Best Setup for Mapping in Undeveloped Countries? 438
Floodimus asks: "My girlfriend lives and works in West Africa and on my next visit she has asked me to help her do some mapping of uncharted villages. I want to make this study really accurate and useful, so I am thinking about using high tech and low tech resources such as GPS and good old fashioned compasses, but I was wondering what the Slashdot crowd would recommend for GPS hardware (does GPS equipment from the US work over there?), field equipment, mapping software etc. I use both PCs and Macs and would like the software to run on the Mac, but it doesn't have to. What's the best, most rugged stuff you've used? Where are some resources that would help me out?"
Hello? (Score:5, Funny)
Ok, a quick explanation of how this stuff works is in order. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The system consists of 24 or so satellites that provide nearly complete coverage of the globe at any given time. By capturing signals from more than one of these satellites, your receiver can calculate your position based on the last known position of the sats. Thanks to the precision and accuracy of modern electronic hardware, this calculation can be accurate to within 20 meters or less.
More info here [wikipedia.org]
So to answer your question, of course GPS equipment can't be used over there! They use 220V AC and we use 110V AC. Where do you think you're going to find a charger? You need to get yourself a step down transformer [starkelectronic.com], or you'll never be able to charge the equipment! Yeash, what are they teaching you kids these days?
Re:Hello? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hello? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Hello? (Score:5, Informative)
I work in remote, undeveloped countries (doing IT, if you can believe it) and I can confidently say that your biggest problem is going to be power.
Do yourself a favour and:
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Interesting)
Are available at Canadian Tire [canadiantire.ca]
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Funny)
Laptop-only or Standalone with GUI (both!) (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Informative)
Be aware, however, that DEET eats plastic stuff--so keep the concentrated stuff away from your GPS equipment, as well as any synthetic clothing and such.
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Informative)
There are some pills that decrease the chances of getting malaria, and a shot for yellow fever (two shot series, if I recall correctly). Malarone is what I was provided for malaria 'prevention', and was told by a gal I met in the plane (who looked like hell, as she had just been in the clinic BECAUSE OF malaria) that
Re:Power suggestions... (Score:3, Funny)
Are you kidding? I'm writing this from a Panasonic CF-29...you could close it, beat the alligator to death with it, open it back up, and continue working. They're pricey, but great computers.
And yes, if one has the money for it, I would heartily recommend one of these for such a trip.
220V (Score:2)
Re:220V (Score:2)
Re:Hello? (Score:4, Informative)
Well, sort of. Don't depend on GPS 100%.
Infact, a hi-tech solution is nice, but the low-tech is going to be orders of magnitude more use to you. As long as you have a basic geological/terrain map, it it quite simple to put an ink based red mark and write about something you find interesting. This will be more robust than:
As for the GPS equipment? Take 3 hand held sets, tested to be rugged for terrain use: carry 1 yourself, 1 for your partner (incase you get seperated), and 1 spare in your vehicle if yours gets over doused in mud.
On all the above, I assume you're planning a reasonably independent trip, with 1-2 guides, for around 3 months. If you're going in a party of 20 with masses of guides, well much could be unnecessary.
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Funny)
I wouldn't turn it off, I would re-route it 8-)
Turning Off GPS or Selective Availability (Score:5, Informative)
Since you're talking about charting villages in Ghana, worst case is you'll have a 100 meter uncertainty in their locations, which is probably still much better than you have now. More likely you'd have a 5-10 meter uncertainty, and you'd have a similar uncertainty with nearby landmarks (so if the village is next to the river, they're both uncertain by 10 meters but you can see where the river is.)
Re:Hello? (Score:2)
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Informative)
2. Quite a few modern pieces of electronic equipment already contain the necessary transformers to work in different parts of the world.
3. IT'S A JOKE! WHERE THE HECK IS YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR?
Yeash. You'd think the whole explanation of GPS as a setup would have tipped people off.
Re:Hello? (Score:2)
The Ordnance Survey mapped the British Isles to an accuracy of less than 1 metre, top to bottom in 1935. Modern electronic hardware doesn't sound quite so accurate or precise when put into that kind of context.
