Data Hacking

Protecting and
Mounting Your GPS
AGPS represents a significant investment as a single electronic device
that you’re going to take into the outdoors, expose to the elements,
and possibly treat roughly. While modern GPS units are quite
robust, they are still electronic devices made of plastic, and as such dislike
getting wet and knocked about. Moreoever, you may take PDAs and other
mobile devices with you that are far happier in the office than on the trail.
Even though GPS receivers are waterproof to a certain extent (most to
IPX-7, which means that they can handle submersion to a depth of one
meter for 30 minutes), they can benefit from a little bit more protection just
to err on the safe side.
This chapter examines the steps you can take when you’re outdoors to protect
your devices from minor cosmetic damage such as scuffs and scrapes,
and more extreme treatment such as impacts and submersion. You also look
at ways to mount your GPS, both in the car or on foot.
Screen Damage
The screen on a GPS or other electronic device is obviously a highly vulnerable
point. Not only is it more easily broken than the rest of the device, it is
susceptible to minor but annoying cosmetic scratches. In fact, the screen
picks up scratches easily, as you can see from Figure 5-1, which shows a
well-cared-for (well, reasonably well-cared-for!) Garmin Vista.
If you are taking along PDAs that have touch-sensitive screens, such as the
iPAQ, these are even more prone to screen damage. In fact, it only takes a
small amount of pressure on the screen to totally destroy one. When it
comes to screens, there’s no such thing as a small amount of damage.
The following sections describe some simple steps that you can take to protect
the screen on your GPS unit.
chapter
in this chapter
˛ Screen protection
˛ Commercial
protection options
˛ In-car mounting
of GPS
˛ Mounting a GPS on
a bike/hiking stick/
ski pole
˛ Make your own
GPS holder