Handheld GPS 101: Geocaching

Geocaching is a sort of high-tech treasure hunt and a great way to learn to use your handheld GPS. To begin, go to geocaching.com and enter your zip code. You’ll likely find coordinates for hundreds of nearby caches. You’ll need to register (free) to be able to download them directly to your GPS.

Handheld GPS 101: Routes vs. Tracks

This is the fourth in a series of posts designed to help introduce beginners to the use of handheld GPS receivers. I’ve covered both routes and tracks in this series, so now it’s time to do a direct comparison. Here are some key differences: Routes are about where you are planning to go; tracks are [...]

Handheld GPS 101: Tracks

This is the third in a series of posts designed to help introduce beginners to the use of handheld GPS receivers. Tracks are a record of where you’ve been. People often use the term “breadcrumb trail,” a la Hansel and Gretel, to describe tracks. Your GPS receiver creates this record as you go along, allowing [...]

Handheld GPS 101: Routes

This is the second in a series of posts designed to help introduce beginners to the use of handheld GPS receivers. Routes are used for navigation. As the name implies, they are about where you are going. Routes consist of a series of waypoints, navigated to sequentially in the order you specify. Most GPS receivers [...]

Handheld GPS 101: Waypoints

This is the first post in a new series, designed to help introduce beginners to handheld GPS receivers. Waypoints are perhaps the single most important handheld GPS term, since they are key to navigation. So here’s our definition: A waypoint is a location which can be stored in your GPS receiver in the form of [...]