Introduction

The team invested in several Garmin eTrex Legends and Garmin's MapSource software data. The following training outline focuses on goals and functional principles sufficient for quick and easy use in the field. The GPS is a tool in the indiviual member's "SAR toolkit" to be used as an extension of normal land navigation, map and compass skills. It is also expected that assignment-specific GPS units will assist teams in locating the stating points and any point of interest the command post wants searched.

a. Brief overview of the GPS

i. Power on and off; back lighting
ii. Obtaining Satellites
iii. Quickly finding lat/long
iv. Discuss accuracy issues

1. Number of satellites
2. Map data variances (UTM vs. lat/long and datum)
3. How close is needed before voice calls kick in?

b. What we want a GPS to do for us

i. Get a team to the starting point of a search assignment
ii. Tell the team lat/long at a glance at any time
iii. Keep track of a teams journey
iv. Show nearby points of interest
v. Mark important points along the way
vi. Get a team back to base camp

c. What we will learn

i. Basic operation of the GPS
ii. Waypoint functions
iii. Go To functions
iv. Displaying and panning maps; zooming in and out
v. Clearing and saving tracks

d. Maintenance

i. Battery compartment (two AA)
ii. Water tight GPS except for the battery compartment
iii. Check out / check in

a. High tech hide and seek

i. Break into 4 or 5 teams
ii. Assign team members GPS and radios
iii. Teams set a waypoint at base camp
iv. Each team goes off in a different direction
v. Team arrives at some random location, makes the area using flagging tape, notes lat/long location
vi. Teams radio in location using lat/long
vii. Team is assigned to go and find other team’s location using the “Go To” function

Word version of the outline

The team select the Garmin eTrex Legend for the following reasons:

• Compact Size
• Waterproof
• Easy to use (the click stick makes single thumb use a breeze)
• Garmin's service record is outstanding
• The Legend is the least expensive of the units that has map upload and download capabilities
• 8 MEG of memory is sufficient to hold the MapSource data for the entire San Francisco bay area
• Use of double A batteries