Iphone 4 GPS is rubish

[markstang]

Shouldn't the considerations of different devices be based someone ACTUALLY using them before a negative opinion be given.

 

I seem to be reading on this forum over and over and over from people giving negative remarks but never admitting that they have used one.

 

Since the Supper Smart phones have only been out for a couple of months , a person would have to have bought one (the most popular IPhone4 and EVO are still on waiting lists because demand is too high) very recently to be able to relate to us very few people who "Actually Know" how accurate our finds are.

 

So of coarse people like me are frustrated to read the transparant negatives from non users and yet we know what we experience from our "actual" use of the new devices. They work great. My finds on sunny days have always been within 10 feet or less with the device giving a variance of 7+ OR - , or 10 + or - . On one rainy day it jumped at times into the mid teens and 20 + or -

 

What is the purpose of a person bashing a GPS device that they them selves have never used personally. Even then the manufacturer of each device is different and can not be grouped into one category. I only contend that if a person has not bought the newest Supper Smart Device in the last couple of months , that there is no basses to establish truth except by hear say.

[+dfx]

Shouldn't the considerations of different devices be based someone ACTUALLY using them before a negative opinion be given.

 

I seem to be reading on this forum over and over and over from people giving negative remarks but never admitting that they have used one.

so you think the OP here is lying and hasn't actually used one?

[markstang]

I do not need you to put words in my text. My words apply to who I describe.

 

opinions about a device regarding accuracy can only be truthfully given from an actual user.

 

I am not sure what you are trying to say. You must be unsure of my clear words.

[+dakboy]

I do not need you to put words in my text. My words apply to who I describe.

 

opinions about a device regarding accuracy can only be truthfully given from an actual user.

 

I am not sure what you are trying to say. You must be unsure of my clear words.

I seem to be reading on this forum over and over and over from people giving negative remarks but never admitting that they have used one.

 

What is the purpose of a person bashing a GPS device that they them selves have never used personally. Even then the manufacturer of each device is different and can not be grouped into one category. I only contend that if a person has not bought the newest Supper Smart Device in the last couple of months , that there is no basses to establish truth except by hear say.

You're implying that you believe that everyone who posts negative remarks about the accuracy of the units is lying about having used one because they haven't explicitly stated that they have.

 

So of coarse people like me are frustrated to read the transparant negatives from non users and yet we know what we experience from our "actual" use of the new devices. They work great. My finds on sunny days have always been within 10 feet or less with the device giving a variance of 7+ OR - , or 10 + or - . On one rainy day it jumped at times into the mid teens and 20 + or -

Congratulations, you seem to believe that you've got a very accurate device. Not everyone gets the same experience. Edited August 30, 2010 by dakboy

[markstang]

I do not call people liers, so stop being rude , argumentative and misleading. Thank you.

[+Marky]

b]Not everyone gets the same experience[/b].

I think it's important to point out that we should be discussing the iPhone 4 experience in this thread, and not confuse it with iPhone 3G or 3GS, which have inferior GPS chip sets.

 

If you have an iPhone 4 and aren't seeing good GPS performance, it's possible that your antenna signal is being affected by the way you are holding the phone (ignore this if you have a bumper, as that should help you avoid degrading the antenna signal). If you still don't see reasonable GPS performance, especially when you have a clear view of the sky, then you might consider having your phone checked out. It's been my experience that the iPhone 4's GPS performs quite well.

 

--Marky

[+ecanderson]

Why doesn't the Geocaching site allow finders to contribute the coordinates of the cache as they saw on their device.

Read enough log notes and you'll see that while that process isn't automated, a lot of us provide "alternate" coordinates in our logs. If you see more than one such note with closely correlated numbers, pay heed. If you see one such note by a very experienced cacher, pay heed.

[+ecanderson]

Shouldn't the considerations of different devices be based someone ACTUALLY using them before a negative opinion be given.

I really don't care what a cacher uses to find a cache. They can go out with a map, a compass and a transit for all I care.

