2 years without a mobile phone Bliss

[OldJimbo]

I wish the arguing would stop because in fact all of the points made are good and really worth thinking about.

So far I am amazed by how well the Garmin works. I look back to the 60's and my field mapping and I sure see how modern technology has trivialized what was a lot of work. I can really see where it will help now where I want to find old spots which are really brushed in, and mark their locations, and the best paths to them. Finding out where and why it doesn't work well, is what I bought it to find out, too - but that will take some time. Overall for the $280 CAN I'm delighted so far. If you watch the segment in "Cast Away" where at the end of it all Tom Hanks picks up the barbecue lighter and clicks it for flame, you'll get an idea of how I looked at how something difficult can become simple and is amazing. That being said, when stuck on the island, he had to go back to basics, and he made that work, too. So having a GPS doesn't reduce my love of a compass and maps. Those things always remind me of my youth! In fact, having seen a show where a Viking sun compass was used, well I really have to make a replica!

Up here "Cannot find signal - are you indoors" is common with vehicle GPS due to cold and dampness. I find that my old Magellan has to be warmed up and dried out and then it starts working again. Same every winter! But so far it has always come back form the dead.. And so have some others I've applied the same treatment to. Worth knowing for what it's worth..

Best to be wary of batteries with a GPS. I have a Powerex charger which actually does a great job of establishing just what the capacity of a battery is. So I have batteries which are all supposed to be as specified - but they aren't by a wild amount. Unfortunately it's the common brands which are poor. If a person doesn't want to buy the $60 charger then best to go with real Japanese 2500mAh. A few heavy loads and recharges and they'll be close. The super Enerloops might not be the greatest for the Garmin since they are 2000mAh. But you can put defective batteries into a Garmin and it will show them initially as great - worth knowing and thinking about!

Now that I'm a believer in GPS, I'm interested to know what is the phone with the best GPS - without starting arguments. Well with civilized discussion and some facts...

 

[Robson Valley]

I've read so many negative contibutions to the solution to the puzzle, you will all be relieved to know that I won't ask for your opinions again.
What is the lifespan of your digital wonderpieces? 6 weeks, 6 months, 12-18-24 months? Six months max and no, too old to be repaired.

 

[santaman2000]

I've read so many negative contibutions to the solution to the puzzle, you will all be relieved to know that I won't ask for your opinions again.
What is the lifespan of your digital wonderpieces? 6 weeks, 6 months, 12-18-24 months? Six months max and no, too old to be repaired.

Who (and what) are you asking?

 

[Stew]

I've read so many negative contibutions to the solution to the puzzle, you will all be relieved to know that I won't ask for your opinions again.
What is the lifespan of your digital wonderpieces? 6 weeks, 6 months, 12-18-24 months? Six months max and no, too old to be repaired.

It depends on the device.

 

[Swallow]

Post withdrawn

 

[rik_uk3]

I wish the arguing would stop because in fact all of the points made are good and really worth thinking about.

So far I am amazed by how well the Garmin works. I look back to the 60's and my field mapping and I sure see how modern technology has trivialized what was a lot of work. I can really see where it will help now where I want to find old spots which are really brushed in, and mark their locations, and the best paths to them. Finding out where and why it doesn't work well, is what I bought it to find out, too - but that will take some time. Overall for the $280 CAN I'm delighted so far. If you watch the segment in "Cast Away" where at the end of it all Tom Hanks picks up the barbecue lighter and clicks it for flame, you'll get an idea of how I looked at how something difficult can become simple and is amazing. That being said, when stuck on the island, he had to go back to basics, and he made that work, too. So having a GPS doesn't reduce my love of a compass and maps. Those things always remind me of my youth! In fact, having seen a show where a Viking sun compass was used, well I really have to make a replica!

Up here "Cannot find signal - are you indoors" is common with vehicle GPS due to cold and dampness. I find that my old Magellan has to be warmed up and dried out and then it starts working again. Same every winter! But so far it has always come back form the dead.. And so have some others I've applied the same treatment to. Worth knowing for what it's worth..

Best to be wary of batteries with a GPS. I have a Powerex charger which actually does a great job of establishing just what the capacity of a battery is. So I have batteries which are all supposed to be as specified - but they aren't by a wild amount. Unfortunately it's the common brands which are poor. If a person doesn't want to buy the $60 charger then best to go with real Japanese 2500mAh. A few heavy loads and recharges and they'll be close. The super Enerloops might not be the greatest for the Garmin since they are 2000mAh. But you can put defective batteries into a Garmin and it will show them initially as great - worth knowing and thinking about!

