Re: [semi-OT] OpenStreetMap compatible GPS?

2010-04-28 Thread Jon 'maddog' Hall

> > I have my GPS on all the time, even when I don't need directions.
> 
> I just have a humble little unhacked Mio C320 but was pleased to
> discover
> an unexpected benefit while driving some twisty Appalachian mountain
> roads at night in the fog.  I usually have it rigged HUD-style (more
> or
> less the view out-the-windshield) and it was a big help as we felt our
> way along to know that, say, a gentle right right turn was coming up
> followed by a *sharp* left, etc.  So it was not only useful telling us
> where we were in absolute terms but also for, um, "terrain
> avoidance"...

Many years ago I was in Germany at CEBIT, the worlds largest computer
and telephony show.

CEBIT is so large, and the town it is in so small, that you typically
have to stay many miles away from the show to get any room at all.

A friend rented a van with a (then) new feature called "GPS", and he
even had one that talked.  It was a female voice, but probably came from
a retired high officer in the German army, because you could tell she
was used to being obeyed.  And of course the voice was in German, so
although I was there and experienced this, I can only really relate what
the driver told me was happening

One day we were driving along and "she" told us to "turn right".  We
looked to the right and all that existed was plowed fields...no road at
all, not even a dirt one.  We continued to drive straight along the road
as the voice became more and more exasperated, finally sort of
"yelling":

 "Biegen Sie rechts ab! BIEGEN SIE RECHTS AB!"

  (Turn right!  TURN RIGHT!)

We continued along the road until the unit finally gave up, calculated
another route and returned to its former quieter, but still firm,
instructions.

The next time I went to Germany the same unit apparently had been
reprogrammed with a calmer, clearer voiceand more complete maps.

md

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Re: [semi-OT] OpenStreetMap compatible GPS?

2010-04-28 Thread Tom Buskey
On Wed, Apr 28, 2010 at 8:58 AM, Michael ODonnell <
michael.odonn...@comcast.net> wrote:

>
>
> > I have my GPS on all the time, even when I don't need directions.
>
> I just have a humble little unhacked Mio C320 but was pleased to discover
> an unexpected benefit while driving some twisty Appalachian mountain
> roads at night in the fog.  I usually have it rigged HUD-style (more or
> less the view out-the-windshield) and it was a big help as we felt our
> way along to know that, say, a gentle right right turn was coming up
> followed by a *sharp* left, etc.  So it was not only useful telling us
> where we were in absolute terms but also for, um, "terrain avoidance"...
>
>
When I used to ride Enduros and Turkey Runs (http://www.netra.org), you had
a route sheet on your handlebars.  It was a turn by turn description of the
route with mileage.  You'd advance it line by line as you rode.  Your
odometer needed to be resettable in tenths to recalibrate.  Imagine doing
that on a motocross track.

The enduros also had times for a 24 mph average to be on your minute.  You
needed a watch or two for that.  Eventually they came up with enduro clocks
in the 80s to display your minute and milage that could be set forward or
back as you lost time.  Now you're riding a motocross track, scrolling the
chart and doing time arithmetic all at the same time.  Some checkpoints
calculated to the second as timebreakers so riders would ride 15 seconds
"hot" so they had some cushion.

Nowadays, they might also have downloadable GPS routes to put on your bike's
GPS.  Or not.  Sometimes they also collect the routesheets after to keep
people from riding after the event.  They might only have permission to ride
on someone's property on event day.
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