Free GPS Guidance
Archive
- April 2012
- March 2012
- December 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
Archive for the ‘GPS’ Category
The following travel safety tips will save you a lot of trouble when you travel locally or abroad, alone or with friends.
You need to consider security measures to protect you, your stuff and your travel plans and to provide a safe trip for you and your fellow travelers. The following travel safety tips can save you a lot of trouble.
1. Make sure your passport and a visa are up-to-date before you try to travel abroad.
2. Do not forget to carry information for emergency calls. This can be very useful in times of crisis.
3. If you travel abroad, learn about the culture in which you plan to visit. This saves a lot of confusion and can ensure a safe holiday. Learn some key phrases of the local language, such as “Help” in case you are separated from your tour guide or friends. If you are traveling alone, you may want to hire a guide who speaks at least two languages, yours and the native language.
4. Walking in a group is safer than going alone, especially in sparsely populated areas. Also a group will add to your enjoyment. Thieves and robbers usually target those who travel alone.
5. Always use covered luggage tags and try to prevent your address on luggage tags from opening. You can use both the address of your destination and of course your home in case of lost luggage.
6. Keep your ears open to your inner voice and trust your intuition. Women, single parents and parents of small children are easy prey for crime against tourists. Be vigilant at all times when on your own.
7. Bring along your own automotive GPS device. Several of the automotive GPS units can also be carried easily in your pocket. Not only if you drive yourself, even if you are using taxis in an unfamiliar location your own GPS navigation will help assure that the taxi driver doesn’t try to take advantage of you and take creative “shortcuts” in order to charge you extra. Bringing your automotive GPS systems will also help you navigate on foot while in a new city while you get your bearings and make sure you are able to get back to your hotel at the end of the day.
Again, it is fun to travel to new places, but be sure to use common sense and be safe while doing so.
One of the best tools for pleasant holiday travel, including navigating to your vacation spot and offering some entertaining points of interest along the way, is the addition of helpful GPS navigation systems. Whether you might be touring cross-country or taking a quick weekend journey, having an automotive GPS system will make your journey simpler, quicker and rather more fun.
Lately, GPS systems have begun to mature from barebones models to more feature-packed GPS receivers that additionally allow you to play music and even make calls from your car. Some GPS systems and satellite radios are becoming the newest add-ons for brand spanking new automobiles and some car rentals, and there are a number of fascinating and ever more affordable choices to upgrade your existing vehicle. Today’s GPS units work nicely with small or internal GPS antennas providing visible and voice prompts for upcoming turns, and dynamically adjusting while you take a detour. These systems can usually store the major highway maps for complete regions plus detailed maps for a particular area in addition to points of interest, addresses and even phone numbers for your convenience.
There’s so much to see and do. Be sure you don’t miss a thing while driving or hiking, for instance touring around national parks and other scenic vistas. Now you could have the power and security to make any trip an easy and memorable one whether or not you are working, sightseeing or a little of both. You will not get lost or miss out on the special points of interest with the aid of a GPS receiver, whether you explore in your own automobile, a rental car or RV. With multilingual flip-by-flip visible steering, voice prompt navigation and simple to learn graphics, traveling from place to place has never been easier or more visitor friendly. Additionally, automotive GPS systems offer you instructions for the most popular driving routes, but allow you to get off the beaten path and to take the roads much less traveled. You’ll get to see and experience more than you ever could have on your own.
When vacationing in unfamiliar cities or countries GPS also comes in handy and helps you enjoy exploring without worry. Now you’ll be able to navigate to new locations with GPS mapping specific to the areas you’re traveling in. GPS navigation systems are nearly indispensable additions to your travel gear. Just grab a GPS unit, relax and enjoy your journey!
Well, how funny is that? Last year when I was thinking of updating the personalization of my Garmin nuvi and stopped by the Garmin Garage feature, thinking I might change the icon on my automotive GPS systems to my surprise and delight, they were offering a special Halloween Boo Bundle with “scary” characters and even a ghoulish voice to use on your Garmin automotive GPS units to delight your passengers and break up your commute. Our grandsons got a real kick out of watching and listening to this update on our next outing.