Re:Hello? (Score:2)
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Insightful)
Then again, if your GPS receiver is bus-powered (like this one [pharosgps.com]) and if your notebook comes with an auto-voltage power supply (99% of them do), all you'll need for it is an adapter to go from an American plug to whatever you need where you're going (like this [kensington.com], which is supposed to adapt to nearly anything).
(There's a
Re:Hello? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Hello? (Score:3, Informative)
Simple Lat/Long models without mapping work fine though.
Somehow I doubt there will be maps of undeveloped countries. One word of warning though - GPS are illegal in some countries. I would check before bringing one.
Re:Hello? (Score:5, Informative)
Check here [gpsinformation.net].
GPS works everywhere, even Africa (Score:4, Informative)
As for mapping software, if you truly want it to be useful, just save off the coordinates and wait until you get Internet access, then integrate with Google Maps using their recently released API and you'll be able to actually look at the villages from above, on your computer.
Actually, this is the perfect time to be doing what you're doing.
Don't take your GPS "everywhere" (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Don't take your GPS "everywhere" (Score:3, Interesting)
The trouble spots in West Africa tend to have too little law rather than too much, but if his girlfriend is in a country with fighting going on, it would definitely be worth her while to ask what the local militia might find objectionable. And stable but paranoid countries like Nigeria might well have laws similar to t
Re:Don't take your GPS "everywhere" (Score:3, Funny)
Because of this choice line of his:
For example in (don't mod me funny)
So the mods (being an ever predictable bunch) decided to go against his wishes and mod him funny! Hilarious, isn't it? A real knee-slapper!
Re:Don't take your GPS "everywhere" (Score:5, Funny)
Re:GPS works everywhere, even Africa (Score:2)
There are also hand-helds, attachments for PDAs, and practically anything else you can imagine.
GPS is one of the more common things used at the DARPA Grand Challenge last year and I have no doubts but what it'll be standard equipment this year as well.
______________________
http://indyrobotics.com/ [indyrobotics.com] 85d : 6h : 57m : 30s : 7ms
Re:GPS works everywhere, even Africa (Score:2)
No (Score:5, Funny)
No. We made sure to send Africa very very degraded signals. How much does a meter of accuracy matter in a desert or jungle anyway?
Re:No (Score:3, Informative)
google for WAAS or EGNOS
Re:No (Score:3, Informative)
I seem to recall that its fairly simple to vastly improve accuracy of GPS by keeping it still for an extended period (days and weeks perhaps). Since the "noise" drifts around your precise location, after an extended period you can average out the noise and get an answer accurate to inches if I recall. Geologists use this trick to detect movement of tetonic plates of less than an inch, though I'm sure they are far more patient
Obligatory Fanboy Response (Score:2, Funny)
Wait, and it'll be built.
Re:Obligatory Fanboy Response (Score:2)
Compass (Score:3, Informative)
NO!! (Score:4, Informative)
latitude, longitude, elevation, time
*Everything* else is interpolated from that info, and if you lose satellites, you lose everything. Even if you stand still, GPS won't tell you where north is; you have to be moving so it can triangulate.
A GPS has some capabilities that overlap with a magnetic compass, and vice versa, but it is extremely risky and potentially hazardous to substitute one for the other.
That being said, I don't know what the OP was planning to do with a compass for mapping villages anyway: a compass doesn't tell you where you are, it only tells you what direction you're facing.
KeS
Re:NO!! (Score:2)
Anyway, the compass on my Garmin eTrex C seems to work fine whether or not I have a satellite lock. It can use the GPS data for the compass heading, but only does so when I'm moving above a certain speed.
Re:NO!! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:NO!! (ok, just Nope) (Score:2)
I wonder how they resolve the local isogonal flux variations (which the compass knows of and the GPS has no clue about).
I recognize that this borders on trivia, and it may not matter much for ditzing around the local geocache, but if you'r
YES! (Score:2)
Re:NO!! (Score:3, Informative)
I have a several year old Garmin eTrex which has both a barometric altitude sensor and a flux-gate compass built in. It's irritating to have to re-calibrate the compass every time the batteries are changed.
I would imagine that there are probably quite a few more recent models having compasses.
Yes! But not all. (Score:5, Informative)
HOWEVER, many handheld GPS units, especially slightly higher end ones DO come with built in compasses, and can tell you which way is north even when you're in the basement of a building with absolutely no satellite reception and you're not moving. (My Brunton MNS falls under this category)
Bottom line, you should know what you're buying and what features it has before you get it.
