My journey to a GPS Solution

Romer

Adventurer
I have changed gears on GPs. I was using a laptop and then an 8” tablet with memory map and topo USA with a blue tooth GPS receiver. Never was very happy with it. Tracks and the map showing the trail both were lacking on a trail Cdan and I were discovering in Moab earlier this month.
My setup was shown in this thread
There are some nice dedicated units out there


Garmin brought back the 276C (276Cx)and missed by not putting a powerful enough processor in it.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/539722

Here is a very long thread. First filled with excitement and then user reports start coming in describing its poor performance
http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/garmin-announces-the-new-gpsmap-276cx.1178312/
Then there was the Garmin Monterra. Nice Android based unit that showed a lot of promise. I might actually have gone this way, but Garmin won’t be updating it so it is a dead end product
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/113522

Then there is the Garmin Montana. Nice unit. If I was going dedicated, Ilikely would have ended up here. Lot of money for small screen and dedicated GPS you still have to spend $100 to get the maps for 4 states and more $$ if you want others. You could use free maps I read
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/523677

Then there is the Magellan eXplorist TRX7. Nice unit with lots of potential. Reviews were spotty and very few. Not enough to stake $650 on. Good idea they used an Android basis BUT removed the play store so you cant add other Android apps?? WTFF. They also have an app that looks the same you can download onto an Any Android tablet for $20, so what is the extra $630 for? An Android that is dust resistant and waterproof
http://www.magellangps.com/Vehicle-Navigation/Magellan-eXplorist-TRX7-Off-road-GPS-Navigation

here is a review on it http://www.androidguys.com/2016/04/12/navigate-off-road-with-the-magellan-explorist-trx7/

We shouldn’t forget the Lowrance line up. Seem nice, but I believe they are designed for water and loaded with topo
https://ruggedroutes.com/

Everywhere I read people were using either Ipad or Android. I originally had an iPAD with MotionX and it was much better than the windows setup I had. The iPAD is a closed system and so I choose an Android. Androids have the GPS built in even on wifi units. Many Samsungs also have Glonass and will work all over the world

I got a Samsung Tab S2. It was $399 at BestBuy, $339 at Costco and $299 at Microcenter. It has more memory and the better screen. I am confident on the Android solution based on all the users here on Expo using it with great reviews
I downloaded BackCountry Navigator Pro and Gaia. I loaded Poison Spider Mesa Tracks and I really like the way it looks. Much better than Memory Map or Topo. And I can make it larger or smaller with my fingers. Memory map on my windows tablet went crazy when I tried that and I had the latest version
That was my journey finding a GPS solution, thought I would share what I found

IMG_0105.JPG
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
I'll second that!

Nice write up Romer. :beer:
Your experience and research is similar to what I found.

I'm enjoying BCN Pro on a 10.1" Samsung tablet. Installed a 128GB card to store maps.
Even when flying down fire roads, through the desert, or on road, it does a great job of keeping up with the actual position.
It's also really big (a good thing for old blind guys like me :)).
Initially I had BCN on a Verizon based Samsung Note 4, but the GPS wasn't reliable enough. So now I keep it updated, but only use BCN on it for redundancy.

One thing I'd like to see with BCN, is the ability to build map files bigger than 4GB.
I was trying to download California, into files that "made sense" for the way we travel. I kept trying to make bigger maps than it allowed, which wasted a lot of time.
Another option I'd like to see available is the ability to download by just tracing out the area (for instance a National Forest boundary line).
Something else that would be cool is if it automatically chose the next map when getting towards the border of the current map.
 

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Airmapper

Inactive Member
Everywhere I read people were using either Ipad or Android. I originally had an iPAD with MotionX and it was much better than the windows setup I had. The iPAD is a closed system and so I choose an Android. Androids have the GPS built in even on wifi units.

Sounds like the road I went down. I had handhelds fixed to the windshield, then had an iPad mini. After that I got a Samsung smartphone, thus figured out Android kicks tail, and I recently bought a Samsung Tab A 10.1 and went to BCN for the primary mapping app. (Starting to sound like a broken record in here.)

I didn't have any performance complains with the iPad but the closed system thing meant I couldn't have much flexibility with it connecting peripheral devices, plus it was a 16GB unit and even though my Samsung tablet is also a 16GB, the memory card slot makes that no problem.

