How many of you carry a GPS SPOT?

Rasty · Feb 3rd 2015, 10:42pm

I like maps. I only carry maps printed on photocopier paper and burn the pieces as I'm done with them. I also only carry photocopies of the guide book pages I need. I don't see the point in carrying a pound of maps and guide books. I do carry a compass.

Wise Old Owl · Feb 3rd 2015, 10:46pm

Uh wow so clearly you are older than the owl.. We have a common core program for that... I will save this for the next hike.

Kidding,,, except the hike.

LIhikers · Feb 4th 2015, 1:09am

Back to the original question.
I'd carry a SPOT if it made my wife Kathy feel better about me being out hiking.
The thing is, when I'm out hiking she is too most often, so she knows first hand how I'm doing

AnotherKevin · Feb 4th 2015, 1:30pm

I carried a rented SPOT on my NPT thru-hike attempt, to "ensure domestic tranquillity" My wife really felt better, being able to get on the web site and see that I was moving.

I use the GPS on my smartphone. It mostly sits in the lid of my pack, recording tracks so that I can use it after the fact to geotag timestamped photos. It's nice enough for that, and I also have fun making maps for it.

My primary navigation is ... you got it, paper map and compass. Now that I have an altimeter on my wrist, I find myself also using it. When you don't have good sight lines, altitude and aspect of slope are very informative indeed. I need to be more disciplined about depending on the altimeter, since it's a digital one. If it were an old-fashioned analog one, I'd feel better, because those can't have a dead battery.

And for what it's worth, about a third of my hikes include at least some off-trail travel. In the Northeast. Ask Elf or Lazarus what that's like, they've been on 'whacks with me. The compass is one of the things (the tinderbox is another) that ride on my person, because I want to have them even if by mischance I become separated from my pack.

Socks · Feb 4th 2015, 2:21pm

Rasty wrote:

No need. On the AT during hiker season if you stop on the trail someone will be along in twenty minutes or so. The solitude is an allusion.

...and if somethin' happen to you, your wife would kill ya, so what's the point.

Astro · Feb 4th 2015, 3:07pm

Rasty wrote:

No need. On the AT during hiker season if you stop on the trail someone will be along in twenty minutes or so. The solitude is an allusion.

This is probably true most places on the AT most of the time. But there were times in NC in the summer when I went multiple days with out seeing anyone. Perhaps I was just hiking too slow.

StalkingTortoise · Feb 4th 2015, 5:46pm

I have a DeLorme inReach and carry it on my section hikes and motorcycle trips. My wife is a chronic worrier and receiving a quick message each evening lets her sleep in peace. And since I have it, I feel it would be foolish to leave it at home when I venture into the back country.

It came in handy on the AT last spring when a winter storm hit my buddy and I on our second day out of Damascus. We made to Elk Garden and found ourselves wet and shivering. It was foggy and snowing and the winds were howling. We huddled inside the privy structure and tried to plan our next move.

There was no cell service there and even short periods of exposure to the damp frigid air left us shivering uncontrollably. I guess we could have toughed it out to prove our manhood but we chose to use the inReach to contact my wife, who then called a local shuttler who picked us up and took us up to Atkins. The inReach worked perfectly - I placed it about 20 feet outside the privy in an open area and used my cell to send texts to the unit and up to the satellite network.

Did it save my life? I don't think so as I could have slept in the privy. Did it give us options? Hell yeah. And a hot shower followed by dinner in Marian made for a good end to the day.

$9.99 per month is cheap insurance in my humble opinion.

Astro · Feb 4th 2015, 6:37pm

StalkingTortoise wrote:

I have a DeLorme inReach and carry it on my section hikes and motorcycle trips. My wife is a chronic worrier and receiving a quick message each evening lets her sleep in peace. And since I have it, I feel it would be foolish to leave it at home when I venture into the back country.

It came in handy on the AT last spring when a winter storm hit my buddy and I on our second day out of Damascus. We made to Elk Garden and found ourselves wet and shivering. It was foggy and snowing and the winds were howling. We huddled inside the privy structure and tried to plan our next move.

