GPS & Smart Phones

I plan on using my Android phone with Locus or maybe Orux Maps apps to create tracks for where I search for gold. Programs are free and also plenty of free vector maps of most of Australia although in varying amounts of detail depending on location. Do many others use their phone apps for creating tracks/trails? My latest phone has a really good gps and I have a Garmin Glo bluetooth GPS to use with the phone or PC for OziExplorer if needed.

Do GPS units and smart phones cause interference with metal detectors? Do most of you carry your smart phones with you when you go detecting? I have not had any problems with my 705 but having just got a new PI unit I'm wondering if it is a problem.

Ian

No problems with White's SPP and Galaxy S2.
Karl

I leave the phone in the car as it is no good for anything once i am more than 10km out of town. I have 3 garmin GPS's (64s, Montana 650t, 62sc) all with AU topo maps installed and Garmins Birds eye imagery. I find this a good setup because it can down load the Hi Res Birds eye satellite imagery for the area I am in and the Garmin will overlay all the layers and details from the topo map over the imagery.
I am only new to detecting, My experience is from many years of hunting.

cheers chris

Slider65 said:

I leave the phone in the car as it is no good for anything once i am more than 10km out of town. I have 3 garmin GPS's (64s, Montana 650t, 62sc) all with AU topo maps installed and Garmins Birds eye imagery. I find this a good setup because it can down load the Hi Res Birds eye satellite imagery for the area I am in and the Garmin will overlay all the layers and details from the topo map over the imagery.

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Slider65, I wondered about using a straight GPS unit but thought I would try the free phone app first. I will give the app a go and see if its upto it.

Any advice on best Garmin GPS model to use as you sound like you have a great setup. What scale are the Garmin topo maps and how well does the satellite image overlay. I'll do some googling and see what I can find for Garmin maps and Australia.

Thanks for your input!

Ian

I have the Montana 650t aswell, good unit water resistant and pretty tuff.
Use it with basecamp and you can create differant folders to each areas you got to, each with its own imagery and way points.
I havnt worked out overlays for it, if somebody can explain.
One dislike is in screen saver and when it in your pocket/bag, I hang off harness, bumping screen creates new way points! &$#%

Taipan said:

bumping screen creates new way points! &$#%

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Hi mate, surely you can lock the screen.

I have the GPX5000, a Samsung Galaxy 3 and Garmin Etrex 20 GPX. The Samsung has Ozixplorer and Vicmap on it, the Garmin has Garmin Topo maps.

The thing to remember re GPS is that the civilian GPS accuracy is about 5 metres (I have seen it tell me 3M on rare occasions). So if you are within 5 metres in any direction of true position (that is radius) you can be up to 10M from where you last walked. So as a record of where you walk 10M is a lot of ground to miss.

I use Vicmap to get the lie of the land before I get there, also it has most tracks shown on it and with the 7" Android tablet (with inbuilt GPS antenna) I use on dash, I use it to navigate the goldfield tracks in State Forests.

The primary use for my Garmin is; it is small, so I can put it in my pocket when detecting. When I park the 4x4, I switch it on and mark a waypoint and name it "CAR". I then switch it off, I then KNOW that it won't interfere with the detector and it conserves battery. In the event that I lose sight of the car and am not sure where it is when finished detecting the area, I turn on the Garmin, pick the car waypoint and GOTO.

I don't carry the phone as most of the time there is no signal, I leave it in the glovebox. I sometimes carry a UHF 5w, but switched off, depends where I am.
If in deep scrub, I also have a Garmin PLB if I think the risk is great enough, but it is off and only activated if in deep doo doo.

The best way of marking an area you want to detect, is to either chain it or string line it.

Hi, with modern android phones when away from a mobile coverage zone you can switch off the network (so it does not search for one) and simply rely on the satellite GPS signals to run any GPS software you have on your phone.(I thought i would mention this as some people don't realize the phone GPS will work fine in non coverage areas... anywhere) The problem is it can take 15 minutes for your phones GPS receiver to lock on and gain your position. Its quicker when you fire it up again in the same area.

