GPS/Comms

[ChrisAU]

So since starting planning this falls Colorado trip I have had a Garmin 64st and a PLB on my shopping list. Now, I'm looking at the InReach Explorer+. Any reason to not go that route?

 

[muddydogs]

None at all. Cheaper to buy just the InReach, have better communication with the Inreach over a PLB, one unit instead of 2, cell phone screen is a way better size then most any GPS, lot better mapping options and down loads with a cell phone over standard GPS, Explorer + makes a fine backup GPS unit should something happen to phone or the weather just sucks and phone is kept protected. Personally I ran the Inreach SE for 4 years without a problem and picked up an Inreach Explorer for a second unit when Cabelas was selling off the Older Delorme models for $200. I was planning on getting the Explorer+ but I just couldn't pass up the Cabelas sale. Never had a problem with keeping my phone dry in a zip lock type bag.

Basically if the general public would open there eyes and realize what a phone can do for there GPS needs traditional GPS units would be a thing of the past, pair your phone with an Inreach for communications and have the best of both worlds.

 

[nephewjephew]

I have been thinking about doing just that myself. I use On X on my phone and have been toying with the notion of getting the inreach explorer as back up and a way to communicate. The only draw back I see is that the maps are all pre-loaded so you wouldn't be able to use a on x chip, oh well. Seems like a no brainer, unless I am missing something here.

 

[muddydogs]

Ditch the Onx chip and run the paid Earthmate app. Only place Onx might have something over the Earthmate is land owner names as the Earthmate seems kind of light there but other then that I can see no reason to pay for Onx when the paid Earthmate app is $30 a year for the entire US. I've ran both apps side by side in WY, AZ and UT and see every little difference.

 

[bsnedeker]

Ditch the Onx chip and run the paid Earthmate app. Only place Onx might have something over the Earthmate is land owner names as the Earthmate seems kind of light there but other then that I can see no reason to pay for Onx when the paid Earthmate app is $30 a year for the entire US. I've ran both apps side by side in WY, AZ and UT and see every little difference.

Does Earthmate have layers for hunting GMUs, burns, clearcuts, and roadless areas? Those are the things I use the most when eScouting on Onx, very interested in Earthmate if it has the same stuff.

 

[muddydogs]

Does Earthmate have layers for hunting GMUs, burns, clearcuts, and roadless areas? Those are the things I use the most when eScouting on Onx, very interested in Earthmate if it has the same stuff.

GMU's and land owner overlays. Guess I never saw a need for burns, clearcuts or roadless areas as these things are easy to tell from photo's and the topo maps. I do most of my map scouting from the photo's but I have spent a life time looking at photo's while on the ground so I might have a better idea of what I'm looking at on the photo.
Thinking about it does anyone really need an overlay to tell them the area was a clearcut or burn and why would it make a difference if it was either one? Both open the canopy to promote the growth of grasses and forbs, and both are very easy to spot on a photo.

 

[bsnedeker]

GMU's and land owner overlays. Guess I never saw a need for burns, clearcuts or roadless areas as these things are easy to tell from photo's and the topo maps. I do most of my map scouting from the photo's but I have spent a life time looking at photo's while on the ground so I might have a better idea of what I'm looking at on the photo.
Thinking about it does anyone really need an overlay to tell them the area was a clearcut or burn and why would it make a difference if it was either one? Both open the canopy to promote the growth of grasses and forbs, and both are very easy to spot on a photo.

So this may just be showing my ignorance, but how often are sat. pics updated? Are you able to see the burns and clearcuts from last year in your sat pics? Google earth pro stops at 2014 I believe. That's why I use those layers, because newer stuff doesn't show up in sat. pics.