this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2024
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[–] nottelling 43 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Yup, was a Garmin. Part of me has been a little worried cause i can't find my way anywhere without GPS anymore, and Google has been getting shittier every day.

Hell, I remember the first time I used maps on a computer to plan and print a route, and the first time I could do it online with MapQuest.

Those were moments that the Internet really felt like the future.

[–] mipadaitu 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I used to tape maps to the gas tank of my motorcycle on trips.

Then mapquest became useful and I taped printed directions. Made it a lot easier.

Then I got a Garmin waterproof, handlebar mounted GPS and it was glorious, though you had to buy map updates every couple years.

Eventually phones were actually able to be used for directions and I kept a phone connected to a homemade battery pack in my jacket pocket, with an earbud under my helmet, so I just listened to directions and music.

Finally got a phone connected to a handlebar mount, plugged into the bike power, with a Bluetooth headset built into the helmet. Probably the least safe of the options, but I can listen to podcasts, audiobooks, music and see the maps while it directs me with audio, just like a car display would.

[–] logi 6 points 2 months ago

I rode from the UK to northern Italy with nothing but an early hiking go's unit that had no map. Just an arrow pointing to Torino. The trip over the Alps was very random.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

I'm still not sure how i found anything before gps was a thing. I remember getting my licence and my first trip with a friend. He printed out like 20 pages of google maps. He sat next to me and went through it like a person wo went mad on the nautilus. Halfway through it, he threw it all on the backseat and only kept the last page and said: "we're looking for some place that sounds like hitler and then 15 min later we go left and there is a house with a dragon in the yard.

We never took a wrong turn on the whole trip. Same at work, i would get a bad printout of a city block where i wasn't even sure where it was. And somehow after driving around in circles for a bit i would always magically find it.

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[–] perviouslyiner 26 points 2 months ago (2 children)

It tells you which direction something is in, but can't help plot a route to get there.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I still use my Garmin Geko even now. Useful as a basic device recording a track I can geocode photos with, and runs for days on two AAA batteries. In a pinch you can reverse a track and go back the way you came too 😅

[–] afk_strats 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's such a good idea. My camera has to pair with my phone to get GPS readout and it's a nightmare app. Going to look into this

[–] perviouslyiner 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Openstreetmap has a load of tools to help with this, as we used to use this technique for surveying.

For example, JOSM can geolocate photos against a GPX file, and display them over your map.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Nice device!

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I still remember printing out google maps directions, then missing one turn and then being completely lost.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

The number of times I had to stop and recalibrate with the paper map was high!

[–] itsathursday 2 points 2 months ago

I used to geocache this way because I couldn’t afford a GPS. Finding caches took some time!

[–] owenfromcanada 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yep. Seemed pretty shiny compared to printing off directions from MapQuest. Then we figured out how to customize the voice, and it was shenanigans from there.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Man, TomTom had some kickass ones. Vader was on mine for too long.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Internal thought process: "psh, it's not just over-35's who remember the dawn of GPS, I'm only... thirty... six..." 😩

I don't have deeply shocking memories about using GPS for the first time, it was just this gadget my dad got for road trips so we didn't have to deal with an atlas. However, I still remember being a passenger in a moving car using my first smartphone, watching our progress on Google Maps and feeling like I had gained the ability to see around corners. Technological progress seemed unambiguously positive and my phone just kept getting more useful.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Alternate question: do any of you (maybe a bit older than 35) remember the last time you bought an updated paper map for your area, or one for a road trip? They used to be at most checkout lanes in many stores.

I can already hear the "maps on paper? How could you find anything?"

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Maybe five years ago?

I like having paper maps in the "oh shit" bag

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

No, because if I need information I stop at information places at the border and get a map for free. Sometimes you can get whole guidebooks full of maps and directions and interpretive information for free. I picked up maps or guidebooks multiple times this year.

[–] PumaStoleMyBluff 2 points 2 months ago

I do still use my city's paper bike route maps, although they're free. I rarely use them to get to a specific place, though, just for planning where I can make a contiguous loop I haven't done before.

