New Apps for off road.

Who currently has the best trail apps for exploring and adventure. Goggle earth?

 

Gaia GPS. I run that on my iPad and use a GPS puck that sends location data to my iPad via Bluetooth. You can download tracks others have made or make your own and share if you'd like. Highly recommend Gaia over others like Hema Maps (YMMV). https://www.gaiagps.com

 

I use backcountry navigator. I only use that one because it seems to be the only one that has an APRS overlay. Otherwise I would use Gaia. Gaia has the natgeo maps for the National parks.

 

Does this work offline or do you need data all the time?

A lot of these apps are pretty stupid given many of the places you'll use them don't often have good cell signal if any at all


For op, I've been using view ranger. Works ok. Could be better but at least it lets you use the maps offline

 

The map does work offline, but it won't track where you are. If you have a GPS puck, $70 on Amazon, it will track where you are in addition to running offline maps.

 

For Android I use US Topo Maps Pro. Lots of different maps (layers) are available and you can cache any of the maps.

 

For iPad I use TopoMaps app- free Medium or High resolution USGS topo map downloads and no annual renewal fees. I've downloaded and keep the entire set of topos for the California and AZ/NV desert region on my 64gb iPad. For offline gps, I use a Garmin GLO bluetooth gps.

 

I use back country navigator for the Ariel imagery maps; can download sections to your phone so they will work still if you lose data. I also use Avenza maps as there are a lot of free motor vehicle use maps available on it; these work great (and don’t need data), but it’s usually a black and white map... so I tend to use a combination of this for road mapping, and back country for imagery.

 

Gaia maps for me, you can download the area that you plan on roaming. As long as you can keep a GPS signal it will follow you

 

Gaia tracks me offline just fine even will show which direction I am facing, also records trails and waypoints offline... (unless they changed something very recently)

 

His tablet must not have a Gps chip. That’s why he needs the Gps puck.

Personally I picked up a new cheep tablet that has cell service (has Gps chip) and run Gaia. Do not have to activate the cell service.

 

Yeah, if your pad does not have GPS, you need a bluetooth one. But they also are good for tracking your path by leaving it on all the time- cant do that with a ioad as easily.

 

gaia works offline and tracks where you are regardless. I run mine on airplane mode in the middle of the most remote wilderness areas in the country and it works fine. Your iPhone has a gps chip that does not rely on cell service to work.

 

Well there's the problem, my iPhone is so old the GPS chip in it doesn't work very well. I wanted something that actually works.

 

I run Galileo pro on my iPad and iPhone. You can download the maps by state and use it offline and has lots of trails. You can also load gpx files into it. It will record your path with speed and elevation changes.

 

If you have an old iPhone, I suggest buying a BadElf GPS receiver. Plugs into the headphone jack of your old ass iPhone

 

Good to know. But I won't need it as I've got a

$110 Dual XGPS150A Multipurpose Portable Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver | Wide Area Augmentation System, Black

Dual XGPS150A that works just fine..and yeah it's an old ass iPhone for sure.

 

Can someone point me to something (docs / howtos) entry level that I can use to get started with aprs?

 

For starters you need a HAM radio license.

APRS droid for android devices is the cheapest and easiest way to start. That being said, it's useless when you don't have an internet connection or a radio connected to your device.

I have a Kenwood D710g in the truck that transmits my location and receives the location of other people in my group. The radio is connected to a serial port to Bluetooth dongle which transmits APRS data to my Samsung tablet which has APRSdroid and backcountry navigator installed. APRSdroid generates an overlay onto my map on backcountry navigator.

I also can use the radio to send text messages or email via SMSGTE to cell phones in the US.

An added "bonus" (or downside) is that when you are in range of a digipeater, every APRS transmission you make is uploaded to APRS.fi. Anyone can log in and look up your callsign and see a track of your beacons and whatever message you're transmitting with the beacons. Examples of messages I have preprogrammed to use are "en route to (destination)," "at camp," "medical emergency," and "mechanical breakdown."

You can do most of this with an old Droid phone, a $40 device called a "mobilinkd TNC," and a $40 handheld radio.

I've got about $1K in comms gear in the truck including the tablet, radio, speakers, mounts, cabling, and antenna.

I am fixin to pick up a Kenwood handheld radio that will do APRS, so I can track it with my truck.

I am just getting started in APRS and am by no means an expert.

I mostly used forums and stuff to get my info. The threads on here were my start.

 

This is what the overlay looks like on backcountry navigator.