Don't know where to start, help! GPS setup for rockhounding.

[blueskysusan]

Hi all, brand new here, just discovered this forum. Wondered if anybody can point the clueless in the right direction?

I go rockhounding in the desert, driving around on dirt roads and looking for old mines and such.

Usually the "destination" is a waypoint (old mine, cool spot someone else found) of which I know the GPS coords in advance.

I'd like a way to view that spot, my current location, and a decent map of some sort (topo ok, satellite preferred) while I'm out there with no reception.

Does such a beast exist? Or combination of beasts?

I currently have an iphone and an older middle of the line Garmin handheld GPS. Would love to buy an iPad if there is some way to view a satellite photo on the ipad, with my manually input waypoint, and my current location blinking at me.

Those are really my only requirements. Oh, and I use a MAC at home.

 

[JHa6av8r]

Not sure how you'd get the satellite photos. We were just down in the Mule Mountain LTVA and Houser Geo Bed area and used an iPad with Trimble Outdoors My Topo Maps and a Garmin GLO providing GPS input to the iPad. The topo maps are downloaded prior for off line use, but we used the combination, iPaid, Garmin GLO, and My Topo Maps for plotting out our destinations and then navigating to them.

 

[blueskysusan]

Thanks John. So you get a doohickey (the GLO, probably others out there) that tells the iPad your current location using real GPS, and an ipad app that contains the maps and supplies the blinking "I am here" point? Is that it?

 

[matthewp]

Garmin GLO is also what I have. It is a GPS/GLONASS "puck" that bluetooths to your iPad, smartphone, etc. size-wise, it's about half the size of an iPhone.
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I have this: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Portable-Receiver-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00AYAZENY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1389720041&sr=1-1&keywords=garmin+glo
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It's apparently discontinued, but the Aviation one is identical, just without the 12v car-charger: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-GLO-for-Aviation/dp/B008PRPKIC/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1389720176&sr=1-2&keywords=garmin+glo
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The nice thing is that the GLO has an internal battery (reported to last 12hrs.) so you can use it away from the vehicle. I've got velcro on the bottom of mine and just stuck it to a velcro patch on my baseball cap and used my iPhone as my GPS navigator while snowshoeing once. It's quite versatile.

Thanks John. So you get a doohickey (the GLO, probably others out there) that tells the iPad your current location using real GPS, and an ipad app that contains the maps and supplies the blinking "I am here" point? Is that it?

That's about it!
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The Bad ELF also seems to be popular: http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Elf-2200-Black-silver/dp/B008VWNBBE/ref=pd_cp_e_0
...Along with the Dual Electronics set-up: http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150A-Universal-Bluetooth/dp/B006M49G80/ref=pd_cp_e_0

 

[robgendreau]

I'd recommend the Gaia GPS app, since you can download maps before leaving. And you can include old (1900ish) maps which show old mines and such, which might be helpful to you. Check out caltopo.com on your Mac; it has some of the maps Gaia uses. The big problem with the smartphone tablet stuff is that it always seems that you loose a cell connection just when you want to change your route, and haven't downloaded the maps for offline use. That's when having paper maps, or maps preloaded in a dedicated GPS device, is helpful. Also, some apps can download aerial images for offline use, some can't. Many use Apple or Google and they do not, as a general rule, allow for offline use.