Going to buy an gps what’s people’s ideas on what is the one i should get want to be able to upload maps and permits map if it is even possible to do that any help appreciated cheers
Ps heard u can get ones that send sos if need but need to subscribe to a satellite anyone know the cost of this
Hey mate - it depends what you are doing and if you are out of coverage or in cell coverage IMAO.
I have a garmin device. GPS and can send text messages via satellite including GPS co-ords when out of coverage. Standard GPS fare. Maps are pretty decent. Its not perfect and for me its more a safety thing than anything else to be honest. Screens are pretty small, UI not intuitive!
I got given this after I squashed flat the end of a finger between rocks, reasonably common dredgers injury I think, when I was in an area without cell coverage. Managed to get the bleeding to stop and hold the remains of finger together with gaffer tape and eventually tramped out and had successful op to save the finger… but I digress…
If you are out of cell coverage especially if you are exploring the back country off the beaten track. I would say its worth something like this. There are subscription plans depending on how many texts you might send a month and a pay as you go plan also from memory. Subscription Plans | Garmin
Other advantages is they are waterproof and pretty rugged, battery life decent-ish. Easy to carry a portable battery tho as safety. It has the send me a helicopter button also. And its actually nice getting a text from the wife after a few days in the middle of nowhere.
But if you are in cell coverage a smart phone is possibly all you need in my opinion. I use a map app called iHikeGPS-NZ that works even without cell coverage also and you can upload good maps. Track and all that. Saves some $. As Garmin stuff isn’t exactly cheap. But if you are out of cell coverage being adventurous get yourself at least an EPRB for safety.
Cheers Elliot heaps of helpful information there, a Garmin might be the go for me to then better to be safe than sorry wouldn’t want to lose a finger lol.
Also worth considering whether you will be using it in the bush, or more open country. Some really struggle to get a lock on satellites when under cover.
I have a Garmin GPSMap 64, it is very basic but has good battery life and works well in the forest.
Cheers yeah was wondering how they would go deep in a bushy gully on the coast and up the hills
Im a big fan of the app Avenza maps, just on my phone though. Can’t say much more but you don’t need signal or anything and it gpss your location throughout any maps you download. And is totally free.
This probably doesn’t answer the question at all, and not what your looking for, but its what we use and its super handy.
Good to know cheers ill check it out for sure might not need to send $ on a gps
@Goldensalmon another big pro - is you can get text weather forecasts out of cell coverage. Thats a huge plus if you are off grid for a while.
@madgoldnz is right, I also can struggle to get a signal in some canyons on my 66i. And even when you do it can take a few mins to send a message for some unknown reason. Also vodafone started blocking texts that included my GPS co-ords, as they thought it was spam, which was super annoying.
But the big screen on my cell and music is good so I always take both.
Well missus claus said im getting a gsp so thats that so she might get a text when im in the bush might not to lol
As Elliot says, from a SAR aspect look at getting a ciggy packet-sized PLB (±$400) as well if going deep into the jungle [Not EPIRB, they’re exclusively for boats - big and heavy] . They all work off the SARSAT system and also monitored by commercial aircraft - No subscription/fees and internationally supported so no worries about a third party monitoring or going offline. They will pinpoint you to within 50m. Flip the aerial out, press the big red button and make yourself comfortable while you wait for bods to arrive with chocolate…
RCCNZ will have the alert within a few minutes and SAR initiated shortly after. By the time teams are arriving in the general area, they will have your exact location.
We’ve done a couple of PLB rescues now and it does kinda take the ‘fun’ out of it to turn up at site and be given a set of coordinates and a “Go Gettem…” tasking.