Subject: Re: GPS
Date: Jan 12 06:13:30 1998
From: Herb Curl - Herb_Curl at hazmat.noaa.gov


The GPS is the only way to fly (too bad not all the airlines think so!) I was
out in western Snohomish Co. this weekend trying to find several lakes and
ended up at locked gates to commercial clear cuts. The Metsker maps and USGS
topo sheets showed improved roads that went through so I couldn't believe at
first that I was in the right place. But the Garmin 40 GPS receiver showed my
exact location (give or take a 100m horizontally, and 300 ft vertically; less
if I'd waited longer) & indicated that the topo sheet, dated 1993, and Metsker
(undated) was clearly out of date. Some unimproved roads had been
black-topped, others had been renamed and still others closed. This is almost
always the case with maps, which can't keep up with new roads and road
closures, not to mention clearcuts and other topographic modifications. The
GPS receiver will at least tell you (and your rescuers)where you are on a grid
in a rapidly changing world. The last price I saw for a GPS receiver was
$150, but you can pay up to $600 for one with a built-in map of your area.
Since a receiver provides information on your latitude & longitude, altitude
(wih respect to the geoid and not influenced by barometric pressure), and
direction and speed of travel (velocity) there's no excuse for being lost
anymore (unless you run out of AA batteries.)

Herb Curl

NOAA Hazmat-Seattle 24 hr#(206)526-6317