[ale] OT: GPS/nav units?

[tom]

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008, Sid Lane wrote:

> hey,
>
> am thinking about getting one of these but thought this might be a good
> group from which to solicit advice.
>
> basically I'd like to know if one brand generally better than any other, are
> the more expensive models worth the cost, etc.

And what are you trying to accomplish here? Are you looking at a gps as in 
a dynamic map display device or are you looking for a receiver which talks 
to another device for logging/analysis/map display?

>
> also, does anyone know about the "tinfoil hat" factor w/these?  are there
> models that can they be "flushed"/purged by the owner?  I remember seeing
> that the FBI used one against someone in a murder case and while I certainly
> have no such plans I figure in post-9/11 Soviet USA the less info the govt
> has access to the better...
>

Well, I think I know what you are thinking with the "Post-9/11 Soviet USA" 
crack, and with a different charter for this list, I'd suggest a more 
fascist orientation. Still, the units I am familiar with can be cleared, 
seemingly completely, by the user.

To expand a little bit. I have a Garmin etrex, a Nokia n810, and a Nokia 
bluetooth enabled gps receiver (model not recalled). I do not know if the 
little bluetooth gps receiver has a track memory. The other two devices 
do, and those tracks appear to be completely eraseble. (The n810 is 
vaguely similar in abilities to a laptop, but much smaller). The gps 
receiver on the n810, however, takes _forever_ to acquire and lock onto 
the satelite signals.

Hope this helps a little bit.