Tag: GPS

i-GotU GT-120 Final Thoughts

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on i-GotU GT-120 Final Thoughts
Gear, Geocaching and Maps, Photography

As I stated in my last post, the i-GotU GT-120 was a pleasant surprise. The unit functions much better than the GT-100 that I purchased and returned last year. It geotagged images accurately from my little Nikon S50 camera. However, in my last tests I ran into some puzzling problems – not with the GT-120 … Read More “i-GotU GT-120 Final Thoughts” »

i-GotU Revisited

Posted on By Tom 8 Comments on i-GotU Revisited
Gear, Geocaching and Maps, Photography

i-gotU GPS tracker

A little over a year ago I tried out the i-GotU GT-100 GPS tracker from Mobile Action. At the time I was looking for a simple tracker for photo geotagging, and the GT-100’a small size and price ($49 from Amazon) were very appealing. I put the unit through a series of tests, and found it to be completely useless for geotagging, and wrote up two reviews to that effect (Test Driving the i-GotU GPS Tracker, and i-GotU GPS Tracker – Summary Review.) Those two reviews generated lots of hits and comments for this website, both for and against the GT-100.

Subsequently, I was contacted recently by Mobile Action and asked if I would be willing to try out the new GT-120. The unit arrived Saturday and I’ve been putting it through the same tests that I did with the GT-100. So far, I’m impressed, and pleasantly surprised. This unit appears to work much, much better, and geotags images like a charm.

Read More “i-GotU Revisited” »

Getting More from Your Auto GPS

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Getting More from Your Auto GPS
Gear, Geocaching and Maps

I figured it was time for a round-up.  I’ve been talking a lot about doing various things with a GPS, but haven’t gone into much detail.  Chances are that you got a GPS for your car because you feel like you’re directionally challenged, or you just the convenience of plugging in an address and getting directions.  That’s about the extent of what most people do, but there is so much more.

Thought it might be time to talk about automobile GPSs in general, and how they can really benefit a serious rambler like myself.  The one I use is a Garmin Nuvi 205, but most of what I’ll cover here should work with just about any unit.  If you’re into geocaching, you’ll already be familiar with most of these concepts.

Read More “Getting More from Your Auto GPS” »

South Carolina Heritage Corridor

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on South Carolina Heritage Corridor
Geocaching and Maps, Local, Travel

While out driving the rural highways of South Carolina you may have come across a road sign with this symbol… Seeing a road sign like this lets you know that you are on either the South Carolina Discovery Route, or the South Carolina Nature Route, both parts of the South Carolina Heritage Corridor. On the … Read More “South Carolina Heritage Corridor” »

Geohashing – A Game Based on a Comic

Posted on By Tom 6 Comments on Geohashing – A Game Based on a Comic
Geocaching and Maps

null

The XKCD comic seen above came out around Christmas of 2006, and formed the basis for a new GPS activity – not necessarily going to a random location and making out, but using random numbers to generate latitude and longitude coordinates.  The process of generating the random coordinates is called Geohashing.  These coordinates serve as a basis for adventure, not unlike throwing a dart on a map and then trying to reach that location.  It’s a lot like Geocaching, but you don’t have to find a little container, and the coordinates change.

Read More “Geohashing – A Game Based on a Comic” »

Historical Marker Database

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Historical Marker Database
Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy

When I’m out on one of my photo explorations there are three books thatI usually have with me – South Carolina: One Day at a Time by Caroline Todd and Sydney Wait, the Delorme Atlas and Gazetteer for South Carolina, and the South Carolina Highway Historical Marker Guide by Judith Andrews.   The latter title has … Read More “Historical Marker Database” »

From Lake Fairfield to Fairfield County

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on From Lake Fairfield to Fairfield County
Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Travel

Monticello Store

My last Saturday before heading back to work after Winter Break, and I decided to do some geocaching and photography in Fairfield County.  I had new GPS units to test drive, I had specific locations I wanted to photograph, and I wanted to take some time to swing by my parent’s house.  I had ambitious goals for what I wanted to see and do, perhaps too ambitious.   It turned out to be a day of mixed results – delight and frustration, discovery and missed opportunities.

Read More “From Lake Fairfield to Fairfield County” »

Photo Navigation

Posted on By Tom 6 Comments on Photo Navigation
Gear, Geocaching and Maps, Photography

First a caveat – I try not to review or discuss specific gadgets here at RandomConnections unless I actually have the device in hand and have played with it, either having purchased it for myself, for work, or having swiped it from a friend for a test run. I don’t like to speculate on a device’s capabilities unless I’ve seen them myself. Also, especially this close to Christmas a favorable review might be taken as a “wish list”, and that’s not necessarily the case. So, I tend to stick with what I’ve actually seen.

Today I’m going to break with that policy somewhat. My intent was to discuss a capability rather than a specific device or brand, but it turns out that only one brand has this feature (so far.) I’m talking about photo navigation, the ability to navigate to a geotagged photo via GPS as an inherent capability of the device.

Read More “Photo Navigation” »