest of the Dudley Invaders to turn up.

[+douglasf]

I always waymark the hotel when I'm travelling. Last night I suucessfully routed 3 of us back to the hotel in Central Munich as either the food or the drink had left us a little light headed . so we walked back. It's also useful to make sure the taxis take you the short way and not the long one.

[+Team Madders]

Getting me to a dive site, and using the echosounder (on the boat, not on the GPSr) to locate the wreck......surprisingly, can be even harder to find than a micro...

Edited November 14, 2006 by Team Madders

[+Team Sieni]

I know this is a really old thread - I found it when searching for info on another subject.

 

Anyway, no one mentioned GPS drawing

 

Here's my favourite.

 

http://www.gpsdrawing.com/gallery/land/didcotcat.html

[+Simply Paul]

I use mine to get to postcode areas while working as a mystery shopper.

[+rogerncook]

Fell walking - the whole reason I bought GPS in the first place. I was once helping out at a long distance walking event during the night when somebody was taken ill. The guy who was with me had one of the very first GPSr - no mapping, just an OS grid position. After climbing a hill to get a mobile phone signal, we got through to 999. We were in the middle of the fells far from any roads and the ambulance guys found us so quickly because of a good OS Ref, it probably saved the guys life.

 

Now I enjoy fell walking with caching, walking 10 miles to get just one cache does not increase your total caches very quickly, but sure is a good day out.

 

Also:

Getting to places when working overseas or out drinking in big cities

Pushing the speed limit - so I can set the cruise control to GPS speed instead of cars speedo.

[+traildad]

Attach it to your ATV. With TOPO maps installed it comes in handy when out riding in the forest.

[+Norwegian Blue]

I'm a seafarer. It sure beats using a sextant and almanac!

[+Papakas]

Anyone heard of Artfield Fell Wind Farm? I was a Project Manager on the logistics team for the transport of the turbines from Ayr Port to site near Stranraer. As part of the road route planning I was required to identify suitable temporary stopping locations for up to three vehicles at over 20m each (trucks with either blades or tower sections). When surveying laybys I would stand at one end and get a GPS mark, then instruct the GPS to goto the mark so walking to the other end of the layby would give me the distance/length of the layby! Calculating obstacles such as road curvatures, street furniture, bridges, etc require more precise methods using tape measures and/or lasers but for a rough calculation such as with the laybys using the GPS was a precise enough!

[+jennie.m]

Every day I have to find an on-street parking place near work, and frequently by the time I've suffered a day at work I can't remember where I left the van! Now I have the answer to my memory problems- waypoint the van before getting out, then when leaving work, just follow the gps! Before I got this wonderful toy, I would often be found wandering about aimlessly looking for my van (now I just wander about looking for tupperware! )

[+The Bongtwashes]

Erm.... thats not entirely legal.

But it's far more accurate!

It can also be used as evidence by the police if you're stopped for speeding , but don't use it as a pretend mobile whilst you're driving

[+yonorri]

I know this is a really old thread - I found it when searching for info on another subject.

 

Anyway, no one mentioned GPS drawing

 

Here's my favourite.

 

http://www.gpsdrawing.com/gallery/land/didcotcat.html

 

Ohh, I like that, must have a go...