Revolting, that is mild for when she forgets where North is :-)

No dates yet for setting off, still depending on Sue's dental treatment completion.

Good news on the SatNav though it is now a PDA, handheld computer, I have cracked the opening up of it and could install TomTom now.

Hi Mo

Wow if the idiots hadn't have ruined APRS you could have a Beacon on board and I would know where you are at all times and visa versa even when I am up in a hillside Loire Vineyard, you could send your order as a message.
I am just imagining the tarmac parting as you steam up the road to collect.
Is your PDA WinCE or Palm OS? If so put TomTom on it, went out today and tested it. Its fast its intuitive I set it to beep 250yards before every Speed Camera. It calculates routes and displays info whilst Medion is displaying a dead screen that may be a crash or maybe it will be OK.

Spend? what do you mean spend, I do not spend money unless I have to. This is a subject for PM or eyeball.
However I do suppose TomTom considers rivers and Canals merely as obstacles. They are there but not for navigating on.
Do not navigate on the navigation :-)

Now I assume you have a GPS inputting to the Pocket PC. You are a prime candidate for APRS.
Whilst the modern cursing dummy throwing Radio Amateurs have ruined APRS it does still work in a limited fashion. Limited by the fact that 15 idiots within 5 miles of you will think they are providing a public service and stuff you onto the internet, another 15 will re radiate you from the internet back to RF whether they have an NOV to do it or not.
You can imagine the range resulting, 5 miles or less.

So why not. Not radiate at all, or just accept the limitations. I have spent hours preparing OS maps for use on APRS. All the mapping you need is available on the web. I bet you know some maps that have bridge numbers etc.

You can produce overlapping ie seamless mapping. You can always see your own location plotted on the map and it will be from your GPS. Normally we are watching the progress of, tracking, someone else. I have even created an object which you could assign to yourself. It's a narrow boat. I did this for tracking Eric Young G4MZX NB ???????? based at Gayton, back when the system worked
well.
I have produced seamless mapping at close detail using Aerial Survey Photographs. I aimed to do the whole of the UK but it takes time. You would be lucky you only need the sewers and the map square around them.

This was such detail that you could tell which lane of the M1 a car was in. I knew that a local went on the wrong side of St Georges Avenue alongside the Racecourse. I asked him why, 'roadworks' he said 'there was a hole in the road'.

You are getting me enthused again for APRS I used to be dead keen I introduced South Wales to APRS when I was on Hols there one year. I used to sit at home, track and message to a guy on a Scallop Boat out of Brixham using 2 meters. I could chat to and view my disciples in Wales.

Google, UIView the software is free there are maps available for a start lots of them.
Meanwhile I will poke round TomTom later and see what it thinks of canals.

APRS would be more personal but TomTom would do the job.