Smart phone as a personal backcountry GPS device?

some of my buds have a 38 ft sailboat, they used an I-pad with GPS to navigate the coast to rupert, apparently the charts are really cheap compared to other options you can see all the reefs its pretty accurate but kind of fragile to be used around water [HTML_REMOVED] dirt

If you have a 4s I recommend this one.

http://gpskit.garafa.com/GPSKit/GPS_Kit_for_iPhone_%26_iPad.html

I live in Chilliwack on the back side of cultus where there is barely any service. I am constantly out hiking, and it works amazing for tracking, and a bunch of other features that i dont really know how to use haha.

Better than MotionX?

just take loopsrider with you, he knows everything and owns all the expensive stuff

And if you don't own the expensive stuff then you're a loser who doesn't take care of your family.

He also makes so much money that his taxes paid for the left hand lane of every road, which is why he thinks he owns it.

I did this during a backcountry hiking trip in Hawaii. I used Everytrail. The paid version lets you download topo maps to your phone. It uses the Open Cycle Map which has great detail for most of the trails in our area.

If you are careful with battery consumption (remove/disable sim card, turn brightness down, only turn on phone long enough to take a reading and then turn off again) you can make it last for a week. If you forget to turn your phone off and it keeps tracking while it's in your pocket, you'll burn through the battery in a few hours. I'm using an iphone 3gs.

Mos important thing for accuracy is receiving satellite signals. If you're under heavy canopy the accuracy might decrease a lot, or you might not even get enough signal to get a location.

Your phone is Android (I think) and there's a couple of very good apps that'll show you how many satellites are visible and what accuracy you can expect. Search the market for GPS apps and you'll find quite a few.

I tried my Galaxy S at locations where there was no cell signal and good line of sight to satellites, and it was accurate to 10 metres.

"GPS Test" on the Android Market will tell you how accurate the GPS chip and signal is in YOUR phone.

I'd echo what most others have been saying about battery life and using a Garmin instead, EXCEPT most Garmin maps suck. Of course, if the maps in your area are OK (or you don't actually need a map), Garmins are the best but if other maps exist then a smartphone opens up more possibilities….

I've got hundreds of very detailed maps for some great riding areas in BC but it's taken me a lot of effort to produce them and load them on to my phone!

Better than MotionX?

Its a more "adventure" hiking/biking app rather than a driving gps.

meh

Oh man, that is so funny.

Kn.

In slightly related news…hadn't looked at google earth much and besides, it seemed glitchy and a pita in Firefox(my primary browser)…
…Tried google chrome and a glitch free G Earth today just foolin around and HOLY SHIT DANGLERS!
Gimme a 2dimensional image with some stats and I can create a pretty good 3d image in my head…gimme a 3d image to start with?! Pfffft…cake walk (keeping in mind that none of this area is flat…so point of reference can be the very ground you're walking on)

Wow, cell phones DO NOT have true GPS functionality, and will not function properly in the backcountry. Buy a real standalone GPS unit they are cheap.

A cell phone uses celular network resources to locate GPS satellites, never EVER rely on it. Make sure you can navigate home without even a true GPS unit none the less obviously as they don't always function under heavy tree cover.

Not true. I used a cell phone with WiFi or a SIM card in it, and the GPS worked fine. They only use WiFi and cellular triangulation as augmentation, or in the case where there there is insufficient GPS satellite signal, as a primary location service.

Not true. I used a cell phone with WiFi or a SIM card in it, and the GPS worked fine. They only use WiFi and cellular triangulation as augmentation, or in the case where there there is insufficient GPS satellite signal, as a primary location service.

You're right more phones these days do have gps chips that do not rely on triangulation, my mistake. I still would not rely on one as GPS receivers in cellphones are very weak and generally unreliable in the backcountry. Tree cover will essentially render it useless, cloud cover can make it VERY difficult to obtain a signal aswell due to how weak the chips are.

My concern is more, do not rely on it to 'find your way back out of the bush' as that's just asking for trouble. Though if you're building a mountain bike trail, I can't imagine it being in far in the 'backcountry'.

i have no idea or interest about what is being talked about………

at this time

Wow, cell phones DO NOT have true GPS functionality, and will not function properly in the backcountry. Buy a real standalone GPS unit they are cheap.

A cell phone uses celular network resources to locate GPS satellites, never EVER rely on it. Make sure you can navigate home without even a true GPS unit none the less obviously as they don't always function under heavy tree cover.

Really? How come my Samsung Galaxy S2 can put me to within 10m in the backcountry using GPS when there's no cell signal for miles?