What fun things can I do with my new GPS? Your place to find out.

Really glad that you asked!

There are a number of things. Depending on what model you purchase, and the features it offers, driving directions, door to door, finding local restaurants on your way. You can get traffic updates and suggested bypass routes, traffic flow and never needing to ask for directions etc...

Some other great fun things that your new GPS will do:


A: Waypoints. 

    Waypoints are locations that you create and enter into your receiver.  Then, no matter where you move, your receiver will tell you the current bearing and distance to these waypoints.  There are two ways to enter a waypoint into your receiver.  The first is to actually walk to the desired location with your receiver in hand and press the "mark" button to record it into memory.  The second is to read the latitude/longitude or UTM coordinates from a map and enter them into the receiver.  As an example, before you start on a cross-country hike it is always a good idea to mark the trailhead as a waypoint.  That way, no matter how lost or confused you might become in the wilderness, your receiver will always tell you the direction and distance back to your origin.  You should also read the coordinates of your destination from a map and enter them into your receiver so you will always know the distance and bearing to where you want to go.

B: Routes. 

    You can create a route ahead of time by entering a series of waypoint coordinates into your receiver.  To create a route, you tell your receiver the order in which you want to hike to the waypoints.  Then, as you hike, the receiver directs you to each waypoint in succession.  When you reach a waypoint the receiver automatically changes to direct you to the next waypoint along the route.

C: Current and statistical information. 

     Most GPS receivers can display your current speed and direction of travel (neither very accurate at walking speeds), distance travelled since beginning the hike, and such information as maximum speed, estimated time to arrive at the next waypoint, etc.  Some receivers can tell you the times of sunrise and sunset, and such questionably useful tidbits as best times for fishing and hunting.

D: GPS Positioning

    Positioning for your cell phones is especially beneficial when your children have the cell phone and are away from home. Imagine a loved one lost, sick or injured you could still find them with your GPS Device. Disney was one of the first to offer this service in their wireless telephones.

E: Map service access

Many GPS units will access the National Geographic maps, National Geographic's own topographical maps, are just now becomming available on GPS units. These are an outdoorsman's dream map.

Now for the Game stuff!
There are many web sites that are catering to seek and find type games with your GPS units. Just search "GPS games" WOW!!
 
Some popular GPS games are:
Geocaching is likely the current most poupular:

Geocaching: is a game in which players hide objects that other players use GPS receivers to find. It's simple. Traditionally, the hidden object is a waterproof container with a log book and various inexpensive prizes. Finders are encouraged to take something, leave something, and sign the log.
 
GeoVexilla: is a GPS game that uses the globe for a playing field.
At random times, in random places, random virtual flags appear on a map of the world. The challenge is to visit a flag's waypoint before the flag disappears. Each time you succeed, you collect that flag, increasing your score.
To see flags near you, pan and zoom to center the map where you want, then click "Reload Flags" above or below the map to update the display.

Geodashing: is a game in which players use GPS receivers on a playing field that covers the entire planet. The waypoints, or dashpoints, to be reached are randomly selected. The win goes to who can get to the most dashpoints; that is, if you can get to them at all! Each game has a new set of dashpoints making each game completely different and unpredictable. Join and play!

Every picture tells a story...
Shutterspot: is a game in which some players take photographs and other players are challenged to find the exact spot where the photographer stood when the camera shutter clicked. That's the Shutterspot.
 

Waymarking: Players pick a category, like oddly painted fire hydrants, then look for that item in there neighborhood and record and post the coordinates. wwaymarking.com


Geodashing Golf: is a game in which players use GPS receivers to navigate to 18 randomly placed waypoints (or 9 in a short course). Your score depends on how close you can get to each of the waypoints. The closer you get, the lower your score. Low score wins, just like real golf.

You can even get paid to:geocache
Want to get paid to geocache? Yea, that would be nice. A company is now offering just that… sort of. See there is a company called SkySite that operates a large fleet of balloons. The balloons fly at around 100,000 feet and serve as a communications platform to rural areas. However the balloons don’t stay aloft forever and the company wanted a way to retrieve them. They us GPS tracking to obtain the coordinates of the balloons after they return to Earth and offer a bounty to those that retrieve and capture them.

The lucky finder can earn about $25-$50 for returning the equipment. The exact amount of the bounty is determined by how quickly the device is recovered and returned to the SkySite Recovery program.

 

!WOW!

did you know there was so much fun to be had by just trying to find directions!