TheNHBushman.com

I’ve been waiting for good weather to go back out bike riding with my GPS since the last post, but unfortunately the wind where I live is so strong that nearly blows me over walking! So, while it looks like I won’t be able to get you any photos from the field, I can still talk about the GPS itself and show you how it works.

This article isn’t meant to be a thesis, just an introduction to GPS and the Garmin eTrex Vista C in particular.

GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System and the term is often used to refer to a GPS receiver. The GPS system itself was designed and implemented by the US DoD and is free for everyone in the world to use (to those US-haters who complain about everything the US does, “you’re welcome“). I call the receiver units “GPS” along with everyone else. Modern hand-held GPS units are a marvel of technology, performing very complex calculations to provide a position solution based on Doppler shift offset information received from the orbiting satellites. The main GPS satellites are not geo-synchronous and for good reason. If you happen to be in a place that suffers from poor reception, all you have to do is wait for 10 or 15 minutes and the satellites will move to new positions and eventually you will be able to receive the signals. In practice this system works remarkably well.

The former Soviet Union also has their own system, called GLONAST and in the early days of civilian GPS use I remember seeing dual units costing thousands of dollars. I haven’t bothered to even research the Russian system and see if its still operational since the fall of the Union.

I’ve always been the kind of person to modify my gear to suit my needs. This is especially true of computers and electronic gear. I do this with pretty much everything I own. My TV audio has a custom-equalized setting that I created. My Nikon digital camera has a completely custom program. All my ham gear was modded to death. My bicycle is customized. So, naturally nothing about the operation of my GPS is stock. This model GPS is very highly customizable, enabling the user to not only select what screens of information are available, but to even select the information displayed in virtually every data field per screen. Since I have been using GPS units since 1994, and have extensive experience using Garmin units, I know exactly what I want displayed and under what conditions. I will attempt to show you a little about how this model functions and how I have the difference screens and data files set up in mine. Pressing a button on the GPS scrolls through all the pages, in sequence.

Navigation among the pages and menus is accomplished by a 5-way joystick, very similar to the control you find on many mobile phones. You move up/down, left/right, and push down on the button to select.

The most prominent aspect of this GPS is its ability to display a moving map of your location. In addition, the GPS is capable of routing a path between points and draw the route on the map for you. It also alerts the use to upcoming turns and names streets.

This screen capture shows the GPS in action. We are looking at the Map page. The pink line is a route and it looks just like a map looks if you were to use a highlighter pen and draw a route on it. Immediately above the map is an information field that shows the street names as you progress along the route. Notice how this GPS integrates both English and Chinese languages. I always display maps in North up orientation. This means that North is always towards the top of the map.

The next page shows the Active Route. You can scroll up and down to review the route, which is constantly updated as you progress towards the end.

As you approach turns, the unit displays the upcoming turn. The black triangle is your current position. Notice the North indicator in the upper left hand corner. No matter how you have your map set to display, this page always shows the upcoming turn Course up. This prevents misunderstandings about which way you should turn. You literally follow the arrow in the same physical direction. No matter what page you are viewing, when its time to turn, this turn indicator page will come up. After you complete your turn, it will display whatever page you were looking at before the turn. Cool.

The next page is the Compass page. The Vista C is equipped with an actual flux-gate compass which enables you to get a bearing while standing still. In the old days you had to move before the GPS could tell you in which direction you were moving. Nowadays you can use the GPS just like a compass. You can even use is as a sighting compass and project a waypoint in the distance. Very useful.

You can change the data field displays. I have the 4 data fields shown here because they are useful when I am riding my bicycle. Here is a sample of some of the data fields you may choose.

The digital compass eats batteries. You can turn it on and off at will with a single button press. Unless I am connected to external power, or actually using the compass, I keep it off. Huge difference in battery life.

Have you ever had someone travel with you who was freaking out because they thought you would arrive late at your destination? Well, this page is just what you need. Not really a map, so you won’t get any “suggestions” from someone looking at it, but it can tell you the most vital answers to the most annoying questions, such as “What time will we get there?” or “How far is it?” and my personal favorite “What is the next turn we are looking for?” Ordinarily visible only from the main menu, I have added this page to the regularly displayed list of pages. I chose these data fields specifically for the “panic” attack that sometimes accompanies travel.

