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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:09 pm 
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here's a story of a couple that put way too much trust in their vehicle gps system. glad they are safe and traveled prepared but i'd have turned around once the darn thing put me on a forest service road in the mountains in late december in oregon. wayyyyy to many people consider these things fail-safe. 8)


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581 ... latestnews


Couple Stuck in Oregon Snow for 3 Days After GPS Leads Them Astray
Monday, December 28, 2009
Associated Press

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — A Nevada couple letting their SUV's navigation system guide them through the high desert of Eastern Oregon got stuck in snow for three days when the GPS unit sent them down a remote forest road.

On Sunday, atmospheric conditions apparently changed enough for their GPS-enabled cell phone to get a weak signal and relay coordinates to a dispatcher, Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger said.

"GPS almost did 'em in and GPS saved 'em," Evinger said. "It will give you options to pick the shortest route. You certainly get the shortest route. But it may not be a safe route."

Evinger said a Lake County deputy found the couple in the Winema-Fremont National Forest outside the small town of Silver Lake on Sunday afternoon and pulled their four-wheel-drive Toyota Sequoia out of the snow with a winch.

John Rhoads, 65, and his wife, Starry Bush-Rhoads, 67, made it home safely to Reno, Nev., Evinger said.

The couple was well-equipped for winter travel, carrying food, water and warm clothes, the sheriff said.

"Their statement was, being prepared saved their life," he said.

The couple had been in Portland and followed their GPS as it directed them south on U.S. Highway 97 to Oregon Highway 31, which goes through Silver Lake and Lakeview before connecting with U.S. Highway 395 to Reno, Evinger said.

In the town of Silver Lake, the unit told them to turn right on Forest Service Road 28, and they followed that and some spur roads nearly 35 miles before getting stuck in about 1 1/2 feet of snow near Thompson Reservoir, the sheriff said.

"For some reason they finally got a weak signal after 2 1/2 days," Evinger said. "They called in. They alternated between two different cell phone numbers."

A GPS-enabled phone is able to send its coordinates to 911, and eventually one of the couple's phones sent its location to the dispatcher's console, the sheriff said.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:45 pm 
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Location: Henderson...
car systems are horrible....my JK mapping is the worst ever...but the screen is cool to see in da city!
:wink:

I use an IPhone and use an application called Motion X
http://www.MotionX.com
cool vid showing how it works
http://gps.motionx.com/video/
it is the most complete system I have ever seen...way better then the Garmin I had.

Travel safe

mac

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 6:50 pm 
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Location: Caliente, NV
Actually it was their cell phone GPS that got them into trouble.

Any mapping system has the potential to do this if it gives you options for shortest/fastest route. Case in point, the Old Alamo road being closed from all the idiots trying to get to Tikaboo Peak and Area 51 in their rental cars. I have seen mine do it first hand, suggesting roads that have been abandoned 30-50 years ago as being an "alternate route" :roll:

But you'd think since they were some what from the area they would have had a clue about the conditions up there at this time of year. Then again they are from Reno, and Reno has the same problem Vegas has :wink:

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:38 pm 
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Location: Henderson...
GaryB wrote:
Actually it was their cell phone GPS that got them into trouble.

Any mapping system has the potential to do this if it gives you options for shortest/fastest route. Case in point, the Old Alamo road being closed from all the idiots trying to get to Tikaboo Peak and Area 51 in their rental cars. I have seen mine do it first hand, suggesting roads that have been abandoned 30-50 years ago as being an "alternate route" :roll:

But you'd think since they were some what from the area they would have had a clue about the conditions up there at this time of year. Then again they are from Reno, and Reno has the same problem Vegas has :wink:


yes i agree...i was just commenting on how crappy my Jeep GPS system was

the system for the iPhone use does not use cell service
it direct connects to satellite connections...not sure how but it works.
it will show maps from google and pinpoint you within a few ft.
:wink:

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:30 pm 
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My 89 Jeep came with the latest navigation system for that year. I think they called it the Compass option. :shock: :roll: :lol: 8)

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:08 pm 
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Location: Winnemucca, NV
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"GPS almost did 'em in and GPS saved 'em," Evinger said. "It will give you options to pick the shortest route. You certainly get the shortest route. But it may not be a safe route."

That was the problem, their options or settings were set for the navigation unit to go via the least amount of mileage, regardless of road type.

My Delphi NAV200 used to get me irritated by doing the same thing - trying to lead me along every dirt road or two-track when I was sticking to paved highways and byways - until I finally dug through the instructions and found that setting it to "fastest" will set the navigator to use only the paved roads and highways found in its internal database.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:50 pm 
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i can't even remember how many 10's of thousands of miles i've done, including trips from one coast of the country to the other, without even a compass let alone a gps. if i'm looking to stay on blacktop there are lots of maps, you know printed on paper not on a video display, that can get you anywhere you want to go. but everyone today, including these 2 seasoned citizens who should have known better, wants to be lead around without having to think, just follow the on-screen directions. i've met people that can't get from summerlin to henderson without their nav system to show them the way. so sad, so very very sad. 8)

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:58 pm 
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Yeah, but they're sure handy for finding the nearest Burger King in Salt Lake ... :lol:

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:27 pm 
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brad/duuuude wrote:
i i've met people that can't get from summerlin to henderson without their nav system to show them the way. so sad, so very very sad. 8)


I know of folks who can't find the end of their driveway.

I agree with what you said mostly, as I choose maps and the seat of my pants over what a GPS might say, but they sure do come in handy. I have the next 5 years or so of Christmas Trees GPS'd :lol:

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:53 pm 
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I keep trying to explain to my wife; GPS tells you where you've BEEN. A map tells you where you want to GO. I take the paper maps with me to figure out where I want to go, cause my GPS doesn't even have the option of giving it an address to find. Garmin Colorado hand held doesn't let you ask it turn by turn directions. But, I really like the topo maps and portability. Plus, finding your way around town is a skill that comes in handy almost daily.

Travis

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:42 am 
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Let me see Summerlin to Henderson, ok TOM TOM is telling me to turn left on the Alamo road in the Desert National Wildlife Range. I should be in Henderson in no time. :) :) There is a Starbucks on this Alamo Road right? My Gps is not showing any???

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:10 pm 
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http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2009/12/ ... latestnews

Air Force not happy with reports

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:56 pm 
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The AF is right. They only provide the signal. The companies that produce the mapping software is partly responsible. The end user is definately responsible to make the right choice.

I do a lot of out of state travel for work. I use a Magellan Roadmate GPS when traveling. So far the only problem that I have had was while on vacation I had a scenic tour of Orem Utah because of a bad direction from the gps. I almost got turned into a cul-de-sac while driving the motorhome towing the Jeep. No place to turn both around and could not back up. Luckily, I caught the mistake before it was too late. Other than that, it has been pretty reliable. But, I still have to be aware of my surroundings.

My question about that couple in Oregon is when the snow started to get deep, why did they keep going foward when they should have turned around.

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:25 pm 
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I use my GPS to help around town. with my short term memory issues it really helps me get around. However I still have to kind of know because I haven't updated it so some streets are not on it or when I punch in the wrong name of a POI it really makes it fun driving to a place. :D

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:22 pm 
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I use maps and Google Earth to find trails, then load way points into the GPS and then save the trail after the run. Can't be done with the GPS alone! ( I LOVE Google Earth)

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