 

However, it's been demonstrated many times that it's never a good idea to take a "snapshot" set of coordinates when hiding a cache, even with the best of the handheld units, and it has been confirmed that the iPhone application provided by gc.com allows for nothing better than that. Unless/until someone can point me to a GPS application for the iPhone that does the necessary sampling and math to produce a reliable set of coordinates for a new hide, I would remain dead set against using one for that purpose. As I said before, I wouldn't insult the community by taking a snap reading to place a cache with any of my Garmins. Don't insult me by using a device that can't do anything else.

[+dfx]

However, it's been demonstrated many times that it's never a good idea to take a "snapshot" set of coordinates when hiding a cache, even with the best of the handheld units, and it has been confirmed that the iPhone application provided by gc.com allows for nothing better than that. Unless/until someone can point me to a GPS application for the iPhone that does the necessary sampling and math to produce a reliable set of coordinates for a new hide, I would remain dead set against using one for that purpose. As I said before, I wouldn't insult the community by taking a snap reading to place a cache with any of my Garmins. Don't insult me by using a device that can't do anything else.

apparently an app called "perfect mark" performs averaging. no idea how well it does it though. it doesn't seem to tell you the standard deviation or anything of the samples it took, so who knows what it's doing.

[+rjjones00]

Should not be used in finding the cache? I can use whatever I want to find the cache what are you going to delete my log if I find it with my iPhone? Really?

How utterly childess/petty/ridiculous!!!! What next 'no entry level yellow Garmin'?! No caching on a Wednesday? No caching without a degree in navigation?

A bit of clarification is in order here. Yes I do have the said iPhone and Yes I do have the Groundspeak app as well as the Geosphear app. Living in the Northwest with rain and cloud cover 90% of the year I can tell you without a doubt my iPhone performs very poorly in these conditions. In my local area there have been an abundance of new cache placements with not only iPhones but other smartphones, and with the exception of only a few they have been off by anywhere from 80-250ft. While this might not sound like a problem 250ft in the dense Olympic Mountains is quite an area to search. With all the fragile ecosystems and wetlands here cachers have been destroying areas the size of a football field searching for these caches. Hence the new graphic. This notifies the finder that they will not be wasting their time searching for a needle in a haystack with poor cords, AND it discourages smartphone users from trampling around sensitive areas looking where their phone is pointing them. If you notice I stated SHOULD NOT. I would not delete a log simply because a finder used their phone. I think the bigger issue is the fact that the iphone’s popularity has brought a lot of new cachers to the sport. I think this is great, But many of these newer cachers do not understand the limits of their new device and have not developed a geosense that can overcome these limits. So I maintain that unless you live in Bismarck North Dakota, or the Great Plains the iphone is not a great device for caching. With that said Urban caching with the iPhone is the only place I have ever had luck and even then its questionable, I will continue to rely on my 60csx for my Geocaching needs.

[markstang]

That was very well said.

 

I can not imagine trying to use a device that is even 50 foot off with the complexity of some of the finds I have run across involving logs and a creative mind.. Since I am new I am sure I have simply no clue as to how ingenious some of the hides can be. To ad a 3 degree of altitude change in tough terrain. Weather effects mine for sure.

[+craigarnold]

so what are you saying here? the iphone is giving you wrong coordinates and then you trust google/bing to have properly aligned maps for getting the coordinates?

 

 

That cache was hidden without a GPS at all, just using Google Maps for lookup the coordinates. I haven't had any issue yet.

[+dfx]

That cache was hidden without a GPS at all, just using Google Maps for lookup the coordinates. I haven't had any issue yet.

so you got lucky. try it again elsewhere and you may get lucky again. or you may end up being 30+ meters off. how do you know?

[+ranlove]

8) One last detail, the iphone is NOT field reliable. It's not water resistant no matter the style or purpored claims of protection of cases.

I don't think that is a completely true statement, I think the Magellan tough case for the 3G and 3GS is an IPX-7 rated case (that also has an external GPS chip with its own antenna that improves the accuracy).

