BASIC TIPS FOR USING A GPS

Recently someone suggested that I do something that is not product related.

Judging by the number of calls I get seeking advice, calling for help and also complaints, I believe the time is right to refresh people’s memories and remind everybody of the basics when using a GPS. The most important when switching on the GPS is to ensure that you are getting good signal from at least 4 different satellites. This information would normally be found on the satellite configuration page. On this page the satellite signal will also indicate the position of the satellite relative to your current position in the two circles as well as the quality of the signal by means of a barograph. If the barograph is only in outline that means that the device has seen the satellite but is not getting information to do a position fix. The TomTom device’s screen remains grey until it gets a locked on when the screen changes to a normal colour screen. Some of the Garmin Nuvi devices do not have the satellite configuration screen but have a 5 barograph on the top left hand corner of the screen. When this is blank or red the device does not have a lock on but when changing to green has a lock on with at least 4 good satellite signals.

Once you have lock on you can drive (or move) off to your desired destination. If you start moving before you have the lock on you could possibly only get your signal at your next stop be it at your first robot 50km down the road. The newer GPS’s seem to take longer to acquire signal when moving at speed of approximately 100kmph. I have not experienced this problem when walking or on a bike

The next reminder would be to make sure that the GPS is setup for your requirement. This would be done under settings. Important is the time setting for South Africa. Some of the newer GPS’s now determine the international time zone for you, with others you have to tell the GPS the country in which you are. Sometimes it is sufficient to tell it the time zone or use the name of a town or city to represent the country. Some devices do not allow for a country setting and in these circumstances you have to select the OTHER option and set the time zone offset for your current location. One of the other settings would be which units of measurement you would you, Kilometers, or Statute (British miles) or Nautical miles.

Under navigation you would have to select “Fastest Time, Shortest Distance”, or “Off Road”. Fastest Time to the nearest highway is my preference and then to you destination. Shortest would not necessarily take you according to the road but according to the restraints of the local road network. “Shortest” is not always the safest option for a South African motorist. Off road, would allow you to navigate on a compass bearing / line to your destination (as the crow flies). This is the option that would be the most advisable if you had no intelligent mapping for the area, as in the bush.

The key to success in any GPS, is ersuring that your GPS datum is set to your standard. Most modern Personal Navigation Devices (PND’s) are set to the international standard of WGS84 and cannot be changed but it is wise to check and make sure that this is the selection on your device.. The next would be to select the . Latitude/Longitude format you desire, be it (degrees,degrees, hddd,ddddd or degrees and minutes, minutes hddd mm,mmm, or degrees minutes and seconds hddd mm ss,s)

These are the general setting which are critical to the successful operation of any GPS.

Next, I would recommend that you reset your trip information (information about your trip, not always necessary but information that is nice to have). This would include Distance travelled, travelled time, stopped time, etc. Another important feature I would reset, one which is normally separate to the other reset setting, is your maximum speed. This will be helpful if ever you have to convince a traffic official that you were travelling within the speed limit. Be warned, however, it could also prove that you had exceeded the speed limit.

The outdoor “life style” GPS devices and some PND’s allow one to select the displayed information. Personally I have found the default trip information does not always satisfy me which I change to something more relevant to my trip.

Once this has been done the GPS is set and ready to prove its true value.
Most devices can store up to 500 preselected waypoints or locations in which you are interested. These would have been preplanned and preloaded. The navigation function would then be activated by selecting a destination, be it a predetermined waypoint or an address, town city or point of interest, such as a shopping centre, restaurant hotel etc.

Often when trying to select a destination the place cannot be found even though you know it to exist as you have loaded or previously marked the point. What commonly occurs is that the GPS would be set for Points near your Current Location. All that now has to occur is that before searching for the point, make sure that the search is by name and not near current or search for a destination near a different location. In doing this the success rate of finding a desire destination is greatly improved. When searching for an address in the bigger cities always use the suburb and not the city name. The suburb name will then narrow down the search and give quicker and better results

When searching for a street address with a number 1, it often helps to substitute number 1 with number 10 The number 1 could be incorrectly registered in the wrong road and 10 is normally a few houses or plots up or down the road. Finding No 1 would then be less of a problem. I also find that if I cannot find a street address I use the intersection of 2 street names and again my success rate is improved.

A common problem when searching for street address is found in the incorrect spelling. In South Africa this problem is prevalent where the names are registered in different languages with the obvious different spelling. So ensure that you have the correct spelling of the street. A classic example of this is when the street nameis a number eg 6th Ave or Sixth Ave or Sesde Laan or 6de Laan , 4 names and 4 different street addresses.

A problem seldom considered but one to be avoided is that the GPS device should never be mounted in front of an “Airbag” in a car. If the Airbag deploys the person directly in front of the GPS could be seriously injury. An even worse scenario would be where people who travel with laptops are in front of the passenger. If the Airbag deploys and takes the laptop with it, the person facing it, will have some serious injuries.

Also remember to mount the GPS above the dash for good signal reception as radio signal work as line of sight. If not acquiring signal in a vehicle try the device out of the vehicle. There could be a metal filter in the front window which will block the signal. In this case an external antenna would resolve the problem (not all GPS PND’s make provision for an external antenna)

If your device has its own battery, and charges from the vehicles 12 volt cigarette lighter socket most of the time.This does not replace a normal 240 volt charge. So once in a while take the GPS out of your car and charge it from 240volts. Also if the device battery does get totally drained the car 12volt charge is not good enough to get the initial charge going so it will have to be charged from a 240 volt source.

Happy GPS Adventures

Tip for the month : Buy according to your requirement and not according to price.