There was no cell service there and even short periods of exposure to the damp frigid air left us shivering uncontrollably. I guess we could have toughed it out to prove our manhood but we chose to use the inReach to contact my wife, who then called a local shuttler who picked us up and took us up to Atkins. The inReach worked perfectly - I placed it about 20 feet outside the privy in an open area and used my cell to send texts to the unit and up to the satellite network.

Did it save my life? I don't think so as I could have slept in the privy. Did it give us options? Hell yeah. And a hot shower followed by dinner in Marian made for a good end to the day.

$9.99 per month is cheap insurance in my humble opinion.

When I first looked at that I thought you saying you had a DeLorean. I thought maybe we were gonna do some time travel like in Back to the Future.

Dan76 · Feb 13th 2015, 4:57pm

OzJacko wrote:

And I will end with a plug for your side of the argument.
LEARN THE PROPER USE OF A MAP AND COMPASS.
There is a wealth of information in a good map.
You should know what everything marked on your map is (this includes the one in the phone).
Learn how to best use a compass to achieve a bushwhacking goal, i.e. how to take a bearing on a feature and then follow it while out of sight of the feature, then take a bearing on another feature etc.
You don't take a sleeping bag that you can't unzip and get into. Don't take a tool that you don't understand how to use.

I learnt maps decades ago. I like maps. It annoys me when people carry them and can't identify the useful information on them.
The military guys here I am sure feel the same way.

ditto

AnotherKevin · Feb 13th 2015, 11:09pm

OzJacko wrote:

And I will end with a plug for your side of the argument.
LEARN THE PROPER USE OF A MAP AND COMPASS.
There is a wealth of information in a good map.
You should know what everything marked on your map is (this includes the one in the phone).
Learn how to best use a compass to achieve a bushwhacking goal, i.e. how to take a bearing on a feature and then follow it while out of sight of the feature, then take a bearing on another feature etc.
You don't take a sleeping bag that you can't unzip and get into. Don't take a tool that you don't understand how to use.

I learnt maps decades ago. I like maps. It annoys me when people carry them and can't identify the useful information on them.
The military guys here I am sure feel the same way.

You're mostly preaching to the choir in this thread. I'm totally NOT a military guy, but I appreciate maps and my compass (which is a model that at least has a sighting mirror and a declinator).

I know what everything is on the map on my phone, because anything that's on that map, I put there. (I do my own map rendering from various electronic data sources.) About a third of my hikes involve some off-trail travel, and in my part of the world, that does mean dealing with near-zero visibility at times, due to fog, whiteout, and dense spruce.

I know how to follow a bearing by lining up successive landmarks, or how to follow a course by leaving a marker (or a hiking partner) from a back bearing, or how to make a fix by triangulation, or by resection with a linear feature, or from altitude and a sight, or (more approximately) from altitude and aspect of slope. One in a while, I've even been known to teach land navigation.

I tend to regard helping the less-prepared as taking advantage of a "teachable moment."

And this reinforces my belief that thru-hiking involves a very specialized set of skills. I've hiked with 2000-milers who are absolutely hopeless at orienteering. Much stronger hikers than me, but never learnt this stuff, and apparently never needed to.

CoachLou · Feb 15th 2015, 12:21pm

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

Socks · Feb 15th 2015, 5:10pm

mine has a magnetometer on board.

Wise Old Owl · Feb 15th 2015, 5:39pm

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

CoachLou · Feb 15th 2015, 6:11pm

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Wise Old Owl · Feb 15th 2015, 7:53pm

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

I am going to say yes.. 6 has several new sensors. But the Mag sensor isn't discussed - so we took my son's I4 turned on the compass app and removed a kitchen magnet off the refrigerator. We waited for calibration took it around the unit at a 90° then laid it flat next to the phone, and we got large fluctuations.

AnotherKevin · Feb 16th 2015, 4:43pm

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Yeah, recent iPhones all have fluxgate magnetometer and six-axis accelerometer. I don't remember whether they have a barometric altimeter on board to smooth over GPS wonkiness.