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[–] Brkdncr 9 points 2 months ago

I remember how tedious using maps to get anywhere was.

Last week I traveled through some rural desert backroads and Apple Maps got me there no problem, but it had taken me on an indirect route. As I was driving I discovered that it was because a number of the roads were completely closed. If I had been using maps I would have had to stop and figure out the detours on my own.

[–] johsny 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Garmin nuvi 250, and then shortly after that a Garmin Nuvi 500, which I still use almost every day when I drive.

Almost 20 years old.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago
[–] reddig33 6 points 2 months ago

Hertz rent a car on a business trip. It was this little box with a yellow display that would ding when it was time to turn. I thought it was so cool!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

In 2001, I rented a van in Japan. Digital mapping is essential for Japan, because most streets have no names, and house numbering is almost completely random, often based on the year they were built rather than any linear sequence.

It was incredible to me to be able to punch in a destination and see the map. At the time, I don't think it could speak the directions to you. And you could search for nearby restaurants and gas stations too!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

I couldn't tell you the specifics, but back in the 1990's, we had GPS devices that just had an LCD read-out of your latitude and longitude, so you could find your position on a paper map. They were on the market as survey devices, but were also useful for wilderness travelers.

It's hard to recall exact dates, because the devices developed incrementally, and navigation mode on Google Maps didn't spring into existence ask at once.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Yes. I remember seeing them advertised on a trip to Japan and not fully understanding how they even worked. It really seemed like the future. It was a few years before they were available here and prices came down enough to use it. My first trip was navigating home from Fry's

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

I do, the GPS maps was of course outdated, and brought us to the most random mud trail in the area.

It had potential, but definitely a lot of things to improve.

[–] jpreston2005 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yes. I was prepared though, I had directions from Mapquest printed out and ready to go in case it messed up. I was using an early-gen Garmin GPS that was just a GPS. It did mess up quite a bit, and I had to take it inside, plug it into my computer to update maps. It also could only hold so much, so I had to limit the maps I had available to just my city.

[–] Thebeardedsinglemalt 2 points 2 months ago

I first used MapQuest in HS (2000) and it took us so far out of the way just to use a main road.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I'm 37, and yes. Along with the laptop I took to college in 2007, I bought a copy of Microsoft Streets & Trips that came with a USB GPS receiver. The software itself worked fairly well, the GPS receiver worked badly twice and then completely gave up. Used that software for several years to print maps and directions on paper to refer to on the road until Google Maps surpassed it.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

I remember the first time I used one, but not for technically getting anywhere. It was the mid 90s I think, childhood memories are hard to place exactly.

My dad bought a GPS device for work and let me play with it a little. It was an even older model from the late 80s probably. Alphanumeric display only, it couldn't even draw an arrow let alone a map.

I tried to follow the instructions from the manual to make it do something. I remember wanting to navigate to the other end of the back yard. But the manual was all in English and I couldn't figure it out in the end.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Yep.

I thought it was a great tool.

But I still know how to use paper maps and a compass. Because electronics fail waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more often than paper does.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Yes. I took a trip to Ireland and rented a car. I had a Garmin GPS unit which I purchased for the trip and was extremely helpful.

I remember the first time I saw GPS units at the electronics store. It seemed like some crazy military grade thing from a movie.

[–] 11111one11111 3 points 2 months ago

I remember shitting on a friend 3ndlessly for his dependency on his Garmin style GPS. The go to was that he couldn't find his own dick with out his GPS. One day it's just the two of us coming back from the city. He's yelling at me to use the GPS as I was the passenger but being the asshole I am refused to turn it on and told him if he cant find the two turns to get on the expressway than we weren't meant to go home. We'll fuck me if he didn't fuck up missing every on ramp which then led to him trying to just stay under the overpasses hoping to run into another on ramp. Finally I decided to fold and give him directions when he actually turns onto the walking path that takes pedestrians along the water front 🤣🤣🤣 fucking worth every minute we wasted. Motherfucker could lift a ton, but was too dumb to spell it.🤣

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

On my first smart phone ca. 2014, I had Here Maps (a Nokia product I think?). I didn't have any data plan, and that mapping service didn't require it. I don't think I ever used it, but that may be the first. Otherwise, earlier this year I used my work phone and whatever it has for navigation. I hated it 😅 I clearly liked knowing directions more then one turn out.

