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Messages - Locus

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1
Trip reports / Re: Flanders is drowning
« on: January 20, 2015, 10:40:39 PM »
In particular, the terrain on this photo from your gallery.

2
Trip reports / Re: Flanders is drowning
« on: January 20, 2015, 10:38:07 PM »
Looks familar. My area has been suffering badly with flooding in the last few years and in some areas it still has not recovered. Because I live in the lowlands, the rights of way trails we can go on also become unpleasant at this time of year too, because everybody is funneled onto the same routes - horses, bikers, hikers. It creates a stamp, slice and stomp effect that turns trails into muddy porridge and particulary across farmland around gates where cattle have been, it can be like traversing a swamp ;D

3
General Discussion / Re: Scafell Pike Film
« on: January 18, 2015, 09:43:19 PM »
Booygman is on the European Mainland I believe, so I don't think he can access BBC iPlayer.

It is available to purchase as a DVD though.

I believe the TV version we've seen recently, is an abridged version. Regarding Terry Abraham, one of my donations was a tiny part of the many many individuals who contributed to funding the making of his first film with Chris Towsend, about the Cairngorms in winter. In reality though, it appears that big sponsors (outdoor companies, among them) jumped in at the 11th hour with a major injection of funding because at one stage it didn't appear that the target amount was going to be met in time. It seemed that the major sponsoers were always there waiting in the wings, but understandably waited to see if individual donations could manage it first. Watched his Scafell one the other night on iPlayer after forgetting it was on TV.

Because he's devoted so much time and energy into his film projects now, I feel that his blog (the thing that I used to enjoy most) has suffered considerably in my opinion in terms of interesting posts because most are now related to notices / snippets about the film making and the rest somehow seem to lack the spirit of his earlier ones. It's just the way it goes.

4
Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: Rubber Casing on GNSS Buttons
« on: January 03, 2015, 08:31:44 PM »
Looking at the pictures on the original post.  The buttons have aligned lateral cuts in them.  Just a thought, but has the damage been aggravated by sharp finger nails?

My finger nails are always kept short, but iIt is possible that perhaps I was coming at the buttons from too much of a nail angle without being fully aware of it, due to the existing indentations being a guide. Or, perhaps during continous heat the rubber softens somewhat and any use of nail contributed to deepening of the indentations. One of the buttons (3rd photo, 2nd button from the left) has a deep indentation in it now, which doesn't seem at risk of splitting in half but is not in the best condition anymore. It is that one and the on/off button which are in a sorry state.

I am convinced it is the layer of hardened Tec7 that causes the disturbance.

I don't know the 'how' of that, but I did wonder about it a while back when looking at a specific size cordura covers that could be purchased for my particular unit. I wondered if the signal was at all affected by covering the unit. Maybe other users have the answers to that one.


5
Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: Rubber Casing on GNSS Buttons
« on: December 28, 2014, 08:46:40 PM »
....BUT... that layer of Tec7, however thin it was, clearly disturbed the GNSS signal reception of the unit. It's original "location accuracy" was gone, and it never came back  :(

Interesting story, Boogyman. What do you guess contributed to disturbance of the unit? Attempting to repair the unit? Or something within the ingredients of Tec7?

6
Trip reports / Re: Walking with colleagues
« on: December 25, 2014, 04:53:36 PM »
Look like enjoyable outings with variety, Boogyman.

7
Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: Rubber Casing on GNSS Buttons
« on: December 24, 2014, 10:23:10 PM »
That does look pretty poor.  Were you using any skin products at the time?  Sun block, DEET, etc?

Yes to Sunscreen.

Initially my opening post was going to ponder if I had particularly acidic sweat or something ( ;D ), but I hadn't even considered the use of Sunscreen which may (or not) have contributed to wear on the rubber, as it was applied every day-  several times during the day. Wear on the rubber seems to looks far worse when photographed in macro for this post and today I was out with the unit again without issues, but the On/Off button seems like it could be a cause for some concern (potentially sticking in future) as it has worn quite low now and at an angle. From using high percentage DEET years ago (nowadays the highest I ever use is 15%-20% mixed with other ingredients), and finding how a leak of it completely fused into another item in a pack, that I can understand, but I wasn't aware of sunscreen having corrosive effect.

