[ARDF] GPS on course?

[Jay Hennigan]

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005, Kenneth E. Harker wrote:

>      The rules for the 2005 IARU R2 meet included a rule: "The use of GPS
> receivers for navigation is not allowed. It is considered receiving
> assistance."
>
>      Should the rule go a little further and ban the presence of GPS units
> (or cell phones, etc.) on course altogether?  The question is, is there
> any sort of legitimate use of a GPS on course during the meet?
> One that would outweigh the burden placed upon juries to decide whether
> or not a GPS unit was "used for navigation" after discovering that someone
> brought a GPS with them on course?  Is it a good idea to create a situation
> where the jury has to decide whether or not to trust that someone didn't
> cheat?

In my opinion, a GPS receiver is very valuable for "post-mortem" analysis
after the event, in that one's route and speed can be accurately plotted
and analyzed.  On the course itself, I can't think of a use for GPS data
by a competitor that wouldn't be a form of cheating if not in letter then
in spirit.

>      There has to be a certain amount of trust when competitors go out on
> course because you can't watch them the whole time, of course...  but if
> something like carrying a GPS on course could introduce the appearance or
> potential of improriety and it has no compelling legitimate use in the
> competition, shouldn't it be banned altogether?

I have a Garmin Forerunner 301 which is a combination stopwatch, GPS,
and heart-rate monitor.  I have carried it on all of the recent training
events, and took it with me to Albuquerque but deliberately did NOT take
it on the bus to either venue.  Its primary purpose is as an exercise
and workout tool.  In road and track races one can set a target pace and
the unit will show if you are ahead or behind and by how much.  It also
tracks grade (elevation change) and by entering your height and weight
will show calories burned based on distance, speed, grade, heart rate,
and elevation.  All of this can be uploaded to a laptop for overlay on
standard maps and even displayed on websites designed to interface with
the units.

I ran 5K on the track around the field at UNM and sent a link to the
plot of same to the list.  See http://tinyurl.com/8xo3v

It can be used for rudimentary navigation in that one can set waypoints
and show distance and direction to them.  So, one could set a waypoint
at the start and very quickly and easily locate themself on the map
by looking at distance and bearing back to the known point.  This takes
some time and button-pushing if you're in the normal speed/distance/pace
mode, but you can leave it in nav mode if you want.  It also has the
standard "breadcrumb trail" but the display resolution makes this about
worthless for any type of map display.

Also, as it displays distance traveled, one can use it to know generally
whether they have passed the 750M or 400M exclusion zones from the start
or any transmitter assuming that they are running in a relatively straight
line.

>     The IARU Region I rules do not mention GPS or similar satellite navigation
> aids explicitly, and probably rely upon the prohibition against receiving
> assistance on course to cover this issue.  If someone showed up at the
> World Championships start line carrying a Garmin Geko, and told everyone -
> oh, of course I'm not going to use this for _navigation_..., what would
> happen?

I thought about that and was tempted to argue that the IARU rules very
specifically allow "Direction-finding receivers", and a GPS receiver is
obviously used to find direction.  In a way I was pleased to see it
clarified in the rules for this event.  The rules probably should more
specifically prohibit receivers for bands not being hunted to prevent
feedback from others.  This is more a factor in team-style events than
with individual events.

Speaking of rules, the IARU rules have verbiage describing the setup of
the finish corridor in great detail, but I couldn't find anything that
said that a competitor was required to traverse the finish corridor, just
that one had to cross the finish line.  This came up during the 80m event
at ABQ due to the various approaches to the finish area and the length of
the corridor.

--
Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Administration - jay at west.net
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