 Topic Name: Using a Spot to find location
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on: February 01, 2012, 11:40:48 AM
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Blammo
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 66
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« on: February 01, 2012, 11:40:48 AM » |
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Do any of the Spot device emit to the user any information that could be used to determine their location? I guess I'm looking for Lat/Long or format of GPS coordinates. I guess it would work if you are in cell phone range/WiFi Range and receive your own "OK" messages, but what about outside of any coverage other than Satelite?
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« Last Edit: February 02, 2012, 05:02:29 AM by Blammo »
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Topic Name: Using a Spot to find location
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Reply #1 on: February 02, 2012, 06:46:37 AM
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SuPrBuGmAn
Posts: 12
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« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2012, 06:46:37 AM » |
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Are you trying to get away from using both a GPS/Phone and Spot at the same time?
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Topic Name: Using a Spot to find location
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Reply #2 on: February 02, 2012, 07:30:54 AM
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Done
Posts: 1434
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« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2012, 07:30:54 AM » |
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Nope, they aren't designed for that purpose. But most smartphones now have GPS units in them, so maybe you could just use your phone? No need to have cell coverage.
Edit: a phone isn't really a very good GPS device for bikepacking, especially racing. Their batteries simply don't last as long as something like a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx or eTrex 30, which makes them impractical for "follow the line" navigation. But I do carry mine as a backup, so that I can find my location on a printed map. I suppose that you could use a phone on a long race if you just turned it on occasionally to find your location, and then turned it back off to save batteries.
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« Last Edit: February 02, 2012, 04:54:23 PM by TobyGadd »
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"Done"
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Topic Name: Using a Spot to find location
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Reply #3 on: February 02, 2012, 07:05:56 PM
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Blammo
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 66
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« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2012, 07:05:56 PM » |
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I suppose I could carry my phone and just turn it if I get lost. Is there a way to force any of the phone mapping applications to cache certain maps prior to actually getting to those areas?
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Topic Name: Using a Spot to find location
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Reply #4 on: February 02, 2012, 08:24:02 PM
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Done
Posts: 1434
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« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2012, 08:24:02 PM » |
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I use BackCountry Navigator on my Android phone. It does let you cache maps.
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Topic Name: Using a Spot to find location
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Reply #5 on: February 03, 2012, 08:07:41 PM
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sfuller
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 324
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« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2012, 08:07:41 PM » |
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The latest version of Google Maps for Android also lets you pre-cache map areas of your chosing.
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Topic Name: Using a Spot to find location
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Reply #6 on: February 07, 2012, 04:42:06 PM
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Blammo
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 66
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« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2012, 04:42:06 PM » |
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I wound up going with Giai GPS for the iPhone. Thanks for all the input.
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