CoachLou · Feb 16th 2015, 5:40pm

Kev, I hope we work in the Catskills this spring so you can show me how this thing works! :thumbsup:

jimmyjam · Feb 16th 2015, 7:04pm

AnotherKevin wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Yeah, recent iPhones all have fluxgate magnetometer and six-axis accelerometer. I don't remember whether they have a barometric altimeter on board to smooth over GPS wonkiness.

OK, once again I need a translation- southern redneck or at least layman slang please.

Rasty · Feb 16th 2015, 7:24pm

jimmyjam wrote:

AnotherKevin wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Yeah, recent iPhones all have fluxgate magnetometer and six-axis accelerometer. I don't remember whether they have a barometric altimeter on board to smooth over GPS wonkiness.

OK, once again I need a translation- southern redneck or at least layman slang please.

It's a $60 per month compass

Wise Old Owl · Feb 16th 2015, 7:30pm

66

jimmyjam wrote:

AnotherKevin wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Yeah, recent iPhones all have fluxgate magnetometer and six-axis accelerometer. I don't remember whether they have a barometric altimeter on board to smooth over GPS wonkiness.

OK, once again I need a translation- southern redneck or at least layman slang please.

Uh it looks like this and comes with an old expensive car....

[IMG:http://a.tgcdn.net/images/products/zoom/1dbd_flux_capacitor_car_charger.gif]

Don't forget the one point two Gigawatts... might get stuck somewhere in the future...

Seriously - the phone you have can measure acceleration and it senses rotation etc.

LDog · Feb 16th 2015, 7:31pm

Rasty wrote:

jimmyjam wrote:

AnotherKevin wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Yeah, recent iPhones all have fluxgate magnetometer and six-axis accelerometer. I don't remember whether they have a barometric altimeter on board to smooth over GPS wonkiness.

OK, once again I need a translation- southern redneck or at least layman slang please.

It's a $60 per month compass

Yes, but it's a Multi-Use $60 per month compass!

Rasty · Feb 16th 2015, 7:40pm

LDog wrote:

Rasty wrote:

jimmyjam wrote:

AnotherKevin wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Yeah, recent iPhones all have fluxgate magnetometer and six-axis accelerometer. I don't remember whether they have a barometric altimeter on board to smooth over GPS wonkiness.

OK, once again I need a translation- southern redneck or at least layman slang please.

It's a $60 per month compass

Yes, but it's a Multi-Use $60 per month compass!

I agree. You can also get unlimited updates on the Kardashians.

Socks · Feb 16th 2015, 8:13pm

Rasty wrote:

LDog wrote:

Rasty wrote:

jimmyjam wrote:

AnotherKevin wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Yeah, recent iPhones all have fluxgate magnetometer and six-axis accelerometer. I don't remember whether they have a barometric altimeter on board to smooth over GPS wonkiness.

OK, once again I need a translation- southern redneck or at least layman slang please.

It's a $60 per month compass

Yes, but it's a Multi-Use $60 per month compass!

I agree. You can also get unlimited updates on the Kardashians.

and see the next stupid azz thing kan-yeah kardashian does.

Astro · Feb 16th 2015, 8:38pm

WiseOldOwl wrote:

66

jimmyjam wrote:

AnotherKevin wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

WiseOldOwl wrote:

CoachLou wrote:

Kevin.....I discovered that my gadgit has a compass! I'm not sure if it is actually reading the magnetism or a satelite!?

How a bout a model or name brand - I can find it for you... some do - others get the compass by using an algorithm of the satellites.

I have a brandy new (3mnth) I6

Yeah, recent iPhones all have fluxgate magnetometer and six-axis accelerometer. I don't remember whether they have a barometric altimeter on board to smooth over GPS wonkiness.

OK, once again I need a translation- southern redneck or at least layman slang please.

Uh it looks like this and comes with an old expensive car....

[IMG:http://a.tgcdn.net/images/products/zoom/1dbd_flux_capacitor_car_charger.gif]

Don't forget the one point two Gigawatts... might get stuck somewhere in the future...

Seriously - the phone you have can measure acceleration and it senses rotation etc.

You were missing this.

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