Put a GPS on your GPz
| A few people on the GPz
mailing list responded to my note on GPS (reproduced
below) and said they'd like to see what it looks like on the Bike. Here are some shots.
Forgive the lousy picture quality - this was done with one of the first low-cost digital cameras to appear on the market and it was pretty poor for resolution and image quality. |
|
Eagle Explorer GPS receiver on handlebar of GPz-1100:
Closer view, as the rider sees it:
Two strips of velcro tape on the back of the unit hold it to the two shown here:
A couple of people have asked me for more
info on the idea of a GPz-mounted GPS, as I mentioned in my intro.
Here's what's up:
GPS (Global Positioning System)
is one of those high-tech product areas whose price has suddenly
plummeted into the very affordable. A GPS Receiver is a hand-sized
radio receiver; about the size of a cellular phone. It receives
telemetry signals from three or more satellites located at known
positions and, by comparing the timing differences of the arrival
of the signals, can figure out where you are on the surface of
the earth. (With 4 satellites, it can also figure out altitude.
There are 30-something satellites, so it can usually receive
4 with no problem.) Originally developed for military use, soon
picked up by most commercial navigation, and now available to
the public.
The good news... there are some
really cheap ones available. Mine cost about $199 Canadian, which
is about $3 US (roughly). Two major suppliers of the small hand-held
cheap ones: Magellan and Eagle. I looked at both and preferred
the Eagle... smoother lines and nicer case, although the Magellan
seems to be carried in more mass-market hardware and sporting
stores. See Eagle's web page
and look at the "explorer" model. If Magellan has a
web site I couldn't find it. Humminbird
(the fish finder people) also make some, but not so compact.
It's about 3" x 1" x
8"; runs on 4 penlight batteries or external power; waterproof
(haven't tested this). I put two strips of velcro tape on the
back of mine, and two strips on the flat part of the handlebar
just to the left of the centre mounting bolt, and it sits there
very nicely even at high speed. I originally had an auxiliary
hold-down, using o-rings, planned, but it's unnecessary -- the
velcro holds fast and there's no wind in there behind the windscreen.
Ran power from the under-seat accessory line to the power jack
on the back to save on batteries. (The weird plug that fits into
the power jack had to be purchased from Eagle -- can't find them
anywhere else.)
What you get: a little map showing
your present location, a dotted line showing where you've been
trailing off behind you, and markers for any significant landmarks
you've pre-entered; all drawn to scale, with scale selectable
from 100 metres to 1000 miles for the screen. The map can be
rotated so your current direction is up, your objective is up,
or North is up. I tend to keep my current direction up -- less
confusing. You can also tell the unit where you're planning to
go, including intermediate stops,and it will show your planned
route. It's accurate to about 10-20 metres; plenty for retracing
your route and not missing that turn, finding that favorite rest
stop again, etc. Also on the display can be any combination of:
current compass heading; bearing to objective; ground speed;
altitude; distance to objective; estimated time to objective;
time; other stuff. Note: on these cheap units, the map is only
where you've been plus any coordinates and location markers you
enter manually. On larger more expensive units you can buy topographic
maps on ROM; nice idea but I wanted the compact cheap model and
am satisfied.
This is a wonderful accessory.
I go out for a weekend ride and know where I am in relation to
various points of interest, rest stops, important turns, etc.
When I end up at the end of a road that turned uninteresting,
I have a precise backtracking guide and know how far it is to
the bathroom. I can estimate with great accuracy when I should
start heading back to get home at an intended time. And, also
important, it's an interesting and fun gimmick that suits the
layout of the bike nicely.
Update, April 2000
Since I wrote the above, about 4 years ago, a lot has changed
in GPS technology. There are now many manufacturers and I'm not
going to try to list them all. I still have my Eagle, rather
primitive by today's technology, but don't plan to replace it
'till it dies. Modern GPS units now generally come with background
map capability and a lot of other features; and colour screens
are just starting to appear on the market.
I've developed a great routine
for pre-loading location information before I travel, in lieu
of having a unit with background mapping capability.
GPSy
software (for the Mac, like all great software) makes good
software for interfacing the GPS to the Mac. You can get maps
on CD or from the Internet (their site lists many sources) and
set up waypoints by clicking directly into a topographic map,
then download to the GPS.