Newbie question on electronics

[Shawn Hultquist]

Alright I've always been a map reader and not much on electronics. I broke down and bought the in reach se. I haven't even taken it out of the box yet but I need to so I can get familiar with it and see how it works. Do I use the maps it came with or should I go with ONX or just stick to the paper topo.


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[TJ]

I don't have the SE version but I've just started using my iphone paired with the In-reach.
Works pretty well I think. Also, a lot easier to enter a message through your phone than the In-reach.

I just got back from a scouting trip and everything worked well. Way too much snow up high and easy to loose the trail.
Using the phone with the In-reach made navigating much easier.

I'll always have a paper map with me, but using electronic mapping can be pretty handy. I know I am sold on it.

 

[muddydogs]

The SE is not a GPS with maps, the older SE has no map feature and the newer SE+ just shows your track line on a grid map. To get true GPS mapping on the InReach one needs the Explorer or new Explorer+.
Garmin also has an app called Earth Mate which runs on the smart phone, if you have an SE, Explorer or one of the + units you can down load the app which syncs with the handheld unit and gives full gps mapping even with the SE models. The app can also be purchased as a stand alone for the phone without the InReach unit. To make things more confusing the free Earth Mate app won't let you do way points or routes with the SE so one has to get the paid subscription to set way points.

I run the older SE model with the paid Earth Mate app and have no need for anything else, I can download all the maps and photos I want, set routes and way points plus look at land ownership all on my phone. The only place I see the Earth Mate maps lacking is land owner contact info, the maps show the private land but I have found very few with any owner info. I mostly hunt federal land out West so maybe its better in the Eastern US and I have only really messed with the private land where I plan to hunt antelope in WY this fall. I've never compared the private land owner info to anything else so maybe there all the same in the WY checker board of ownership.

All my InReach unit really is is a middle man between my phone and the satellites, I hardly ever touch the unit itself as I control almost all the functions and do all my texting through the Earth Mate app on my phone. Only thing you can't do on the phone is use the 3 preset messages that don't count against your messages to send. If I'm hiking around I'll use the InReach to track as 10 minute track intervals are fine for hiking but if I want a more detailed track or I'm riding my ATV and want to track the trail then I track through my phones GPS as this gives me a true GPS type track line.

 

[Dameon]

I have the regular InReach SE, the Earthmate app, the OnX hunt app, and a Garmin GPS unit with state specific OnX chips and tried using all three last year. The InReach SE works well with the Earthmate app and I used my smart phone to send messages back and forth to my wife everyday, several times a day, for 10 days to my wife. The GPS function of the paid Earthmate app is ok, but it does lack landowner contact info and unit boundaries. I haven't tried any of the updated versions, but I didn't care for the layout either. The free version is only good for messaging and excels in that regard. The Garmin unit with OnX chips were the easiest to use and I liked that I could change out the batteries and had boundaries marked for every unit in the state. What I didn't like is that I couldn't get satellite imagery for new units when I decided to try someplace new. The OnX hunt app for the smart phone is the best thing going. If you put your phone in airplane mode, the GPS functionality still works even without cellphone signals and the ease of use is awesome. The downside is that a smart phone still burns battery life like nothing else, so you need to have a solar charger with battery pack or large battery pack to charge it every night. Another downside is that you need to download all the maps and images for your hunting unit before you head out if you will be out of cell service. I hunted the north and south slopes of the Uintah/Yellowstone units in eastern UT and the Ogden unit last year. When I moved from the Uintah's to Ogden, I just downloaded what I needed in Ogden before heading out again.

After testing each one, I found what works best for me is the InReach SE paired with my smart phone with the free Earthmate app for messaging and the OnX app for GPS navigating and tracking on my smartphone. The OnX system, literally all of it, is worth it in my opinion. I am not elk hunting this year, but I hope to try New Mexico or Colorado next year. For that, I will happily pay the $99 for the OnX yearly subscription. That is money well spent for a flatlander hunting out west.

 

[xziang]

Is this the item that you are referring to? Newer: Garmin inReach SE+ 2-Way Satellite Communicator

Access Denied

 

[muddydogs]

Is this the item that you are referring to? Newer: Garmin inReach SE+ 2-Way Satellite Communicator

Access Denied

You talking to me? When Delorme started the InReach game they had an SE and Explorer model, once Garmin purchased Delorme they came out with the SE+ and Explorer+ models. The SE and SE+ models message and track the Explorer and Explorer+ models add in GPS mapping using the Garmin base map.

There is a hunt version of the paid Earth Mate app that give you all the hunt boundaries for every state, I have checked out Utah, AZ, and WY and they appear complete.

I would disagree that the free Earth Mate app is only good for messaging as its the same map and photo's downloads as the paid version you just can't mark way points.

The one down fall to any cell phone based mapping is the user does have to download map and photo data, most programs have a basic map but to get any detail the user needs to load the right maps. Down loading of maps and photo's usually takes a WIFI connection so a little prior planning is required. I run a 32 GB card in my phone so I have lots of room for map's, currently I have about 8 GB's of map and photo data for 3 states living on my SD card.

I run an Android phone which I turn off the mobile data on when I'm out in the woods, I like to leave the messaging on as sometime I find a hot spot and get a text or two and airplane mode turns messaging and calling off but by just turning off mobile data I turn off the biggest battery suck on the phone while leaving the rest of the functions running. I will run my phone bluetoothed to my InReach for 10 plus hours a day and only drop both to about 80% battery, after 2 days I'm still over 50% battery on both devices. Not sure about the IPhone as I never saw the need to pay extra for a phone when the Android based phone does everything I need with no proprietary crud.

 

[Shawn Hultquist]

sorry i b ought the in reach explorer plus or to simplify things the orange one. I will get it out and get it set up soon and find out thanks for the help fellas