Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

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SirBC
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by SirBC »

I take a map/compass but I also like having a GPS to mark locations when I'm scouting for photo locations during the day that I may have to hike back to/from when it's dark out. I use Gaia GPS on my (android) phone but I usually only bring up the map and find the location when I'm dropping a pin to mark a location and that saves a lot on the battery versus leaving it in tracking mode full time. I can get a good 5+ days using it this way.

I also have a Suunto Traverse watch which I use both to log my route and also to load and follow a route. It has a "breadcrumb" feature where you can follow your route back to where you started which I've found helpful when heading back to camp in the dark after a sunset shoot. The watch has three different power savings modes and I typically use the one that drains the battery the fastest, which gives me about 8 hours of tracking. It also shows elevation which I use quite a bit.
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Wandering Daisy
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I am "I-phone ignorant". I thought you had to have cell coverage to use the I-phone. Half the time or more I have no cell coverage. That is why I do not bother to take a cell phone. I thought GPS units access via satellite and thus are more reliable, yet there are still places where you cannot get adequate lines to satellites.

With my cell phone, I have found that there is a vast difference in getting coverage based on your carrier. We have ATT&T which is terrible in rural areas. Evidently Verizon is better.

I disagree that old maps from the 1970's are just fine for the Sierra. I would buy the updated maps since it is incrementally a small cost compared to the total cost of having a GPS.

Trails marked on maps are simply over-simplifications of the real trail. Do the trails show up on a GPS or I-phone as someone's actual GPS track or just as scanned lines? When you say Google Earth is used by an application, does that then overlay the Google Earth data on the map? How is the image/vs map projection distortion problem solved?

All too iffy and complicated for me! I will stick to my old paper maps.
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AlmostThere
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by AlmostThere »

I'm using the ViewRanger app to mark downed trees on the trail and attach a picture to the coordinate with the iPhone. It's in airplane mode for the duration of the trip. Since my camera is dead (third camera deceased in ten years, a fourth was lost) and I just had to replace another couple gear items and another pair of pants that tore, I'm left using the phone instead. It's working so far. But that's not navigation. I've been printing maps from CalTopo in addition to having the good ol' Tom Harrison maps.
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SirBC
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by SirBC »

Wandering Daisy wrote:I am "I-phone ignorant". I thought you had to have cell coverage to use the I-phone. Half the time or more I have no cell coverage. That is why I do not bother to take a cell phone. I thought GPS units access via satellite and thus are more reliable, yet there are still places where you cannot get adequate lines to satellites.
You do not need to be connected to a cell tower for the GPS to work. So the idea is to first put the phone on "airplane" mode which will turn off all connections, including to cell towers and GPS satellites. Then you turn on GPS function. This lets you use the phone as a GPS device only and the phone won't try and connect to cell towers. Also, if you allow your camera app on the phone to tag your GPS location on photos all of your trip photos will be geotagged.
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Joemorton85
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by Joemorton85 »

I use the "topo maps" app by Phil Endecott. It's a great app with some cool features. It let's me download map data at home before I head into the backcountry. Very precise locating and great looking maps. I use this app while iphone is on airplane mode and it doesn't use up much battery at all. Definitely worth the few bucks they charge for it.
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Fyrmng
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by Fyrmng »

I have used Gaia/iPhone 6s on my last 2 trips. Simple, accurate, and easy to use. Just download maps for the area you are hiking. I used airplane mode and brought a small battery pack and had no problems using for frequent nav checks, recording my route, and taking a lot of pics over 5 days. Electronics are prone to fail due to damage, water, or just being electronics. ALWAYS have a map and compass for backup.
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rhyang
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by rhyang »

I have an Android phone (I like being able to root it and modify things :) ), and switch to Airplane mode for backcountry GPS use. I've been using Backcountry Navigator; I like its ability to download maps onto a microSD card before trips and organize maps and waypoints/tracks into discrete folders. My current phone is a 2014 Moto G LTE which gets decent battery life and GPS reception. For longer trips (3-4 days in my case usually) I take a small battery pack which charges the phone via micro-USB.

It's also nice to be able to use Google Keep to remember which flies I lost, what supplies I will need to replace after the trip, and other notes. Not to mention being lulled off to sleep by Robert Rich ... :)

One caveat is that I've read charging consumer-grade lithium ion batteries below freezing (0 C) will cause permanent damage to the battery. I suspect most phones have a battery temp sensor and protection code to prevent that though (ie. will not allow charging below freezing). I don't do a lot of extended winter trips anyway, though in 2013 I snowshoed around Crater Lake in Oregon over three days and charged an older phone using the battery pack. At the time I did not know about the freezing temps thing, and wondered why the phone didn't seem to charge up when it dropped into the 20's (F) ...

I also have an older Garmin Foretrex 301, which is a fairly simple and light GPS unit for checking waypoints and so on. It uses AAA batteries, so I usually stick some lithiums in there for cold weather. I rarely use that anymore except on winter trips. I used to use it for things like finding my way back to camp in the dark after long alpine climbs (when this situation became more common I realized that I was getting too old for that kind of stuff :) )
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bobby49
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by bobby49 »

I've seen a lot of backpackers out on the trail who seemed to be "living" on their phone as a GPS receiver. Because of battery life, that could be a problem.

Personally, I do about 98% of my navigation by eye from a large printed map, and I rarely pull out a compass or my GPS receiver. It is nice to have those navigational aids along, because you never know when extreme weather is going to foul up navigation by sight. My dedicated GPS receiver weighs 3.1 ounces including replaceable two AAA batteries. (Yes, it is an old sucker.) It uses so little battery power that I forget whether I last changed the batteries last year or the year before that. The disadvantage is that it is so old that it has no map database at all. I have to read out the lat/long numbers and then study the margins on the map. One of the disadvantages of many new GPS receivers is that they have a map database, but it is not in great detail. Plus, those modern color displays tend to use more battery power than the old B&W displays.
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Satchel Buddah
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by Satchel Buddah »

+1 to Gaia app. One upside is it will connect to any USGS style type topo map server in the world - So I am hiking in france with it, using the IGN databases, seamless.
You do need to download your maps (for free) beforehand if you are getting out of coverage of course. Some really nice bits are the possibilities to add flags on your maps for later uses (possible/desirable campsites, water sources) and marry them to a photo snapped with the phone.
Downside is battery usage, so for long hikes need to double check airplane/low power modes and gaia's settings and possibly a pack a battery pack or solar charger... Paper maps/compass never fail.
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longri
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Re: Looking For Simple GPS Unit?

Post by longri »

The Gaia app works pretty well most of the time but it's kind of expensive. The app itself is free but you have to spend $20 every year for basic, open source quality maps. The premium maps are $40/year. If you don't care about all the bells and whistles and just want to locate yourself on a decent topo map there are much less costly apps available.

I can easily go for a week with my phone using the GPS and the camera. To minimize charge loss in the cold I either turn the phone completely off at night or keep it in my sleeping bag. With a 3oz USB battery for recharging I went for 18 days one time. I used the paper maps a lot but sometimes the GPS is simpler, quicker, easier.

Paper map and compass is not infallible. Not even close. You can lose the map or ruin it the rain. You can drop the compass. You can fail to bring a needed quad. In any case, if navigation is critical you should have a backup, whether old school or electronic.
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