Marine users can find plenty
of uses from the above list plus a few more.
- If someone falls overboard you
can return and find him or her.
- In conjunction with a chart you
can avoid shallow water.
- You can avoid submerged objects
if you know their location.
- You can know where you are without
any landmarks.
- They are just as much fun on
a boat.
- You can find the next buoy in
the race or the trip home.
- You can see if your drifting.
- You can hook it to your fish
finder.
- You can see true speed and distance
over the ground instead of water speed.
- You can see the direction you
are going instead of the direction you are pointing.
- You can win log races (if they
let you use it).
- You can use it to drive your
self steering system.
Other uses for a GPS include:
- Documenting the location of that
neat photograph.
- Having something useful to talk
about on your home video.
- Doing some amateur surveying.
(A consumer GPS is not accurate enough for legal surveying.)
- Finding the altitude of your
house.
- If you have a combined GPS/cell
phone your friends can watch you move around on the internet
if you wish.
- A couple of combined GPS/frs
walkie talkies can be used to keep contact and help if
one person gets lost. Good for keeping track of your kids.
- Helps you justify the PDA you
wanted to buy since they can work together.
- Instantly find your location
on an electronic map.
- You can use the backlight for
a flashlight in a pinch.
- Figuring out where the cruise
ship or airplane is.
- Setting your clock. (GPS time
is more accurate than the TV.)
- Teaching your kids about maps,
navigation, and geography.
There are plenty of other users
as well. These include aviators, hikers, bicyclists, motorcyclists,
skiers, joggers, fishermen, hotair balloonists, kayakers,
surveyors, astronomers, and lots more.
...And, how about hobbies and
Games
A GPS can be used to enhance your
hobbies or to develop some new ones. Here is a list of some
unusual items.
- Some folks install a GPS in their
model airplanes. Later, after the flight is over they
can download a track and see where it went.
- Ever wonder where your dog goes
at night? Install a GPS on his back and when he returns
you can find out.
- You can search for confluences.
These are spots on the earth where the lat/lon numbers
all zero out to an exact whole degrees. There are folks
that think these are fun places to find! You can also
look for government survey markers scattered around the
world.
- Other folks have set up hidden
treasures (called geocaches) that can be located by GPS.
Don't expect to find a million dollars though.
- Maybe your next progressive dinner
won't include any traditional addresses but only lat/lon
coordinates. No cheating by saying whose house it is.
- Some cameras can include location
data right on the picture or perhaps you can just take
a picture with your GPS in the foreground.
- Golfers can use a GPS to display
the distance to the pin. Useful for picking the right
club to use.
- A hunter might find that deer
stand he/she used last year.
- A fisherman can find the location
of that secret spot where they are always biting.
- Some of the newer GPS units even
have games built in.
What about your job?
Certainly many jobs spring to mind
when thinking about a GPS. For example a surveyor, a pilot,
or a ships captain, but how about a few more unusual uses.
- How about for a rural newspaper
route? Perhaps the papers would even get delivered when
you were sick.
- How about a real estate agent
who wants to show a house in a strange neighborhood without
getting you and the client lost?
- How about any job that collects
field data? Wouldn't the location where the data was found
be useful?
- How about a farmer? Useful to
manage those microclimates on your property.
- A forest ranger can find lots
of uses, calling in fire support or search and rescue
help.
- Trucking firms may use them for
electronic dispatching.
- Besides, why shouldn't work be
fun too?