3D GPS position solutions include a rough altitude calculation. Its never been considered to be accurate enough to say, land an aircraft based solely on the altitude solution provided by GPS data. For this reason, most higher-end GPS receivers have a barometric altimeter. The Vista C is no exception. The cool thing about a barometric altimeter is that, well, its a barometer. So if you are staying in a base camp for a few days, or you are operating at the same altitude, you can use the barometric pressure data to determine if a storm is approaching. Again, quite useful when you are in the field! This particular model records the data and you can browse the histogram. It can even record the data when it is turned off! You could wake up in the morning and review the overnight barometric pressure data and make a determination about the weather that could impact your activities for that day.

This is a Trip Computer page that I setup to give me what I need at a glance when I am using my computerized telescope. This GPS has sun and moon phase information, as well as hunting and fishing times.

So, you are driving around and need to find the nearest 7-11. No problem! Use the Find page. Here we see Waypoints is highlighted. This is how you find all those places you marked during your travels. I will use waypoints to show you how to actually find something in the GPS.

You can select Find by Name, Select Symbol, or Change Reference. Change Reference means that you use the map to pick a new location to find the nearest objects from. Select Symbol allows you to filter the information by those little icons that represent points. Find by Name simply allows you to spell the name or find waypoints that contain keywords. Now, here is the cool part:

You can type in Chinese, or….

With the push of a single button, change to English! You can even change case by clicking on the UP arrow (underneath OK). Just navigate to the letter, press down on the joystick and you enter that letter. This works the exact same way in either language. When done, press OK. The cool thing is that every place that the GPS offers input such as this, it works the same way every time. Once you get used to it, you got it. Hui-Chen found the interface very intuitive and she has never used a GPS before. Now, every time we go out she wants to use it!

Here we clearly see all waypoints that are closest to our current position. DOMA is highlighted and we can see the distance and bearing From Current Location at the bottom. Notice the integration of Chinese and English. This model just does not care which language you use. The entire menu system can be switched between English and Chinese, not just the displayed points!

A powerful ability of any GPS unit is to guide you along a route. This page shows you the saved routes. The little car symbol indicates that this route is currently active and is being displayed on the appropriate pages.

If you simply pick a waypoint, or a POI (point of interest) from one of the menus and select GOTO, the GPS will automatically route you to that destination. However may also create and save your own routes using waypoints or POIs that you have found and saved as waypoints. Here, we see that the waypoint called FAN is highlighted. We see from the data fields at the bottom that the distance from the previous waypoint called DOMA is 10.2KM and the course is 349 degrees T(rue).

Now, as if all that weren’t enough features, there are a couple more that you should know about. Sometimes at night, the display is too bright for comfort. Let me tell you, this thing has the brightest and most beautiful color display I have ever seen - but it can be too much! When riding my bike, the display can actually reduce my visual acuity. However, there is a clever solution to this problem:

NIGHT MODE! There are a number of “themes” similar to your computer’s operation system color schemes. The GPS can automatically switch between Day and Night display modes (if you set it up to do so). This is how the night map page looks. Its really great in the dark!

This is the compass page in Night mode. Its very easy to read and not too bright for dark environments.

There is a page that shows the satellite constellation and which ones you are receiving and where they are on a sky map. This is useful if you are in the urban canyon and need to figure out where to move for better reception. As good as GPS is, the signals don’t like solid objects.

The last thing that I want to mention is the computer interface. The Vista C comes with a cable that connects to a USB port (and of course, includes software). The Taiwan version comes with a really great topographical map of Taiwan, and a management program called Map Source. You can download all of the information that the GPS contains (except the barometric data as far as I know) and display it on your PC. You can also create waypoints and routes, and then upload them to the GPS. I have files for different areas of the world, which makes it convenient for managing waypoints. The unit can hold 500 waypoints and that is a lot of waypoints to scroll through to find the one you want. Most people use between 50 and 100 waypoints at any given time. There is no need to keep, for example, the waypoints you marked while on vacation once you get back home. Download them to the PC and then delete them in the GPS. Conversely, the next time you go back upload them and you are back in business.