Following your suggestion, some googling of word combinations based on that dredged up a post on a Garmin forum from two years ago about wear on a Garmin product which others posters suggested may have been caused by Sunscreen oils attacking the rubber, but to view the attached photo one has to be registered. If it proves to be Sunscreen doing this, whenever on longer hikes in places where sunscreen is important and the GNSS is also going to be in use this is a bit problematic, apart from use of gloves or perhaps application of a thin film over parts of the unit to protect the button area. Cheers for the input, captain paranoia.

8
Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Rubber Casing on GNSS Buttons
« on: December 21, 2014, 08:25:48 PM »
Evening,

Keeping it short for now. Comments / Opinions?

Usage : Non military. Appx four months in hot, dry, often sandy conditions. Appx 26-36 C







Very pleased with this unit overall, my first GNSS, used 9 times out of 10 for Grid Reference / Waypointing.

But I feel the On / Off button is becoming a cause for concern now (waterproofing / potential future button failure)

On this unit, the operational buttons come with existing minor indentations when supplied.

The On / Off button also has about half the profile of the other buttons, when supplied.

9
General navigational Kit / Re: Altimeters
« on: November 16, 2014, 10:12:41 PM »
Overall I agree with Boogyman. Being used to very active forums, it took me a little while to get used to the different pace / activity level of the MN forum but that does subsequently determine how often I visit because the pace tends to mean several days before some posts are responded to, or a topic is added to or created. One recent post of mine (feedback though, not a question) made on the "water myth" thread at the end of the October had no following posts after several days of visiting to see if there were any follow ups to it / alternative opinion. People either have something to add, or they don't. Various posts I see appear, I lack knowledge of the subject to be able to add any meaningfull input but any new posts are still read anyway. In regard to altimeters, I also have the Foretrex 401 but haven't had conditions to truly utilise the altimetre to its potential for navigation. Occasionally I've looked at it out of curiosity while at known heights and also found it was pretty close. Most of my recent trips have been overseas in conditions that were spotless blue skies though, so the altimetre was only a gimmick function  ;D

10
Administrator Announcements / Re: Out of the picture
« on: October 30, 2014, 11:54:27 PM »
Came back to the forum today for a browse and post, and have only just seen this post.

Whatever the personal circumstances are, best wishes Lyle. Many thanks for the information that is stored here.

11
General Discussion / Re: The Water Myth
« on: October 30, 2014, 08:22:39 PM »
Generally I finding that using Chlorine Dioxide purification tablets, covers my needs in the sort of environments hiked / camped in, if water ever needs to be purified. Unless someone is in a hurry, or encountering very grim water that would require some pre treatment filtration, the tabs work well with minimal after taste and I believe they probably match the 0.02 cover of filtration systems (viruses, etc)

Light and compact in a backpack, there is also nothing mechanical to fail. Wrapping foil has expiry dates on them, but if this is something to be adhered to or not, I currently don't know (but I admit to disposing of some found in the house once after noticing some were now two years after the stamped expiry date, rather than gamble). Prior to those, for years my means of purification was Iodine tincture when in places like Latin America or South Asia, and it served me well when caught out somewhere and feeling very thirsty. Horrid after treatement taste, but tolerable when you are extremely thirsty somewhere.

I believe that the E.U banned the sale of Iodine tincture in recent years?

Bulky and popular pump filters were available at the time, but looked like such a hassle to me , especially when you read so many reports of total mechanical failure just when somebody was relying on them. Currently, along with the Chlorine Dioxide tablets, the other purification means in my pack is the Sawyer SP128 Mini filter.

In terms of effectiveness, the Sawyer SP128 Mini is 0.01 microns, so not as comprehensive as their other larger (and more expensive) model, the SP129 Sawyer Squeeze Filter which filters at 0.02 microns (viruses, etc), but I didn't foresee myself requiring that cover for recent outings. According to their website, the SP129 is currently in use  by UK Special Forces. True or not, I don't know, but it is not the first filter company making such claims, so I suspect this may be individual purchases rather than wholesale supplied?

Prior to getting the Sawyer Mini, the other non tablet purification method in my backpack during UK outings was the DrinkSafe Systems TravelTap, something that I eventually lost patience and confidence with. It screwed onto the top of an accompanying water bottle, and your 'squeeze' action on the sides of the bottle created the filtration once turned upside down. However, sometimes water dripped or dribbled out of the sides of the top seal, when applying the pressure, leaving you unsure if this was treated water, or had just contaminated your destination vessel or your mouth.