On a somewhat related note, having a built-in compass can be extremely useful, as it will tell you how far away and in what direction a mark is even when you're not moving - it will tell you relative to the orientation of the GPS. Many units without a built in compass only tell you in what direction a mark is relative to direction of travel - so this can be very confusing if you're standing still or haven't oriented the unit in the direction of travel. Hope this made at least an inkling of sense.
Learn how to use a map and compass. (Score:3, Informative)
It should work (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It should work (Score:3, Funny)
Rugged GPS units (Score:5, Informative)
There are also armored/waterproof cases and what not you can get for the more common off-the-shelf units.
As for software and compatability...I'll defer to someone else to post on that.
Re:Rugged GPS units (Score:5, Informative)
For mapping, I recommend the new Recon GPS Card Edition [trimble.com]. It's under 2K, TerraSync software included, and gets autonomous accuracy of 5-10 meters. The Recon is also rugged, and can withstand drops, mud, sand, floods, etc. If you're worried about charging it, you can buy a car charger for out in the field as well as an international charger that has adapters for quite a few countries.
Trimble is running some really good specials right now on Recons; call your local dealer and see what they can do.
Re:Rugged GPS units (Score:3, Interesting)
you buy 3 or 4 magellans for the same price.
And what is he going to do with a trimble box unit? Plug it into his... palm pilot? Yea, that'll last longer than a Magellan or Garmin.
2 things (Score:5, Insightful)
1) GPS equipment, bought anywhere in the world, works anywhere else in the world, since GPS satellites cover the entire globe
2) All you describe is fine and dandy, but it seems to me that you're forgetting one crucial part of it: power supply. In the Middle of Nowhere, West Africa, you may not be able to find wall outlets everywhere to connect your laptop to everyday. What's more, if you do find power, your laptop might not like it (voltage spikes, bad frequency...).
So my suggestion is that you start designing around your power supply. Solar? Generator? how to conserve power? PDA or laptop? what size battery to you expect to need? etc etc... all that depends on the exact application.
Re:2 things (Score:2)
Re:2 things (Score:2)
Most countries don't look too kindly on foreigners with computers, GPS recievers, compasses, maps, binoculars, and cameras.
Re:2 things (Score:2)
What countries in particular are you talking about? I've travelled a bit around the globe and taken everything except the compass (the GPS served that purpose) on every trip. Obviously in the Third World these items are susceptible to theft...
Re:2 things (Score:2)
They also have solar battery rechargers and rechargable batteries for the GPS unit.
I would think the key to what you want is something with plenty of memory for storing the village locations and, perhaps more importantly, the routes to access them.
Also, some reading material might be useful depending on where you plan on going. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/006 0011602/qid=11 [amazon.com]
Solar Power (Score:2)
Southern Hemisphere GPS Usage (Score:4, Funny)
apocryphal software bug story (Score:2)
(It's been a while, so I could be remembering the details wrong.)
Mike
Power? Storage? (Score:4, Insightful)
Now what are you going to do without that laptop? You're going to need a GPS device that runs for a *long* time on batteries, or you're going to need to bring a crate of batteries where you go. You're also going to need something that allows you to save and tag all this GPS data so that you can decipher it when you do get back to a computer.
Get that figured out, and if you have any money left over, THEN you can start thinking about buying that copy of ArcView.
Re:Power? Storage? (Score:2)
He says he has a girlfriend. My first thought WAS.
If you've got a ham radio license (Score:3, Informative)
GPS hardware reviews @ http://gpsinformation.net/ (Score:4, Informative)
Hope this helps
Best GPS for travelling (Score:4, Informative)
My only complaint with Garmin is the expense of the maps, but I've yet to see much serious competition as far as hardware goes.
Use satellite images (Score:5, Interesting)
I think that a handheld (Palm) would be more convenient for measurements than a laptop. Handheld and GPS receiver do fit in your pocket and they have less moving parts than a laptop.
These satellite images and software (Score:3, Informative)
Landsat-7 is available freely and cover the whole world, but it's only 15 m (panchromatic) and 30 m (multispectral)
ASTER L1B is also free but the cover is not complete. It's very good data with 3 bands in VNIR. 15 bands total.
