GPS use

[WNYDigger]

Hello guys/ ladies…


I am new to this site and to this hobby of MD I have one question I was told that it would be a good idea to buy a GPS show when I go out hunting I can then mark my finds keeping my finds on my tracking map so I don’t go the same place twice…any advice or is this personal option among MDH ?

 

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[joeman]

You're better off to use Google Earth or 'similar' for marking out your metal detecting areas, especially if you live in a populated City or town where you have decent RES photos and can use 'Street View' as well... Hand-Held GPS units are not all that accurate, contrary to Popular Belief and some are more accurate than others. Depending on where you live, your accuracy will VARY greatly (I.E. more accurate closer to the Equator and less so as you travel North and South).

 

[WNYDigger]

Thank you.... I'm in NY.

 

[Sandman]

The use of a GPS is just another tool. If you are able to use the smallest scale on the map overlay it will show where you walked and you can place waypoints at your find location, but this is more useful out in the boonies where everything looks the same like out in the desert. Garmin makes the best with a lot of features for the money. You can mark a main feature on your route or guide you back to your car once you get turnd around. The one I have has a 20 foot scale so I could easiely follow my tracks along side where I just hunted before. It is another tool for having fun at digging in the dirt, but not necessary. Carry a small notebook too for recording facts like What, Where, how deep and such. A Kodak Playsport video cam is nice also for recording where you've been for watching later on your TV.

http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us

 

[Swartzie]

I use a Garmin handheld GPS to mark the location of finds. It's not an exact mark. I'm lucky if I can get an accuracy of +/- 12 feet or so. I just like to know where my finds are in relation to each other, especially when they are far and few between. One site has several wooded acres, so I like to know where my finds are there. Plus we geocache as a family, so the GPS serves a dual purpose.

-Swartzie

 

[Bum Luck]

I'm a surveyor, and I get accuracy sometimes on the order of 1/8 inch, but my equipment (Leica) is vastly more expensive than consumer GPS. Final accuracy depends on the arrangement and number of the satellites in view, or "constellation", constantly changing.

Ordinary consumer GPS with an accuracy of from 12 feet to 30 feet is still an amazing tool when you think of historical alternatives, but you have to consider if it's the tool for you. I think they're fun to use.

I have used simple sketch maps with adequate results for site locations, and they're free.

I guess it depends on what you need, or think you need. If you've a site in the deep woods, they're a great tool, but in a park they might have a limited benefit.

Software is important (easy to use), I like Garmin myself.

 

[Kentucky Kache]

An ordinary GPS is good if you think you might get lost in the woods getting back to your car. It saves having to count your steps and keeping your eyes on a compus. General area is about all you can expect. Lots of fun to play with though. Boys and their toys.

 

[CWnut]

i use a garmin to find a waypoint i have downloaded from my computer. In these mountains it sometimes gets hard to determine which hollow you are in. I will select old home-sites and navigate to them with gps. Hand-held units lack the accuracy for mapping your finds.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI Ladies & gentlemen: Bum luck, I get between 6 ft and 9 ft here in Mexico.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[geodesic9]

I use a Garmin Foretrek 201 wrist GPS. It has Differential GPS which uses a ground based signal with the sats for down to 1 meter accuracy.

I use Google Earth to locate where I want to go and load the waypoint into the GPS. Same in the field, I enter waypoints of locations, then I add to my Google Earth files for reference when I get back.

Helps when you look down and find you lost something from your bag, you can backtrack with the GPS and find it.

I only detect in the mountains for gold so it is a valuable tool for me.