Get locked on

What to do: Most portable navigation devices will take a bit longer to make the initial satellite lock the first time out of the box. Help it out by letting the device sit--powered on, of course--stationary with a clear, unobstructed view of the sky for a few moments while it figures out where in the world it is.

Years ago, this process could take up to half an hour, but these days a few minutes is usually enough.

The benefit: Subsequent restarts will be faster, because the GPS device knows what satellites to look for first.