SRTM-DEM, for topography, is also great and free. 3 arc-second of horizontal resolution and about 5 m vertically (re
Specific African info about GPS & Mapping (Score:5, Informative)
Cartography (Score:5, Informative)
I don't know what "mapping" means in your case. Are you trying to show where each village is or are you trying to create street maps of the major towns? In any case, find out what maps already exist, then go get yourself the best satellite photos you can find, and when you get there, prepare to rent small aircraft for some aerial photography. Trying to map West Africa on foot from scratch with a pocket GPS device would be a fool's errand.
And be VERY CAREFUL. People who make maps are often considered spies by people who carry guns. You'd better be very sure you know what you are doing and have the necessary permission from whoever (official or unofficial) controls the guns in the region you are mapping.
Re:Cartography (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Cartography (Score:3, Insightful)
The plane charter will be of great assistance in contextualizing what you see on the ground against what your sat maps show. You may also be able to spot commonly used trade routes, animal migration routes and footpaths that don't show up as readily as established roadways. Many maps are not able to provide these more subtle details out of concern for clutter or overdoing the scope, but ethnographers, anthropologists and biologists can appreciate it -- especially in areas they don't get t
Political considerations (Score:5, Informative)
Never mind that if the military or intelligence agencies really wanted to know where things were, satellite images would be even more accurate than a cheap/rugged GPS. Many West African countries make it illegal to photograph airports, military bases, police stations and the like.
I'm not saying don't do it, just be careful who sees you. No reason to give excuses for an anti-western, self-important jerk with an automatic rifle to harrass you.
Re:Political considerations (Score:2, Funny)
You've got to be kidding....why would this bother them?
Re:Political considerations (Score:5, Informative)
"You've got to be kidding....why would this bother them?"
A bunch of different coloured people speaking a foreign tongue wander all over your home town with some kind of weird sensing equipment that you've never seen before in your life.
If you can name one town in the USA where behaviour like that wouldn't result in phone calls to (and questions from) the local authorities, I'll agree that the GP was out of line.
But you won't. So no, he's not kidding. People in small towns are just like that.
Be careful!! (Score:2, Interesting)
There might be villages that don't want to have their exact location well known.
Lots of these villages have been at war with other villages and tribes for a long, long time.
Many African governments are currupt, and would love to do ethnic cleansing.
Your wanting to provide accurate maps might do more harm than good.
I can
Re:Be careful!! (Score:2, Informative)
Were you present at all these ethic cleansings all over the continent? Or was all this new found "knowledge" from your one of your CNN fed binges?
I'm African. I am in the United States and it gets really tiring hearing all these "corrupt, cleansing, wars" stories. Jesus! There was a bombing in London last week, you obviously watched it wherever you are. Now will you say there's a war there now? There are wars, like the ones in the middle east, yes but not all over the friggin continent!
Get the fac
The real-life tron bikes might help... (Score:2)
I know it was designed as a joke game, but this way you could draw the maps for the roads between villages just by riding on your bike!
Suspicion of the poster (Score:2)
Re:Suspicion of the poster (Score:2)
Best mapping and spatial software available (Score:5, Informative)
HOW to do this (Score:5, Interesting)
Developing countries generally have a huge surplus of labor - it's one of their biggest resources. They also, like a lot of the world, tend to have lots of kids who are eager to learn new stuff.
What you need to do is take several GPS receivers with you and hook up with a local teacher who can integrate GPS ideas and geography in with their lessons. The teacher could even make it a special project working with trustable students to map their own village(s).
The key here is to push as much onto the students as possible so they do the work and they learn. You'll help the teacher, help the students and help make more than just maps.
GPS is half of the problem. GIS is the other (Score:2)
Watch out for Customs! (Score:2, Informative)
If you're going to bring
Works but not as well (Score:2)
See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAAS [wikipedia.org]
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EGNOS [wikipedia.org]
Toughbook (Score:2)
I have a 72 (replaced by the 73 in recent years) and it's been everywhere with me. They're a little heavy, but you can drop them from a meter onto concrete surfac
Satellite Imagery, GPS and power. (Score:2)
Use a GPS, make sure you can feed it off 12V car and whatever the local power is.
