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I use my GPS all the time, because I constantly have to go to different places for my job. The wierd thing, is that I can go to the same house, 3 or 4 times, and not really recognize where I am, because I am not focused on looking around for landmarks and clues, I am just focused on listening to my device, and driving. It is especially confusing when the GPS gives you one set of directions going to a destination, and a completely different route going back, or when you go from point a to b to c then a to c. I personally think, that mine is possessed, and talks back with an "attitude" when it starts saying "recalculating" in a very snarky fashion.
I do disaster relief damage assessment and often work with a chain saw crew as well. Typically, we'll be called out after hurricanes, fires, floods, ice storms etc.
There have been times when I used a GPS system after a major disaster because the street and road signs are down and because I'm usually in a place with which I am unfamiliar, at least at the county and city road level.
But, there's always a problem with the GPS system which I MUST use a map to correct!
Usually, I'll leave the command center with a stack of assistance requests which may be scattered all over town, all over the county or even the region. If I just enter addresses into the GPS without any idea of where those places are, I end up driving around in circles, passing by places which are on my list for later, often mulitple times. I simply HAVE to see where they are on a map so I can efficiently plan my route for multiple stops. The GPS system can't do that for me. Nor can it alert me that roads may be closed, under water, destroyed or, as in the case in Oklahoma, re-named. I can't just get in the pickup and drive off. I've GOT to have more information than the GPS can provide.
After doing that a couple of times, I came to the conclusion that I could ditch the GPS altogether and do much better AND save a substantial amount of time.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MAK802
Not to sound snarky, but are you guys just technologically challenged?
Hey, that's a good question. Let me sit back, and ask myself the same thing.
I seem to have a handle on my laptop.
I know how to send texts, and naked pictures on my cell phone.
I know how to connect, and properly operate my home theater system.
I install satellite tv systems as a hobby.
I know how to connect a diagnostic computer to my car, and pull the fault codes.
Of course, any kid can do all of that stuff. Let me think about the technological challenges I face at work. Being the advanced jet setter that you are, you will really get a kick out of this.
I load the aircraft NAV-DATA base.
I work on the RADAR system.
I troubleshoot the IRS. (Inertia Reference system)
I maintain the FMC, FWC, and FADEC. Those are the flight management computer, flight warning computer, and full authority digital engine control.
I also work on the fuel system, life support system, flight controls, landing gear, and engines.
So no, I don't think being a technological idiot is the problem. I think the problem is that Garman has lower input quality standards than I do. I like accuracy.
I happen to know that the road I live on hasn't changed locations in the past 150 years. I also know that the lake it wanted me to drive through has been in the same place since 1930.
So you'll forgive me for not trusting them there newfangled magic boxes that are supposd to tell me how to get somewhere, and what to have for breakfast.
GPS might be fine in a car. Don't know; I'm still pretty good with maps. But if I'm pulling a 53' trailer behind me filled with HAZMAT, I'd still rather have a Trucker's Atlas with me than even the latest truck-specific GPS unit. The fines are too big to take chances...
GPS might be fine in a car. Don't know; I'm still pretty good with maps. But if I'm pulling a 53' trailer behind me filled with HAZMAT, I'd still rather have a Trucker's Atlas with me than even the latest truck-specific GPS unit. The fines are too big to take chances...
Or, the bridges too weak, road load limits to light, overpasses too low, curves too tight for the trailer to follow around, pavement ends. The list of problems you might have to back out of is pretty long and they're a risk already. No point in letting technology make the risk greater.
The time to indentify those things is before you get there, whenever possible. If Garman leads you up a county road to a bridge with a 2 ton load limit (not knowing you're carrying 40,000 lbs), it's a little too late.
But that would actually take effort to learn how to use the device! Most just program the route and are done. They have no idea how many cool features these things really have! Either that, or they're old!
