GPSr Feature Wishlist

[+arrowroot]

Things I wish my GPSr could do (and as it's a Garmin GPSMAP 76S it already does a lot!):

 

1) Quick menu to toggle between 'on foot', 'on bicycle', 'driving', so I can keep track of the distance/ave speed in each mode. I'd like to know how much hiking I'm really doing.*

 

2) Related: Calculate Trip Computer data since last waypoint set

 

3) WAAS usable in the midwest -- not a receiver issue, but as long as I'm at it

 

4) Move cursor to location and mark new waypoint there. Currently, the GPSMAP 76S, if you mark a new point, sticks to where you are, not where you're pointing.

 

5) Stylus and touchscreen -- I'm thinking strongly about the iQue

 

6) MP3 Player, Cell Phone, 1-megapixel camera, cone of silence, death ray -- umm there is no #6

 

 

* I might be able to calculate this with enough waypoints set, the calculating the distance between waypoints on the track... I'm not sure what software will do this, but it's not on the Trip Computer.

 

I am Arrowroot, son of Arrowshirt. I have many names, you know

[dave and jaime]

how about waas and maps for the mapping units for canada?

[+Sissy-n-CR]

I've often thought about a screen that included:

- distance, bearing, pointer

- sat and WAAS status in realtime

 

The reason is, I'd sometimes will switch to sat status screen to find a spot that has the best reception through the trees, then switch back to the GoTo screen. More experimentation is needed but I think I get a better fix by trying to get a view of the birds through the trees.

 

...or it could just be Voodoo.

 

Oh, indicaton of the WAAS bird on the GoTo pointer like the waypoint, sun, and moon. That would help to find a hole through the trees, too.

 

CR

 

[+Dixie's Crew]

I'll go along with the touch screen! Reducing the number of buttons can only improve the water resistance.

 

Editing waypoints would be so much easier this way - not using the four-way thumbpad but entering text and numbers ala Palm OS, on a virtual keyboard..

 

How 'bout Hitting the "goto" icon and then tapping a point on the screen to get your distance and bearing?

 

Embedded Linux OS with Bluetooth? Just bring the GPS within a few feet of your Mac (OS X rocks- hint to the uninitiated) and start moving waypoints, maps, back and forth between the GPS and the 'puter.

 

I'm just a beginner at all this but I see loads of possibilities.

[+eroyd]

Now that we've got maps on or GPS's. How about making them coloured. Right now it's hard to tell the roads, streams, track and GoTo lines apart.

[+arrowroot]

quote:

---

Oh, indicaton of the WAAS bird on the GoTo pointer like the waypoint, sun, and moon.

---

The WAAS sats are geosynchronous. Since they don't move, they may not have thought there was value in marking them.

 

With the compass working, I know where the WAAS birds are:

Just over the horizon /There and There

 

Oh, and there are a coupla color GPS units. One of Garmin's auto-routing babies is color, and so's the iQue. But they're pricy. Comparable PDAs are only about $100 more than equivalent B&W models.

 

I am Arrowroot, son of Arrowshirt. I have many names, you know

[+jonboy]

Although you can upload waypoints and routes, I would like to be able to upload tracks, enabling trails to be loaded onto GPS. As long as we are getting extravagant, how about the ability to upload non-proprietory maps.

[+15Tango]

A USB compatible PC cable from Garmin for E-trex--I had a Belkin adapter, but the driver software would sometimes get hinky on me. I had to hunt through quite a few computer stores to find another brand, and that's working fine so far, but I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if Garmin would just go USB like everyone else has.

 

Think Globally, Act Locally

 

Life is good.

 

[+worldtraveler]

...for storing/transferring lots of maps and other data without even needing to hook up the GPSr.

 

I really like my Garmin GPS V, but the 19 meg memory and slooow serial data transfer speed are the two highest priorities on my "I wish they would upgrade it" list.

 

Worldtraveler