 

Regarding the rest of your statements, I don't completely disagree. I would like to see some stronger discouragement of using the iPhone to hide caches (maybe in the gc.com app, and on the cache submission form). Bad coords are just no fun.

 

--Marky

 

I've been using an iphone 3GS since I started in earnest about 3 weeks ago (yes I'm a newbe). I purchased the Magellan ToughCase because I was dripping sweat all over the iphone as I live in Houston. The ToughCase is waterproof to 11' for 30 minutes. As a newbe 95% of my cache finds so far have been in extremely heavy cover. I have not placed any as yet. Yes there is bounce, however the app Geosphere compass points at the cache 90% of the time and by moving around several feet I can zero in on the cache pretty quickly. The ToughCase internal GPS gets me within +-32 feet (I've seen it go to <6') and I can switch between the ToughCase GPS and the internal iphone GPS by pushing a button on the outside of the case (just to get 2 different readings) it's like having 2 GPS units. Without any tree cover the unit is within 6 to 10 feet. I have tested coordinates by using the app Geosphere on the iphone, to set a point, then turning off the unit and from a distance turning it back on and walking toward my set point and the unit is within 10' without tree cover. However if I use a "real" GPS to find the coordinates (Lowrance XOG) set to straight line navigation the unit is within 0 to 3' of the coordinates that I set with the iphone and the app Geosphere. The Geosphere app is the best app for geocaching in my view. Complete paperless downloads, uploads, description, upload field notes etc, etc ... everything you can see on the web site you can see and do on the iphone. I figure if your within 10-15' in heavy cover and if you can't find the cache with the description and sometimes a hint and by reading previous logs then it's hidden too well or it's gone or you have not spent enough time looking. Then it's time to call for help.

This geocaching thing looks to be pretty darn addictive. Great hobby and exercise!!!

Hopes this post helps clear some of the cobwebs about the iphone.

Ranlove

[+R-Men]

 

I've been using an iphone 3GS since I started in earnest about 3 weeks ago (yes I'm a newbe). I purchased the Magellan ToughCase because I was dripping sweat all over the iphone as I live in Houston. The ToughCase is waterproof to 11' for 30 minutes. As a newbe 95% of my cache finds so far have been in extremely heavy cover. I have not placed any as yet. Yes there is bounce, however the app Geosphere compass points at the cache 90% of the time and by moving around several feet I can zero in on the cache pretty quickly. The ToughCase internal GPS gets me within +-32 feet (I've seen it go to <6') and I can switch between the ToughCase GPS and the internal iphone GPS by pushing a button on the outside of the case (just to get 2 different readings) it's like having 2 GPS units. Without any tree cover the unit is within 6 to 10 feet. I have tested coordinates by using the app Geosphere on the iphone, to set a point, then turning off the unit and from a distance turning it back on and walking toward my set point and the unit is within 10' without tree cover. However if I use a "real" GPS to find the coordinates (Lowrance XOG) set to straight line navigation the unit is within 0 to 3' of the coordinates that I set with the iphone and the app Geosphere. The Geosphere app is the best app for geocaching in my view. Complete paperless downloads, uploads, description, upload field notes etc, etc ... everything you can see on the web site you can see and do on the iphone. I figure if your within 10-15' in heavy cover and if you can't find the cache with the description and sometimes a hint and by reading previous logs then it's hidden too well or it's gone or you have not spent enough time looking. Then it's time to call for help.

This geocaching thing looks to be pretty darn addictive. Great hobby and exercise!!!

Hopes this post helps clear some of the cobwebs about the iphone.

Ranlove

 

I was wondering if you had a chance to use this case with a iPod Touch to judge it's accuracy? I am considering adding one of these to my iPod to replace an aging eTrex CX. I like the larger screen and touch capability. I think this device would make a great GPS for $149 with touch screen, compared to $250 for an Oregon. Depending on the accuracy.

 

BoB

[Skippermark]

I was wondering if you had a chance to use this case with a iPod Touch to judge it's accuracy? I am considering adding one of these to my iPod to replace an aging eTrex CX. I like the larger screen and touch capability. I think this device would make a great GPS for $149 with touch screen, compared to $250 for an Oregon. Depending on the accuracy.

