Getting From Here to There

[Carol R. Beigel]

Your Delorme Road Warrior sounds fun!  I have looked at and played with
everything on the market for years in the land navigation department, and
still find nothing is perfect.  Just have fun with what you bought.  This
technology is still so new, and no matter what you buy now, it will change
soon anyway.  None of it is perfect while driving your car, but this Road
Warrior system sounds pretty good.  Just make sure you carry a big battery
and the Atlas and you should be all set.
I have a few comments -

1)  The GPS system only works by the grace of the US military turning it on.
I'm sure by 10 am on Sept.11, the signals were scrambled.  When the system
is scrambled, though, you can probably find someone's property, but not a
specific tree.

2) Their web page suggests you have someone else in the car do the
navigating.  Someone also pointed out that batteries could be a problem, but
for about $60 you can go to Wal-Mart and get a DC to AC converter that plugs
into the cigarette lighter in your car.  I would also carry a portable power
supply for your laptop (about $50 from Costco or Trak Auto - they look like
entombed plastic batteries with cables that start your car).  Mine also has
a bright light on it that can be turned on and off, and two DC sockets.
This arrangement has worked well for me doing astro photography on a web cam
with a laptop.  The computer runs all nite with power to spare.

3) The signal on the GPS can get lost in terrain, snow, blossoms, etc.
However, I love GPS and mine has certainly saved me more than once!  Like I
once said, someday your customers will give you their UDM coordinates
instead of their street addresses! The better GPS receivers use 12
satelites, and cost about $100-$200.

4)  Never leave home without MAPS.  Delorme has good map books (Atlas) and
they probably have one for your state.  They are the hard copy of what your
software will show on the computer.  You might want be buy an Atlas and a
better GPS receiver.

I spent $29 on Microsoft Streets 2002 which comes with a Pocket version that
runs on the IPAQ that I intend to run Pocket Cybertuner when it comes out.
You can download city maps for free on their web site.  I use the Garmin
XL-12 GPS receiver that can connect to any computer.  However, it will cost
$80 just for cable if I want to connect my GPS to the IPAQ.  For your new
powerbook, you could put the Streets CD in the drive and use a $38 cable to
a better GPS.

Carol Beigel