Noob--How can Tablets work with Geocaching?

[luvmywife]

I used to own a GPS Map60--found many caches and even planted some. My GPS died and I miss my geocaching days. I have not replaced it but am thinking of getting an Android tablet.

 

But I don't understand how a tablet could possibly be a GPS. It doesn't have an antennae. Does it have electronics inside to pick up the satellites somehow? I thought it only worked with wifi which obviously isn't available out in the desert or mountains, when I want to find a cache.

 

Just treat me like an 8 year old and help me understand how an Android tablet can possibly work as a GPS?

[Ranger Fox]

Most tablets come with a GPS chip inside them. Tablets use a combination of the GPS chip, known Wi-Fi locations, and triangulation between cell phone towers (as those coordinates are known) to provide a decent location fix. The antenna is not necessary, though not having one does impact its accuracy (meaning the 60 you had was more accurate than a tablet). In my experience with cell phones, I'd say my GPSr has an average EPE (estimated position error) of 16 feet while my cell phone might have 30 feet and suffer more from tree cover. The accuracy has improved over the last few years.

 

You're right about Wi-Fi not being available in the desert! However, you don't have as many things obstructing the device's reception, so the GPS chip can get a more accurate fix without relying on other signals.

[+Red90]

The antennas are inside the tablet. Make sure the one you get has a GPS. Most do, but some, like the wifi iPads do not.

 

You then add a program. Groundspeak does a decent one and you can download caches and find them.

[+Mineral2]

Something to consider:

 

Tablets are rather large and bulky, at least compared to a smart phone or a GPS. I know some folks do cache with tablets, but I can't imagine it being ergonomically comfortable. It's nice to be able to put your phone in your pocket or clip your gps to belt loop when you get close to the cache so you can search the area with both hands free. And if you like to cache in places where you might have to hike or climb to the cache, you're likely to destroy your tablet pretty quickly. So, in the scheme of durability,

tablet < phone < GPS.

 

Then consider that a good tablet will set you back as much or more than a new GPS.

 

If you don't want to replace your GPS with a more current model, you'd probably be better off caching with a smartphone. That is, if you're looking to buy a tablet for other reasons, go ahead and buy the tablet (they make great pdf readers), but don't rely on it to be your primary geocaching device.

Edited February 20, 2015 by mineral2

[+GrayHawk613]

Most tablets come with a GPS chip inside them. Tablets use a combination of the GPS chip, known Wi-Fi locations, and triangulation between cell phone towers (as those coordinates are known) to provide a decent location fix. The antenna is not necessary, though not having one does impact its accuracy (meaning the 60 you had was more accurate than a tablet). In my experience with cell phones, I'd say my GPSr has an average EPE (estimated position error) of 16 feet while my cell phone might have 30 feet and suffer more from tree cover. The accuracy has improved over the last few years.

 

You're right about Wi-Fi not being available in the desert! However, you don't have as many things obstructing the device's reception, so the GPS chip can get a more accurate fix without relying on other signals.

Do iPads have chips?

[+Pinkpiggy7]

We used our Samsung Android tablet for our first 1000 or s finds, the GPS has proven to be very accurate, in fact sonetimes we were with peopel with a GPS and ours was more accurate (well assuming the listed co-ords were correct). Yes its a little more bulky but hasnt been an issue.

We have used the Groundspeak paid app, and found it very good, in fact in some ways better than a GPS as you could right you found it logs and everything at the same time, than just do an uplload once home.

 

Wifi is fine, as before you leave home you just load a circle of caches form where you plan to go for the day, and save it as an offline list, than just load the list and cache away happily for the day without the need for wifi or mobile connectivity.

If we are going away for a week, we just download and save all the areas we plan to visit. Or if depserate drop in to a maccas or somewhere else with free wifi to download more.

If away for a while, we upload all our found logs either at the accomodation fi we have wifi there or else go to a maccas or somewhere else with free wifi.

 

I think we cached once for a whole week without connectib=vity to the outside world just with a bit of planning, and than uploading some 200 logs on our return.

[+T.D.M.22]

 

Do iPads have chips?

 

Yup. I was actually at an event a talking about this. A fellow cacher uses his ipad to cache. Well they use it to drive to the cache and log finds in the field. The bigger screen makes it easier to follow the map. When they get to the area they use their iPhone, or GPS unit.

