UKC

After decades of experience in using decent paper maps, ski touring in Norway, Scotland and the Alps, lately aided by a Garmin Etrex GPS, I took the plunge and spent several hundred pounds on a Satmap 12. I have read the paper instructions, then the online instructions and phoned Satmap support to no avail. Apparently their idea of support does not extend to telling you how to use the machine you have just bought from them. Any ideas? Part of the problem seems to be the notion that one should always follow a route that somebody else has previously walked and has kindly emailed to the user but if I am on Ben Macdhui in fog and I want to know where I left the car this approach to navigation seems a touch sketchy. Why is there a Planning screen and a GPS screen? Either way you are looking at a map to see where you are so I don't understand the difference.

In reply to AdrianWalker:
Have you tried the You Tube tutorials ?

I have not got this system, however, on most GPS there is a 'breadcrumb' facility that you can visually track where you have previously walked ( as well as simultaneously see any routes you have pre programmed to follow )

If you switch it on as you leave the car , then it will show you where your car is, no need to do anything but switch it on and keep it on,( or at least switch it on when you start)

You can also mark (the car) as a waypoint easily on most even simple devices.

In reply to AdrianWalker:

Not used a 12 but have used a 10 so shouldn't be to different. The crosshairs on the GPS screen shows where you are. Use the joystick, middle button on the bottom, and it will change to the planning screen. Navigate the crosshairs to where you want to get to then push the joystick in and click on goto. Follow the arrow.

In reply to AdrianWalker:

Is it not -Route Mode- Trip Log - that you are looking for?

In reply to Jim C:

I Don't know. I am still trying to figure out some kind of mental map of what you do after you have switched the unit on. I have been looking at You Tube as you said and it seems that GPS users like to establish a route and then follow it, whereas paper map users get the overall picture and sort out the details as they go along. The Etrex just gives the coordinates or where you happen to be, or where you want to end up. Not really a navigation tool and I regard it as life insurance, so most of the time it stays in my pocket- unless its foggy!
I am still trying to figure out why sometimes the Satmap is on GPS screen and sometimes its on Planning screen and the Satmap flips from one to the other in an arbitrary fashion. What is the difference between the two map modes? Why have two modes for looking at the same map?

In reply to AdrianWalker:

Can't help with the Satmap operation, but even the simplest etrex does more than giving coordinates, if you switch it on and keep it on you have a trackback mode that you can retrace your steps, but even if you don't use that, there is a visable screen trail and a curser representing the device current position which you can use to retrace steps or cut back directly to any point in the trail you want , that could be to your car at the start of the trail.

In reply to AdrianWalker:

GPS mode shows where you are in the *middle* of the screen and any 'breadcrumbs' if you've set Trip Log to start. As you move a little arrow appears to show your direction. Touching the joystick or buttons will change screen to planning mode. To stop auto switching to planning mode you need to lock the GPS screen (see below).

Planning mode allows you to move around the map & set 'goto' points etc. Like using a map!

Screen Lock : You may wish to lock the
screen to prevent accidental button presses.
From the Power Off? screen - just press the
long Power Button one more time, this will
send you back to previous working screen, and
will place a small yellow padlock icon on the
status bar. Thereafter, pressing any button will
display the Unlock? screen

It is a good GPS tool - it just takes time to learn. A local park or open ground are worth practising in.

In reply to Pennine:

Thanks for that. I still cannot work out how to plan a circular route to the local park and back via the supermarket. However later this week I will be driving a support vehicle for 10 mountain bikers going on a trail from Basle to Lausanne along the Jura mountains. At least 4 of the bikers are professional computer programmers with around 100 years experience between them. The deal will be that they must read the Satmap user instructions before we go and convert them into plain english so that at the end of a 50 km stage, they and their sleeping bags will arrive in the same place. Breadcrumb trails arn't going to be a lot of use and whilst they will be following a pre- programmed trail, I won't be able to drive a Transit van along it so we are going to have to do it properly and start from scratch.
It shouldn't have to be like this. If Satmap were free then I would expect little or no instructions but at several hundred pounds I would assume that they want you to use the product, so they should spend a decent amount of time and effort telling you how to use the product.