 |
|
|
UER Store
|
|
sweet UER decals:
|
|
|
|
Activity
|
|
630 online
Server Time:
2024-05-11 20:54:51
|
|
|
 snoops
   
Location: Downunder the Downunder
Gender: Male
 |  |  | GPS
< on 4/11/2009 12:13 PM >
|  | | | Hey guys,
Quick question in regards to GPS units. Does anyone take a GPS unit of some sort with them while on drain explorations? It occured to me the other day that you may end up quite a way from your entry point and be dissoriented when resurfacing. This could make it quite difficult to work out where you left the car if you're not familiar with the area.
Has anyone used GPS (hand-held road nav, or otherwise) to mark the location of the car and help make their way back to it? Or even used a GPS to help plot the course of a drain from above ground?
I'm thinking that it could be a useful tool. What are your thoughts?
|
|
Calhovin
Location: Netherlands
Gender: Male
| | Re: GPS
<Reply # 1 on 4/11/2009 12:57 PM >
| | | | I have Nokia Maps on my telephone, and when in a city I haven't been before I tend to mark the parking spot on the map. I have pretty good sense of direction and most of the times I don't need it, but it has helped me one or twice. Not really draining, but the look and feel of the question is comparable, isn't it?
|
|
Waypoint15
 
Location: Terlingua
Gender: Male
| | Re: GPS
<Reply # 2 on 4/12/2009 8:52 PM >
| | | | Yes, use mine all the time for this purpose. Mark the car's position and find it easily in the dark. However, mine will not work in drains.
WP15 |
|
Crumpet
Location: Brisbane, AUS
Gender: Male
You know you're in Brisbane when...
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 3 on 4/12/2009 11:00 PM >
| | | | Posted by snoops
I'm thinking that it could be a useful tool. What are your thoughts?
|
Hell yes it could, particularly for me. I've got a tendency to rely on my buddy's navigation/orienteering skills to get in and out of drains, since I'm terrible at remembering such things. A GPS unit would make it much easier (particularly for G'Earth mapping), but currently a unit like that is out of my budget.
- Crumpet (http://www.urbanillusions.org)
[from micro's "drainer rules"] 3rd RULE: If someone says "rain" or "thunderstorm", the draining is over. |
|
metawaffle
 
