Comments on: Disconnected

By: pattyjane

pattyjane — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:32:12 +0000

Thanks for this great idea–TEXT messages sent to my children’s cell phones, like this one sent today:

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

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By: mumsee

mumsee — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:05:12 +0000

Oh, yes, Chas mentioned the “follow your footprints home again” option.

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By: mumsee

mumsee — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:03:51 +0000

But, if I am out in the wilderness with a really good map, what would be the point of the GPS?

Ah, I see you have answered that, RR.

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By: mumsee

mumsee — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:02:44 +0000

This is sounding more and more complicated. Right up the lines of the telescope hubby surprised me with on my birthday. My old one died in the many moves and I had not considered getting a new one so it was quite the surprise (beyond that we stopped giving birthday gifts years ago). It is a self guided telescope with aerostar. And a long manual. And a dvd manual supplement. I will wait for one of my grown children to come home before I use it I imagine. I will hand the selection of the GPS off to hubby as well, he is my hero and always comes through on these matters.

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By: RR

RR — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:51:52 +0000

I should qualify the above: If you’re out in a wilderness area without a really good map, knowing lat and long isn’t going to do you a bit of good UNLESS you have a cell phone with coverage, so you can tell the 911 operator where you are.

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By: RR

RR — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:48:25 +0000

My wife and I are about the only 40-somethings in our circle who have ditched the landline in favor of cells. They work fine for our purposes: we can talk to each other anytime without using our minutes, and late evening, weekend, and holiday calls don’t use minutes either, regardless of who you’re calling. Since I rarely have time to call family members except for evenings or weekends, that works wonderfully. Voicemail is included, of course, and I appreciate that incoming phone numbers are captured; sometimes callers leave garbled or blurted numbers on VM, and it’s nice to know what they really meant to say. The downside: coverage can be spotty when traveling. Major metro areas and alongside interstate highways, fine; off the beaten path, not so fine.

About GPS, just remember when shopping that the model you select should have enough features to help you identify where you are, besides latitude and longitude. If you’re out in a wilderness area without a really good map, knowing lat and long isn’t going to do you a bit of good. Chas’ bread crumb trail feature is very helpful; so is the sort of moving map that IDs roads, rivers, radio aerials, settlements, etc.

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By: Chas

Chas — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:17:20 +0000

GPS means “Global Positioning System”. It is a system of 24 satellites that give the earth complete coverage of at least three satellites at all times. It was originally, and still is, a Dept of Defense device. However, civilian use is widespread. Many people have them in their cars which, in conjunction with computer maps, will direct them to a predetermined address. I don’t have one of those. Accuracy is very high for military use. It is sufficient (average 5-10 ft for civilian use).

When I was in the Dept. of Geodesy at the Defense Mapping Agency, our department did the satellite tracking for the GPS system. In order for the satellite to give precise positions, the orbit of the satellites have to be determined with high precision. I was not part of that effort, but knew what was happening.

My wife uses her cell phone to call her sisters every weekend. They talk over an hour The technology has made long distance calling equivalent to calling next door. In fact, for my grandaughters, distance is not a function. They talk several times a day.

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By: hrw

hrw — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:00:40 +0000

no cell, no microwave

If I move I will ditch the land line and buy a cell.

Great comment Bob.

The lack of land lines among youth may lead to an underestimation of Obama’s support in polls.

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By: mumsee

mumsee — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:15:51 +0000

Chas,

So the GPS does not work in conjunction with cell towers or some such thing? Might well be worth investing in, we will look into it. Yes, when people do want to make a call out, they have to hike to the tops of the mountains maybe two or three thousand feet.

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By: Chas

Chas — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:40:39 +0000

Mumsee, I suspected that a cell phone may not have coverage in parts of the western mountains. However, it does change procedure when lost.
When I was a scout, they taught us to go down the hill, drainage is always at the bottom of the mountain. If you follow drainage, eventually you will come to civilization of some sort. That may not be true in Alaska, or Australia, but generally, it is true.
If you have a cell phone, you want elevation, where you might have coverage.

A GPS receiver tells you where you are on the earth. It gives latitude, longitude and elevation. It works everywhere: in New York, Idaho, Alaska, Mongolia, and Chile. Everywhere. Some will follow your trek and help you retrace your steps. They cost a little more. If you go into the wilderness, it is very useful.
Mine is Garmin, cost right at $100. It works on AA batteries and is little larger than a cell phone. In North Carolina, a person could not be lost with a cell phone and GPS receiver.

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