To answer your question Ian i don't carry or rely on my fragile android phone for navigating when on foot in the wilds in a non mobile coverage spot. I would destroy the phone eventually if i carried it so it could see the satellites . Some of the waterproof -bomb proof- long battery life phones or phones in good shock proof covers are used by friends when they detect.

I have not had a problem with my phone interfering with the detector, except maybe during a couple calls i made.
Reddirtdigger

Redfin said:

Taipan said:

bumping screen creates new way points! &$#%

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Hi mate, surely you can lock the screen.

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Ha Ha i just found the lock

I have never worked with a GPS or mapping program.
I like the idea of using ipad and iPhone, switching off cellular data and connecting directly to satellite using gps function.
I am trying to save a few bucks and can't justify buying a GPS when iPhone have some really cool functions.
However I am unfamiliar with user friendly Apps RE mapping program's and GPS.
I think this technology will surpase the Traditional GPS device.
Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers Ryan

Ryan27 said:

I have never worked with a GPS or mapping program.
I like the idea of using ipad and iPhone, switching off cellular data and connecting directly to satellite using gps function.
I am trying to save a few bucks and can't justify buying a GPS when iPhone have some really cool functions.
However I am unfamiliar with user friendly Apps RE mapping program's and GPS.
I think this technology will surpase the Traditional GPS device.
Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers Ryan

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I may be reading between the lines here forgive me if I am. You sound like you have limited knowledge re GPs and navigation in general. If so, do some reading up on how to read a paper map, how to navigate with it and a compass and a bit on lat/lon and the UTM grid system. Although a GPS will do much for you, I believe the basics should be mandatory.

If you want some more info on map reading let me know, I'll post a link.

Hi condor22,
Reading maps I have no problem with nor a compass, I have never been lost in the bush.
I have been reading through maps and resources posts including a couple of yours. I guess what I'm am trying to do is map and record my wanderings. I have an iPad Air and a iPhone 5s and I would like good topo maps 25k or less. 3D capabilities would be helpful aswell.
My plan is to stay away from shallow diggings and focus more on eluvial traces.
Also will be concentrating on locating ancient alluvial deposits. I will need to track ellavation details because this will assist on finding more ancient deposits.
Less trash to dig aswell.
All I need is someone to point me towards the best apps/data that works and is detailed, I don't mind paying if that is what it takes.
It seems there is a bit of confusion as to what android or apple are compatable with.
I read HeadsUp's post and I felt his pain of frustration.
I already have grey hairs I don't need anymore. My Barber puts more in for me when I visit him.
Any Help would be appreciated

Ryan

The one I use, and I might add it was used also by the military unit I served with, is Oziexplorer using 25K Vicmap. I have also digitised the entire Doug Stone Map book and calibrated it for my personal use in Ozi. Ozi also has a 3D map generator, if you have the underlying elevation data. Ozi is compatible with many different map formats and there are some utilities to convert format available. Most apps are reasonably priced, the biggest cost associated with them are the maps.

The full version is usable on a laptop as is Ozi3D. I have the Android version on a 7" Starpad tablet which has a windscreen mount and an inbuilt GPS antenna. As I drive around, moving map within Ozi, records my track via Tracklog. These tracklogs can be downloaded to laptop into the full version.
In the full version you can draw a track on the map at home, download it to tablet and then follow that track. Waypoints are also plotable, constructable and transferable both ways.

Check the Oziexplorer web site for info on the apps. I don't believe it is compatible with Apple. I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 smart phone which is Android and also has a GPS antenna, so I have Ozi on it as well. There is no Ozi3D other than for Windows on a laptop, however when you generate the 3D image it can be saved as a .jpg and copied to phone or tablet to view in the field.

PM me if you want to know any more than I say here. If I think it helps others I'll re post openly rather than swamp the post in the first instance.

