Those little orange RSS or XML buttons are "the next big thing" -- you can use them to get news feeds from CNN or BBC, as well as just about anything else, including news on upcoming movies, DVD releases, your favorite musician's tour updates, etc.

Once you get started, it's like having your favorite parts of the Web come to you. No need to go out and check for updates all the time.

"RSS" means "Really Simple Syndication." What it means to you is that when you subscribe to a site that has an RSS feed, you can keep up-to-date without having to check the site every day or week.

How do you get started? Easy!

Download a free RSS Reader first. This is special software that reads the RSS feeds...

Windows -- RssReader
http://www.rssreader.com/

Mac -- NetNewsWire
http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/

Once you're set up, here's all you have to do...

Right-click (control-click for Mac users) on any orange RSS button on a site, blog or news source that interests you. Start by right-clicking on the orange button below. Then...

Select Copy Shortcut ("Copy Link to Clipboard" for Mac, "Copy Link Location" for Firefox browsers), and paste that URL into your RSS Reader.

And that's it! You're subscribed.

To add the 4x4OffRoads.com feed to your:

 - MyYahoo!
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Here is the URL of the 4x4OffRoads.com RSS file: http://www.4x4offroads.com/4x4-off-roads.xml

I appreciate if you try this out and since this is a new feature of the site - I would also appreciate if you let me know about any issues you have in using the feed.

South Pole World Record
Ice Challenger team with Gunnar Egilsson and Jason De Carteret and other team members have set a new world record for overland journey to the South Pole.

Nissan Patrol 1993 - 44 Inch Modification
Óskar Erlingsson in Iceland has made all the necessary changes to fit 44 inch Fun Country tires under his monster. Serious work has been done on the drive train and engine with more to come.

AT405 Radial - New 38 inch tire
Arctic Trucks is now introducing to the Icelandic market the first big off road tire specially made for driving on snow and wet conditions.

ARTICLE
 

GPS Basics
Traveling in a strange and unknown land is always difficult. People have used compasses and maps to learn their way and before that Vikings used stars and the height of the sun to sail for long journeys on the big unknown ocean.

Modern days of computers and satellites has brought us ever more accuracy in finding our present location on our planet earth. Global Positioning System - GPS is only a little over a decade old now. It is now used for the most accurate positioning available with receivers that are easy to keep in the off road vehicle and even carrying along for hiking tours. There are even some wrist watches with GPS built in!
GPS is based on 24 satellites circling around the earth in 20,200 km height (12,552 miles) and transmitting radio signals down to us. Satellites transmit signals with information about their exact position as well as the time based on accurate atomic clocks.

At any time there should be at least 4 satellites over you in the sky. The GPS receiver takes the time signal from one of them and synchronizes its clock. Measuring how long the signal reaches the receiver from the other "visible" satellites enables the receiver to calculate the location on our three dimensional earth.

Using the GPS receiver is pretty simple especially compared with all the complicated calculations and measurements involved. You could use a written list of locations or a route to find your way. However a map along with a GPS system is the most efficient way to use it. A normal printed map is quite usable. Some newer receivers have a built in map and even a memory card for your specific region. A digitized map in a computer gives you the most flexibility because you can store routes and tracks and follow your progress in real time on the screen.

Newest receivers use street maps to lead you to an address you have never before gone to. Giving vocal directions like "take second right at next roundabout". Off road users find maps with tracks and rivers along with height lines and hut locations of more use.

From the time the US Department of Defense stopped corrupting the signals for civilian use accuracy in GPS systems has improved a lot. Around 5-10 meters (12-24 feet) horizontally and 20-30 meters (50-70 feet) vertically. WAAS technology used in the states improves these numbers significantly.

For major trips I recommend you also take an old fashioned hand held compass along as backup if the GPS receiver fails - that can be a lifesaver.


Thrandur Arnthorsson is a 4 wheeling enthusiast and the webmaster of 4x4OffRoads.com.

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