Re: looking for a handheld unit that I can input a bearing in ddd mm sss.

From: Annapress (annapress_at_aol.comnojunk)
Date: 06/18/04 

Date: 18 Jun 2004 04:45:48 GMT

>looking for a handheld unit that I can input a bearing in ddd mm sss
>and distance to create a waypoint. Capable of 1-3 meter accuracy. If
>anyone knows of a comparison of the various units that I can download
>(in english) That would be a great help. any input is apreaciated.

Garmin units such as any of the eTrex series allow you to create a new waypoint
by projecting a distance and bearing from an existing waypoint, but you can
only enter the bearing to the nearest degree. I'm sure newer units like the
GPSMAP 60 or 76 products have similar capabilities, but again, probably only to
the nearest degree. If you are asking whether it is possible to create the
location of a projected waypoint to within 3 meters of its ideal location, you
are pretty much out of luck. If the projected waypoint is more than a short
distance away from your origin, the quantization error due to entering the
bearing only to the nearest degree becomes more than that. If you only care
about navigating to within 3 meters of the waypoint you created and you don't
care exactly where that waypoint is, the situation is a little better. Get a
unit with WAAS capability like the eTrex Vista or GPSMAP 60 and hope that WAAS
works in your area (assuming you are in the US). You won't get better than 3
meter accuracy even with WAAS unless you buy a very expensive survey-grade
receiver that gives you post-processing capability (and don't expect real-time
results). Your other option is to get a unit with DGPS capability, buy the
extra DGPS receiver to use with itand hope you are within range of a Coast
Guard DGPS beacon. Accuracy is similar to a WAAS-equipped receiver but if you
are within the range of a DGPS beacon you are more likely to get reliable
results on the ground. (Remember that WAAS was really designed for aircraft
where you have an unobstructed view of the sky, not land-based applications
where satellite reception is more easily obstructed.) Again, I can only
comment about applications within the continental US. I'm not familiar enough
with capabilities in other regions of the world.

Steve

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