Free GPS Guidance
Archive for October, 2009
It’s Finally Here! GPS System for Truckers!
Hey! It’s finally here! We have had several people looking specifically for a GPS device that would work specifically for truckers, the nüvi 465T – the first nüvi designed specifically for over-the-road truckers. The nüvi 465T is the first navigation device to provide the NTTS Breakdown Directory which is the most comprehensive guide to semi-truck repair facilities nationwide – including those offering 24-hour road service, created with over-the-road drivers in mind. Also, lane assist comes standard with this GPS receiver for truckers, which is especially helpful when navigating complex highway interchanges. It also provides specialized routing to support truck-related restrictions (customizable by height, weight, length, width and hazardous materials). Simply enter dimensions and load restrictions and nüvi 465T guides you according to your requirements, even including multiple-point routing so that you can take a more efficient route between multiple stops along your trip.
This let you know what lies in your path. It displays warning information of upcoming road conditions to make drivers aware of possible hazards along the route such as sharp curves and steep grades. You’ll also get lateral wind warnings and notification when the road narrows. Also, with nüvi 465T’s integrated FM traffic receiver you can receive free alerts about traffic delays and road construction that lie ahead on your route. Simply touch nüvi’s screen to view traffic details or detour around the problem area.
You also get nuvi’s hands-free calling as the 465T integrates Bluetooth® wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker. When paired with your compatible Bluetooth phone you are able to talk hands-free through the 465T while staying focused on the road. Simply dial numbers with nüvi’s touchscreen keypad to make a call, and answer calls by tapping the screen and speaking into its built-in microphone. It is the safe way to travel down the highway.
One day 
some folks stopped at my dad’s house looking for information about their ancestors who are reported to have been buried in this area around the turn of the century. They really got turned around trying to find them in unfamiliar woods. One glorious fall day recently, while enjoying the last of the bright autumn leaves, my daughter and I decided to wander some of the trails near us looking for those specific headstones. There are several really old cemeteries out in the woods and fields in this area off some of those trails, and we thought it would be fun to email them with the coordinates if we found the right spot so they could return with their own GPS receiver. We pulled on our hiking boots, grabbed our Garmin Colorado hand held GPS unit, and set off on foot to scour the area. A couple cemeteries and a picnic lunch later, and we did find their ancestors for them. That felt good to help out that nice family, but better still, the time spent wandering with my daughter was priceless. We need to plan another hike with our handheld GPS units real soon.
Imagine that, we bought a new computer and needed repair right away. What a nightmare, right? The bright spot was the technician that came to rebuild our nearly brand new computer. She was great. Anyway, of course we talked about GPS. No surprise there. She has a handheld GPS unit for hiking, but she says in her opinion there is nothing like using laptop GPS to get from one appointment to the next. After all, she has the laptop anyway, and it has a really large screen which really improves visibility as she travels from home to home, city highways or country roads, normally going places she is totally unfamiliar with. She says her portable GPS device is fine when you are riding your bike or hiking, but when it comes to highway speeds and traffic, she wants the best visibility at a glance that is possible. She feels she gets that with the large screen of her own computer and her laptop GPS receiver.
If you are looking for a portable golf GPS unit, Bushnell has several to choose from. Bushnell golf GPS units have a lot to offer. Consider the Bushnell Yardage Pro GPS in black or orange or the XG or XGC versions. The easiest to use golf GPS device with distance in both yards and meters at a glance on it’s easy to read screen. It has compact, lightweight one-handed ergonomic design and stores 10 to 100 courses, depending on the model, including Score Card with course information. It is made for the outdoors and is weather resistant. Amazing score keeping and statistic capabilities make the Yardage Pro XGC a golfer’s ultimate GPS tool. Smart.
You might also consider the Bushnell neo, one of the simplest and easiest to use golf GPS units available. It is also the smallest and most compact. At a glance the neo Golf GPS gives you the distance to the front, middle & back of the green, and it stores up to 10 courses worth of information. You can even custom map any course in the world with this compact unit with no download needed. Smaller scores are just one glance away. The Neo also waterproof just in case you get caught in the rain. Isn’t it time you thought about GPS to improve your game?
Feeling like you are in a fitness slump? If you are interested in knowing whether you are training too hard or not hard enough the Edge 305, Garmin’s GPS-enabled personal trainer and cycle computer with heart rate is a great idea. The Edge high-sensitivity GPS receiver is extremely reliable and is the perfect companion on any bike. It is able to be attached to either the stem or handlebars with the handy bike mount for easy viewing. The Edge 305 comes packaged with a heart rate monitor and wireless speed/pedaling cadence sensor to provide valuable feedback. From competitive road racing to mountain biking, the cyclist-friendly Edge will help as you aspire to your personal best. With the easy-to-use Edge 305 which shows altitude and a map view on your bike, you’ll always know where you’re going and how far you’ve gone.
