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Messages - Egg

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16
New Member Introductions / Re: Hello to all
« on: September 30, 2012, 10:25:57 PM »
Welcome to the forum Dave T.
There's nowhere else on the web where you'll find such a wealth of navigational knowledge and experience.

17
Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: GPSMAP 60 replacment
« on: September 20, 2012, 07:13:57 PM »
In the past week I've upgraded from a 60Cx to a 62s. It was very good value with the OS map bundle thrown in.

After a couple of hours working through all the menus I had managed to set it up in a very similar way to my 60Cx. Changed what was on display and the order in which pages appeared. Nice to have the flexibility to get just the info needed for the task in hand.

It didn't come with as many "bits" as the 60, had to buy an extra clip for mounting on the rucksack strap. (plus a bit of Lyle's excellent "glow in the dark" lanyard in case I dropped it) Good to see the lithium battery option after the problems I had with them falling off the cliff in the 60.

The buttons and joystick on the front are a better shape and easier to use. The sockets on the back are much better protected by the large rubber sealing flap.

Loaded a route on that I was going to recce, after a little bit of head scratching, and it was good to go.

Out and about thus far I've found it much more sensitive than the 60, it gets a very accurate fix very quickly, even inside my house, which was a surprise. Doesn't wander about as much when stopped either.

So with limited use so far it seems to be a great piece of kit.
Like Brian I'm not familiar with the Montana other than knowing it's touch screen and named after Joe.
But Lyle makes some good points that I would consider if going for a piece of kit of that type.

So the hard part as always is deciding what to splash the cash on.


18
New Member Introductions / Re: Hello
« on: September 08, 2012, 06:54:43 PM »
Hi Lance...

Welcome to the forum.
It will be interesting to hear about your adventures with your new Garmin 62S.
Have fun!

19
General Discussion / Re: OTS
« on: September 06, 2012, 09:26:12 PM »
Looking forward to hearing what's hot and what's not.  :P

20
Trip reports / Re: Waypointing food
« on: August 28, 2012, 11:49:08 PM »
Sounds like a very whacky idea that would be fun to try.
But as S4S says there are some serious risks involved if things get wrongly identified.
Good source of info is Roger Phillips "Mushrooms" which is pretty much the bible on the subject.
He also has a web site which has lots of info including recipes.
 www.rogersmushrooms.com/

21
Emergency & Backup Equipment / Re: Battery Sudden Death
« on: August 22, 2012, 09:17:41 PM »
After a bit of digging I found this in Garmin's support pages.
"Not all lithium ion batteries will work with our GPSMAP 60 and 76 "x-series" devices as they have too high of an output voltage. Typical AA batteries have a voltage of 1.5v each. Some lithium ion AA batteries put out 1.65v or higher. Our units will only accept power from batteries that output less than 1.65v.

If using lithium ion batteries and the gps will not power on or will shut down quickly after being powered on, the high voltage could be an issue. They will need to be drained a little to be in the operative range in the unit. Use a flashlight or other device that uses AA batteries to drain some power from the batteries.
 
Posted by Garmin 15/6/07"

Also checked that I had the last version of software on my 60Cx.
In the settings there are only options for alkaline and NiMh batteries.
So problem solved I guess.


22
Emergency & Backup Equipment / Re: Battery Sudden Death
« on: August 21, 2012, 06:06:35 AM »
Found this teardown, there are some strange things out there on the web.

http://mad-science.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-your-very-own-blinding-sunbeam-with-lithium-aa-battery-0133859/

23
Emergency & Backup Equipment / Re: Battery Sudden Death
« on: August 21, 2012, 05:31:57 AM »
Going to do a bit of research to see if I can find a teardown on these.
Having an on board chip sounds likely. That sort of tech is built into cordless power tools.
By rechargeable I was talking about normal non-lithium batteries.

24
Emergency & Backup Equipment / Battery Sudden Death
« on: August 20, 2012, 11:35:52 PM »
Don't know if anyone else has experienced this.
Been using lithium batteries in my Garmin 60Cx for a while now.
Get a much longer life from them than normal or rechargeables so that's great.
But I have noticed that they die without warning.
With other types, the battery bars gradually reduced from three to one so it was easy to be ready for the change for a fresh set.
With the lithiums it seems to be three bars and then out of gas and off.
I always have at least one spare set with me so it's not a problem, guessing when it might happen is more tricky.