I purchased the GPS, a cigarette lighter cable, window suction cup mount (excellent!) and the bicycle handlebar mount. I am extremely pleased with this product and I can recommend it without hesitation.

I guess this post ended up being more of a review of the Vista C than I had planned!

I am a ham radio operator. I hold the highest license, the Amateur Extra Class. I got this license back when there was a 20 WPM Morse Code requirement, not the multiple-choice elementary school tests that exist today. I was also a Volunteer Examiner for 2 different coordination bodies, and I have personally conducted hundreds of license test sessions. I originated the test session program in the very early days of the Boston Amateur Radio Club.

I no longer associate with any clubs because of my experiences with control freaks in clubs. It seems to me that the only reason that clubs exist is to enable certain individuals to gather information about what others who share their interests are doing, and then try to establish some set of rules governing their activities and subsequently control them. Since pursuing my hobby of ham radio entirely on my own, I found that I have been considerably happier, as what I want to do is dependent upon no one else but myself.

Alas, I have found another hobby that is being run by control freaks. This is very unfortunate as I was looking forward to the pursuit of this hobby. It looks like I will have to go it alone again.

I am referring to the hobby of geocaching. The people who run the self-appointed “official” geocaching site are not pursuing any hobby that I can detect. They are, however, pursuing dollars. Not that making money in of itself is bad (I make money too, don’t you?) but when it gets to the point that ridiculous demands are made upon the participants, its time to throw in the towel.

The people who run the geocaching site also run a site called Waymarking (there are no links because I don’t want to encourage people to visit these sites). “Waymarks” are their word for “waypoints” the correct work for a record position used in navigation. Their waymark site encourages people to input information about interesting points on the planet. The waymarks are organized into categories to make it easy to located points on interest.

I submitted a new waymark to them, and in the appropriate category, “Hot Springs.” Such submissions require moderation of the category “owner” before being enabled on the website. My waypoint was rejected, and the following is an excerpt from my rejection email:

“Those are very beautiful pictures! Unfortunately I also need a picture with your GPS in the shot. This looks like a very nice spring so I hope you can get this extra photo soon.”

Notice that they say it looks like “a very nice spring” but they hinge the acceptance of the waymark upon the existence of a photograph of my GPS.

wtf?

Here is an excerpt from my response: (PROFANITY WARNING)

“like i’m gonna go drive back there just so i can take a bullshit photograph for this control freak!

is this the kind of crap that goes on in waymarking.com? do you actually allow individual people to exercise control of this type? how can such individuals be allowed to deny the entry of a useful waymark (waypoint in reality) because of not having a specific photograph that isn’t even directly required for its use?

yeah, i don’t think i’ll be “submitting” any more waymarks on your site after this excellent experience.

btw, i re-submitted my waymark with a comment to the so-called “owner” to forget it.”

Not only is that photograph of any real use, the “requirement” for such a photograph wasn’t specifically stated in the requirements for submission. This is nothing more than some control-freak’s appetite for trophy photographs.

Readers of my blog will not be affected by this. Here are the coordinates of the hot spring resort: N 24.85960 E 121.55831 Here are the photos

The blogosphere will deal with these assholes. I encourage all bloggers to share waypoints and especially geocaches for free!

I can just hear Danny T.D. Lemon 1900 now…. ____ __________, too.

Today I was planning on blogging about GPS and bike riding, but unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control stopped me from riding and taking photos today. However, today I will present some photographs I was planning on including in my new post anyway.

From 2004:

Here is a view of the cockpit of my Giant Yukon MTB I bought in 2004. I have since modified the bike and it looks a bit different now, but you get the basic idea: GPS on bike.

Not my favorite method of securing the GPS, this Garmin GPS 12 MAP was held on by hook and loop fasteners. Notice the lanyard that I have tied to the frame for security. Not once did the GPS ever fall off the bike. I lost this GPS in January 2005, in a taxi outside of Don Muang airport in Thailand.