The iTouch doesn't have a GPS chip, so you can't really cache with it unless you get one of the add-on GPS units, but they work great for a paperless device with a regular GPS.

[+user13371]

Skippermark, R-Man and Ranlove are already talking about the Magellan ToughCase, which does provide that GPS add-on...

[+northernpenguin]

- I have a Garmin Colorado 400t.

- I have two Magellan eXplorist GPS units - a 600 and an XL

- I have four HTC Phones in the house, two are Vogue (Touch) and two are Rhodium (Touch Pro 2)

 

I bought an iPhone 4 three days ago, and took it out caching.

 

What I do know is that the GPS performance on the iPhone 4 shocked me. I've never owned a device that could give me a position lock so fast before. To the point I didn't believe it.

 

My "main" geocaching GPS will be my Colorado for the foreseeable future, but that's more because I'd rather drop it than drop my iPhone. I'll definitely be playing around with comparing my Colorado to my iPhone for marking points, but more so as a Waymarker than a geocacher. For Waymarking the iPhone is what I would consider the "ultimate" device - but accuracy is a bit less important when marking a waterfall or shopping centre.

[xti90]

Well I have been using a 3GS for the majority of 2010, and I have found it to be not that great with accuracy. I have also used a HTC TILT up until i broke it falling down a hill, and that seemed a little better. The other phone I like to use, and still use, is a Motorola Q9h global. I've found the GPS in that to be pretty decent, and battery life while geocaching beats the crap out of my 3gs.

 

In short, reading this thread, i'm glad the iphone4's GPS is much improved over the previous gens, that will be one of the many benefits from upgrading.

 

I also like that toughcase thing, I might have to consider that as well.

[jpbarilguerard]

Sorry for bumping but I thought I'd chime in since I was doing a bit of research to find out whether I could use my iPhone 4 to place caches.

 

Personally, I can't compare to any sort of earlier experience with dedicated GPS units, or with a 3GS, since the iPhone 4 is both my first smartphone AND GPS device. I bought it at the Canadian release date (in July). It's actually the iPhone 4 that brought me to geocaching, because I'd heard about it in the media before and figured I'd give it a shot with my iPhone. I had no idea what a good coverage was, but it did (and still does) get me to the caches I'm looking for most of the time with an accuracy between 3 and 8 meters depending on weather and surroundings (it's slightly less effective in the city and under trees). I've never had experiences where the phone brought me very far off the track. What I've found out though is that it's a good idea to wait 20-30 seconds after opening Google Maps to make sure the phone locks the position correctly. From what I've read, it seems the iPhone's advantage over regular dedicated GPS devices is that it uses cellular signal to give a rough approximation of the position, which makes satellite positioning a lot faster so that explains the comments about the incredible speed.

 

I bought a cheap used Garmin Geko during the fall because I was enjoying geocaching a lot and wanted a device that I would not worrry about dropping/getting wet/breaking. I guess it's not the best device to compare the iPhone against, but the few experiences I've had with it were pretty unsatisfying (things like the Geko telling me I was spot on and the iPhone telling me I was 100m west and the iPhone being right), so while there are reasons one might want a dedicated GPS device (like durability, and being able to whip the device out anywhere on Earth without being afraid of having a dangerously high cell phone bill), I don't think the dedicated device vs. smartphone fight is justified, at least in terms of precision.

 

Mind you, I will probably triple check my caches if I do decide to use my iPhone to place them, just in case.

[+TeamSeekAndWeShallFind]

This GPSr, that GPSr....it's more about the cacher/person using/handling/holding the unit than it is the unit itself.

 

That's my opinion.

 

A GPSr is only a tool, an extension of and assistant to the Geocacher ! It's not going to find the caches for you !

 

I think that's what a lot of cachers expect. They think a really good/really accurate GPSr is going to take them right to the cache.

 

I've been using the iPhone 4 since 10/1/10 and I LOVE IT BIG TIME !!!

 

The GPS/compass has never failed !