Now that I'm a believer in GPS, I'm interested to know what is the phone with the best GPS - without starting arguments. Well with civilized discussion and some facts...

You can get 2500mAh eneloops I think.

 

[santaman2000]

.....Now that I'm a believer in GPS, I'm interested to know what is the phone with the best GPS - without starting arguments. Well with civilized discussion and some facts...

Hopefully somebody on here can help you with that. My cell phone is just that (a phone) as I stated further up-thread. Not because I don't believe in GPS but just because I want to keep the phone simple.

The only concern I would have with a phone based GPS might be the ruggedness (or lack thereof) when compared to a dedicated GPS unit. Handheld GPS units are generally designed and built for outdoor use whereas phones generally treat this as a secondary consideration if at all. If somebody on the forum knows differently (or can point to the better built phone units) that would be great.

Well, that's not exactly the only concern. If your also using it for the phone and other functions it will shorten battery life. Nothing that can't be worked out, but two issues to keep in mind and provide for.

 

[ADz-1983]

You're just not getting this quotes thing are you?

No, it's the b.ollocks you're talking I'm not getting. I'm fine with quotes.

 

[rik_uk3]

I've read so many negative contibutions to the solution to the puzzle, you will all be relieved to know that I won't ask for your opinions again.


What is the lifespan of your digital wonderpieces? 6 weeks, 6 months, 12-18-24 months? Six months max and no, too old to be repaired.

I've accumulated a few 'smart phones' over the years. I've got an HTC G1, the original android phone, its about seven years old and works just fine for GPS. I've also got a Galaxy S2, S3 and S5 and again, they all work very well. I carry a spare battery or power bank (as you would with a 'dedicated' GPS unit) and a humble zip lock back to store them in.

This is an 'old' report but worth looking at http://www.academia.edu/353833/Geog...ilities_between_smartphones_and_dedicated_GPS

 

[OldJimbo]

The only concern I would have with a phone based GPS might be the ruggedness (or lack thereof) when compared to a dedicated GPS unit. Handheld GPS units are generally designed and built for outdoor use whereas phones generally treat this as a secondary consideration if at all. If somebody on the forum knows differently (or can point to the better built phone units) that would be great.

Well, that's not exactly the only concern. If your also using it for the phone and other functions it will shorten battery life. Nothing that can't be worked out, but two issues to keep in mind and provide for.

Those are sure my concerns too!
If I was turning on my unit to see where I was, or leaving it on to occasionally check locations and bearing, then battery life seems good. The problem comes with mapping tracks, which seems to be working well, but obviously battery life is shortened considerably.
Since I live in a flat bottomed glacial valley, the course of the river and streams have changed considerably since maps were made, and so the ability of the unit to map tracks and do overlays is what makes the device valuable.
Since people here do know how to use GPS on their phones, could I get an estimate of how much an hour's accurate tracking affects the phone battery?

Thanks for the link, rik! That information is exactly what I'm interested in!

 

[ADz-1983]

Those are sure my concerns too!
If I was turning on my unit to see where I was, or leaving it on to occasionally check locations and bearing, then battery life seems good. The problem comes with mapping tracks, which seems to be working well, but obviously battery life is shortened considerably.
Since I live in a flat bottomed glacial valley, the course of the river and streams have changed considerably since maps were made, and so the ability of the unit to map tracks and do overlays is what makes the device valuable.
Since people here do know how to use GPS on their phones, could I get an estimate of how much an hour's accurate tracking affects the phone battery?

Thanks for the link, rik! That information is exactly what I'm interested in!

I have been recording a track continuously for 9 hours and still had 10% of battery left. It's about how you use your device and what services or apps you also have running in background. You can turn on aeroplane mode as well as close down stuff you're not using. Plenty of options for maxing battery. Plus you can carry spare batteries or USB power banks etc. A lot of people moan or go on about phones using a lot of battery when using as GPS/tracking device etc but that it is simply not an issue and is usually their error in leaving other things running, having a crap device or not taking spares etc etc.

 

[OldJimbo]

You can get 2500mAh eneloops I think.

Thanks for reminding me. I'd put off getting those because I never found a good online deal for where I live. So I checked today and found some on the last day of a sale - still $19, but that's better than $27 a pack!

Thanks ADz, that's exactly what I wanted to know. Since I presently have an old and dumb phone, I would never have thought about figuring on stuff running in the background.

