iPad and Navigation

[Scott Brady]

Rock'in

Just jail broke the iPad with spirit and then bought the btstack gps. Thanks for sending the bt gps Lance

Cydia loads with the spirit jailbreak. Gps stack is to the right

Everything works perfect, with full gps functioning in all required apps and fully offline

The bt stack screen

Topo maps sat works perfect

The excellent topo maps topo app

 

[brained]

What is the native resolution of those maps? Can you zoom tighter than that? If so does it pixelate or apply some smoothing?

 

[Scott Brady]

All zoom in pretty tight

 

[AKRover]

Thats cool that there is a gps option for wifi ipads. I imagine that the gps chip in the bluetooth unite is a little better then the 3G iPad.

 

[redbeard]

I'm guessing that the resolution of the topo maps is 250dpi for most states and 400 for california. That's the resolution that they(USGS, State of California) originally scanned it in at. I think there is a project at the USGS to rescan all of them at a higher dpi - like 500 - but it's not a priority as they want to finish the first generation of the USTOPO product.

The imagery they use in the US topo is the NAIP stuff, which is 1 meter color imagery. That's the least you get in the 48 states on the various sites (google, MS, etc), and is usually the best available imagery out in the woods.

I'm not sure what imagery the app uses, but it's likely that it uses the topomaps as provided from USGS.

By contrast, the NG TOPO! I think is 96dpi, though I could be misinformed.

Hopefully this gives some pointers as to what the data sources might be.
http://eros.usgs.gov/#/Find_Data/Products_and_Data_Available/DRGs
http://topomaps.usgs.gov/
http://nationalmap.gov/ustopo/index.html

 

[haven]

Scott's approach is a great workaround for people who bought the original iPad, and want accurate GPS services.

Since most of us don't have a friend who can donate a free external GPS,
the best idea is to buy the iPad 3G. If you've got the original iPad,
you can sell it for close to what you paid for it on eBay.

The iPad with 3G has the built in GPS. They cost about $130 more
than the standard iPad. You don't need to sign up for a cell phone
contract to use the built in GPS.

 

[Spur]

Scott's approach is a great workaround for people who bought the original iPad, and want accurate GPS services.

Since most of us don't have a friend who can donate a free external GPS,
the best idea is to buy the iPad 3G. If you've got the original iPad,
you can sell it for close to what you paid for it on eBay.

The iPad with 3G has the built in GPS. They cost about $130 more
than the standard iPad. You don't need to sign up for a cell phone
contract to use the built in GPS.

Is the built-in GPS as robust as an external BT GPS? Is their anything to be gained by adding an external BT GPS if you have the 3G?

Apologies if this has been discussed before.

 

[evldave]

Is the built-in GPS as robust as an external BT GPS? Is their anything to be gained by adding an external BT GPS if you have the 3G?

Apologies if this has been discussed before.

See Post #7 of this thread. Out of cell tower range, you can (probably) expect GPS tracking on par w/the 60CS, if you use an external GPS w/SIRF III, you will be on par w/the 60CSx. I use the BT-359 w/my netbook and it uses SIRF III and is 1000x better than my old non-SIRF GPS.

Also, a BT GPS can be located near a window if you are having reception issues inside your vehicle.

 

[Spur]

See Post #7 of this thread. Out of cell tower range, you can (probably) expect GPS tracking on par w/the 60CS, if you use an external GPS w/SIRF III, you will be on par w/the 60CSx. I use the BT-359 w/my netbook and it uses SIRF III and is 1000x better than my old non-SIRF GPS.

Also, a BT GPS can be located near a window if you are having reception issues inside your vehicle.

Thanks. That answers my question. I have the BT 359 for use with my netbook as well. If I ever decide to go the ipad route, I'll definitely want to keep using it.

 

[off-roader]

Very interesting. After this past weekend's Overland Rally event & speaking with others about this idea including Scott himself, I'm even more interested in using my Wifi Ipad for navigation.

Any recommendations on a BT gps unit? Something reliable & has a long battery life for example?

Any feedback on mounting the Ipad in vehicle? I've seen the new RAM mount. Anyone used it off road? Would it handle a rough trail like the 'con or Dusy Ersham Trail?

Can the camera connect kit with an SD card be used for map storage or is onboard storage the only option for storing map data?

TIA

 

[yan]

love this thread... this is what i have done in my truck as well... here is a pic of the mount in my tacoma!!!

I'll post more pics... but i use it for OBD II, navigation, music, movies, and more.....

 

[benedmonson]

This is all great information! I just got in and installed the Ram Mount in my 80 Series. The Ram Mount for the iPad is a nice and tight fit and doesn't seem to move around much on rougher roads. I also like Scott got the Wifi only version, but did not have to jailbreak it due to the introduction of the new bad-elf gps http://bad-elf.com/products/gps/ I will say that the first one arrived working properly except the charge cord wouldn't work. I emailed support and within an hour they had me a new in the mail. This is a new product, but the signal is very strong everywhere on my ipad.

 

[off-roader]

Ben,

curious if you've checked reception both in canyons as well as in the trees? My use would be primarily off road navigation in those types of areas which are definitely 'challenging' for a gps.

TIA,

Ray

 

[benedmonson]

Ben,

curious if you've checked reception both in canyons as well as in the trees? My use would be primarily off road navigation in those types of areas which are definitely 'challenging' for a gps.

TIA,

Ray

Sorry Ray,
I used the word 'everywhere' a little too loosely! I've only had it a couple of days, but in my house it locks without the network on extremely quick! I do understand how canyons and jungle canopies affect the GPS signal. Last week in Central America, Graham Jackson's Garmin 276c even would lose signal every once in a while. The one thing you can do with the bad-elf gps is put it on a 6 foot extension and mount it where ever you want to in your vehicle. Below are the listed Tech Specs:
* 66-channel MTK GPS chipset
* Fast GPS lock times
* Up to 10Hz update rate
* SBAS/WAAS/EGNOS/MSAS
* Assisted GPS (when network available)
* Micro-USB port and 6ft cable provided for charging / syncing during use
* App available to update satellite data and firmware
* Max altitude: 60K feet
* Max speed: 1000 mph
Hope this helps. If it has problems then I will go to the blue tooth GPS pucks, but just don't want to jail break if I don't have to!

 

[cactusjk]

Still looking for a clean FJ Cruiser mount. Also, I am running Overland Nav on a netbook and really like that setup!