 

Not to mention the camera that blows my mind !

[namiboy]

I'm curious - do the apps for the iPhone even have an "Average Waypoint" feature? These days, the community expects someone placing a cache to use this feature even on a good "dedicated" device.

 

The Groundspeak App does not have an 'average' feature.

Well isn't that just spiffy? gc.com isn't even aware of the community's "best practices", or if they are, didn't make it part of the spec requirement for an application that they knew full well would be used to place caches? No wonder folks are having trouble. I wouldn't insult finders by taking a "snapshot" coordinate to place a cache with any of my Garmin handhelds, much less something with fairly common drift issues like the iPhone.

 

i'd be curious to know if there are many 'veteran' geocachers using iphone4's to make hides. i don't have a lot of finds and hides only because i'm a casual geocacher, but i've been doing it for a while. i have a garmin vista hcx and an iphone4 and would never think of making a hide with an iphone4, or making a hide without doing some serious averaging with my vista hcx. if i was out and about with my iphone4 and i was bored i might try to make a find with it but it will never take the place of my dedicated gps. is the popularity of the smartphone going to dilute the quality of hides, and geocaching in general? i could see it happening.

[+northernpenguin]

I have been caching for 8 years, and I would place a cache with my iPhone 4 now that I have had it a while. I would still mark the spot with my other GPS units too but that is more of a failsafe. The last cache I placed with my Colorado 400t and the iPhone gave the exact same coords.

[+scuba_2]

I got lucky at last and found a set of phones that dont need to he held right they are just accutate to 6 feet every time!

 

New Kid on the block HTC Wildfire

 

Mobile phone compass problems and magnets!

 

have a look at these two topics in this forum heres just a taste of how it starts if you have an open mind im sure you will give it a read both they are very intresting.

 

A phone with a gps that really works good to 2m!!!!

As an engineer I an on the road and wanted to cache on the move I tried an Iphone 4 and the gps was 40 to 80 feet out! then the samsung Galaxy s came out and I thought yes, but no alass the gps doesn't work and they have not managed to fix it yet.

I was just starting to think I would have to take up knitting or somthing when this little Gem came along.

you really are going to have to go some to match this. see my days caching bellow

 

It is amazing the gps is accurate to 2m as good as my hand held gps, I have been out today the gps did not loose its lock it 6 hours of caching! I only stopped when the battery went flat!

the screen is very clear and ronning c:geo it gives loud voice comands when being used as a sat nav on the way to the next cache (turn by turn nav ) a feature thats missing from the Iphone app.

I am a very hard to please person but by god they seem to have done it!!!

Oh and it only cost £160 so it was cheaper than a gps!

 

Somebody very wise said to me "There is no right or wrong, just what works for you" wise words indeed.

[+scuba_2]

I'm curious - do the apps for the iPhone even have an "Average Waypoint" feature? These days, the community expects someone placing a cache to use this feature even on a good "dedicated" device.

 

The Groundspeak App does not have an 'average' feature.

Well isn't that just spiffy? gc.com isn't even aware of the community's "best practices", or if they are, didn't make it part of the spec requirement for an application that they knew full well would be used to place caches? No wonder folks are having trouble. I wouldn't insult finders by taking a "snapshot" coordinate to place a cache with any of my Garmin handhelds, much less something with fairly common drift issues like the iPhone.

 

HTC phones are now accurate to 6 feet in the uk technology has finally caught up.

 

i'd be curious to know if there are many 'veteran' geocachers using iphone4's to make hides. i don't have a lot of finds and hides only because i'm a casual geocacher, but i've been doing it for a while. i have a garmin vista hcx and an iphone4 and would never think of making a hide with an iphone4, or making a hide without doing some serious averaging with my vista hcx. if i was out and about with my iphone4 and i was bored i might try to make a find with it but it will never take the place of my dedicated gps. is the popularity of the smartphone going to dilute the quality of hides, and geocaching in general? i could see it happening.

