GPS for a 6 Year old?

[GerritS]

OK Ive started something but do not know how it will end...

 

We took my partners 6 year old nephew caching about 3 months ago. The problem is he is still keen AND we spoiled him... Well selected caches and a choice of Nokia Phone and Oregon GPS, now ANY Cache (including a micro ) will do.

 

His mum is now keen to take up the hobby but has as much interest in computers as I have in Micro's...

 

She would like to get some sort of easy to use affordable GPS (preferably with maps) that a 6 year old can not break, to easily...

 

and did I mention a low budget? Well even after 3 months you do not know when a 6 year old's interest will wain...

 

The best we can come up with is to donate an old phone, thing is we still use them for caching from time to time...

 

Since I am asking the impossible any ideas appreciated ...

 

Thanks..

[+*mouse*]

The Geomate Jr is designed specifically for kids.

 

Or can recommend the geko - him indoors has one that's been dropped and bashed but lovingly carried by his 7 year old son for a long time now. It's still going strong. Imagine the basic etrex would be as good too. I expect you could pick up something second hand on fleabay quite cheaply. No maps I admit, but at 6 I would have though it would be simpler just to follow the arrow?

Edited July 3, 2010 by *mouse*

[+G7HRP]

My 8 year old has used a Geko 201(£60 at go outdoors) since January this year for about 300 finds bringing her total to over 800 , basic but very good, however if you use PQ's then you need to use a trick in GSAK to get rid of a couple of digits. i wrote a short piece on the subject over in the yorkshire caching forum.

 

http://www.yorkshiregeocaching.co.uk/index...c,view/id,7902/

 

No maps but until you use 1:25000 memory map i don't rate electronic mapping too much anyway ( the main reason i cache with a gps enabled PDA is for memory map backed up by a venture hc for deep tree cover.

 

Bit further up the range (£140 ish) Dakota 10 for paperless caching ?

[+*mouse*]

If you use PQ's then you need to use a trick in GSAK to get rid of a couple of digits. i wrote a short piece on the subject over in the yorkshire caching forum.

 

http://www.yorkshiregeocaching.co.uk/index...c,view/id,7902/

 

Or just run it though the etrex macro on gsak - does the same thing

 

Gecko is great for kids though. It's an etrex in a different casing, but cheaper. Can't really go wrong.

[+Lost in Space]

Geez, when I was a kid we were lucky to get a hoop to go with our stick......................

[+Mark+Karen]

Geez, when I was a kid we were lucky to get a hoop to go with our stick......................

 

Yep! Personally I would tell him that it's for adults to deal with the hardware! His job to do the searching when you get there!

 

GPSrs are much cheaper than they used to be, but they aren't exactly disposable!

[+needaxeo]

Geez, when I was a kid we were lucky to get a hoop to go with our stick......................

 

Luxury! We were only beaten with sticks....we could only dream of havin' an 'oop.

[+Mark+Karen]

Luxury! We were only beaten with sticks.

 

Think yourself lucky! We couldn't afford sticks!

[+Bear and Ragged]

Geez, when I was a kid we were lucky to get a hoop to go with our stick......................

 

Luxury! We were only beaten with sticks....we could only dream of havin' an 'oop.

 

I was lucky...

 

I got the hole in the hoop to play with, but I had to wait for the hoop bit!

[+AngryBirds]

The Geomate Jr is designed specifically for kids.

 

Or can recommend the geko - him indoors has one that's been dropped and bashed but lovingly carried by his 7 year old son for a long time now. It's still going strong. Imagine the basic etrex would be as good too. I expect you could pick up something second hand on fleabay quite cheaply. No maps I admit, but at 6 I would have though it would be simpler just to follow the arrow?

 

I noticed that my kids are keen on looking at the arrow. Our problem is that we bought a Dakota 10 ... when we stop they get confused as there is no electronic compass. Is there a cheap one that have an electronic compass to send them at the right place when we pause?

[+Lost in Space]

I noticed that my kids are keen on looking at the arrow. Our problem is that we bought a Dakota 10 ... when we stop they get confused as there is no electronic compass. Is there a cheap one that have an electronic compass to send them at the right place when we pause?

 

Don't understand that at all.

 

After "pausing", and moving again, why can't you follow the arrow?

[+smstext]

i bought my daughter a second hand etrex off ebay, think it was about 30 quid.

[+AngryBirds]

I noticed that my kids are keen on looking at the arrow. Our problem is that we bought a Dakota 10 ... when we stop they get confused as there is no electronic compass. Is there a cheap one that have an electronic compass to send them at the right place when we pause?

 

Don't understand that at all.

 

After "pausing", and moving again, why can't you follow the arrow?

 

Well, I can ... but my children find it difficult. The arrow can take some time to catch up and on approach, it regularly loose accuracy. Is there a child friendly model, with electronic compass?

