Delaware Valley Orienteering Association

Topic created by WindWalker on Mon Jan 2, 2012 at 8:46 pm

WindWalker
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First O: 2011

So I'm thinking to add some gadgetry to my orienteering, I guess I'm just curious as to how far I actually ran at each event and possibly overlay my actual route on route gadget.

I know some use these and I'm looking for some feedback as to what works and what doesn't.

Lisa has a Garmin 305 that she uses. I've used that for some training runs and it seems decent. She said it was quite a challenge for her to load her route on Route gadget. Is that something that is related to this GPS or Route Gadget?

Thanks, Mike

Reply by furlong47 on Mon Jan 2, 2012 at 10:55 pm

furlong47
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There are some steps to convert the file in order to get it into Route Gadget. I walked her through them, and I feel like once you know what to do it doesn't take very long each time. I can have a file off the watch and into RG within 2 minutes.

The problem is getting things to line up once in RG. It isn't always the easiest thing to do and sometimes you accidently end up turning your route into spaghetti instead and having to start over. The GPS tracks load up in the corner off of the map so you have to drag them into place and they get really distorted if you aren't careful. I have only used the 305 but I think this would be a problem with any loaded GPS file.

QOC has figured out how to georeference the map so that when you load your route, it is pretty much exactly in place and uses only a little tweaking. I find that to be a lot simpler. I know it was mentioned before to look into doing this for our RG, but I don't know where that stands or how much extra work it would make for people.

Reply by wilburdeb on Wed Jan 4, 2012 at 7:09 am

wilburdeb
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Hi Mike,

The Garmin 305 is a good bet and can be found at ~$130. Here are more GPS data logger units that are in the commercial end of the market.  Military and industrial GPS units are more accurate and more costly.  I also looked hard at theLocosys Genie GT-31 Waterproof Sport GPS Data Logger with SD Expansion Slot which had more battery time and more data collection capability (for longer events).  Make sure you get a unit with:

1. SiRFIII chipset (adequate GPS reception with a canopy of trees or buildings). 
   
2. Supply data in GPX format to interface with some of the more commonly used software.  (there are format translators out there for other software but they are is just a hassle to work with IMHO)
3. Water/weatherproof
   

Other concerns:

1. There is some controversey concerning Orienteering equipment rules that may crop up at  national/international events if the unit has a display screen.
2. The issue with Routegadget is with the map not the data logger.  The map we are using is a set of pixels without respect to references of global positioning or scale.

Reply by WindWalker on Wed Jan 4, 2012 at 10:23 pm

WindWalker
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Thanks Dan, now you got my head spinning. All this time I thought Garmin was the only one in the game.

What do you think of this one - http://www.semsons.com/mamwgpsspwa.html I like the price. All that stuff you mentioned is greek to me, does this one meet all your spec's? Never herd of the company and can't find any reviews.

Mike

Reply by wilburdeb on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 11:37 am

wilburdeb
Num Posts: 100
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First O: 1975

I can't find much technical or review information on the Mainnav MW-735. 

Reply by WindWalker on Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 8:57 pm

WindWalker
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Just a follow up incase anyone is interested.

I almost got the MainNav, but just couldn't go with something that I couldn't find much information about.

I am very familiar with Garmin, I have a handheld, a Nuvi for the truck and motorcycle. I used to have an Edge for the mountainbike, and Lisa has the 305. Never had any problems or complaints. So I went with a Garmin 210. Mostly for it's size. It's limited on what it can do but seems adaquate for my training runs and O-events. I find it's more comfortable to wear than Lisa's 305, simpler to use and gets signal quicker. It is small enough to wear as an everyday watch, and it goes into powersave mode and acts like a normal watch. I got it connected with Garmin Connect and all my training info comes up but I'm not sure if it will save routes and be able to overlay on routegadget. That is yet to be determined. We will save that project for another day...

Mike