From the category archives:

GPS

More Satellites En Route

February 26, 2010

Losing GPS signal is a common and frustrating problem for hikers who regularly use their GPS receiver to track progress – yours truly included. We all know that narrow canyons and thick tree canopy can cause signal loss, but other times it can go out even if you have a clear view of the [...]

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Review: Trimble AllSport GPS for iPhone

January 29, 2010

When I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I met some representatives from Trimble Outdoors, who were kind enough to let me in on a review copy of their iPhone App, AllSport GPS. While I think it has a few shortcomings for hikers, its features really shine as a fitness app, [...]

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DeLorme and SPOT Team Up

January 7, 2010

I’m a big fan of the SPOT beacons. Despite their recent branding as “yuppie 911” units, when used responsibly by hikers, they’re an effective and reasonably-priced way to get peace of mind when you’re solo-hiking. However, one of the main drawbacks of the Spot so far was it’s communications options. You can [...]

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Review: EveryTrail for iPhone

January 5, 2010

While I was back on the East Coast, I had the opportunity to test out the beta for EveryTrail’s new iPhone App (which has since gone live).
For those of you who don’t know, EveryTrail is a free user-built database for GPS-enabled outdoor activities of every kind. Users can upload their GPS tracks and photos [...]

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Voluntary Recall on SPOT Messengers

December 16, 2009

SPOT – the company behind the consumer-friendly SPOT Satellite GPS Messengers – has announced a voluntary recall of their newer, smaller unit, the SPOT-2.
According to a statement on their web site, SPOT says some users have been having unsatisfactory experiences with both the battery life and messaging functions on the new units, and they are [...]

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Review: AccuTerra for iPhone

December 15, 2009

Earlier this year, I went up to Big Bear for some snowshoeing. I went on the Pine Knot Trail, and while it was fun, I definitely got lost more than I like to when I’m in the middle of the woods – both due to the snow covering most of the trail junctions and [...]

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Yuppie 911

October 26, 2009

I was reading an article yesterday about the proliferation of cheap portable satellite beacons, and the nickname Search and Rescue teams have for them – Yuppie 911.
As a most-often-solo hiker and backpacker, I always carry a satellite beacon with me – but in my years of hiking, I have never once used it for anything [...]

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GPS Losing Accuracy?

May 18, 2009

A reader at a Mac news site stumbled upon a Government Accountability Office report from the end of April noted that the U.S. Air Force is currently about 3 years behind in their scheduled maintenance and of the 24-satellite system that lets us all know exactly where we are on the globe. The [...]

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iPhone Maps Update

March 18, 2009

Well, we didn’t get terrain view … at least not yet. But the upcoming iPhone software update did provide some potentially exciting news for those who like to take their Jesus Phones onto the trail with them … although we’ll have to rely on other developers to do the heavy lifting.
Up until now, applications [...]

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Will the iPhone Update Improve Outdoorsy Uses?

March 16, 2009

Mac Addicts and gadget lovers of all stripes will be glued to their liveblogs tomorrow, as Apple stages an event to unveil the latest operating system version of the iPhone.
The blogosphere probably won’t be able to sleep tonight, dreaming of should-already-have-’ems like cut and paste and MMS — or, in some cases, long-shot dreams like [...]

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