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[–] olafurp 3 points 2 months ago

I don't make the cut since I'm 33 but I remember being 10 and my dad had a directional only GPS where you could put down coordinates of a place and get the direction needed to go towards it.

I had the GPS and my dad was winging it without a map and me asked his friend if it's left or right and I said the GPS pointed to the right or whatever when they would he guessed left. They went for it and I navigated couple of roads and found a shorter path.

It's a pretty nice memory I have of my dad which passed away 8 years ago. Thanks for reminding me

[–] GlendatheGayWitch 2 points 2 months ago

Yes. We ended up lost on our hike while using it.

Second time was better, we were geocaching and were able to find quite a few if them. Although it might have been easier to find using points on a map with a compass.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Proabably for hiking ...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Yep. Borrowed the GPS head unit (Garmin, I think) from my cousin with money for a road trip to SF.

I remember that it worked great until we got to the city itself, then the buildings made it hard to get line of site to 3 satellites. So we ended up printing a bunch of maps from our hotel's business center anyway. But it got us there and made it easier to find gas stations along the way.

[–] AgentGrimstone 2 points 2 months ago

We bought one for a trip and it stopped working halfway through. Never got connection back. Fortunately we wrote down directions as backup.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

actually rarely do. Sometimes with google but really I just want the map. Biggest feature to me is downloading a section of map and its annoying they kinda hide it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

No, because printing directions off the internet from mapquest etc. has been around almost forever, and although I used GPS a lot to measure positions I never had a smartphone until quite late (2010 I think), so by the time I used GPS to get somewhere no part of it was special or new.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

No, but I remember buying my first smartphone (SymbianOS) without a data plan and being terrified that using the GPS function with pre-downloaded maps would accidentally run up a thousand dollar phone bill.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I got completely lost on a highway abroad and Symbian on roaming saved me. And costed a lot in roaming fees.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I can't remember the exact first trip, where from/to etc, but I do remember when it first dropped and I was sitting in a room with a few friends just looking up places and basically saying "RIP Mapquest lol" for a few minutes, then we probably played xbox or walked to the mall to eat and bum cigarettes off of adults lol.

[–] Telodzrum 2 points 2 months ago

I used a dedicated, very expensive, handheld unit when on a canoe trip through the backwoods in Ontario in 1997. It was much more expensive and less accurate back then. When the Bush Administration opened the larger military GPS network to public use, things changed in an instant.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

My first GPS was an entire laptop sitting in the passenger seat with a card adaptor. Then I upgraded to a PDA (remember those?) with a card adaptor (may have been the same one, I can't remember). Motorcycled over 3000 miles with that setup before smart phones became a thing.

[–] RebekahWSD 2 points 2 months ago

Yeah! My parents had a garmin or the like. Mother downloaded some voice pack for it, I forget who it was of. We still had papery maps with us, in case.

[–] IphtashuFitz 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Used GPS on boats as early as the late 1980’s, back when selective availability was still a thing. For those unfamiliar with it, GPS was initially military-only, and when they allowed civilian use they were concerned that US adversaries could use it for precision attacks. So SA was included in the civilian version, which introduced a random error of up to something like 1000 yards.

The truly ironic thing is that the US Coast Guard (a branch of the very military that created SA) saw the usefulness of GPS for marine navigation, but only if SA was removed. 1000 yards could easily mean the difference between a boat running aground (or worse) or not.

So the USCG built ground stations that would receive GPS signals, calculate the SA error, and broadcast a fixed signal. That was called Differential GPS, or DGPS. Boaters could buy special DGPS receivers for years, which were as accurate as GPS without the SA error.

Eventually the military was convinced to do away with SA entirely so DGPS was retired. It was only after that happened that GPS became globally useful for car, hiking, etc. navigation.

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