I use mine alot and reprogram when I want to avoid something..like this weekend to visit my son & his girlfriend in their ne brownstone in Brooklyn..I hate the Williamsburg bridge so I just program avoiding Williamsburg so it took me via Manhattan Bridge
My friend and I love to detour down country roads, we are always suprised with what we find...then not knowing where in the hell we are just hit home on the GPS....lol
GPS might be fine in a car. Don't know; I'm still pretty good with maps. But if I'm pulling a 53' trailer behind me filled with HAZMAT, I'd still rather have a Trucker's Atlas with me than even the latest truck-specific GPS unit. The fines are too big to take chances...
Quote:
Originally Posted by South Range Family
Hey, that's a good question. Let me sit back, and ask myself the same thing.
I seem to have a handle on my laptop.
I know how to send texts, and naked pictures on my cell phone.
I know how to connect, and properly operate my home theater system.
I install satellite tv systems as a hobby.
I know how to connect a diagnostic computer to my car, and pull the fault codes.
Of course, any kid can do all of that stuff. Let me think about the technological challenges I face at work. Being the advanced jet setter that you are, you will really get a kick out of this.
I load the aircraft NAV-DATA base.
I work on the RADAR system.
I troubleshoot the IRS. (Inertia Reference system)
I maintain the FMC, FWC, and FADEC. Those are the flight management computer, flight warning computer, and full authority digital engine control.
I also work on the fuel system, life support system, flight controls, landing gear, and engines.
So no, I don't think being a technological idiot is the problem. I think the problem is that Garman has lower input quality standards than I do. I like accuracy.
I happen to know that the road I live on hasn't changed locations in the past 150 years. I also know that the lake it wanted me to drive through has been in the same place since 1930.
So you'll forgive me for not trusting them there newfangled magic boxes that are supposd to tell me how to get somewhere, and what to have for breakfast.
Accuracy. You mean like spelling Garmin correctly. LMAO! I know, snarky. But I couldn't resist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stillkit
Or, the bridges too weak, road load limits to light, overpasses too low, curves too tight for the trailer to follow around, pavement ends. The list of problems you might have to back out of is pretty long and they're a risk already. No point in letting technology make the risk greater.
The time to indentify those things is before you get there, whenever possible. If Garman leads you up a county road to a bridge with a 2 ton load limit (not knowing you're carrying 40,000 lbs), it's a little too late.
There have been a number of comments made about flooded out roads, low bridges, etc.
A generic post, not necessarily aimed at stillkit:
If you expect a GPS to give you this information you really, really shouldn't be using one because you don't understand the limitations of the technology.
A GPS is designed to get you from here to there, period. If it takes you on what you consider a roundabout route perhaps it's because you don't have it set up correctly. Most can be set up to take you over the most direct route or over the fastest route. The direct route is not always the fastest.
If you run into a flooded road after a storm and blame it on the GPS would you blame a paper map if you were using one? If not, you should. It's only fair to judge them equally.
One of the biggest mistakes made with GPS is failure to update the maps. You have to download new maps! If this seems to be a terrible bother then how do you ever get your computer updated?
Using a GPS is the same as using any other technology. Learn it's uses, it's limitations, and what is required to maintain it. If you expect it to do more than it is designed to do, or use it incorrectly, you will get results that disappoint you. At that point my best advice is eBay or Craigslist.
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A story: When we went to Nashville last year we took the All Saints Highway. On the way down our GPS told us to turn into a cornfield. Repeatedly. We shut it off and continued our drive. A few miles later we turned it back on and continued the trip.
On the way back it did the same thing in the same area!
What we didn't notice on the way to Nashville was that we were close to Fairfield, Iowa the home of Maharishi University. We decided it was all that meditation going on that messed with the GPS.
In reality we had neglected to update our maps and the All Saints Highway section we were driving on didn't exist in our map. We have since signed up for lifetime updates so we're good to go.
So no, I don't think being a technological idiot is the problem. I think the problem is that Garman has lower input quality standards than I do. I like accuracy.