 

A GPS chip really isn't anything special these days, I can go and buy one for $10-$25, so it's costing the big companies a penny or 2 to add a GPS to, well anything mass produced (phones, tablets) my Samsung tablet not only has GPS, it has GLONASS as well.

 

Even cameras have GPS chips in them nowadays. It seems like soon the question will be what does not have a GPS chip.

[+geodarts]

 

Do iPads have chips?

 

Yup. I was actually at an event a talking about this. A fellow cacher uses his ipad to cache. Well they use it to drive to the cache and log finds in the field. The bigger screen makes it easier to follow the map. When they get to the area they use their iPhone, or GPS unit.

 

It depends on the iPad. An iPad that has cellular data has a chip, an iPad that does not have cellular data does not have a chip. I have a bluetooth GPSr that works well with my iPad, which does not have a chip, since the larger screen is nice for navigating when traveling.

[+Pinkpiggy7]

 

Do iPads have chips?

 

Yup. I was actually at an event a talking about this. A fellow cacher uses his ipad to cache. Well they use it to drive to the cache and log finds in the field. The bigger screen makes it easier to follow the map. When they get to the area they use their iPhone, or GPS unit.

 

It depends on the iPad. An iPad that has cellular data has a chip, an iPad that does not have cellular data does not have a chip. I have a bluetooth GPSr that works well with my iPad, which does not have a chip, since the larger screen is nice for navigating when traveling.

 

A lot of Ipads without cellular data, still have the GPS chips in them. Both my kids have Ipads without cell connectivity, but both use the Ipads for Geocaching, just ask when you go and buy that it is GPS enabled.

[+MtnMutt-ProDuckShins]

Depends where you happen to be as I can use both my iPad with LTE and my GPSR.

 

The iPad has the Geocaching App loaded, you just have to get use to the Compass or use the map. I like to compare the two as to which is closer.

 

You really should replace your GPSR which has the Paperless Function, then download a PQ of the area in which you will be Caching.

 

Next question is, are you a PC or Mac.

[robertlipe]

The answers above are pretty much on point. Tablets are large and have a large surface area of glass. You should have low expectations of any tablets surviving a drop onto rocks or a dunk in the drink. For urban caching (this light pole or that one?), they're fine but I wouldn't backpack with one.

 

The reason that some tablets (famously, several models of iPads) don't have "real" GPS on the WiFi-only models isn't because you need a cell signal for GPS to work; it's because the common chipset vendors (Broadcom, Qualcomm) frequently package the GPS receiver and the CDMA/LTE transceivers in the same chip. Gobi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualcomm_Gobi is a good example. Most products that want "real" GPS without cellular radios use something like http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/GPS-Silicon-Solutions/BCM4751 but that chip costs an amount above zero.

 

As a general rule, most of the better Android tablets will have a real GPS because a few extra nickels on the bill-of-materials cost and an antenna doesn't matter much until you get into the real bottom-end of the market. (Apple is the second most profitable company in the world partially because of decisions like not including a GPS on WiFi models - _most_ people using a WiFi device will be OK with the location accuracy that provides.)

 

See, for example, http://www.inquisitr.com/373579/apple-ipad-mini-doesnt-feature-gps-on-wi-fi-only-versions/ Chipsets come and go what might be true for generation X of a product may be different for generation X+1, so shop carefully.

http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_ipad_mini_3-6741.php

http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_ipad_4_wi_fi-5072.php both seem support that the iPad lines (mini and full) support GPS only in the units with cellular models. It's worth saying that it's not whether you have a cellular signal or even have a data plan; it's about whether the GPS hardware is in the circuit or not.

 

All the Google Nexus (2012/2013 Nexus 7, Nexus 9) tablets have "real" GPS, whether WiFi-only or LTE/CDMA/HSPA.

 

Source: 8 year engineer at Google.

[+Team CowboyPapa]

........help me understand how an Android tablet can possibly work as a GPS?

Roger that. I have Samsung SM-T210R, Android, 7" screen tablet that can be used for geocaching. (Note: I also have 10" Samsung tablet that I do consider too large for caching.)

 

The 7" tablet does have a bona fide GPS capability and Wi-Fi communication functionality; however, it does not provide for cellular telephone communication.

