[pct-l] smartphone as two-way, also?

Mon Oct 25 18:43:56 CDT 2010

You can use the thing as a phone, GPS AND camera. One item replaces three!

> From: ned at mountaineducation.org
> To: halfmile at pctmap.net; pacificcresttrail2011 at gmail.com
> Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:29:46 -0700
> CC: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] smartphone as two-way, also?
> 
> My "smartphone" is not so smart. It turns itself on inside my pack and 
> drains the battery unless I pull the battery at the trailhead. It even 
> unlocks itself and makes calls to who knows where, all by itself! Pain in 
> the arse, really.
> 
> So, now that phones are becoming so "smart," with GPS as you're saying, do 
> we, now, have a lighter pack because we no longer need to carry our phones 
> and GPS units (by investing in these "smartphones")? Such a deal! Or is it 
> still better to carry both?
> 
> Can a smartphone also communicate two-way if there are no towers around? The 
> Garmin we used this Spring, the Rino 530HCx, had a wonderful two-way radio 
> that kept us all connected through the woods on the snow so we could help 
> each other find the way. Are the phones able to do this yet?
> 
> 
> 
> Ned Tibbits, Director
> Mountain Education
> 1106A Ski Run Blvd
> South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150
> P: 888-996-8333
> F: 530-541-1456
> C: 530-721-1551
> http://www.mountaineducation.org
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Halfmile" <list at lon.net>
> To: "John Abela" <pacificcresttrail2011 at gmail.com>
> Cc: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 11:10 AM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] smartphone as GPS
> 
> 
> John,
> For the iphone I think the two best apps are Topomaps and Basic GPS.
> 
> http://topomapsapp.com/
> http://www.basicgps.net/Basic_GPS/Main.html
> 
> Both work well in areas without cell service and are accurate to
> better than 50 feet in my testing. You need to preload maps into
> Topomaps (best to use wifi) and it can download waypoints directly
> from my site at www.pctmap.net. Basic GPS only displays your location
> in UTM coordinates, so you would use this app with maps that have UTM
> grids printed on them. This is simple and works well and you can
> easily plot your location on a map with 25 meter or better accuracy.
> Basic GPS saves your phone battery too since you turn the phone on,
> wait a minute or two for the GPS fix, plot location, then turn the
> phone off. An iPhone will only run a few hours with the GPS on before
> it drains the battery.
> 
> Last time I tried to use Motion X, I didn't find it very useful
> because it didn't work well preloading maps for areas without cell
> service and had limited waypoint storage capability. Maybe that's
> changed.
> 
> -Halfmile
> www.pctmap.net
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 10:37 AM, John Abela
> <pacificcresttrail2011 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > @Jim K,
> >
> > Did you just use the pdf formats, or did you use the gpx waypoints and 
> > load
> > them up into MotionX, or some other method?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > John
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 10:27 AM, Jim Keener ( J J ) <
> > pct2010 at ridgetrailhiker.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Greetings,
> >>
> >> If a device is marketed as having "GPS", it will have satellite location
> >> capability. Smartphone GPS is typically not as accurate as dedicated GPS
> >> devices.
> >>
> >> Many, many hikers have completed the PCT without any GPS capability. I
> >> carried an iPhone 3Gs this year and, using Halfmile's waypoints, located
> >> myself any time I wanted. There is some really good GPS software 
> >> available
> >> for almost all smartphones.
> >>
> >> Walk well,
> >> Jim Keener ( J J )
> >>
> >> On Oct 25, 2010, at 10:11 AM, "greg mushial" <gmushial at gmdr.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> >> Message: 2
> >> >> Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:44:13 -0700
> >> >> From: Austin Williams <austinwilliams123 at gmail.com>
> >> >> Subject: Re: [pct-l] smartphone as GPS
> >> >> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> >> >> Message-ID:
> >> >> <AANLkTinOvNfuQPZHGGwxJk2BCWN9RR=DTjKCx7wJ9yr6 at mail.gmail.com>
> >> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> >> >>
> >> >> Be careful. Most of the time the 'GPS' in smart phones is based on
> >> >> cell-tower triangulation, NOT gps-satellite triangulation. That means
> >> >> when
> >> >> there are now cell towers around, the "GPS" on the phone won't work.
> >> Make
> >> >> sure you buy one that uses *real* gps, not the kind that uses cell 
> >> >> tower
> >> >> triangulation.
> >> >>
> >> >> Just a heads up.
> >> >>
> >> >> --
> >> >> Austin Williams
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> > Is there any (published) indication of accuracy difference? Seems that
> >> since
> >> > generally towers don't jump around, they should be as good as
> >> satellites...
> >> > no?
> >> > TheDuck
> >> >
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