And here lies the problem. Garmin. Can't fault you for not using a GPS! We once forgot our TomTom on a trip and had to rent a Garmin and couldn't believe how bad the device is. Never again!
Quote:
Originally Posted by njkate
I use mine alot and reprogram when I want to avoid something..like this weekend to visit my son & his girlfriend in their ne brownstone in Brooklyn..I hate the Williamsburg bridge so I just program avoiding Williamsburg so it took me via Manhattan Bridge
My friend and I love to detour down country roads, we are always suprised with what we find...then not knowing where in the hell we are just hit home on the GPS....lol
I used mine a ton when I lived in North Jersey and always bring it along when I visit several times a year. It's extremely accurate in Jersey and in the city, really can't go wrong!
And as you mentioned, you can avoid any part of the route you want and it will automatically re-route you, if there is a map error, you can correct it right then and there and it does avoid roadblocks if you tell it to. Like I said, you just have to learn how to use it!
When I moved to Miami I had to shut mine off for good because anytime i went anywhere I'd just plug it into my GPS and never learn my way around town. I dont even want to admit how long I went without knowing my way around
I had the same issue when I moved to Houston (and they use street names here, not numbers like in Miami). The trick for me was to switch to "North UP" instead of "Direction of travel UP". As soon as I did that I started learning where things were in relation to each other.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MAK802
Not to sound snarky, but are you guys just technologically challenged? We have a TomTom and use it on every single trip. We've used it in 48 states and 16 countries without a single issue. Never had it tell us to take a wrong turn, the point of interest feature is right on and we always get where we need to go without any problems. I hope you guys know that the maps need to be updated on their site on a regular basis.
I bought a HP iPaQ with Tom Tom and AnywhereMap for flying. The AnywhereMap works great and I use it all the time. The TomTom, well let's just say my wife and I think TomTom might be trying to kill us with some of the instructions we've gotten. We've taken to calling each other TomTom when one of us does something stupid. "Oh you're so TomTom today".
If you expect a GPS to give you this information you really, really shouldn't be using one because you don't understand the limitations of the technology.
That is the whole point. The technology has limitations, which are far narrower than those of the human brain. So what is the advantage of excluding the human brain from the equation?
The chief limitations include:
A) that it cannot look out the car window and see the reality on the ground, and make adjustments for it.
B) reprogramming the human brain to adjust to conditions in the field is about a million times faster than reprogramming the technology to yield a desired result.
C) the human brain is capable of evaluating a spectrum of details much broader than the device, recognizing landmarks, drawing from previous experience, and learning from its mistakes. Instantly, with no manual data entry.
TV commercials notwithstanding, it takes more than one second to pull out your device and change your train reservations in order to sit next to a hottie before the doors close. We've been taught by commercials that these things can all magically be done in an instant, and our gullibility has not moved past the spot when we believed that GI-Joe action figures could be made to look like real combat scenarios.
That is the whole point. The technology has limitations, which are far narrower than those of the human brain. So what is the advantage of excluding the human brain from the equation?
The chief limitations include:
A) that it cannot look out the car window and see the reality on the ground, and make adjustments for it.
B) reprogramming the human brain to adjust to conditions in the field is about a million times faster than reprogramming the technology to yield a desired result.
C) the human brain is capable of evaluating a spectrum of details much broader than the device, recognizing landmarks, drawing from previous experience, and learning from its mistakes. Instantly, with no manual data entry.
TV commercials notwithstanding, it takes more than one second to pull out your device and change your train reservations in order to sit next to a hottie before the doors close. We've been taught by commercials that these things can all magically be done in an instant, and our gullibility has not moved past the spot when we believed that GI-Joe action figures could be made to look like real combat scenarios.
And that is the point. You're not supposed to exclude the human brain from the equation! No more so than you would if you were using a map instead of a GPS. If you do then you're guilty of not understanding the technology you are using or it's limitations.
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No more so than you would if you were using a map instead of a GPS. If you do then you're guilty of not understanding the technology you are using or it's limitations.