Make sure the technology level you are bringing in is appropriate to the technology the people can afford. Sure you may be able to tell them exactly where Village A is in lat/lon. They know which path to take / which taxi minibus to take anyway. Have you really helped them?
Often the problems are a _lot_ more basic. Getting clean
Mac Software (Score:2, Informative)
Only If... (Score:2)
Your GPS would need a work visa (Score:2)
I'm sure it functions just fine over there, but I wouldn't count on it settling down and getting a job there without applying for a work visa first.
Be ULTRA careful (Score:5, Informative)
Use GRINGO not WAAS (Score:5, Informative)
The Garmin Rhino units w/ integrated FRS Walkie Talkie units are vaery rugged and may be handy for survey. Additionally, to quote the Operation Iraqi Freedom
PEO Soldier Lessons Learned report:
Commercial GPS: As is widely known, many soldiers purchase their own GPS systems rather than use the PLGR. The Rhino was provided to the 82d as part of the rapid fielding initiative. Overall, soldiers were very appreciative of this addition to their MTOE. The Rhino was a vast improvement over the PLGR because of the weight, volume, power consumption and performance - the Rhino consistently acquired satellites faster than the PLGR. However, the soldiers stated they did not use the communications capabilities of the Rhino, at least not extensively, because it was not secure and consumed batteries too quickly in this mode.
If it survives the front lines in Iraq, West Africa should be a cake walk.
Re:Use GRINGO not WAAS (Score:3, Informative)
And a standard GPS will probably be more than accurate enough...mine generally gives a 3D accuracy in the 5 meter range (and I've checked it against a PLGR that has been on averaging mode), without WAAS, which for mapping v
my experience - Pismo+Deluo, or eTrex in pocket (Score:3, Informative)
It depends whether you're going to be walking or driving. I have had very good car-based mapping experiences using an older Mac, namely a G3-500 Pismo. I have found the Pismo and similar Lombard/Wallstreet units to be cheap, very functional, unobtrusive, and very durable -- almost to Panasonic Toughbook standards. Though I use both Mac and PC on a regular basis, ease of use pulls me to the Mac for GPS tools. I use mine with a remote usb-connected-and-powered Deluo GPS unit, which mounts on the dashboard or on the roof of the vehicle using a magnet on the bottom. The Deluo has no display or blinky lights to advertise its presence; it's just a 3cmSq bump with a cable. Get a car charger to keep the Mac powered up, use the nifty Control+Alt+Apple+8 to switch the display to "7337 mode" (inverse greyscale display), and you'll be about as unobtrusive as you can get. Less obtrusive than simply being a western guy in rural west Africa, anyway.
On the other hand, if you're going to be on foot, I heartily recommend ditching the laptop and taking an eTrex Voyager or similar model. It's very durable, gets good reception, fits in your shirt pocket out of sight while still receiving a signal, and runs all day long -- thanks in part to its black and white screen -- on two AA batteries. Make a list on paper of waypoints you expect to see, mark them on the eTrex unit using the little joystick when you get to each spot in sequence, and then put it back in your shirt pocket without making a scene. Take a few sets of rechargable AAs and a solar charger, and leave the computer at home for data dumps at the end of each day.
Better yet, take two or three eTrex units (US$60-90 used), and consider them disposable -- expect to have them all eventually stolen from you or seized by various police or military. You may face less hassle and risk if you appear only mildly irritated that a trinket is being taken, as opposed to hyperventiating over someone taking all your data. Eventually you can take the downloaded data and correlate the traces and waypoints using satellite maps or other starting points.
J
Mapping villages in Madagascar (Score:3, Informative)
We primarily used handheld GPS units (Garmin, Magellan) for mapping the outlines of the reefs. This was accomplished by attching the GPS in a waterproof bag to a float and towing it behind a diver. It was fairly effective, and provided data good enough for GIS work.
We also mapped the roads (read: dirt tracks) and trails in the local area, but the part that seems most approprate to this discussion was mapping the local fishing villages for socio-economic research.
We mapped out the main roads, the major buildings, and all of the houses that we interviewed people at so that we could build up a full profile of the village for input into our GIS work.