The Edge 305 has the ability to measure pedaling cadence, heart rate, speed, distance, time, calories burned, altitude, climb and descent, plus much more. The heart rate monitor is a soft, comfortable chest strap that uses wireless technology to reliably measure and send heart rate data to the Edge. The cadence feature includes a self-calibrating, wireless speed/cadence sensor so you can monitor your pedaling as you ride. This data is then automatically sent wirelessly to the waterproof Edge GPS unit and stored for analysis when you have finished your workout.
I was talking to my friend today, and she suddenly started chuckling. She and her husband had been visiting friends this week. One of her friends started talking about how their neighbor was doing something with her navigation thingy looking for stuff and couldn’t understand what she was doing or why they thought it was so much fun. My friend surprised even her husband by explaining to them that they are using their handheld GPS units looking for a geocache. Geocaching is very a popular activity in which you get the coordinates of the location where someone else hid a special waterproof container containing a log and maybe some little trinkets or geocache coins or such, then you go out and find it with the aid of your portable GPS device. It is something that is fun for the whole family to do together. She was pretty smug that, after having talked about geocaching with me from time to time, she was the only one in their group who understood what was going on. Cute. She has since started talking to them about trying it with her soon with her handheld GPS system. Maybe I can tag along, too!
Want to run a marathon? How about just improve your jogging, or for those of us who prefer walking, just working in intervals of brisk walking with brief bursts of speed within our daily walk to build muscle and endurance or just to burn off last night’s pizza or get ready for today’s birthday cake? Whatever your goal, you can use your Garmin Forerunner as your pacing partner.
Your Garmin Forerunner will continually push you to do your personal best. The Forerunner 205 includes a high sensitivity GPS receiver and new courses feature for optimal performance. Or using the Forerunner 301 as a training partner will continuously monitor your heart rate, speed, distance, pace and calories burned so you can train smarter and more efficiently. GPS watches or wrist mount GPS units are also handy to help you find your way around unfamiliar areas while you break the monotony of the same old walk or run every day and get out there and explore new vistas.
Whenever I bring up the topic of marine GPS units with my fishing buddy Grover, he dismisses the topic out of hand. According to him, fishermen should be able to anticipate hotbeds for angling without any outside assistance. Of course there were plenty of points I could have made to poke holes in his position. For instance, is it “cheating” to check the weather report before heading out to the lake?
Besides that, I always remind Grover that Garmin chartplotters are good for much more than finding fish. In fact, I rely on them as navigational tools on dark nights when clouds obscure the stars overhead. When you’re out in the middle of a lake in pitch darkness, there’s no way to guarantee you’ll miss rock outcroppings and other debris that’s just waiting to run your boat aground. Grover couldn’t help but admit that I was right.
I was talking to a friend the other day. He is one of those snowbirds who is getting ready to head on back to Florida before the snow flies. As we were listening to the weatherman, it sounded like my friend had better be quick to leave the North Country this year if he is going to beat the snow. Anyway, he is planning on doing some serious golfing once he gets down to the Longboat Key area. Of course, that got us to talking about golf GPS and the variety of golf GPS systems available today. It is amazing.
He was especially interested in the new Garmin Approach G5. He was quite impressed with that little touchscreen Garmin golf GPS. You are able to measure distances for your next shot by just touching any point on the sunlight-readable display, and the Garmin Approach G5 shows the precise distance to that exact point. Approach’s highly sensitive GPS receiver pinpoints your position and removes guesswork from your game. And as you move, Approach automatically updates your position, so you’ll always know your yardage. Slick. No wonder he can’t wait to head south for the winter. Maybe some days I am a little jealous of the snowbirds after all.
Have you broken your GPS antennas on your navigation systems, or is it just not strong enough? Having trouble keeping track of your GPS receiver? Need a second mount so that you can move your automotive GPS units from one vehicle to another, or need to replace the holder that you used to use? Need to recharge your batteries, but still love your GPS device? It is time to consider replacing those lost or broken parts and save the hassles of replacing your trusted GPS receiver that has become like an old friend, one of your all-time favorite traveling companions.
There are lots of options. Perhaps you need a case, a holster or lanyard to protect your handheld GPS units, but help you remain primarily hands free on your adventure. Or you might just want to spruce it up and individualize it. With the right GPS accessories you can fix it up, protect it or update it without a great deal of trouble, and probably save yourself some serious cash while you are at it by breathing some new life into an old friend.