(09-03-2026, 10:52 AM)Mike Watterson Wrote:(09-03-2026, 07:06 AM)ppppenguin Wrote: Add "urban canyons" to the list of areas where GPS is iffy. Same reason as mountain valleys.
Though usually there are plaques with the street name and signs at major junctions that aid navigation. I've never felt the need for GPS for driving. I make a list of towns/cities with road IDs if going somewhere new and if it's in the wilds a local map of some kind* of the destination area.
[* Printout, sketch, Ordinance survey]
Sat nav does revolutionise air and sea travel, as long as there is no local war with spoofing. I've not tried it for hiking as I've not done that for decades. I was taught map reading and compass use by professions and always collected OS maps, or borrowed my dad's maps. He left a diary of one hike he was on years before I was born. During the map reading training the issues of compasses were explained and also how to use stick and sun and accurate time on a watch. Also a brief lesson on stars.
The only thing to be careful of with the watch trick to find South (in the Northern Hemisphere), is that it finds North in the Southern Hemisphere. Found that out the hard way