Well, this year they have a new character who will gladly ride along with you and give you directions and funny/scary narrative, Dr. Nightmare. To quote the Garmin blog; “Love the voice. Ours has the habit of saying creepy things at the most opportune moments when looking for a house to buy. When we arrived, if the house was no good, he would say ‘Welcome to this dreadful destination.’ A friend was in the back of our car, and as she leaned over to look in the rearview mirror to check her hair, he said ‘Is that a goblin in the rearview mirror?’ She then replied ‘No its me.’ But the most uncanny of them all was just the other day, we were driving slowly through a small town when the vehicle in front of us stopped at the pedestrian crossing. As he did so a cat by the side of the road crossed in front of this vehicle. As we drove off Dr. Nightmare said “Did a cat just cross your path?”! Weird or what?!” We can hardly wait to go pick the boys up and go for a nice country drive.
Christmastime is the perfect time to show your mom how much you love her and appreciate for everything she has done for you all these years. No one holds that special part of your heart than your mom, and giving just the right Christmas gift is something you have to put a lot of thought into to be sure you give her something special she’ll really like.
These are some of the gift ideas that will make a gift for mom special:
GPS Navigation – Make mom’s trips easier by giving her a portable GPS navigation system. Some automotive GPS systems offer visual and voice directions. Be sure to get a good brand of GPS navigation system. Consider one which has a bigger screen and clear voice. Some of the best brands are Garmin automotive GPS units, DeLorme and Magellan. You might check out our favorite GPS store for some great ideas.
Spa Gift Certificate – Mom certainly deserves a relaxing break from her daily chores. Get her a Spa Day Gift Certificate, and treat her to a pleasant day relaxing in the Spa.
Antique Collectibles – Your mom may enjoy collecting antiques. If she does, then consider giving her a rare antique which she will cherish and add to her collection. Anything which adds to her collection will be good, but why not try a get a rare collectible. eBay will be a good place to bargain hunt or check out your local antique store for personal service and possibly an inexpensive treasure.
Jewelry – What mom wouldn’t like a diamond necklace? You might consider presenting her with a diamond pendant necklace. Some of the design options are hearts, circles, and modern twist shapes.
Gardening Supplies – If your mom loves gardening and enjoys growing her own herbs or flowers at home, a good gardening kit will make her gardening experience a pleasant one, with all tools in one kit. Or perhaps one of those little seats on wheels that hold her gardening tools conveniently for her would be a great idea and save on her knees while she gardens. What garden loving mom wouldn’t appreciate that?
Massage– After a long day, mom will love to have relaxing massage. Also, a massage cushion can be used on a chair or couch and has adjustable settings so mom can choose the level of massage she wants. There are several massage cushion options which you might consider.
Are you a nature fan? Do you love the great outdoors? Then you might be a big fan of hunting. Hunting is one of the most enjoyable activities you can do outdoors. Sadly, there are some restrictions when you want to hunt. For example, you need to have a hunting license. This isn’t really a problem. Just a bit of studying and practicing and you’ll be good to go. Besides the license, you are also not allowed to hunt every deer or everywhere you might want to, but there are still plenty of deer. Another issue when you want to hunt is the fact that you only are allowed to hunt during the season. This means most of the year you are not allowed to hunt.
Perhaps you would be interested in geocaching for the rest of the year. A handheld GPS will be all that is needed along with coordinates of a geocache hidden in the area where you want to explore. You don’t need any license, and aren’t restricted in time frame. Besides which, handheld GPS units can also help you while hunting to be sure you don’t get turned around in the woods and to help you find your way back to the best hunting spots you found last week or even last year if you just save those coordinates on your GPS unit. Whether deer or hidden “treasures”, now you can find yourself “hunting” any time you want!
Don’t fall into the Christmas rush; shop early while the selection is still good. Well, that is my goal this year. I know it is still early, but I get so frustrated with myself when sometimes I over analyze each gift, then waiting for the very best sale, only to find that by the time that special sale came along there were only a limited number of whatever it was I wanted to buy. Actually, only a handful of the folks who were at the store waiting for the doors to be unlocked, often pushing and shoving to get to the prize first, were the only ones who actually got the “bargain”. In my book, that is no bargain. Then you find yourself in a shopping frenzy, grabbing other things that are on the “special sale” that perhaps you weren’t even considering in the first place, costing much more in time, money and frustration than the actual gift was worth.
Well, I have decided to shop at the stores I already trust who give reasonable prices and excellent service; although, I still look for their sales while I am there. At one GPS Store in particular I recently heard a customer say “Thanks John! You guys are great to work with…I’ll let my friends know.” Now, I already liked that particular GPS store, but it really felt good to hear someone else express the same sentiment. Many of my friends just need or would appreciate GPS accessories like a case, GPS mounts, handheld GPS accessories, maybe even a new charger cable. Well, I know where I will be shopping for those items this year, and I am planning to get ahead of the crowds this time.
