 Poster: A snowHead
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I've been trying to find a GPS unit for using whilst skiing. Most of the units have all sorts of fancy features on them though that wouldn't be a whole lot of use for me though. Whilst on the mountain I am happy enough using the piste map to figure out where I am, but I would like to then be able to see where I had been during that day once I get back to the bar afterwards. The Navman X300 seems to be one of the most basic ones out there as it just tells you how far, fast and high you have been, but it does not keep track where you were at all. Is there a model out there that will just log where you've been, rather than where I am at the moment, for then downloading at a later date?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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One "fancy" feature I would really value in the mountains is a quad-helix antenna. Beyond that, all you're really asking for is waypoint storage.
Most basic GPS units that aren't "sport-optimised" i.e. meant for runners and cyclists will do that.
What I would look for, then:
- Quad helix
- Waypoint storage
- Basic LCD (no sense freeze-cracking a big colour one)
- Shortest warm-acquisition time (i.e. the ephemeris data is already in memory, you've just emerged from a couloir that blocked all signals).
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sat 18-11-06 19:27; edited 1 time in total
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I've got a Garmin ETrex Vista C which is great for skiing with. Review here.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Spideog, ........check out the Garmin Map60csx .......
I have one of them, although I don't use it in the way you want to - it's capable.....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I can add my vote for the ETrex Vista C, although they do a larger unit with more memory but I forget the name.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you already have a smartphone, there are applications that can do what you want. You'll need a suitable GPS receiver.
If you don't have a smartphone, you could get a PDA and get some software. A MIO P350 with built in GPS can be purchased for ~£180
I'll be using an Orange SPVC600, TomTom BT GPS unit and GPSDash when I go skiing. 
Note that the GPS system is NOT optimsed for altitude measurement. This shouldn't really be a problem since you would probably be more interested metres skied rather than absolute altitude.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I had forgotten about the bluetooth option which I've got on my dell pda. I'm not sure that the battery would last long enough on that though for a days skiing though. But would my phone be able to connect to a bluetooth gps module even though it's not a smartphone, its a SE v600 that I have, and then record the data on it's internal memory instead.
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Spideog, your SE v600 won't work with the BT GPS module. It needs to be a smartphone or PDA in order to connect with the GPS module and interpret the data with suitable software.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I tried out the link. It's pretty cool. You have a choice of different maps to overlay your trails on, and the colour codes can show elevation, slope, track, or speed. Neat stuff!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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A couple of things that I've not yet been able to figure out is why do some units say that they don't track altitude, surely the altitude is given as a result of how the unit figures out where it is relative to the satellites? But if that is the case then why are other units saying that they track altitude by barometric pressure which is surely a less accurate method.
Also I noticed in the write ups for some of the Magellen units, explorist range I think, that they made a point of saying that the data for tracking where you have been can be stored to an add in memory card. The details for the Garmin units didn't make any mention of that though suggesting that you can only store maps of where you are going to the memory cards, or was I reading things wrong?
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Spideog, ......the Garmin Map60csx has a Micro SD card (512mb supplied as standard, but I bought two 1gb cards which I use)
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You know it makes sense.
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The older Garmin units (e.g. Map60CS instead of Map60CSx) do not have a card slot. You have to download new maps and upload tracks via a USB cable to your computer. The newer models come with a card slot.
I think the accuracy of the elevation data would not be good enough without the added barometric feature.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Well I gave in to the urge to get a unit with loads of features in the end, mostly to feed my gadget fetish rather than any actual need, and have ordered myself a Garmin 60CSx. Hope it does not take too long to arrive though as I guess I'll be needing a good while to figure out what all the buttons do before I try using it in anger anywhere.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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What about SportsDo?
http://www.sportsdo.net/
I saw them at the ski show, and they said their software would run on most mobiles that could handle Java.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Howabout http://www.benefon.com/ and their new model twig?
Then add a good Suunto watch for the altimeter and heart monitor purposes.
What can I do, I am a Finn - gotta defend our business. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
What about SportsDo?
http://www.sportsdo.net/
I saw them at the ski show, and they said their software would run on most mobiles that could handle Java. |
With SportsDo you have to pay a subscription to keep a history of your logs online (upto 10 logs are free). Reading through the manual implies that the software itself costs £30 per year.
Have a look at http://www.vitotechnology.com/ or http://wimobi.com/gpsdash/overview.ppc2.php.
I use GPSDash on both my PDA and smartphone. Unfortunately development of the software has stalled, and the support forum is locked. However logs are easily saved on a PC and can be exported to spreadsheet compatible files and viewed using Google Earth.
I've never used any software from vititechnology.
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FAQ
