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

[Scott Williams]

I've traveled by map and compass since I was able to read them, but we could
have used a good GPS in our party over the San Jacintos, Sierra, and even
some of the Northern desert sections where the trail looks a lot like the
dirt bike tracks in places.  We lost many hours hunting for trail in the
snowy forests of the Sierra, when you couldn't really get a fix on a ridge
above the trees.  Once above the tree line, the trail didn't matter so much
as it was simply a matter of following a heading until you could find the
pass.  If I thru hike again, I will invest in one and learn to use it, (ah
there's the rub), but would still never leave without map and compass.

Shroomer

On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 9:54 AM, Thomas Jamrog <tjamrog at me.com> wrote:

> If I had it to do all over again I'd buy a used Garmin eTrex for under $100
> and download Halfmile's waypoints and just turn it on when I was heading
> toward lost.  It would have saved me days of wandering around looking for
> the trail in the Sierras this year.
> Uncle Tom
>
>
>
> On Oct 27, 2010, at 12:37 PM, Kevin Cook wrote:
>
> > Maybe I got good battery life because the phone is only a couple months
> old?
> > I'll be happy if I can run it all day on a full charge, but I was pretty
> > pleased to see it only used ~50% of the battery. It was probably a little
> > more than half, but it was still "green".
> >
> > It took 24 hours to download that test section, but again, my internet at
> > home sucks and I probably grabbed mare data than I needed. Most of it was
> > downloaded yesterday when I got to work and hopped on the wifi here. We
> have
> > a 20MB connection, so it downloaded much faster. I'm going to try
> > downloading some more PCT in smaller bits to see how long it takes. The
> > trail twists and turns, so I had to download a really large area to make
> > sure I covered all the surrounding areas as well. I'm concerned about
> that
> > time too. Since the plan is to download the next section when I'm in
> town,
> > 24 hours is way too long.
> >
> > I'm eager to hear how well the nPowerPEG works. It sounds like I better
> get
> > mine ordered asap if I want to test with it before the trip. It's going
> to
> > start snowing here soon, so it will be harder to get real hiking in for
> > testing. Please let me know when you get yours!
> >
> > I'll have to look into that waypoint limitation in MotionX. I still
> haven't
> > tried importing anything because you have to email them the file. I'll go
> > start that now and let you know what I find out.
> >
> > Thanks for the info. That PEG has me really excited!
> >
> > On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 10:16 PM, Halfmile <halfmile at pctmap.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Kevin,
> >> Your getting impressive battery life on your iphone using the GPS,
> >> sounds like at least 4 or 5 times longer than my old iPhone 3G. I
> >> wonder if the improvement is all related to new hardware or if the
> >> apps you are using somehow cycle the GPS off and on to save power.
> >>
> >> Regarding the nPowerPEG I ordered one on September 13, on October 25 I
> >> received this update that says in part:
> >>
> >> "However, due to a delay in the delivery of a unique, custom-made
> >> battery that goes inside of the PEG, it is taking us longer than
> >> expected to fulfill orders. Our supplier is delivering small
> >> quantities of batteries each week, and as soon as they arrive, we
> >> build and test units in attempt to fulfill our outstanding orders as
> >> quickly as possible."
> >>
> >> I can't say how well they will work, but don't expect a quick delivery
> >> if you decide to order one.
> >>
> >> On Motion X I have the full (not trial) version but I haven't used it
> >> much in the last year...I pretty much gave up on it back then. Sounds
> >> like it's better now, maybe I will have another go at it when I have
> >> some extra free time although 24 hours to download maps doesn't sound
> >> that promising, hopefully it's much faster with a better internet
> >> connection.
> >>
> >> -Halfmile
> >>
> >> On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 4:53 PM, Kevin Cook <hikelite at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> Let's also no forget the video camera, journal, compass, maps,
> >> flashlight,
> >>> guidebook(? this just occured to me), and probably more things I'm not
> >>> thinking of.
> >>>
> >>> I put the 2 apps through their paces a bit more. The topo app only
> shows
> >> me
> >>> topos. I much prefer the data in MotionX. I can't tell how much space
> >> each
> >>> topo is taking, but I'll find that out. I do know it took awhile to
> >> download
> >>> each one. I downloaded 4 or 5 to experiment with. It is much easier to
> >> put
> >>> halfmile's waypoints into though. Just browse to his site, and there
> they
> >>> are. I also just tried to see how much data Section A uses in MotionX.
> It
> >>> took quite awhile to download this tileset, but it's HUGE. The app
> >>> originally  estimated it would require 477MB, but it ended up only
> >> needing
> >>> 430MB. It took FOREVER! OK, not literally, but it took more than 24
> >> hours.
> >>> It kept losing network connection as my internet at home is spotty
> right
> >>> now, so everytime I moved the phone around between different parts of
> the
> >>> house, work, remote sites, etc, it would interrupt the download. The
> nice
> >>> thing is, it will resume where it left off. Of course I had to look at
> it
> >> to
> >>> tell it to try again. Oh well, at least it finished! I downloaded from
> >> Campo
> >>> to ~San Gorgonio Pass with a ~60 mile width. I think when I hike, I
> will
> >>> break it up into smaller sections, but I'll have to experiment more. I
> >> only
> >>> downloaded the paid version of the app Friday.
> >>>
> >>> Halfmile, I think the problem you had with MotionX's limited # of
> >> waypoints
> >>> was because you were using the trial version? It only allowed me to
> save
> >> 1
> >>> track in the trial version. I was worried I would lose day 2 of a ride,
> >> but
> >>> I was able to leave the recorder paused, email myself the first saved
> >> track,
> >>> delete that one, and then send myself the 2nd one. Now that I have the
> >> paid
> >>> version, I don't think there are any limits to how many tracks or
> >> waypoints
> >>> I can use, other than memory limitations in the phone.
> >>>
> >>> In regards to battery life, my iPhone used half a full charge running
> the
> >>> GPS all day on my ride 2 weekends ago. We rode from Flagstaff to the
> >> Canyon
> >>> via the AT trail and forest service roads. We were out of cell range
> most
> >> of
> >>> the time, based on checking the signal when I would pull it out to take
> a
> >>> picture or whatever. I actually had 2 apps tracking the ride, but I
> don't
> >>> think it affects battery to have multiple apps accessing the GPS. We
> had
> >> a
> >>> supported camp, so I was able to charge it up for the 2nd day of
> riding.
> >>> Again, I used up around half the fully charged battery. Much of the
> time
> >>> both days I was also listening to the iPod!
> >>>
> >>> Perhaps I should pull this out to another thread, but I'm planning to
> use
> >> an
> >>> nPower PEG to keep it charged. Has anyone used one of these? I know
> >>> Burnie(Megan) used on this year, but she never mentions it in her
> journal
> >>> except at the beginning. From the website, it sounds like a few hours
> of
> >>> hiking will fully charge the phone, so I should have continual access
> to
> >> the
> >>> device. I wrote all this yesterday, but waited until I had a final size
> >> for
> >>> the above data. I noticed someone mentioned this device earlier today.
> >> Maybe
> >>> I should put this in that thread or start another.
> >>>
> >>
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