Maps, GPS, apps

[taoshum]

I've been a devoted Garmin user for a long, long time.  At the FMCA jeep rally last week I was introduced to a wide spectrum of "new" technology, maps, sensors and displays.  If you haven't looked recently, the android apps for BackCountry Navigation are becoming awesome... especially with a tablet display.  FYI.

[RV]

What tablet do you have?  I'm considering buying the Google Nexus 7; debating if I need 16 GB of memory.

[John Canfield]

I'll take a look at that app.  Usually we use a guidebook and a Garmin 60csx for Lat/Long readouts.

[Mary Jane]

We have been pondering wha to buy for Jeeping out in AZ.....so this is an app for a droid?? I will have to check it out! Thanks!!

[Barb]

The back country app is for droid only. And if works great. It is not for trip planing.
It will record a track, or you can put it a destination.

We have a 7" tablet we use in the jeep. We are members of the FMCA 4 wheelers. And we down load tracks from their web site.

You can down load any gpx tracks from any gpx source, into back country. There are a lot of sources. Trail damage is a great site. So if anyone is a member, I would like an invite. You can export tracks also.

Just a note, off roading will be very rough on devices. They need to be properly secured. And you will probably need to have a power source. And wifi to find your gps.

Just another way to keep us safer on the trails. It's a great tool.

[taoshum]

The back country app is for droid only. And if works great. It is not for trip planing.
It will record a track, or you can put it a destination.

We have a 7" tablet we use in the jeep. We are members of the FMCA 4 wheelers. And we down load tracks from their web site.

You can down load any gpx tracks from any gpx source, into back country. There are a lot of sources. Trail damage is a great site. So if anyone is a member, I would like an invite. You can export tracks also.

Just a note, off roading will be very rough on devices. They need to be properly secured. And you will probably need to have a power source. And wifi to find your gps.

Just another way to keep us safer on the trails. It's a great tool.

Hi Barb,

Lots of times we were no where near WIFI or cell service, so I ask about that... the response was that, for BackCountry Navigator, you need to download the maps you'll need while you have WIFI/Cell service in town or somewhere, before you go into the "BackCountry". 

[Barb]

we use wifi to help find our gps location. Turn it off, and hit the road. As long as the device will hold your gps, your good to go.

[John Canfield]

I downloaded the trail version of Back Country and played with it on my Acer Iconia tablet - very impressive.  We're new members of the FMCA 4-wheelers so I'll download their waypoints.  We're running a trail tomorrow, so we'll give it a test run.

[taoshum]

I downloaded the trail version of Back Country and played with it on my Acer Iconia tablet - very impressive.  We're new members of the FMCA 4-wheelers so I'll download their waypoints.  We're running a trail tomorrow, so we'll give it a test run.

Did you "shop" around for a tablet?  How did you pick the Acer?  The app is for android I think so the Ipad won't work?  I'm kinda waiting for the M'Soft tablet but ... 

If you design or find a way to mount a tablet in the JK, pleeeeese post pics!

[John Canfield]

I found an Internet deal on the Acer.  It's a pretty decent tablet but the WiFi sensitivity is not very good.  Due to screen glare, I'm wondering if we'll be able to see it well enough in the Jeep.

Our friends use a netbook in their Jeep - they have it on a pedestal mount, not sure what program they run.

[John Canfield]

We ran two easy trails today with our Montrose 4x4 club and I played some with the Back Country app on our tablet.  It was a completely underwhelming experience.  The GPS in the Acer Iconia stopped working and I had to reboot the tablet to get it to work and I never could get the app to track us. 

Then I was either zooming in too far on a variety of downloaded maps, or not far enough so all I would see displayed on the tablet was a plus symbol or an X.  Very frustrating.  We're going to try the app on DW's Samsung Nexus smart phone and see how it performs.