 

[Swallow]

Post withdrawn

 

[rik_uk3]

Well if you're going to remove quotes that show the word is not intended as literal and read them as literal, i.e. change bits of what I'm saying into something else, then it's going to look that way isn't it?

Come on boys, calm down or we'll end up with another locked thread.

 

[ADz-1983]

 

[Robson Valley]

I was waiting for some constructive assistance. Not. I get more help from my musicial friends.
Here's a little case study for illustration:

New Sirius satellite radio. Car kit and home kit (sold seperately.) If you don't comprehend Sirius, look it up.
Old (10 yrs) Sirius SatRad died. 30 memories, 45 minutes record, played all throught the entire house, it was a dream.
New radio, 4 antennas, 2 other sat radios = good signal strength.
I use a stop-watch, is that perfectly clear?
Downloaded the 70 page instruction manual and I read it twice (fool that I am).
10 hours trying to get beyond activation, 2.5hrs on the telephone with Sirius techs = nothing.

The middle button on the left side of the display is the MENU button for configuring everything from the output frequency to the Clock, OK?
Up/down, left/right arrow buttons do it all like my old SatRad. OK?
Press the MENU button 40 times. No Menu. Do that twice more 40X = no menu.
Cordless telephones, cell phone gifts and GPS that I buy seem to be similar POS.

Go ahead. Argue all you like. To me, non-functioning digital equipment is garbage.

The consistency suggests that it is me = operator error.

 

[santaman2000]

........Go ahead. Argue all you like. To me, non-functioning digital equipment is garbage.

The consistency suggests that it is me = operator error.

I agree with you that it's just garbage (or an expensive door stop) if it doesn't work. As to whether it's operator error or not, well there is still one other possibility that could cause the consistency: Have you aggravated a voodoo priest?

 

[Robson Valley]

Right now, I'm prepared to believe just about anything beyond what the Sirius geeks try to tell me.
Anything I do for repairs (no such thing = operator error) requires 5 hr on a winter mountain highway and $150 in 4x4 gas.
Hell, I have not even tossed the boxes that all the new stuff came in.

Maybe I need to make a doll, stab it with some copper pins, choke on a bunch of smoke and kill the beast with a 6lb hammer.
That's actually a lot more economical. Next time I'm in the city for other reasons, buy another one.

Honestly, it's cool to see how this technology has boosted exploration. Forgot a dozen spare batteries? You are snookered, but good.
How about the guy, following his GPS, was instructed to drive off the end of a partially demolished bridge.
The drop and the crash and the subsequent explosion killed his wife.. .. thank you, GPS.

I got along without it before I found it, I can get along without (the crutch) now.
The utter lack of relaibility realy bothers me.

 

[ADz-1983]

Honestly, it's cool to see how this technology has boosted exploration. Forgot a dozen spare batteries? You are snookered, but good.

A dozen? Try 1-2. Even then that's using them constantly for recording track throughout day or using in night in bed for tv/music etc.

How about the guy, following his GPS, was instructed to drive off the end of a partially demolished bridge.
The drop and the crash and the subsequent explosion killed his wife.. .. thank you, GPS.

Sorry but that guy was obviously an idiot who (1) didnt also use common sense and (2) obviously didnt update his maps.
The same result would have happened if he had been using paper. The fact he was using GPS is irrelevant.

I got along without it before I found it, I can get along without (the crutch) now.

You will have also got along without internet. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try/learn it

The utter lack of relaibility realy bothers me.

Nonsense. GPS devices and electronic mapping are extremely reliable. Yes batteries do not last forever and that is whey you take spare(s) and use power management. They weigh very little so don't really understand this whole phobia some people have.

 

[Robson Valley]

ADz: I'm pleased that you have enjoyed such success. I'd like to but I don't share your confidence at all.
I will admit that, in theory, GPS units are reliable, I have no use for crap that dies in 6 weeks.
Cell phones, digital video cameras, home entertainment TV, sudden deaths.

The last flat screen TV that I bought, new, lasted about 2 months, maybe on 8 hours total.
When I saw the smoke and flames coming out of the back of it, I decided that it would not operate properly for any longer.
Warranty: "We're sorry sir, that's a superceded model which cannot be repaired."

I have no phobia, that's your horse-puckey. Sell me stuff that works, month in and month out. All I want.

I'll admit that I am in a minority. I have had little success with digital equipment.
Most of it has died from some sort of crib-death or sudden-death syndrome.
I couldn't take a dozen rechargable AA batteries and keep anything running for a day.
When it works, digital equipment is magnificent. No question.

Can I mail you the most recent 3 sets of dead cordless digital phones?