Edited January 16, 2011 by scuba_2

[+northernpenguin]

Scuba_2

 

I have never seen my iPhone 80 feet out on a Geocache hunt. I have only been to 500 Geocaches with mine though.

 

As for the holding it right comment, I have also been unable to duplicate the "death grip" though both my HTC phones will drop a couple bars if you hold them at the top of the phone where the antenna is. All phones have antennas and fit in your hand which means all phones can potentially be "death gripped"

 

I have Waze, Mapquest 4 Mobile and Navigon loaded on my iPhone and all will give me voice guided turn by turn directions. Integration between the Geocaching app and Navigon is "Planned" as per the UserVoice forum.

 

You are correct when you say use what works for you. For me it is the iPhone 4.

[+scuba_2]

Thats great yours is working. this problem seems to afect the uk, usa and canada seem fine from the posts on here I did post this in uk sectiom but Groundspeak moved it here!

[wilesm]

Get ready for this folks: I need to do this to begin the process of eliminating the iphone as a recommended GPS device on Groundspeak's website. If this doesn't happen soon, Geocaching as we know it will come to a crossroads of whether it's doing more harm than good. Have I peeked your interest yet?

 

The iPhone of all vintages, used as a GPS, is a misearble failure. I cache in the Pacific Northwest of the US which is mostly forested on the western side of the Cascades. I started taking statistics over the last 3 months finding 800 caches released over the same period over a 60 mile radius. What I've been finding are these important issues:

 

1) More cachers then ever are placing containers with less than 10 finds.

2) Most of these new cachers are using the iPhone to find caches. The average distance of error is 185'.

3) I do iPhone rescues in the field all the time. People are off on less than social trails, usually bushwacking and not ever close to the prize. I inform them that the best GPS is a hand-held, water-proof, shock resistant, dedicated GPS, etc, etc. It's bad enough to see trees, vegetation, trails, logs, stumps get hammered by those carrying an iPhone but what's WORSE by degrees is wannabe cachers PLACING geocaches using the iPhone. Now you have the worst of scenerios. Bad coordinates and all geocachers handling any GPS, even those with considerable experience, cannot possibly make the find.

4) Everything that Groundspeak was founded on, all the instructionsl slide shows, all the material developed in the first few years, the books written, ....... to do a good job placing and finding caches has been waived by placing the iPhone on the [GPS] screen.

5) If Geocaching goes down, the major manufacturers of GPS's will loose 60-70% of their hand held GPS business. So, this is a business decision. Shut down the iPhone GPS app recommendation now or it's going to get ugly.

6) How ugly .... let me expand on this. I've witnessed iPhone hides where the coodinates are far enough off that it's clearly on private property. You want to see nasty confrontations of homeowners, business people, civil servants, stewarts of the land, just stay tuned.

7) Law enforcement is no longer saying "carry on" when they find geocachers, day or night, disturbing the peace, or illegally on private or on public lands after hours. More evidence is now being posted in logs.

8) One last detail, the iphone is NOT field reliable. It's not water resistant no matter the style or purpored claims of protection of cases. You can't expect to get any accuracy when it's tucked away in your pocket as you're climbing, fording creeks, in a rainforest and the list is endless.

 

Things Groundspeak could do to better:

 

1) Every new cacher must have a Beta Tester, an experienced cacher to take readings for verification. Actually, this should be done regardless of experience whenever and wherever challenging terrain caches are placed.

2) New cachers should seek out and the approvers provided a field on the [Online Placement Form] the Goocaching name of the "advocate" or "mentor" for the first 5 hides. An approver needs only 5 seconds to check this out. The time saved over the life of a cache would be huge.

3) The [Online Placement Form] should have a checkbox or an attribute that a cache was placed using an iPhone or other device prone to providing inaccurate readings.

 

I'm passionate about this sport that I love so much. I want it to survive another 10 years so I can take my grandson on treks to find treasures. Maybe, those will end up being incredible views, finding works of art, historical places, and just the exercise as the highlights. Mark this date, 8/25/2010. In a couple of years or so our "precious" may have melted away in the fires of Mt. Doom.

 

Part 1 complete.

