[OSM-talk] Bringing OSM to walkers - countering negative attitudes

Dean Earley dean at earlsoft.co.uk
Sun May 6 21:48:39 BST 2007


OJW wrote:
> On Sunday 06 May 2007 19:45, Richard HARDWICK wrote:
>> My experience of ordinary walkers is same as yours - they
>>     prefer a good old map and compass; even when gps could
>>     save their lives
> 
> As an example of why this is: The BMC "Mountain leader" course in the UK 
> specifically teaches people not to use GPS.  Their reasoning is that you 
> should be following your position on the map, rather than relying on a magic 
> device to tell you where you are.
> 
> Ask any instructor and they will tell you about how the GPS's battery will die 
> when you need it, how the US army will turn-off the satellites, or that it 
> will only be accurate to 100m and won't correlate with your map.

Whenever I'm walking (with the scouts) I make a point of being able to 
use/read a map and compass, but also carry a gps for reference of 
distance, speed, and location if necessary.

-- 
Dean Earley, Dee (dean at earlsoft.co.uk)

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