I haven't got the Samsung tablet configured quite like I want it yet, sill working out mounting solutions, and feeding the thing has been troublesome. (Time to upgrade the USB power adapters....) but all in all I think it will do what I want.
 

shane4x4

Supporting Sponsor
Maybe I'm not using BCN properly, but I find the UI annoying. Also, is there a way to sync my tracks, photos, waypoints without exporting? Also, Also, can I organize all my tracks, waypoints, and photos into folders for a specific trip?
 

Airmapper

Inactive Member
Maybe I'm not using BCN properly

That is quite possible.

Also, is there a way to sync my tracks, photos, waypoints without exporting?

No it doesn't have all that cloud based user account needed mumbo jumbo. It uses files like a normal device designed with utility in mind, no internet connection required to upload and download data. Those files also work on pretty much any GPS device known to man.

Also, Also, can I organize all my tracks, waypoints, and photos into folders for a specific trip?

Yes, Yes, you can.
 

kojackJKU

Autism Family Travellers!
Nice write up Romer. :beer:
Your experience and research is similar to what I found.

I'm enjoying BCN Pro on a 10.1" Samsung tablet. Installed a 128GB card to store maps.
Even when flying down fire roads, through the desert, or on road, it does a great job of keeping up with the actual position.
It's also really big (a good thing for old blind guys like me :)).
Initially I had BCN on a Verizon based Samsung Note 4, but the GPS wasn't reliable enough. So now I keep it updated, but only use BCN on it for redundancy.

One thing I'd like to see with BCN, is the ability to build map files bigger than 4GB.
I was trying to download California, into files that "made sense" for the way we travel. I kept trying to make bigger maps than it allowed, which wasted a lot of time.
Another option I'd like to see available is the ability to download by just tracing out the area (for instance a National Forest boundary line).
Something else that would be cool is if it automatically chose the next map when getting towards the border of the current map.

That's why I am moved to Canada topo pro for my back country mapping. I can download most any size mapping I want. for on street nav, I use Here. It's the best mapping for on road I have used. better than dedicated Garmin units etc.
 

altaboy

Observer
Echoing shane4x4's opinion on the BCN UI. Every time I use that app, it's like relearning to walk (have had to do that a few times).

Contemplating a migration to Gaia.......
 

Raul B

Explorer
I kind of have a hog pod of apps... I have yet to still love any of them. I have tried Gia, BC pro, Leadnav, HEMA and Earthmate. My biggest issue all but Earthmate make you download small sections at different zoom levels for satalite views. I wish they would just let me pic a large section and download it all at full zoom.. I don't care if it is 100GB.

I run a Ipad air 2 linked to a Dual Skypro GPS unit. I also run a Magellan TRX and my Delorme In Reach...

-Raul
 

shane4x4

Supporting Sponsor
I kind of have a hog pod of apps... I have yet to still love any of them. I have tried Gia, BC pro, Leadnav, HEMA and Earthmate. My biggest issue all but Earthmate make you download small sections at different zoom levels for satalite views. I wish they would just let me pic a large section and download it all at full zoom.. I don't care if it is 100GB.

I run a Ipad air 2 linked to a Dual Skypro GPS unit. I also run a Magellan TRX and my Delorme In Reach...

-Raul

I don't know about others, but with Hema I downloaded the entire state of Colorado in 2 different map forms to my device, down to Zoom level 14. Took 4-5GB and about 5 hours, but it worked. =)
 

1Louder

Explorer
I don't know about others, but with Hema I downloaded the entire state of Colorado in 2 different map forms to my device, down to Zoom level 14. Took 4-5GB and about 5 hours, but it worked. =)

It is better to break this down to different sections and then the app will stitch the downloads together automatically when you use it. At least this is what Gaia does. The download speeds for different map layers is very depending on the company serving the maps. While Gaia hosts some files on its servers others are hosted outside and direct from the map providers. That download speed is outside of Gaia's control. It is also important to leave the app open because if you leave the app the download process will stop. For large files do them at night when you are not using your device.
 

shane4x4

Supporting Sponsor
It is better to break this down to different sections and then the app will stitch the downloads together automatically when you use it. At least this is what Gaia does. The download speeds for different map layers is very depending on the company serving the maps. While Gaia hosts some files on its servers others are hosted outside and direct from the map providers. That download speed is outside of Gaia's control. It is also important to leave the app open because if you leave the app the download process will stop. For large files do them at night when you are not using your device.

That's a very good point. Generally I don't download that large of a section, I just wanted to see if it was possible =) I wish we could download the entire state with 1 click, similar to how we can download the Hema US Road Atlas in sections, that way it's a download & forget thing. Most map providers don't allow bulk downloads like that though.
 

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