================================

[wilesm]

what about requiring Gps type with the geocatch location ?

That way people know what placed the catch.This is my first post

so sorry about the idea if its rediculous.

[+scuba_2]

what about requiring Gps type with the geocatch location ?

That way people know what placed the catch.This is my first post

so sorry about the idea if its rediculous.

Nothing silly about your post in fact I think it is a great idea. It would just give you that extra info letting you know a wider search is probably needed.

[+crunchewy]

I just got my first real GPS, a Garmin GPSMAP 62sc, and it does seem to be more accurate than my iPhone 4 and I like it, but I have to say that it is a royal pain in the *ss in comparison. The iPhone app is sooooo convenient. What we need is for some company to make an add-on GPS module for the iPhone that gives it the accuracy of a standalone GPS. It seems like that should be doable. Maybe it even exists already, but I couldn't figure it out from the one's available out there. Most seem to be getting used by people with iPod touches and iPads without a GPS, to get a GPS for other purposes. Not hiking/geocaching. So I can't tell about the accuracy from the reviews on amazon. Probably the reason these things don't exist is because Garmin, etc, don't see it as a winning solution for them, as their standalone GPSs are a map sales cash cow, and that goes out the window with the geocaching app which has way better satellite and road maps, and entirely for free.

 

Also another useful thing would be a GPS with bluetooth that could receive Geocaches from an iPhone wirelessly. So you could locate nearby geocaches, get info on them, etc, on your iPhone, then transfer the caches to the standalone GPS wirelessly to then actually find them. That would make the standalone GPSs more convenient for sure.

Edited June 25, 2012 by crunc

[kafene]

what about requiring Gps type with the geocatch location ?

That way people know what placed the catch.This is my first post

so sorry about the idea if its rediculous.

 

Seems reasonable to me.

But all this talk about a "stand-alone" gps vs smart phone. I have a Garmin eTrex Legend handheld and took it for a hike while using my iPhone 4. I'll take the iPhone 4 any day. The eTrex was so bad at losing signal from trees, it was unusable. I'm only bringing this up because some people said a "dedicated" GPS should be used, & the Garmin worked like crap. I understand that GPS signals work best with clear skies, but if you're going to exclude or not recommend iPhones, than I'd start with, "including GPS units made by so & so manufacturer from this date to that date with this type of GPS chipset, yada yada yada". It'll never end.

[tr_s]

What the phone operating systems need is a hard "USE GPS ONLY FOR LOCATION" option. No sat lock should give no position readout via the API, not a stored previous location or crude cell tower triangulation.

 

I've used two smartphones (Xperia X10 previously, and now Samsung 5300 Pocket) along with my eTrex 30 and H when collecting track data for OpenStreetMap. Pretty much all the time the dedicated GPS track correlates almost perfectly (as in within 5 meters) with the smartphone track. The smartphones seem SLIGHTLY worse (as in more random noise added to the track) under deep canopy, but in all reality it's hard to tell. Can the iPhone 4 GPS really be that much worse?

Edited October 17, 2012 by tr_s

[+JohnCNA]

Ooh, what a bad idea! You're assuming that the accuracy of Google/Bing is better? Not at all true! I use them regularly before a caching run to get an idea of terrain and approach routes, but I have had them place a cache on the wrong side of a creek much more often than I would like. How annoying to have dead-on averaged coordinates to a cache and then find that an obstacle like a creek is not where the map says it is.

 

Groundspeak needs to update their mobile app ASAP. This explains why we have so often seen caches placed by newbies that were WAY off. Check out this one that was set by a tweenager and iPhone. Original coordinates were 561 feet off. http://coord.info/GC3R2EC We don't need to outlaw iPhones, we need some better apps and education for newbies.

 

All of my caches are hidden with my iPhone, because I honestly don't need a GPS. I use the maps app to drop a pin on where I am, then email it to myself so I can see the coords on Google Maps or Bing Maps, then adjust the numbers so it is in the relative location of where I hid the cache. Some people have commented on "the coordinates were bang on" etc. iPhone 3G