[+Original A1]

Geez, when I was a kid we were lucky to get a hoop to go with our stick......................

 

Luxury! We were only beaten with sticks....we could only dream of havin' an 'oop.

 

I was lucky...

 

I got the hole in the hoop to play with, but I had to wait for the hoop bit!

A HOLE???? You had a whole HOLE?

 

We didn't even have any O2 to play with.

 

[+*mouse*]

Well, I can ... but my children find it difficult. The arrow can take some time to catch up and on approach, it regularly loose accuracy. Is there a child friendly model, with electronic compass?

 

I agree - kids don't always understand that the arrow will stop pointing the right way when they stop moving (although it can be cute to watch them walk in circles while they work it out )

 

You'll pay more for an electronic compass though..... I can't see anything online for less than £200

[GerritS]

Geez, when I was a kid we were lucky to get a hoop to go with our stick......................

 

Yep! Personally I would tell him that it's for adults to deal with the hardware! His job to do the searching when you get there!

 

GPSrs are much cheaper than they used to be, but they aren't exactly disposable!

 

Ah there lies the problem, his mum is far from technically minded. When it comes to caching we will upload the PQ's give them the cheat sheets for basic printouts..

 

He will point his mum in the right direction and she will read the cheat sheet.. I do not expect a high find rate more a high lost rate, but they will have fun and there are 2 of us on standby for PAF.

 

Although one of us is legendary for phoning the other Saying "Help I am lost" . I tried to be gentle then I point out they had 2 GPS with them both with good charges and full mapping ability ...

[+needaxeo]

I noticed that my kids are keen on looking at the arrow. Our problem is that we bought a Dakota 10 ... when we stop they get confused as there is no electronic compass. Is there a cheap one that have an electronic compass to send them at the right place when we pause?

 

Generally speaking the models with electronic compass are, because of the feature, the more expensive ones of the range.

 

But I guess if you mean "cheaper than a Dakota 20", there are a couple of Etrex models that have it and no doubt 2nd hand ones too.

 

Although when you stand still Garmin do seem to often do a 180 degree turn telling you where you've been is now in front of you, which I've no doubt will confuse some. I'm not sure having a compass will make that much difference when you're close to the cache though, bar telling you which way north is.

 

You don't want to walk and just look at an arrow in case you fall off a cliff I'm always telling my son to not wander along looking at the GPS it's not a good habit to learn.

 

Instead, you're looking at the screen, it says "50m", say, and you look at the terrain and see a tree or a bridge or whatever about 50m ahead, you think "It'll be that tree / bridge or whatever" You get pretty good at judging distances.

 

Setting the map north up rather than track up can help a bit (because the only thing that spins then when you stop or when the signal is poor is the arrow, and as it's often easy to orientate the map to the terrain, you'll already know which way to walk without needing a compass) although some may find 'North up' confusing.

 

If you use "track up" it's better IME to get into the habit of not stopping. Especially not just as you get near the cache site in a kind of "right we're here" way. Instead, start from as far back as you can aligning the track so the 'as the crow flies' line is the line you're walking along and try to walk straight up to the cache and then stop.

 

As you get closer you can make small adjustments to keep it so you are walking directly to it (subject to not walking into a wall of course ) But you really want to aim to get the gps to be saying around 4m or less and then you stop, and that's pretty much as close as you'll get to the co-ordinates given most of the time. The next bit is just looking for the hiding spot without the gps.

 

But if you don't / can't walk right up to it there's little point ime trying to follow arrows once it's saying below 13m. You just need to eliminate each direction from where you're stood looking for the distance to lower, rather than by walking around and around in circles trying to follow the compass screen.

Edited July 7, 2010 by needaxeo

[+Mark+Karen]

Setting the map north up rather than track up can help a bit (because the only thing that spins then when you stop or when the signal is poor is the arrow, and as it's often easy to orientate the map to the terrain, you'll already know which way to walk without needing a compass) although some may find 'North up' confusing.

 

If you use "track up" it's better IME to get into the habit of not stopping. Especially not just as you get near the cache site in a kind of "right we're here" way. Instead, start from as far back as you can aligning the track so the 'as the crow flies' line is the line you're walking along and try to walk straight up to the cache and then stop.

 

 

I'm a firm believer that maps should be north up and north up only under all circumstances! I think it helps spatial awareness too, to realise that if you are walking south if you go left then your location will shift to the right. To me it's been absolute second nature since I was a kid so it's always a surprise to me when people want to rotate maps!

[+Lost in Space]

Good grief! This is just like the electronic calculator debate when kids were taught to rely on the "electronic gizmo" rather than use their brains.

 

If you walk to a spot, pause, maybe turn around once or twice; it isn't rocket science to remember where you came from and in what direction you were travelling before you paused, without having to rely on an electronic gizmo!!