Wow, here’s a tough comparison we were recently asked to make. Which GPS fishfinder combo should I buy, the Humminbird 587ci combo or the Garmin GPSMAP 441S? Ooh, that one is tricky. Those are two very good options to fit his needs, but which is better for him? Okay – let’s try.
First, they are a close match on screen size 4-inch diagonal for the GPSMAP 441S compared to 4.5 for the 587ci Combo. Both have built-in maps, Garmin GPSMAP has the worldwide marine basemap, and the Humminbird 587ci has a UniMap. Both have card slots for maps and saving waypoints – that’s handy. Also, both use either a Tilt & Swivel quick disconnect mounting system or can be flush mounted – flexibility. Each will hold 3,000 waypoints, and the 587ci holds 50 routes versus GPSMAP 441S with 100 routes. The GPSMAP 441S will accept a couple of external antenna choices, where the Humminbird 587ci has no port for external antenna so you want to be sure it is used in an open boat, not from a cabin unless it is near the windshield – good to know. As for cartography; the Humminbird fishfinder combo uses Navionics maps, and Garmin GPSMAP uses BlueChart g2 Vision cards.
Of course, there are even more differences and similarities between them. Now do you see why it is tough to help someone choose which GPS fishfinder combination to choose? I definitely prefer to help folks find the information, but to make the final decision themselves as the differences between them can be a non-issue for one boater, but critical to another depending on their boat and situation.
Whether fishing is your profession, you pursue fishing as pure fun and relaxation or even if you compete in fishing tournaments with your local fishing club, make this activity more productive as well as safe with a GPS fishfinder combo. The use of this system makes fishing easier in many ways and at the same time makes it safer so you can enjoy a bigger haul and a hassle free fishing trip. If safety is a concern for you, then your answer lies in marine GPS technology.
These devices steer you safely back to your starting point in case you hit upon rain, fog or darkness. As soon as you start, you can mark your location by longitude and latitude, and your system keeps a record of your travel route. This allows you to return safely to your home point, in case of any confusion due to bad weather or visibility.
Also, if you are part of a fishing event where you work in a group you can send the coordinates of your location to your friends if you like. You can also use this system to increase your catch. In all probability, you will end up with a bigger haul than the next guy. Your GPS fishfinder will help you locate the fish easily. Once you catch fish at some particular spot you can mark the spot in the GPS device and collect locations of such points in the device. Use these coordinates for your next trip. You could also mark a circle using the point in the middle as center for deciding your fishing zone for future trips as there is maximum probability of catching fish in this zone.
So what are you waiting for? Invest a nominal amount on a GPS fishfinder combination and get a lot in return.
After talking to someone recently I got to thinking of an unusual and very rare situation that had never occurred to me before. Because we have raised guide pups in the past through Guiding Eyes for the Blind, six to be exact, I have a special place in my heart for those wonderful noble creatures and the people they love and take care of. Now here is the situation. Imagine someone who suddenly finds themselves in a new environment with their guide dog and no other friend with them to read a map or street signs. How would they find their way around this unfamiliar city with the most independence and in the shortest amount of time?
Well, I had to stop and think of the different versions of automotive GPS units, several of which are small enough to be handy to carry in your pocket, and some of which are voice activated and give directions by speaking also. Magic! Their loyal dog will keep them straight on the sidewalk, guiding them around any obstacles and watching for traffic at crossroads like always, and the automotive GPS navigation will give them the directions they need which they will ask their dog to execute for them. I imagine they would do well to just contact their favorite GPS store for some help in choosing an appropriate GPS device. Now that will really give them independence and freedom. Any other thoughts on that?
Believe it or not, as the beginning of fall approaches and I am getting out the cool weather clothes, I am beginning to feel, well, fat. I have been doing some serious thinking about getting out there and doing more walking, actually LOTS more walking. I don’t know about you, but I can get bored just walking the same old route day after day even though it is very pretty and close to home. I just get tired of the same old routine and find myself not doing as much walking as I meant to do. Well, there are lots of wilderness areas around here that I plan to access quick before hunting season hits. I have been thinking GPS watches and I guess it is time to dust off my Garmin Forerunner. Maybe I can avoid those dreaded holiday pounds this year if I get started now. Or maybe I can at least fight off that brain fog that has begun to set in with these cool mornings we have had lately. I’m tying on my sneaks and getting this body moving! Why don’t you join me?