GPS looking at Montana good sales coming up, thoughts?

[kdxyardsale]

I ride dual sport with an old magellen GPS on a RAM mount works great. Need to update this thing is 20 years old. Looking at Montana there are some really good sales coming up. I also use GPS for arrowhead hunting, deer hunting and just plain exploring. The onXmaps app looks really good as I am always avoiding areas because of private property. 

Does anyone here run Magellen Montana or Oregon? Anyone use onXmaps?

[zig06]

Well, no one has posted here yet so let me give it a friendly bump (and possibly more attention).  I personally like the idea of getting a Garmin Montana GPS (with the camera), a few riders over on the http://advrider.com/index.php web site have them and do seem to like them.  The Zumo sounds like a great motorcycle package but it's way over priced.  If your serious about getting a Garmin GPS be sure to shop their refurbished units if you need to save a few bucks.

https://g.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/65473/Refurbished.html?cid=59898&chid=1&campaignid=13776904&adgroupid=10370727724&creative=175728960888&targetid=kwd-24722528976&matchtype=b&device=c&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvdWihoXM1wIVkbfsCh3WMgpJEAAYAiAAEgImwPD_BwE

Did you buy anything yet?

[ohgood]

On 11/12/2017 at 10:36 AM, kdxyardsale said:

I ride dual sport with an old magellen GPS on a RAM mount works great. Need to update this thing is 20 years old. Looking at Montana there are some really good sales coming up. I also use GPS for arrowhead hunting, deer hunting and just plain exploring. The onXmaps app looks really good as I am always avoiding areas because of private property. 

Does anyone here run Magellen Montana or Oregon? Anyone use onXmaps?

I just use my phone mounted to the bars. The subscriptions based (onxmaps / similar) apps aren't for me, and the maps available for 'free' apps are normally higher quality. The land ownership boundaries aren't hard to get, most counties have this available in tax records with geo referenced pdf's or if you're really lucky, kmz's. 

The garmin and tomtom units I tried were just too slow, too limited in functionality, and too terribly tethered to computers to get anything shared/done. Don't get me started on how they're overpriced by 5 to 10x. 

Anyway, the app I like to use is called Locus, mostly because it handles tracks / waypoints / maps in a great database, and SHARES things like a smartphone was designed to via bluetooth/wifi-direct/email/etc with no cables needed, ever. 

The phone I like can be picked up on ebay for $50-70 called kyocera duraforce, or get a disposable one from walmart kyocera hydro for $30. Yes, it works offline, yes, even out in the middle of no where. 

If the montana dropped to $100 tomorrow, I would consider it's finally found a reasonable price point, but even at $30 it's still way to limited compared to a $30 smartphone. 

 

 

[Cali Fourstroke]

This is the second time I've seen GPS usage on a phone noted without being on-line (or without service).  This is confusing to me.  How does the app work if it does not have service?

[irme42day]

6 minutes ago, Cali Fourstroke said:

This is the second time I've seen GPS usage on a phone noted without being on-line (or without service).  This is confusing to me.  How does the app work if it does not have service?

Oh, like, it uses, like real-e fuzzy electrons, you know.

[Cali Fourstroke]

Wow, really helpful.  Trying my best to find a good riding GPS solution for a gift for my husband.  Based on your response, you obviously don't take this as seriously as I do.

Rather than asking the "off-line" question here (I can find that somewhere else where they aren't rude), is anyone here using MotionX GPS?  Thoughts for off-line use?

Edited November 29, 2017 by Cali Fourstroke

[Kosmic]

1 hour ago, Cali Fourstroke said:

This is the second time I've seen GPS usage on a phone noted without being on-line (or without service).  This is confusing to me.  How does the app work if it does not have service?

Apps can be installed that do not require constant internet access to operate. It uses the phone's built in hardware GPS for tracking and navigating.

Simply put, phones are just mini computers. You're using the GPS part of the phone, but not the cell service part. You can still access wifi internet without service on some phones. Basically using it like a mini-tablet.

Anyways, there is a ton of info out there on GPS vs Smartphone so I won't go into a detailed explanation, but hope that helps.

 

[Cali Fourstroke]

I had set out to purchase a hand-held GPS for my husband, but looks like there are some really great ways to go with a smartphone - possibly utilizing his old phone with GPS app.  

Thank you.  I really appreciate the information.

Signed,
Non-techy, dedicated moto-wife

[ohgood]

56 minutes ago, Cali Fourstroke said:

I had set out to purchase a hand-held GPS for my husband, but looks like there are some really great ways to go with a smartphone - possibly utilizing his old phone with GPS app.  

Thank you.  I really appreciate the information.

Signed,
Non-techy, dedicated moto-wife

check out Osmand and locus for android

 

 

and motionx or Gaia on ios

[Cali Fourstroke]

53 minutes ago, ohgood said:

check out Osmand and locus for android

 

 

and motionx or Gaia on ios

Thank you, I will.

[kdxyardsale]

On 11/29/2017 at 10:35 AM, Cali Fourstroke said:

Wow, really helpful.  Trying my best to find a good riding GPS solution for a gift for my husband.  Based on your response, you obviously don't take this as seriously as I do.

Rather than asking the "off-line" question here (I can find that somewhere else where they aren't rude), is anyone here using MotionX GPS?  Thoughts for off-line use?