For most work, the most basic GPS units were fine (eg. Garmin Etrex, and 7x series - we also used a couple of Magellan and Silva units). Use rechargable NiMh batteries as although they don't last as long as alkalines, you can use a solar recharger to give you an endless supply. (As an aside, only the Garmins were able to run on the crappy local batteries).
As an idea of where we were - the nearest phone line was over 200 miles away, and the only reliable method of communication was satellite phone (radio messages could sometimes get through via several mission relays, but if the weather was off then no chance).
I used a couple of fairly old (P2 233) Toshiba Satellites as my data machines as they could take a beating and keep working (and were free). (Win 98 on both and a dual boot to RH 9 on one)
Hope this helps...
Dan.
Some free solutions (Score:5, Informative)
Get a Garmin handheld GPS with a 12v adaptor & download cable, and probably a crate of AA batts.
Stick with consumer stuff. Buying a spare or 3 is cheaper than buying a Trimble survey grade and they all work well enough.
GPS Software:
Download GPStrans &/or GPSbabel.
http://gpstrans.sourceforge.net/ [sourceforge.net]
http://www.gpsbabel.org/ [gpsbabel.org]
You can load the GPS waypoints/track/routes into a mapping format with GRASS GIS's v.in.garmin or gpsbabel+anything.
Mapping software:
Use QGIS. http://qgis.org/ [qgis.org]
Use GPS plugin.
Data:
Start by downloading SRTM elevation data and VMAP0 digital chart of the world data. Best there will be publicly available for Africa.
Instructions for converting into a usable format here:
http://grass.ibiblio.org/newsletter/GRASSNews_vol
Import and crop with GRASS GIS (r.in.srtm and v.in.ogr modules) and either use with QGIS directly or export into a secondary more popular format for use with other software.
GRASS works well on a Mac. http://grass.ibiblio.org/ [ibiblio.org]
GPS interface programs should work on a Mac, GPStrans is command line only so with some hacking and GPSbabel is well maintained so there should be a Mac port by now.
SRTM: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/ [nasa.gov]
VMAP0: http://www.mapability.com/info/vmap0_index.html [mapability.com]
Region coding... (Score:3, Funny)
LEARN and READ (Score:4, Informative)
If you don't know how to read and use a map, it'll be much harder to make one that's even remotely useful. Get familiar with topographical maps, at bare minimum, and preferably other types you think might be appropriate. Study some cartography. Go out on a compass navigation training course - with not a single gadget on you.
I mean that about the training course, too. You'll learn much better that way, and learn things properly. Don't just think reading a book cuts it, you need to go out and get experience where you still have someone to pull you out or ask questions of.
Get the permission of the local authorities. Others have outlined why that's a very good idea.
I'd also suggest going on a few multi-day bushwalks before you leave. On at least one of them, preferably with someone experienced, leave your GPS unit at home. Why: (a) Bushwalking is fun, especially multi-day trips (b) it'll make you more confident in your ability to handle navigation and the work involved, and (c) you'll appreciate the practice.
Now, I've made some big assumptions about the sort of territory and environment you'll be working in. Even if you don't need the skills outlined above, though, they're darn good to have, darn fun to acquire, and it never hurts to be prepared.
Re:Watch (Score:2)
Oh yeah? and what happens when it stops? do you rewind it?
Re:A couple of answers (Score:2)
G in GSM != Global (Score:3, Informative)
Groupe Speciale Mobile
Maybe my French is rustier than I thought, but I believe that traslates (roughly) as Special Mobile Group.
Re:G in GSM != Global (Score:3, Informative)
Just because it's in Wikipedia doesn't make it true. Just because it's on the Internet doesn't make it true.
GSM really did stand for Groupe Spéciale Mobile at first. But some people from a certain country with an aversion to languages and the rest of the world generally decided it needed an English acronym.
f I was going to Africa, by the way, I'd take at least three GPSs, the simplest most generally robust model I could find. If the local authorities were mor pro-Russia I'd scrounge some GLONAS
Re:Past experience (Score:3, Informative)
No, it won't melt. It will get stolen looooong before it can melt.
General rule of thumb: Anything that won't fit in your backpack, will get stolen and if you let your backpack out of sight for 0.000001 seconds, then it will get stolen together with everything in it.
Note that for protection, it is a good idea to carry a hunting knife, but