GPS, anyone use it and how it performs on old sites

[49er12]

I’m sure was asked before, gps either handheld or app. Do you prefer a certain name or brand is it worth it. Nothing is exact but often considered the alternative. Gee we can study maps use drones, experience and serious detectors I’m sure you have opinions trial and error part of life but thanks

 

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[Flipperfla]

I’m sure was asked before, gps either handheld or app. Do you prefer a certain name or brand is it worth it. Nothing is exact but often considered the alternative. Gee we can study maps use drones, experience and serious detectors I’m sure you have opinions trial and error part of life but thanks

I am a big fan of Garmin, used to sell them. Had them for years and never had one fail. Easy to use. My handheld is a 76csx with topos and US Coastal Marine Charts software. Waterproof, even floats. Probably outdated by now but still tickin. It has been a great unit. Also have a GLO ll for gps for my IPad with Gaia Premium mapping, dozens of overlays, which I love. Chartplotter/chirp Sonar in our skiff. Wouldn’t go in the Backcountry without it. Not to mention the safety factor of knowing your exact location in an emergency. My Wife knows how to read a lon and lat and hail a Mayday on marine VHF and 2M in case something happens to me. They allow us to adventure places I wouldn’t dare go without it. Do my research from old topos and Google Earth, load in the numbers and we are off on the next adventure. Our next trip, which I have hours of research in, I have over 100 possible homesteads marked.

 

[49er12]

Yes sir I’m from western Pennsylvania, we study old county maps 1860, walk, kayaking different potential places so I was wondering without being expert on the gps devices what would you recommend us doing topo maps trying to advance our chances thanks sir

 

[Flipperfla]

Yes sir I’m from western Pennsylvania, we study old county maps 1860, walk, kayaking different potential places so I was wondering without being expert on the gps devices what would you recommend us doing topo maps trying to advance our chances thanks sir

Harrisburg here! Moved to Fl long time ago. IMO I would invest in Gaia Premium, I think it’s $50/yr. it’s pretty straight forward. Just mark a location, which is called a waypoint, and you will have the exact location +- 3’. They will also do what they call a track which is a breadcrumb trail of where you go so if you get turned around you can follow the track back out. If you have any questions I will be glad to help. I could teach you how to read lon and lat, it’s really easy when some one shows you in layman’s terms. If you can run a cell phone you can easily run a gps.. use in a kayak.... make sure you get a waterproof one, lol.

 

[smokeythecat]

I have a Garmin GPS. I used it to mark a few locations of specific relics on a site. That way I can go back to within inches and find the spot again.

 

[relicmeister]

I have a Garmin Oregon 700 loaded with 24k topi map of the Northeast as I’m in Northeast PA near NJ and NY borders. Mostly use it to find my way out of the woods after wandering around with my detector seeking colonial finds. I hope to use more to research where I study maps to determine areas of interest and then navigating to them with the gps. This is not something I’m particularly good at but the potential payoffs will be great so I need to get at it.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Useless. A patch is a patch. Period

 

[Kantuckkeean]

I use Garmins fairly regularly for work and could see how they would be nice for serious detectorists. Usually I just use them to mark points or to determine area, but like Flipperfla said, you can mark points and name them and depending upon the accuracy (which your GPS should show), they can get you back to within several feet of that spot. The breadcrumb trail could be nice if you're walking a grid pattern because you'd be able to see areas that you might have missed. A GPS can also come in handy for getting back to your point of origin if you're studying old maps and getting pretty far off into the woods in an area that you haven't been to before.

I've used the breadcrumb trail to get myself out of a strange location on a circular knob in Kentucky. I've got a really good sense of direction but a forester who was leading me to the spot said that it was the only place that he'd ever been turned around. I turned on my GPS at the truck and several of us hiked to the site. There was a circle of stones on top of the knob and he thought that it was likely built by native Americans but it hadn't been examined. We accomplished the work that we set out to do and he told me to lead us back to the vehicles. I started taking us back the way that I was sure that we had come, but as we started down the hill, someone asked if we were heading the right direction. I and another fella said yes, but I checked the GPS just to be sure. Looking at the trail on the GPS, we were heading off of the hill in a north-westerly direction which was the opposite direction that we needed to be going (SE). After some disagreement from the group (a few thought that we were going the right way), I showed them the GPS trail showing how we'd come in and which way we were heading. I used the GPS to circle around the knob along the contour and used it to get us back to the vehicles.

Three of my colleagues got lost at that same site several months later, got separated during a strong storm and hiked out of the woods in the dark (that was a funny story...). My friend said that he wished that he'd used a GPS for that trip.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[MidMoTreasure]

I use GPS when I am looking for old buildings and landmarks especially. I use Google Earth to overlay old maps and then get the coordinates. Then I use the coordinates to make waypoints on my hiking app, Back Country Navigator, on my phone. I prefer BCN because I can create maps to use offline when I have no cell service, but the GPS still works.

I have also used the GPS feature on my Minelab CTX-3030 to record the location of finds at Civil War sites. It's pretty neat seeing the find locations from undisturbed (not plowed) sites. You can get a little picture of how the camp was laied out and what the soldiers were doing at different spots.

I think GPS is a useful tool to our hobby.

 

[Noah_D]

I use an app called Coordinates. It lets you add coordinates with the click of a button (or from a map) and save groups of them as lists. It works great for recording finds and marking potential sites. The only thing I don't like about it is that, as with just about any app that uses location services, it will drain your cell phone battery if you leave it open.