This is my post, I went ahead and bought a Garmin Montana, Cabelas had a $200 off sale and I had $250 cabelas bucks my account. So I paid $100. I just got the mount yesterday so it is not mounted but I did take it hiking, works great. 

If you get a hunting type GPS, be aware they do not come with road maps that can plan routes (they call the maps routable) however I did find a good website with a ton of free ones that you can download.

The GPS work off satellite but have maps preloaded so when you are in a out of cell service area, the map is in the device, it is rare to find somewhere that the GPS cannot locate it on the map, it only needs 3 satellites to triangulate. This Montana picks up a lot of satellites fast. I will do a review on it once I get a few trips on the bike.

I used to use an old magellan but it is really old and doesnt have all the roads, but held up like iron on the handlebars.

Using a cellphone you need to know a few things. You can use one even without cell service/plan as it uses the GPS function, BUT the maps have to be predownloaded anywhere you are going. If you use one with cell service and do not download your trip area maps, when you go out of cell service, the GPS function still works but the phone does not know where to place you until it can update the map cellularly.

Before you spend a ton of money, look for an older GPS and see if he likes it, they work anywhere and already have the maps on them. GPS are expensive new. My old one was a Magellan Sportrak Topo, worked great for years on the bike.

On 11/19/2017 at 6:52 PM, zig06 said:

Well, no one has posted here yet so let me give it a friendly bump (and possibly more attention).  I personally like the idea of getting a Garmin Montana GPS (with the camera), a few riders over on the http://advrider.com/index.php web site have them and do seem to like them.  The Zumo sounds like a great motorcycle package but it's way over priced.  If your serious about getting a Garmin GPS be sure to shop their refurbished units if you need to save a few bucks.

https://g.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/65473/Refurbished.html?cid=59898&chid=1&campaignid=13776904&adgroupid=10370727724&creative=175728960888&targetid=kwd-24722528976&matchtype=b&device=c&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvdWihoXM1wIVkbfsCh3WMgpJEAAYAiAAEgImwPD_BwE

Did you buy anything yet?

Check my reply above, I did buy the Garmin and got a good deal, thanks for the bump....

[Kosmic]

I'm giving this GaiaGPS app a try. I have a Garmin GPSMap64 but I'm liking this much better. I feel like the Garmin is so not user friendly and just annoying to use. I hardly ever take it with me.

I love that I can go in and draw trails on a satellite map with the Gaia website then it automatically syncs to the phone. Other than battery life, I don't see a big downside here.

[ohgood]

On 11/30/2017 at 7:47 PM, kdxyardsale said:

This is my post, I went ahead and bought a Garmin Montana, Cabelas had a $200 off sale and I had $250 cabelas bucks my account. So I paid $100. I just got the mount yesterday so it is not mounted but I did take it hiking, works great. 

If you get a hunting type GPS, be aware they do not come with road maps that can plan routes (they call the maps routable) however I did find a good website with a ton of free ones that you can download.

The GPS work off satellite but have maps preloaded so when you are in a out of cell service area, the map is in the device, it is rare to find somewhere that the GPS cannot locate it on the map, it only needs 3 satellites to triangulate. This Montana picks up a lot of satellites fast. I will do a review on it once I get a few trips on the bike.

I used to use an old magellan but it is really old and doesnt have all the roads, but held up like iron on the handlebars.

Using a cellphone you need to know a few things. You can use one even without cell service/plan as it uses the GPS function, BUT the maps have to be predownloaded anywhere you are going. If you use one with cell service and do not download your trip area maps, when you go out of cell service, the GPS function still works but the phone does not know where to place you until it can update the map cellularly.

Before you spend a ton of money, look for an older GPS and see if he likes it, they work anywhere and already have the maps on them. GPS are expensive new. My old one was a Magellan Sportrak Topo, worked great for years on the bike.

Check my reply above, I did buy the Garmin and got a good deal, thanks for the bump....

the same functionality (and more) of a $600-1000 stand alone GPS is really found in applications costing free to $6. of course the hardware still has a cost, but a rugged phone is typically $40-70 used depending on model. the added bonus is the phone has real Bluetooth/Wi-Fi (and of course cellular) capabilities the stand alone devices do not. 

 

maps are the same on stand alone and smartphones... if you don't install them before leaving for a trip, there aren't any to use. 

 

the same free online maps for the standalones are available for smartphones. check out osm open street maps, gpsfiledepot, and the others that pop up in Google searches. osm is much more up to date compared to the extremely expensive Garmin maps, but some people still think higher prices yield higher quality. 

for gpx tracks, check out dual sport forums and hiking forums. 

Edited December 2, 2017 by ohgood

[justkipp]

On 12/1/2017 at 7:14 AM, Kosmic said:

I'm giving this GaiaGPS app a try. I have a Garmin GPSMap64 but I'm liking this much better. I feel like the Garmin is so not user friendly and just annoying to use. I hardly ever take it with me.

I love that I can go in and draw trails on a satellite map with the Gaia website then it automatically syncs to the phone. Other than battery life, I don't see a big downside here.

I use gaia as well, then I download specific files of existing routes, works like a champ. I got an educational discount on it, 50% I believe.

Edited December 9, 2017 by justkipp