Newbie - HELP!

PhotoGuy · 08-19-2007, 12:56 PM

I'm brand new to the GPS world and have much to learn. I hope that some of you experienced users would be willing to give a Newbie some tips.

I just purchased a Garmin 72 pocket GPS Unit from a friend of mine. It came in the original box, and had the instruction booklets with it. Last night I read through them and the more I read the more confused I became. I don't consider myself ignorant by any means but the way they write these manuals is confusing to someone who's never used a GPS, IMO. I do a lot of hiking in to the desert back country looking for photo ops, in particular old Indian camp sites - artifacts - petroglyphs - etc. About the only purpose for my GPS is to mark where I start-out hiking, where I finish, and how to get back to where I started. Another use I would use it for is to mark dirt roads and my travel along them (and how to return), and possibly to mark where I take particular photos.

Would someone be so kind to explain to me, (in simple laymans terms) how to go about using my GPS for these purposes? You know, to point a beginning and end you push this and do that? I'm sure once I get started with this I'll be able to learn other functions along the way. Thank you for taking the time to help me out. Greg

Max · 08-24-2007, 9:34 PM

Sorry Greg I don't have a Garmin 72 or I'd help ya out.

I can tell you that you probably want to become familiar with Waypoints, and as long as it's telling you what your location is on the screen, you can waypoint it (probably with a menu button) and go from there. The waypoints will stick around on the map and you can navigate to and from them via the navigation system.

Basic? yep - but sorry, no idea on the 72 series at all

sbacon · 08-29-2007, 11:19 AM

Like Max said, start out by learning how to create a waypoint. Then when you go out hiking, create a waypoint at the trailhead. Create more waypoints along your route at trail junctions, photo locations, your destination, etc. You can keep these waypoints for future use. And from the looks of the unit (Amazon.com: Garmin GPS 72 Handheld GPS Navigator: Electronics) you can use the "Go to" function to navigate to any of those waypoints. For example you're out in the desert shooting sunset and hiking back to the trailhead in the dark (I do this all the time). You can use the "Go to" function to help navigate back to the waypoint you snapped at the trailhead.

Make sure to check the manual for how many waypoints you can store on your unit. The older GPS models are much more limited than today's models.

Once you get the basics down, check into "geotagging" your images. This is the process of putting lat/long/elev information into the EXIF information of your digital image. I've started doing this with all my images. So each image contains the exact location it was shot.

Hope this helps...

08-19-2007, 12:56 PM	#1
PhotoGuy Join Date: Aug 19 2007 Location: Nevada Posts: 1	Newbie - HELP! I'm brand new to the GPS world and have much to learn. I hope that some of you experienced users would be willing to give a Newbie some tips. I just purchased a Garmin 72 pocket GPS Unit from a friend of mine. It came in the original box, and had the instruction booklets with it. Last night I read through them and the more I read the more confused I became. I don't consider myself ignorant by any means but the way they write these manuals is confusing to someone who's never used a GPS, IMO. I do a lot of hiking in to the desert back country looking for photo ops, in particular old Indian camp sites - artifacts - petroglyphs - etc. About the only purpose for my GPS is to mark where I start-out hiking, where I finish, and how to get back to where I started. Another use I would use it for is to mark dirt roads and my travel along them (and how to return), and possibly to mark where I take particular photos. Would someone be so kind to explain to me, (in simple laymans terms) how to go about using my GPS for these purposes? You know, to point a beginning and end you push this and do that? I'm sure once I get started with this I'll be able to learn other functions along the way. Thank you for taking the time to help me out. Greg

08-24-2007, 9:34 PM	#2
Max 'tis the season for seat time Join Date: Dec 28 2006 Location: Near Boston, Ma. Posts: 876 Blog Entries: 2	Re: Newbie - HELP! Sorry Greg I don't have a Garmin 72 or I'd help ya out. I can tell you that you probably want to become familiar with Waypoints, and as long as it's telling you what your location is on the screen, you can waypoint it (probably with a menu button) and go from there. The waypoints will stick around on the map and you can navigate to and from them via the navigation system. Basic? yep - but sorry, no idea on the 72 series at all

08-29-2007, 11:19 AM	#3
sbacon Join Date: Aug 27 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 1	Re: Newbie - HELP! Like Max said, start out by learning how to create a waypoint. Then when you go out hiking, create a waypoint at the trailhead. Create more waypoints along your route at trail junctions, photo locations, your destination, etc. You can keep these waypoints for future use. And from the looks of the unit (Amazon.com: Garmin GPS 72 Handheld GPS Navigator: Electronics) you can use the "Go to" function to navigate to any of those waypoints. For example you're out in the desert shooting sunset and hiking back to the trailhead in the dark (I do this all the time). You can use the "Go to" function to help navigate back to the waypoint you snapped at the trailhead. Make sure to check the manual for how many waypoints you can store on your unit. The older GPS models are much more limited than today's models. Once you get the basics down, check into "geotagging" your images. This is the process of putting lat/long/elev information into the EXIF information of your digital image. I've started doing this with all my images. So each image contains the exact location it was shot. Hope this helps... __________________ - Scott http://baconphoto.com