[pct-l] gps search technology

[dude@fastmail.ca (dude)]

--
I agree with Bob...  A map and compass will never be obsolete, and I
would never trust my life to something that runs on batteries.  Two
cases in point:

1.  about 2 years ago, i was out hiking with some friends and we
passed a guy going the other way who was using a GPS.  He was very
proud of it and wanted to show it off and was demonstrating it for
us.  I had just looked at the map and compass and did some
navigatining because the trail was under much snow.  He pulled out
his map and While he was fiddling with his device, I pointed to the
map and told my buddies, I think that we are right here.  After about
5 minutes of getting coordinates and looking at the maps and
transferring information from the GPS unit to the map, he pointed to
the exact same spot and said, "we are right here".  What's the
point???  His GPS weighed at least 5 times more than my map and
compass and it was vulnerable to: dead batteries, dead satelites,
lost manuals, etc.

2.  Remember about 5-6 yesrs ago when that tiny sock in outter space
hit a satelite and knocked out like 50% of all pagers and a
significnt number of cell phones until they could reprogram a
different satelite and reroute all the traffic to that one?  Well,
what would happen if the same thing were to happen to a GPS
satelite?  ...or a number of GPS satelites?

Our whole society If a cloud of debris were to take out just 10% of
the hundreds (if not thousands) of satelites in orbit, then our whole
way of life in the US, Euope, and Japan would be screwed.  If you
don't think that we rely that heavily on satelites for everyday
functions, consider these things that are done by tons of people
daily: phone calls, pagers, faxes, internet usage, GPS, package
tracking, wire transfers, etc.  ...not to mention the numerous
corporate and governmental uses that most people do not know about.
We are so dependent on satelites and the whole thing is so
unbelievable delicate.  TO quote the general in the movie
Wargames: "I wouldn't trust that overgrown pile of microchips any
further than I could throw it."  If you wanna see just exactly how
many satelites we depend on, here is a link to a NASA site that shows
a 3D model of over 500 satelite orbits:
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTime/JTrack/3D/JTrack3D.html  <--
every white spec is a satelite.


...2 cents

peace,
dude

> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> CMountainDave wrote:
> "Read a story in the paper that gps devices that will easily
> locate you AND, in case you need rescue, send for help, is
> becoming widely available to outdoor enthusiasts. "No more search
> in search and rescue" said the headline. May soon be required to
> carry such devices ($200) to save government the cost used to
> locate you if need rescue in an out of the way place. System has
> already saved many lives, such as snowmobilers in Alaska when
> their vehicles broke down and they faced a 3 day walk at -35
> Becoming lost may soon be an impossibility and a compass obsolete.
> Will take some of the fun out of cross country travel knowing
> orientation skills are becoming trumped by technology about to be
> widely used, if not required."
>
>
>
> I humbly submit the following:
>
> Backwoods theory:  " NEVER TRUST YOUR LIFE TO SOMETHING THAT RUNS
> ON BATTERIES."
>
> Backwoods corollary:  "NEVER TRUST YOUR LIFE TO BACK-UP BATTERIES
> EITHER"
>
> Backwoods logic:      "MAPS AND COMPASSES ARE NEVER OBSOLETE.
> NATURE RARELY MAKES MAJOR TOPOGRAPHICAL CHANGES" (Mt St Helens not
> withstanding)
>
> Backwoods common sense:  "ANY NAVIGATIONAL DEVICE, ELECTRONIC OR
> OTHERWISE, IS WORTHLESS IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT PROPERLY.
>
>
> As someone once intoned while lost at sea, "Dear Lord, the sea is
> so big and my boat is so small." Ditto for the wilderness.
>
> Wandering Bob
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> PCT-L@mailman.backcountry.net
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