UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information at Penn State University Libraries now has four models of GPS units available on loan for recreational and research purposes. Penn State researchers, instructors and students are encouraged to consider these units when planning research and teaching activities that could benefit from a high-accuracy GPS unit.
The center currently has the following units available:
- Three Garmin Oregon 450 units. Learn more about function and collection features from the Garmin Oregon series manual.
- Two Garmin GPSMap 64st units. Learn more about the functions and collection features from the GPSMap 64 series device overview.
- One Trimble GeoXH 6000 unit. More information is available from the Trimble GeoExplorer 6000 series user guide. Data can be post-processed using Trimble Pathfinder software available at the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information.
- One Bad Elf Flex unit: This newest unit enables high-accuracy data collection depending on length of collection time and post-processing. More information can be found at the Bad Elf Flex site.
“Borrowing a Trimble GeoXH 6000 gave the students in my Forensic Archaeology course an opportunity to get hands-on experience with the type of equipment used by field professionals,” said Laura Stelson, a doctoral student in anthropology. “Without the Libraries and the Hamer Center, a high-end GPS unit like this one would not have been available for the students in this class.”
“The Trimble GPS has been the perfect balance of ease of use and high-quality results,” said Megan Marshall, associate teaching professor of agricultural and biological engineering. “Access to the Trimble has not only given the students valuable experience relevant to their careers, such as how to collect and process geospatial data, but also improved the quality of the final designs that they completed for their community sponsors.”
Helpful resources and documentation on GPS units are available through the University Libraries’ Maps and Geospatial: Global Positioning Systems (GPS) guide. Contact the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information (1 Central Pattee Library, ul-maps@lists.psu.edu) for information on availability.