King of Puns
Location: Brisbane!
Gender: Male
Purveyor of Fine Lampshades
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 4 on 4/13/2009 1:46 AM >
| | | | Yeah, I have to wonder if any GPS is going to work inside a drain? Normal satellite-based GPS is going to fail without line-of-sight to the sky, isn't it? and, those 'assisted GPS' systems need mobile reception, I think. Shame, really - it'd be nice to automatically map these things.
I have in the past taken to throwing ping pong balls out of grilles, and finding them later aboveground 
http://www.longexposure.net |
|
snoops
Location: Downunder the Downunder
Gender: Male
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 5 on 4/13/2009 9:14 AM >
| | | | Yeah the mobile phone idea is a good solution if you've already got access to that on your handset. I was thinking more along the lines of a street navigation system so that as well as offering navigation while driving to locations, when out of the car you can browse around the local area to check where abouts you enter and exit.
Of course, you can't use a GPS receiver underground as the principle of GPS relies on having a clear view of the sky to get satellite info. But getting a GPS lockon when coming out will give you an idea of distance travelled and help you find the car again hopefully.
Having google earth combined with road GPS in a water proof unit would be the ultimate. But I'm looking at basic systems like the Tom Tom One v4 or Garmin Nuvi260. The Garmin seems best for map browsing and you can easily mark locations and save them. Prefer the Tom Tom for other features tho. Maybe hold the GPS out of a gutter box and saving the co-ordinate is better than throwing ping pong balls?? 
|
|
metawaffle
King of Puns
Location: Brisbane!
Gender: Male
Purveyor of Fine Lampshades
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 6 on 4/13/2009 12:45 PM >
| | | | Posted by snoops
Maybe hold the GPS out of a gutter box and saving the co-ordinate is better than throwing ping pong balls??
|
Well, maybe... if you want to take all the fun out of it
Actually, looking for the balls was in no way fun at all, just frustrating.
| Of course, you can't use a GPS receiver underground as the principle of GPS relies on having a clear view of the sky to get satellite info. But getting a GPS lockon when coming out will give you an idea of distance travelled and help you find the car again hopefully. |
Yeah, I completely misread the original question
http://www.longexposure.net |
|
AnAppleSnail
Location: Charlotte, NC
Gender: Male
ALL the flashlights!
| |  | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 7 on 4/13/2009 1:19 PM >
| | | | Sticking an external antennae is easier than wedging your GPS handheld through a grate. I haven't had a chance lately to bring mine into drains to use it...and it really does require that you can stick your hand out into a place with skky view.
Achievement Unlocked
|
|
snoops
Location: Downunder the Downunder
Gender: Male
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 8 on 4/13/2009 2:15 PM >
| | | | Posted by metawaffle
Well, maybe... if you want to take all the fun out of it
Actually, looking for the balls was in no way fun at all, just frustrating.
|
See, where you actually went wrong was that you should have put a GPS tracking device inside the ping pong ball so that you could actually locate and retrieve them after having re-surfaced! Now that's a more sensible idea for ya
Posted by AnAppleSnail
Sticking an external antennae is easier than wedging your GPS handheld through a grate. |
Now there's an idea! Wonder if the antennae would fit through the holes in a manhole cover?? I shall investigate further 
|
|
Waypoint15
Location: Terlingua
Gender: Male
| | Re: GPS
<Reply # 9 on 4/13/2009 3:39 PM >
| | | | Posted by metawaffle
I have in the past taken to throwing ping pong balls out of grilles, and finding them later aboveground
|
Ping Pong Balls. One could color code or number the the balls and note the location of the drop zone and trace the drain in this manner to find the route the ball took.
WP15 |
|
hilite
Gender: Male
don't destroy my sweater....
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 10 on 4/14/2009 3:03 PM >
| | | | I have a 60cx,
It has a narrowish antenna that fits perfectly through the little holes in a man hole cover.
I always take it draining, the signal is strong enough only for ~5M accuracy
also Garmin makes an external antenna's but the actual receiver portion is pretty wide.
There's some DIY helix antenna's out there, but I suck at metal work.
And when you finally disappear, We'll just say you were never here. |
|
snoops
Location: Downunder the Downunder
Gender: Male
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 11 on 4/15/2009 1:59 AM >
| | | | Cheers for the info on the Garmin gear Too bad they don't have a helix antenna off the shelf to use with the street nav.
What do you do with the co-ordinates that you collect with the 60CX? I don't know much how to use the non-road going models. Do you reference the co-ordinates back to google earth on your PC to get a visual reference of where you had travelled?
|
|
AnAppleSnail
Location: Charlotte, NC
Gender: Male
ALL the flashlights!
| | | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 12 on 4/15/2009 2:15 AM >
| | | | Posted by snoops
Cheers for the info on the Garmin gear Too bad they don't have a helix antenna off the shelf to use with the street nav.
What do you do with the co-ordinates that you collect with the 60CX? I don't know much how to use the non-road going models. Do you reference the co-ordinates back to google earth on your PC to get a visual reference of where you had travelled?
|
My hiking GPS can supposedly talk to a computer to upload my 'route.' I haven't actually done this yet, for lack of draintime. Once my foot's recovered, or I go insane from cabin fever, I'll let you know how it is.
Achievement Unlocked
|
|
hilite
Gender: Male
don't destroy my sweater....
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 13 on 4/15/2009 3:21 AM >
| | | | You can use google earth and all that fancy crap
but i just use mapsource (the program that came with the unit), and some topographic map software I "acquired" ;)
A drain I mapped, with my pathetic rendition of manholes and the outfall.
And when you finally disappear, We'll just say you were never here. |
|
snoops
Location: Downunder the Downunder
Gender: Male
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 14 on 4/15/2009 11:41 PM >
| | | | Very cool Hi-lite! That's certainly enough to get the job done. It's given me some good ideas.
AnAppleSnail - let us know how you go with the software. I'm still interested to see what results the plotted route is able to do when software is applied.
|
|
Aye.Eye
Location: Wonderful Land of Oz
Gender: Male
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 15 on 4/24/2009 6:37 AM >
| | | | I was thinking about this the other day.
Id love to be able to effortly map out drain systems via GPS.
Looks like the only sane way is to get a BCC water map
Now I've got that feeling once again, I can't explain, You would not understand, This is not how I am... I have become, Comfortably Numb... |
|
Crumpet
Location: Brisbane, AUS
Gender: Male
You know you're in Brisbane when...
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 16 on 4/24/2009 11:22 AM >
| | | | Posted by PsYcHo-560
Looks like the only sane way is to get a BCC water map
|
Speaking of which, aside from GIS mapping ($400 a month for a license) do you reckon BCC would willingly give out their maps for, uh, say, legitimate reasons like projects... I hear about American councils doing it, and it would make mapping a lot easier.
- Crumpet (http://www.urbanillusions.org)
[from micro's "drainer rules"] 3rd RULE: If someone says "rain" or "thunderstorm", the draining is over. |
|
snoops
Location: Downunder the Downunder
Gender: Male
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 17 on 4/25/2009 12:34 AM >
| | | | Posted by Crumpet
Speaking of which, aside from GIS mapping ($400 a month for a license) do you reckon BCC would willingly give out their maps for, uh, say, legitimate reasons like projects... I hear about American councils doing it, and it would make mapping a lot easier.
|
Can't imagine that they would. Especially with all the construction going on around with the tunnel etc. But can't hurt to ask. Are the up to date maps available on GIS? Would be more economical to become friends with someone who has access
|
|
Aye.Eye
Location: Wonderful Land of Oz
Gender: Male
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 18 on 4/29/2009 4:29 AM >
| | | | I was thinking of posing as a Uni student doing my fianl assignment on what would happen if brisbane flooded.
Just sayign that you needed the maps to show hwere the water would most likely pool, and where would be totally underwater. However I have no clue as to where to ask.
GIS mapping? Whats that?
Now I've got that feeling once again, I can't explain, You would not understand, This is not how I am... I have become, Comfortably Numb... |
|
hilite
Gender: Male
don't destroy my sweater....
| | | Re: GPS
<Reply # 19 on 4/29/2009 3:06 PM >
| | | | Posted by PsYcHo-560
GIS mapping? Whats that?
|
GIS is system to store, analyze and display geographically referenced information, (textbook definition) It's basically software used to design maps. where you can manipulate data sets in order to show you certain things. Ie, you can create a query to display all buildings where TYPE= apartment AND RENT= <$5,000.
In your case, you can use GIS to identify all lowlying lands and create a sort of buffer zone around this areas that would show areas most affected.
getting your hands on GIS data and software is another question.
I recommend just looking at basic topo maps that you can usually find for free
[last edit 4/29/2009 11:40 PM by hilite - edited 1 times]
And when you finally disappear, We'll just say you were never here. |
|
|
|
All content and images copyright © 2002-2024 UER.CA and respective creators. Graphical Design by Crossfire.
To contact webmaster, or click to email with problems or other questions about this site:
UER CONTACT
View Terms of Service |
View Privacy Policy |
Server colocation provided by Beanfield
This page was generated for you in 156 milliseconds. Since June 23, 2002, a total of 741394049 pages have been generated.
|
|