25
General Discussion / Re: Where are all the female navigators?
« on: August 20, 2012, 11:17:17 PM »
Posts by female navigators may be rare on here Hugh but they certainly exist in the wild.
I've been working with half a dozen of them for the past year to improve their skills and I can safely say that they have all become very good navigators.
One thing that has struck me with them all is the attention to detail.
Near enough is never good enough. I never hear roughly or about in any of the conversations.
I know some have looked on here to see what goes on, hopefully one day they will take the plunge and join us.


26
Forecasting / Re: Unpredictability of Forecasts
« on: August 20, 2012, 10:57:26 PM »
Some excellent info that I hadn't come across before in your post Adi.
On a slightly more frivolous note, this was sent to me recently.
http://www.theweatherstone.co.uk
Seems to be 100% reliable?

27
Emergency & Backup Equipment / Re: First-Aid Emergency Kit
« on: July 29, 2012, 10:03:04 PM »
Some interesting stuff in there Lyle.
Going to see if I can find some Glucogel, might be nicer than the cycling gel I carry at the moment.
The Savlon spray is great. Have you tried the spray on plaster they do? I use that a lot for a quick seal over small cuts and scrapes.
Key point at the end too. Have a kit to suit the environment, not a one size fits all.

28
Compasses / Re: Silva Type 4/54
« on: July 21, 2012, 07:51:58 PM »
Just had a look at the Karrimor web site to see what they were selling.
It does look a dead ringer for a 4/54 apart from the black bezel ring.
Rummaging through my collection of other compasses I've found a Eurohike that looks exactly like the Karrimor.
Silva must have produced them both and stamped on a different brand name.
On the subject of £1 compasses. I got one for a £1 in the M&S sale just after Christmas, reduced from £5.
It's unusable though. Don't know what's in the needle housing, but it turns so slowly you could make tea before it decides to point vaguely in a northerly direction.
The only place I've ever bought something cheap that worked was TKMax. Got a Silva 7 for £2.
It's a good place to look because there are often "outdoor bargains". I think they just think of a number and slap on the label.
Got a GoreTex Paclite for £20 there a few years ago, normal price at the time £120.

29
Compasses / Re: Silva Type 4/54 V Suunto M3 Global
« on: July 18, 2012, 07:00:33 PM »
Hi Wink...

Silva 4/54
There are at least two versions of this compass, sighting for bearings and non-sighting.
Good all round compass although not global and has no inclinometer.
Base plate is "normal compass width" which I find a bit too narrow.
Bezel is small and not easy to turn with gloves or in wet.
Not that great in the dark.

Suunto
Excellent piece of kit.
Large bezel with notches for easy turning in gloves and wet.
Wide base plate which sits nicely the palm of the hand.
Global and has inclinometer. Good in the dark, bezel edge and bezel base bars show up well.

Another option to consider is a Recta DT 420G.
Is pretty much the same as the Suunto.
I prefer the Recta because is has a better needle and thicker luminous bars in the base of the bezel.

I'm sure you'll collect some views from the rest of the peeps on here, then you'll have to make up your mind!
Happy deciding.

Bob




30
General navigational Kit / Re: The Heavy Debate
« on: June 20, 2012, 11:52:20 PM »
Looking at the benefits of the using poles, below is a quote on the most reported study...

"The primary benefit that has popularized the use of hiking poles is their ability to absorb impact, lessening the strain on the knees and legs. In a 1981 study, Dr. G. Neureuther found that a hiking pole can absorb up to 20 percent of the strain off of the opposite leg. The hiking pole is able to do this by redistributing impact onto the arms and shoulders, alleviating some of the impact on the legs when compared with hiking with no poles at all. A 1999 study in "The Journal of Sports Sciences" indicated that hiking poles can relieve up to 25 percent of compressive force from the knees when descending hills." (from Trail.com)

This study on this links goes into a bit more detail on the anatomical side of things.
www.northumbria.ac.uk/browse/ne/uninews/hikerspoles

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