Hi Ryan, Oziexplorer requires you to have a version on your PC to plot waypoints, etc, and then download them onto your android phone or tablet. Basically if you want to use Ozi's features you need the program installed on both your PC and android device. Its not available for the Apple iPhone just in case anyone is wondering.

I have a Samsung S5 and Locus Pro installed on it and it works great. You can download vector maps for free for Australia and New Zealand and also purchase and make your own. I use it for tracking my bushwalks but am unsure of the map resolution for really outback Australia. This is where OziExplorer comes into its own and I guess I will have to download the android app and see how well it works for myself.

The point has been made that while phones like my Samsung have great GPS built into them, they are not rugged bash around items. I understand Samsung is about to release, or has already, their ruggedised S5 and have called it the Galaxy S5 Active and if you Google it you will see it rivals handheld GPS only construction. I'm not buying another phone, so will think about maybe a dedicated GPS to backup OziExplorer on my phone. Now to download and install it to see how well it works!

Ian

Thanks
I will keep researching for Apple compatable map program's.

Hey Ryan,

I use MemoryMap on my iPad it's the same as the Hema app which I later invested in just to have access to more maps and to get their updates.

I have it setup with an iPad holder in the Troopy. You can download the topology maps from within both Apps.

When out and about I carry a Garmin Etrex10 so I can find my way back to camp. Garmin provide a great mapping application free from their website which runs on both PC and iPhone. It also allows you to download the tracks you made that day from the eTrex10 unit so you can plot the area you have covered.

Hope it helps

Cheers,
Grant

gcause said:

Hey Ryan,

I use MemoryMap on my iPad it's the same as the Hema app which I later invested in just to have access to more maps and to get their updates.

I have it setup with an iPad holder in the Troopy. You can download the topology maps from within both Apps.

When out and about I carry a Garmin Etrex10 so I can find my way back to camp. Garmin provide a great mapping application free from their website which runs on both PC and iPhone. It also allows you to download the tracks you made that day from the eTrex10 unit so you can plot the area you have covered.

Hope it helps

Cheers,
Grant

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Thanks I will checkout Memory Map.

I took advice on getting a dedicated GPS to use as a mobile phone maybe a little fragile in the bush. I was going to get the Garmin eTrex 30 on special at JBHiFi at the moment with Topo Maps V4, (approx $200 if bought separately) for $369 but ended up with the Garmin Rino 650 instead. The Rino also has a 5W, 80 channel UHF radio built in as well as a larger touch screen and also on special with Topo V4 thrown in for free. I got this from Johnny Appleseed GPS for $564 and its being shipped to me at the moment so look forward to trying it out.

I did some testing with my Samsung mobile and the Locus navigation app and it worked well locally around where I live in the Adelaide Hills. The phone did not cause any interference with my new SDC2300 or with the Xterra 705 just in case anyone was wondering. Now all I need to do is get my head around using the Garmin and producing map overlays on the PC with Garmin's software to produce custom maps of the places I want to check out. If it ever stops raining I will take a trip down to Mt. Crawford next week and see how the detector and gps work in the wild.

Ian

Ian let me know if you need a hand with the GPS, I'm near the airport....

Can't PM until you've made 10 posts tho'

condor22 said:

Ian let me know if you need a hand with the GPS, I'm near the airport....

Can't PM until you've made 10 posts tho'

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Much appreciated Condor!
I have just looked up how easy it is to make custom maps, (overlays on Google Earth images) for the Garmin. It would be so easy to add and overlay goldfields onto Garmin maps. I cant post links as yet but if you add http:// to garminbasecamp.wikispaces.com/Custom+Maps you will find a very good guide on how to do it.

Cant wait for this rain to stop so I can go and do some detecting with this really nice new unit. Had a bit of a look around a local abandoned goldmine and found some .177 air rifle pellets in the mullock heap and 1925 penny, but no gold.

Ian