Taiwan is such a great place to ride a bike, with neighborhood scenes like this everywhere. A few minutes after I snapped this picture, I rode past a house where a woman was scrubbing down her naked son in the front yard.

People who know me, know that Bushman loves to find old places and go exploring. A mountain bike is the only way to go man.

Nearly every little rice field and patch of farmland has these small footpaths that the farmers use. These are excellent bike paths.

I found the above places by going out and exploring while recording my track on the GPS. Later, I checked out the routes I’d taken on a computer map. I learned quite a bit about the surrounding communities from these exploratory rides. Also, having the GPS record your track takes the fear out of exploring new places, as you can reverse the track log in the GPS and it will guide you back the way you came. This is especially useful in a foreign country where you may not be able to read the signs or ask people for directions due to language barriers.

The other way to use GPS is to plan your ride route beforehand on the computer map, and then upload the route to the GPS and allow the GPS to guide you along the route. You never know what you are going to find and this is my favorite way to enjoy a leisurely bike ride.

More to come on this topic.

So, we get to Wulai, and as I’m standing in front of the famous waterfall, I hear someone calling my name. Turns out that one of the vendors is a friend of a local store owner in Hukou and we’ve met on a few occasions. Small world.

Here are some shots without the Bushman in them.

The main part of Wulai.

The left side of the river as viewed from the same location as the above shot.

An overview shot if the famous waterfall.

This waterfall is the one seen from the hot springs resort were we stayed. This waterfall is basically “private” as its not seen from the road, but from the resort itself, particularly from the public bathing pools. This is the same waterfall in the previous blog post.

One of the things that I really love about Taiwan is that you can just hop in the car, drive a couple of hours and find a very unique and beautiful place to stay. On Saturday morning, Hui-Chen and I did just that. We ended up in Wulai, and this waterfall (not the waterfall of Wulai) was right across from the hot springs resort where we stayed. I’ll blog on the place in more detail later. For now, this is how it looks with my Sony-Ericsson mobile phone.

Dr. Jerome Keeting hosted a meeting of local bloggers in Taipei. Here is a group shot that I took. At the left foreground is Linda Arrigo, and behind her is Dr. Keeting. On the right side is Michael Turton.

If you are so inclined you may see the entire album of photos I took here.

Hui-Chen says that these are the 2 coolest guys in all of Taiwan. You may draw your own conclusions! The man shown on the left is Michael Turton. For what its worth, I think Michael is the coolest guy in Taiwan.

What does one do when one acquires a number of teapots? Any collector of teapots knows that the number of them adds up rather quickly. And the truth be told, the number of pretty and attractive teapots far outweighs the number of well designed and functional teapots that are actually useful for brewing tea. Nevertheless, the problem remains: what do I do with all of them?

Fortunately if you live in Taiwan there are many display options available. Shown here is a classic teapot display that I got yesterday in Sanyi - the center of Taiwan’s woodworking industry. The interesting thing about this particular display is that it is an import from Vietnam. Taiwan is outsourcing a lot of its wood products from Vietnam because its cheaper to buy them finished than to manufacture them here in Taiwan.

The display is 79cm (31″) tall and features 2 pull out drawers at the bottom. I put the drinking cups and aroma cups in the drawers. Notice the 2 Japanese teapots previous blogged in the center. At the top right is a clear glass teapot used for brewing the lower temperature green teas. Bottom left are 2 items. Far left is a porcelain teapot that I use as a gong bei for gongfu style tea. I have matching drinking and aroma cups from Yinga, the center of the ceramic industry in Taiwan (I’ll show the cups in a later post). The teapot immediately to the right is a previously blogged sand pot. On the bottom right is the previously blogged fish pot. The joke on me is - while I originally was lead to believe that this fish pot was rare, I saw a bunch of them for sale in Hong Kong.

In closing I want to say that this display is by no means optimized, and it certainly does not appear harmonious. I am going to play around with the placement over time and hopefully discover a pleasing arrangement.