GPS for Dummies.pdf - Engineering Surveyor

106Part II: All About GPSPDA advantagesAside from being cool, a PDA might make sense for you as part of a personalnavigation system for a number of reasons. Some of the advantages include Larger screens: PDAs have larger, higher-resolution, color screens comparedwith handheld GPS receivers. This is a big plus if your eyesight isn’tas good as it used to be — and it’s really important if you’re using thePDA while driving. You want to be able to quickly glance at a map on thescreen, determine your location, and then get your eyes back on the road. More maps: Most of the maps that you can upload to GPS receivers don’thave a lot of detail; especially the topographic maps. These maps tendto be vector line maps and don’t have the resolution or detail found onpaper maps that you’d use for hiking. Several mapping programs are availablefor PDAs that support all types of maps, and you can even createyour own custom maps. With a PDA, you can use more detailed maps, likescanned, color 1:24,000 topographic maps. Bonus: You’re not locked in tousing only a GPS receiver manufacturer’s proprietary software and maps. Expandable memory: Unlike many GPS receivers, which have fixedamounts of memory, most PDAs support expandable memory withplug-in memory cards. The only limitation to the number of the mapsand amount of data that you can store is the size of the memory card. Usability: Although handheld GPS receivers are fairly easy to use, theuser interfaces found on PDAs are even simpler. Using a touch screenand stylus to enter data and commands is a lot faster and easier thanusing the buttons on a handheld GPS receiver. Custom programs: Developers can easily write custom programs forPDAs that access the data output from a GPS receiver. If you’re collectinginformation that’s based on location data, this can make your jobmuch easier than pressing buttons on a GPS receiver and then handwritingremarks in a field notebook. PDA features: PDAs have all sorts of useful programs such as addressbooks, contact lists, and databases designed for readily storing data.A fair amount of this information tends to be location based (likeaddresses), and having a single information/navigation device is thedefinition of practical.PDA disadvantagesAfter reading through advantages of using a PDA as your navigation system ofchoice, you’re probably sold on a using a PDA. However, they definitely aren’tfor everyone. Some of downsides include