[+needaxeo]

I'm a firm believer that maps should be north up and north up only under all circumstances!

 

Well maybe, but I think in general it's a mistake to decide there's "one true way" to do anything.

 

"here's how I do it" is fair enough, but there's a danger that turns into "here's how everyone else should do it"

 

Even north up, I rotate the map, I'm just rotating the GPSr unit itself, so it's me rotating the map, not the software.

 

But if someone else navigates effectively south east up or track up or, without using any map at all, I don't think they are wrong.

[+Lost in Space]

 

Even north up, I rotate the map, I'm just rotating the GPSr unit itself, so it's me rotating the map, not the software.

 

But if someone else navigates effectively south east up or track up or, without using any map at all, I don't think they are wrong.

 

Explain that to a 6yr old.

[GerritS]

 

Even north up, I rotate the map, I'm just rotating the GPSr unit itself, so it's me rotating the map, not the software.

 

But if someone else navigates effectively south east up or track up or, without using any map at all, I don't think they are wrong.

 

Explain that to a 6yr old.

 

That's why its preferably with maps even OSM, as he was using is enough for him to understand, head up north up he did not mind...

 

Thats how we spoiled him counting down numbers was not as much fun!

 

Thanks for all the advise always pleased to get more, will let you know what we find him...

[+Mark+Karen]

I'm a firm believer that maps should be north up and north up only under all circumstances!

 

Well maybe, but I think in general it's a mistake to decide there's "one true way" to do anything.

 

"here's how I do it" is fair enough, but there's a danger that turns into "here's how everyone else should do it"

 

Even north up, I rotate the map, I'm just rotating the GPSr unit itself, so it's me rotating the map, not the software.

 

But if someone else navigates effectively south east up or track up or, without using any map at all, I don't think they are wrong.

 

If that's how you do it as an adult, then fine, it's a free country! But the fact remains that north up *is* the "correct" way to read a map.

I just think that if we are teaching kids map reading skills we should teach them the 'right' way to do it, which is holding the map in one direction (north up!) all the time and adjusting their mental point of view. For the most part it's not practical to keep rotating maps to match your direction all the time.

[GerritS]

 

If that's how you do it as an adult, then fine, it's a free country! But the fact remains that north up *is* the "correct" way to read a map.

I just think that if we are teaching kids map reading skills we should teach them the 'right' way to do it, which is holding the map in one direction (north up!) all the time and adjusting their mental point of view. For the most part it's not practical to keep rotating maps to match your direction all the time.

 

Does it really matter? Most kids now days do not care if its North up South up if they play enough computer games they can switch between the 2, I can and do quite regularly... The 6 year old in question did ...

 

If they can use a compass, equate it to the map/ chart does it matter? Learning to read upside down is a MUCH more useful trick in later life so hell let them use the map upside down ...

 

If you where talking charts on small boats where its hard to turn the chart table round... What I tend to find is people start by trying to turn the chart round , then realize its just not worth the effort and learn how to do it North up .

 

To me the art of Navigation is to get form A to B without going aground or falling off any cliffs... There are thousands of more important tricks to learn than worry which way the Map or chart is pointing.

 

As long as you know where you are

[+needaxeo]

If that's how you do it as an adult, then fine, it's a free country! But the fact remains that north up *is* the "correct" way to read a map.

I just think that if we are teaching kids map reading skills we should teach them the 'right' way to do it, which is holding the map in one direction (north up!) all the time and adjusting their mental point of view. For the most part it's not practical to keep rotating maps to match your direction all the time.

 

Ah, a religious argument

 

There's not one correct way to do anything. Ok map reading is relatively simple anyway, but imagine your idea applied to something that takes years to master. The idea there is only one way to play the piano, write a book, paint a picture, do an experiment or write computer software and so on and so on. Not only would that be completely ridiculous, but it's self evidently not the case.

 

But although I say it's ridiculous, you'll find folk frothing at the mouth on computer programming forums about where things like { or ; should be and what is "correct"

 

That said, there are usually far more incorrect ways to do things that inexperienced people find to make their lives difficult. And that's why we have advice, teachers and so on. But no teacher is telling you the correct way to do something because there is no such thing (and the intelligent and talented shouldn't have too much problem observing and learning more than one way, switching between them and, if they are really good, coming up with own)

 

The phrase "north up" doesn't actually mean anything without clarification. Folk that make maps or stick satellites into space are using (usually different) co-ordinate systems that are pretty arbitrary. There's no "right" one. No more than speaking English is right compared with Spanish or Italian.

 

I think you'd be better letting kids find what works best for them, letting them identify what problems they have with the way they are doing it, and pointing out what might work better as an alternative. They might find something we didn't think of that improves the way we do things.

Edited July 8, 2010 by needaxeo