 

On the tablet I have installed the geocaching app (upper left (Groundspeak Inc.)):

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=https%3A%2F%2Fplay.google.com%2Fstore%2Fapps%2Fdetails%3Fid%3Dcom.Groundspeak.geocaching

While at home, or at any location with Wi-Fi coverage, I can use that app to create a "pocket query" type collection of geocaches and save the file on the tablet for subsequent, outdoor use. Consequently, I can use it for caching while outside of cellular service (nor will I bite into my granddaughter's 20GB monthly iTunes consumption (family plan accommodation) ).

 

You might realize that such concept of operations is markedly different from cellphone usage, but essentially the same as using a typical handheld GPSr with preloaded pocket queries.

[+BikeBill]

I generally use a Garmin GPS but I have experimented successfully with a Nexus 7 tablet (Android) on roadside power trails. I linked it to my iPhone via the phone's WiFi hotspot feature and used Geocaching's Android app. I could drive right up near the cache and zoom in the on the map and get a good idea of where the cache would be.

 

Now would I want to clamber around a boulder field with the Nexus? No. And I realize that this technique wouldn't work unless there is a decent cell signal.

[+geodarts]

 

Do iPads have chips?

 

Yup. I was actually at an event a talking about this. A fellow cacher uses his ipad to cache. Well they use it to drive to the cache and log finds in the field. The bigger screen makes it easier to follow the map. When they get to the area they use their iPhone, or GPS unit.

 

It depends on the iPad. An iPad that has cellular data has a chip, an iPad that does not have cellular data does not have a chip. I have a bluetooth GPSr that works well with my iPad, which does not have a chip, since the larger screen is nice for navigating when traveling.

 

A lot of Ipads without cellular data, still have the GPS chips in them. Both my kids have Ipads without cell connectivity, but both use the Ipads for Geocaching, just ask when you go and buy that it is GPS enabled.

 

A GPS enabled ipad that does not have cellular? But I guess I should have said "cellular capability" - the model must have the capability to receive cellular data. The specs from the iPad Air, for example show that a GPS is built in only for the cellular versions and this is true across the board. This does not mean you have to have a cellular connection or even activate cellular service, but GPS is only built into the cellular models. It is one reason why there is a market for external GPS add-ons. I use the Garmin GLO with bluetooth. Bad Elf makes a plug-in model.

Edited February 24, 2015 by geodarts

[ohgood]

I used to own a GPS Map60--found many caches and even planted some. My GPS died and I miss my geocaching days.

 

1 I have not replaced it but am thinking of getting an Android tablet.

 

2 But I don't understand how a tablet could possibly be a GPS.

3 It doesn't have an antennae.

4 Does it have electronics inside to pick up the satellites somehow?

5 I thought it only worked with wifi which obviously isn't available out in the desert or mountains, when I want to find a cache.

 

Just treat me like an 8 year old and help me understand how an Android tablet can possibly work as a GPS?

 

1 excellent, it's better than a garmin

2 if you buy a tablet that comes with a built in gps antenna, there it is (most do nowadays)

3 see 2

4 see 2 (yes)

5 wifi (data) and cellular (data) are used for downloading MAPS, APPS, MUSIC, VIDEOS, and whatever else you want to use on the tablet. there are a TON of good geocaching, OPENcaching, and GPS-centric apps for android. I would suggest trying out LOCUS / LOCUS PRO, OSMAND, or even the geocaching app (it's not really that bad) when you purchase a tablet.

 

a ruggedized (waterproof/dropproof) phone works better for geocaching than a tablet. it's pocketable, runs for a LONG time on battery power, has EXCELLENT gps aquisition, and very very cheap compared to handheld (standalone) gps units.

 

i've been rocking a Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro (amongst other devices) for a while now, and rugged phones are DEFINITELY superior to stand alone gps devices.

 

phones that rock in the woods:

kyocera brigadier

kyocera hydro

kyocera torque

casio commando 4g

samsung rugby

samsung rugby pro

 

yes, they work without data signal.

no, i'm not mistaken.

yes, the gps is just as accurate (if not more so) than a fill-in-the-blank-garmin.

no, maps aren't hard to find

yes, it ALL works offline, without cellular/wifi signal.

 

welcome to 2015, get cachin !