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27 Oct 2015
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Join Date: Jul 2015
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Forget Garmin me thinks
Thanks for the info in this thread 
I have a Garmin Zumo 390 and for the $800AU I paid for it   it's crap.
I could have bought a smart phone, waterproof case and good mapping software for it for less cost and had much much more functionality.
I have used garmins for many years on yachts and bikes but they are not as good as they used to be considering the advances in technology in the last 10 years or so.
In my opinion a smart phone or small tablet is the way to go now.
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28 Oct 2015
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
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I'm heading off to Turkey this week and I'm planning to use OSMAnd on my Android phone, mounted on the handlebars in a waterproof case with a usb power lead from the bike battery.
I've created routes in Google Maps (My Maps) by creating a driving route and dragging the route across the mountains to what look like fun roads to explore. This is a simple task on a laptop / PC but nearly impossible using the touch screen of a phone / tablet. I have found that it is made possible by connecting a mouse using either bluetooth or an OTG cable. This will save me lugging a laptop around just for the sake of creating gpx routes.
I then save the Google Map as a .kml file and convert it to a .gpx file using the free web based tool Kml2gpx.com: convert kml to gpx online. It's free, simple and fast
I then download the gpx file to my phone and load it into OSMAnd.
This all seems to have worked nicely so far. Hopefully it works when I'm out on the road! Cheers!
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28 Oct 2015
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I recently used my Samsung Galaxy S3 with the TomTom app for a trip to the South of France and back, it worked perfectly. You will need a power source and decent case though. I got a waterproof case off ebay and run a power lead in from the usb socket on the bike.
Screen operation through the case is a bit hit and miss with gloves on, but otherwise it's the best satnav I've ever used. I run a 32gb sd card and have all of Europe and Africa on it, they take up about 7gb. Maps for the whole of the world are free to download, and then mean you don't need a network connection like you would for say Google maps.
I've actually just got a new phone and I'm keeping the S3 to run as a stand alone satnav, as I can also use it for music through my bluetooth intercom as well. Second hand they are something like £60, and reset to factory settings it's superfast again!
It also means I have a spare phone if needed, as all I do is swap the sim card into it.
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28 Oct 2015
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Location: UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuttynick
and run a power lead in from the usb socket on the bike.
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I have ended up with a whole range of USB cables varying in length from about 150mm to over 1 metre; these deal with different bikes and the varying positions of the 5 volt power source on those bikes.
+ I have experimented with straight connectors and the right angle type of micro USB.
All of those cables do the same job and cost pennies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuttynick
means I have a spare phone if needed, as all I do is swap the sim card into it.
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Just to clarify, you are using the S3 phone as a GPS/navigation device without any sim card in place and there are no issues with that?
I expect it approximates to operating the phone in aircraft mode.
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28 Oct 2015
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Quote:
Originally Posted by L_bomb
This is a simple task on a laptop / PC but nearly impossible using the touch screen of a phone / tablet.
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I've been wondering where such a killer app is for Android.
There are a few ideas about route planning software in the thread linked below, but I haven't yet found the one that bypasses desktop/laptop/notebook computers and makes it childs play on a phone/tablet.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...hich-one-82808
In my last post in that thread I thought I had found an app that uses cross hairs to show where the "big fat finger" is on the screen, but .............................. I 've lost it!!
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7 Jul 2016
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I think you'll have a battle on your hands at short notice if you are not familiar with smart phones. Here is for Android and probably iPhone. Personally I recommend Android for travelling. Locus is a very good app for it that's not on iPhone. It allows you to use custom mapping but I think that would be a bit technical in your case. They do have lots of other offline options though.
They had all those countries except Pakistan and Myanmar. Good luck!
Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
Last edited by tmotten; 18 Aug 2016 at 15:32.
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8 Jul 2016
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I'm still struggling to find an android app that shows friends and family where I am. Delorme does it but I ought to be able to do it from my phone or tablet.
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9 Jul 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark hadley
I'm still struggling to find an android app that shows friends and family where I am. Delorme does it but I ought to be able to do it from my phone or tablet.
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"Real time GPS Tracker" free on the app store. Gives you a link you can send anyone you like.
Andy
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18 Aug 2016
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A comment to SeoulJoe after a long trip to Siberia and Mongolia, re smartphones vs. Garmin GPS: what good are smartphones when "No Service". They don't remember much when "offline".
Charlie
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19 Aug 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m37charlie
A comment to SeoulJoe after a long trip to Siberia and Mongolia, re smartphones vs. Garmin GPS: what good are smartphones when "No Service". They don't remember much when "offline".
Charlie
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Really? Please. "No Service" refers to no cell service, so you can't make a phone call or use 3G/4G/LTE/CDMA connection. It says NOTHING about the phone's capability of receiving a satellite signal.
Do some homework.
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Not all those who wander are lost. Usually, however, I am...
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8 Jul 2016
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Can't you send a pin by email?
Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
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18 Aug 2016
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...that's probably why people use apps like 'Here maps' and ' maps.me' that work perfectly well offline using previously downloaded maps..!
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18 Aug 2016
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Exactly. I'm finding a lot of the people in the no camp haven't done their homework. If you know a little about digital mapping (GIS) you'll never go back. Phone are powerful, new models are hardly better than 3 generations back (I'm still using an S4), easily available, wireless setup if you need to swap, I can keep going.
Using a phone opens up a vast array of options that I didn't have access too before. You can now truly go off the map. I'm planning donkey tracks that are not on the map in Google earth. With easily available gis software and in app you can download all the free mapping you want. Plus in gis software like global mapper you can download aerial imagery and use scanned paper maps like tracks4Africa, in decently sized files to find population asking your route as a safety net. Really, it's a no brainer and I cannot understand why people still spend a couple of nights at a resort type money on dedicated gps units that offer less not more.
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18 Aug 2016
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Half the difficulty is the mass of information and geek speak.
I've been playing with a tracker
https://sites.google.com/site/pooratrek/poorasecure
Still no idea what GPS&M/GRP/GPS is but it seems if you text it a fixed sequence it texts one back. The radio signal is called about 12 different acronyms and TLA's 
Andy
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19 Aug 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie
Half the difficulty is the mass of information and geek speak.
I've been playing with a tracker
https://sites.google.com/site/pooratrek/poorasecure
Still no idea what GPS&M/GRP/GPS is but it seems if you text it a fixed sequence it texts one back. The radio signal is called about 12 different acronyms and TLA's
Andy |
Now all you need is for someone to steal the bike so you can test it 
It's bound to work - after all the man on the website says:
"GPS tracker is easy to use, with just two buttons (although) you must set up the APN of your local GSM network for the SIM card in tracker first ...
As long as you've done that (whatever it is) you'll always know where the joyriders are, right up to the point where they dump it in a canal.
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