1. Don't Block Your GPS Device's Access
A GPS (global positioning system) receiver can't function if it can't see the satellite, so position it as carefully as possible to get a clear view to the sky. Move away from trees, buildings, hydro wires, and other people and let the device orient itself before trying to take an important reading. In fact, whenever you change direction as you move, reposition the GPS receiver to give it the best chance of connecting to the satellite signal. GPS devices need a bit of help if they're to give you the quality of information you require.
2. Give It Time To Get A Lock
Your GPS receiver needs the right positioning to get a lock on the satellite's read, and it also needs time, sometimes as much as 20 to 30 seconds. This is particularly true when you first power up the device, at which time the best approach is to stand still in as open an area as possible and let the device acquire its target, to use military jargon. If you don't, you could end up with readings that are inaccurate to a distance ranging from a few feet to over a mile, not exactly useful when navigation matters. When you change position or altitude significantly, allow additional time for locking in.
3. Extend Your Battery Life
Like everything else that isn't plugged into a wall socket, your GPS device eats batteries, especially when you're using it as a handheld away from the car. By all means, carry extra batteries with you—in fact, if you rely on the GPS for navigating, don't even dream of having only one set. You can also help yourself out by configuring the device to save battery power. Open your options or preferences panels and turn on the power saving option. You might find your GPS device a bit less sensitive to your movements than before, but for most uses the difference will be minimal.
4. Acquire New Waypoints When Changing Locations
It's easy to take your GPS device for granted, so much so that you forget about its fundamental reliance on waypoints. Waypoints are saved locations, but because navigation is only relative, and your GPS device needs a fixed point to which to relate, its need for waypoints becomes obvious. So, too, does the need to help your device by giving it the time it needs to acquire accurate new waypoints when you change positions substantially, by a half-mile or more. Wait for several seconds, save the location as a waypoint, and navigate from that location.
5. Give Your GPS Device A Boost With Mapping Software
A program such as OziExplorer ($85; www.oziexplorer.com) for desktop Windows and its Windows CE-based sibling OziExplorerCE ($30) can help you by letting you import digital maps into your GPS device and set up a prearranged route. The software interacts with your device by downloading tracks and waypoints, and you can set your own waypoints and tracks on maps you create yourself. The software supports real-time tracking, reflecting the position of the GPS device as you physically move. Maptown's Memory Map ($111.10; www.maptown.com) is another mapping program with similar features.
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6. Buy Some High-Quality Digital Maps
The whole point behind GPS navigation is knowing where you are, but planning where you want to go is also a large part of the technology's appeal. To help with both, but especially the planning, you can buy high-quality maps from a variety of sources and at a range of prices. You have several choices for digital map supplements, depending on your needs and your budget. Land Info (prices vary; www.landinfo.com) provides detailed coverage for the United States (and many parts of the world) with several map types, while Gecko Software (www.gecko-sw.com) specializes in low cost aerial topographical and wetlands maps. You can get trail maps of just about any area of the United States, as well, and even free versions from sites such as TopoZone (www.topozone.com). If you're traveling in Canada, check out Map Town (www.maptown.com), with it numerous topographical maps.
7. Work With Your GPS Device Before Using It Live
If you intend to rely on your GPS unit, learn it before needing it. Just as you should never wait until it's dark, raining, and cold outside before figuring out how to work the lights, wipers, and heater in your car, you should determine how to work your device when nothing's at stake. Get the manual out, work with setting waypoints and determining position, and if your GPS device has a simulator mode, as the Dell GPS III Plus does, work with a simulated navigation situation in the comfort of your home before even stepping outside and locking onto the satellite system. But by all means, practice with the live satellite system, as well, learning how to use the GPS device efficiently before heading for a place where you could be lost for real.
8. Skip In-Between Points
Once you've set up specific routes, your GPS device typically guides you according to the waypoints you've established along each route. Often, however, you can save time and distance by choosing a particular waypoint and directing the unit, via its interface, to skip the waypoints in between and guide you directly to your target. This is particularly true with longer trips that you've memorized because, once established, they use the same route over and over again. In a sense, they need to be deprogrammed to give you more efficient information.
9. Use Trackback Mode To Find Your Way Back
Your GPS device offers a trackback mode that you can enable when you want the device to track where you've been, and therefore, of course, help you get back. This feature would seem an obvious one to use, but like everything else in computerland, it consumes memory, which is always in short supply. Use your preferences or
options menu to choose a less memory-hungry means of recording trackback, such as lower resolution or fewer locations, saving the most available memory for the most crucial trackback operations.
10. Set Your Receiver For UTM
The most accurate mapping available is Universal Transverse Mercator, known by its initials UTM. Maps designed for use with GPS devices typically have UTM markings in place, helping you locate your position more easily and accurately than standard angular coordinates. UTM lets you measure according to area, distance, and even shape, and this system is recommended by GPS advocates for most mapping activities. If your GPS device offers a UTM feature, enable it, as long as your maps offer UTM markings
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