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Tablets and GPSr


GmaGpa2000

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I just got a new Samsung galaxy tab 2 7". Can I hook up my Magellan 110 to the Tablet and download caches? I used the usb adapter but nothing seemed to happen.

 

You can't download the geocaches that way, but you can download the official geocaching app off of the android market. If you have a data plan with your tablet you can certainly use it to geocache.

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Thanks for th equick response. I don't have a data plan with the tab. I was hoping that I could store the GPX files on an SD card put it in the tablet and then transfer to the GPSr. That way I wouldn't have to drag my netbook around. Guess I'll just have to continue to load the GPSr via my netbook.

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I was thinking a tablet would be unreal to go caching with but it has to have a few things.

 

1) Gps in it

2) Data usage so you can access the app/internet whil out on the trail

 

Is it possible to still cache without data? Like download the app using wifi and then store caches offline then look for them with google maps? Do tablets even come with gps in it?

 

Has anyone used a tablet to go caching?

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You can use it just like a cell phone. If it has service or if not use hot spot on it. Yes it does have a gps in it. Im not sure if you down load them into it on wifi if you can then use it to find them or not but I think you might be able to. We bought one with a plan and used it to geocache but I returned it and got one without the plan and have not tried it out with saved ones but I think a friend of mine has.

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Thanks for th equick response. I don't have a data plan with the tab. I was hoping that I could store the GPX files on an SD card put it in the tablet and then transfer to the GPSr. That way I wouldn't have to drag my netbook around. Guess I'll just have to continue to load the GPSr via my netbook.

When you plug the Magellan in, if it becomes a "USB Drive", it might work. On the Netbook, if you're using a file manager to send previously downloaded GPX files, you might be able to do the same thing with the Samsung. On my Android Acer A500 I used a free app called "Astro File Manager" to upload a Pocket Query GPX to my Garmin 550T. But it might depend on your OS version. Until a recent update, although my Garmin has two "drives" (internal memory and SD Card), my A500 could only find one of them, and wouldn't present a file list.

 

I got the Pocket Query directly from the GC website, downloaded to my A500, by connecting to a wifi hotspot, but of course it could be copied from an external card.

Edited by kunarion
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I just got a new Samsung galaxy tab 2 7". Can I hook up my Magellan 110 to the Tablet and download caches? I used the usb adapter but nothing seemed to happen.

 

You can't download the geocaches that way, but you can download the official geocaching app off of the android market. If you have a data plan with your tablet you can certainly use it to geocache.

 

Actually you can. It has 2.0 USB. the file manager should have opened when it attached. If it doesn't then open it and drop a PQ into it.

 

I load my Montana from my Galaxy S3 and uplad the geovisits file when I am done for the day.

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I guess that's the problem. When I hook the GPSr to the tablet it doesn't show the Magellan as being available. When I open the file folder the Magellan is also not shown. Seems like it is not being recognized as a "usb drive". Perhaps I need to see if there is a app that helps with file management in recognizing the external usb". After reading yor response and Kunarion's I tried hooking a regular usb drive to the tablet and it wasn't recognized either. I'm either doing something wrong or the tablet doesn't recognize external USBs.

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I have managed to hook up USB devices including my Oregon 450 to my Galaxy Note II.

You must connect things in the right order - GPS to USB adapter, then plug the adapter into the tablet.

I take it you are using a Samsung USB OTG cable?

Which version of Android is your tablet using?

Also, how many batteries does your GPS run off?

Edited by AndyT1
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I was thinking a tablet would be unreal to go caching with but it has to have a few things.

 

1) Gps in it

2) Data usage so you can access the app/internet whil out on the trail

 

Is it possible to still cache without data? Like download the app using wifi and then store caches offline then look for them with google maps? Do tablets even come with gps in it?

 

Has anyone used a tablet to go caching?

 

Have you ever gone geocaching in the rain? How about finding a geocache that required fording a stream or climbing up a steep, rocky hill? How about one that requires going off trail, bushwacking through the woods for a half a mile? Whenever I hear people talking about using a tablet for geocaching those are the scenarios I wonder about.

 

You *can* still cache without data. Anyone traveling to another country and wants to use their smart phone and a data plan to find a few geocaches ought to think twice. At about $20 per megabyte for data roaming charges (pretty typical in all the countries I've visited) it could get really expensive. Fortunately, the official geocaching app allows you to download pocket queries (if you're a premium member) to a smart phone as well as the mapping tiles for the areas the caches are in. Then, when you don't have a data connection (or don't want to turn it on) you can navigate to caches from the pocket query either using the maps or just with the compass. If you don't have a data connection while on the trail, you're not going to be able to use google maps.

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I have managed to hook up USB devices including my Oregon 450 to my Galaxy Note II.

You must connect things in the right order - GPS to USB adapter, then plug the adapter into the tablet.

I take it you are using a Samsung USB OTG cable?

Which version of Android is your tablet using?

Also, how many batteries does your GPS run off?

 

The critical question above is the one about the batteries. An Oregon which takes two batteries will hook up to any recent Samsung device fine. The Montana which takes three batteries won't because the port is not capable of powering the device so it must be externally powered. i use a USB Y cable. Two full size USB on one side and one mini USB on the other and it works fine. If you watch the notification bar and power is the problem it should leave a message.

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I have managed to hook up USB devices including my Oregon 450 to my Galaxy Note II.

You must connect things in the right order - GPS to USB adapter, then plug the adapter into the tablet.

I take it you are using a Samsung USB OTG cable?

Which version of Android is your tablet using?

Also, how many batteries does your GPS run off?

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AndyT1

I have a Magellan explorist 110 that uses 2 AA batteries. I hooked it up in the sequence you mentioned. I am using a double ended female usb adapter and not the Samsung USB OTG. Guess I will order one of those from Amazon to see if that is the problem. The taablet is running the Jelly Bean 4.1.1 Android version. I will also download the ES File Manager app.

Additionally I tried hooking the GPS up to the tablet without the batteries in it and was unable to turn it on. When I tried that on my desktop computer I was able to turn it on. Does the USB OTG cable aid in power to the external device?

 

Thanks

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Just another thought - the "Send to GPS" button on the cache page will probably not work as it needs Garmin Communicator to operate and there is no Android version available.

I also tried the "GPX file" button as well - the file saved to the phone / tablet but would not open up on my GPS once I moved it across.

 

However downloading a PQ, unzipping it and moving it to the GPS did work 100%.

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We are using an ancient Nexus 7 for geocaching, while doing the searches for geocaches are done with a couple of Garmin etrex gps'.  We load a bunch of caches, sometimes in batches, into GSAK, massage the data to our liking, then email the .gpx file to our gmail address, sometimes in batches.  When we are ready to go out into the bush, while we are still in wifi range we suck the .gpx file into GDAK and bring up the most wonderful osm style maps that we use to save loads of time finding out where we are and not having to "guess" which trail to use to get to the cache without backtracking.

 

Works like a charm and no usb uploading is required.

We're probably getting a new 2019 version of the Samsung Galaxie Tab A for xmas so will be seeing how that might work out for us as the old Nexus is getting really old.

Stan

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