DrinkSafe systems would respond to several reports of this, by claiming this was due to people over tightening the thread, over applying pressure or not fixing the cap on correctly. To be fair, it seemed that sometimes this was true, but I eventually lost patience with a product that was dealing with something so important but could so easily cross contaminate. To be fair to them, they now appear to use a slightly different bottle. If this solved the problem for good I don't know, but I moved on.

For me, the value and main use of the SP128 Mini filter being carried with me is as a 'on the fly' device that saves me cutting into existing clean water supplies in my pack. For example, earlier this year, if finding and camping near a spring in Israel, the bulk of the next day's drinking water could be purified with tabs but just before leaving the area in the morning I could guzzle directly from the spring using the supplied tube on the SP128 Mini Filter, hydrating me without cutting into the day's supply.

12
General Discussion / Re: Roll/Sleeping Mat Advice.
« on: October 30, 2014, 05:21:04 PM »
Below is the one I've been using for about two years now.

Multimat Adventure Superlite 25 Body-Shape Full Length Self-inflating Mat

Quite a mouthfull I know, but there are many editions of MultiMat released with similar sounding names. If memory serves, it was bought for less money than appears above, by digging deep on search results. Overall I've been happy with it, and it has been through the mill in all sorts of environments where it should have been protected more. Only in the last month or so am I suspecting micro punctures or perhaps the valve on its way out, as by morning it has now deflated quite a lot. Perhaps my over confidence with it began to catch up with me eventually? One of its major plus points is how thin this can be in a backpack, once deflated. Another mat one I own is the Alpkit Base 180, roughly £30 when purchased, far bulkier in a pack once deflated and almost twice the weight of the MultiMat but better for winter use really. Alpkit is notorious for being out of stock of items you want, but the current issue now with their mats is no stock this year due to the factory they used, closing. Alpkit's mat range may resurface suddenly one day though. Worth keeping an eye out.






13
New Member Introductions / Re: Hello from deep in the Highland Glen
« on: April 21, 2014, 09:40:08 PM »
Greetings Yorric / Ian, from one newbie to another  :)

14
Good Evening Chris and Lyle. 

Yes, it seems that my earlier eye placement of that last 7 arose from a misunderstanding of how to read things once it gets that fine, but the penny has dropped now after both your posts. Cheers for that. It has been interesting for me too, and sparked a side interest about getting to know UTM more, and Lat/Long (eventually). Many thanks for everyone's assistance and input on this one.  :)

15
Updating this and also for anyone who may browsing the web for ITM info :

I was only able to get these settings confirmed by one person over in Israel, but.....

Inputing User Grid and Map Datum for ITM (for a Garmin Foretrex 401, at least) in 2014, for use with SPNI 1:50,000 Maps :

(-) Setup
(-) Units

(-) Position Format
(-) User Grid

Below is how each field should look while entering the data into the unit.

-------------------------------------------
Longitude Origin : E 035° 12.725
Scale : 01.0000000
False E (MT) : 00220251.0
False N (MT) : 00114750.0
-------------------------------------------

(-) Map Datum
(-) User

------------------------
dx (MT) : -0235
dy (MT) : -0085
dz (MT) : 00264
da (MT) : -0163
df : -0.5439085
------------------------

Creating a UTM waypoint on my Garmin with WGS84, and then converting it to the above User ITM Grid and Datum:

36 S 0736715
UTM 3664112


E00250447
N03777233

Firstly, the prefix of 3 before the Northing remains a mystery but the person over in Israel told me he also gets that 3 Prefix on ITM Northings with a Garmin unit ((Etrex Vista) but no mention of problems. We don't why it shows that way as the ITM Northings shown on the maps or online, would be 777 or similar, not 3777. If it proves to be problematic once on the ground in Israel, this post will be updated. For now it seems to be a harmless oddity of Garmin with User ITM Grid / Map Datum.  :P

Image #1  : Building chosen (marked in red) about 10m across.



Image #2 : On 1:50,000 SPNI Map #1



Image #3 : Using the Map Romer Scale Grid Reference Tool for 250447 / 777233



For my purposes, that will probably do fine. However..........

If my ' eyes'  :o are correct, does that final easting number of 7 land a bit too far to the east of the chosen building?
I assume (incorrectly?) that once splitting and counting the square east again after the second 4, count resumes from 0?


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