davidotoole Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 I'm purchasing a waterproof/dustproof tablet with built in multi-satellite GPS for use on the trails along with our GMRS radios and geo-data recording with GIS software. But I've been told that for best accuracy it's best to use an external GPS unit. Are there any GPS experts here who might be able to recommend a good Bluetooth GPS that works with Android? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRUU653 Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 @davidotoole I don't know about working with android but have you seen the Garmin Rino 750 ? It's Gmrs, GPS and camera all rolled into one. Not cheap though. and I am not sure if it does repeaters. At any rate they have a lot of GPS devices, maybe you'll find something ideal there. davidotoole 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxCar Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 I believe what the note about an external GPS is it means an external antenna connected to the tablet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidotoole Posted March 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 Quote I believe what the note about an external GPS is it means an external antenna connected to the tablet. Well I have been looking at external ones that connect to Android via Bluetooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sshannon Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 15 hours ago, WRUU653 said: @davidotoole I don't know about working with android but have you seen the Garmin Rino 750 ? It's Gmrs, GPS and camera all rolled into one. Not cheap though. and I am not sure if it does repeaters. At any rate they have a lot of GPS devices, maybe you'll find something ideal there. On the Rino the repeater channels don’t appear by default, but once you enable it for repeater use they do. They are excellent. I don’t have the 750, but I have one a bit older. 675 maybe? No camera built in, but it does have the ability to send and receive pictures. It’s rugged, super visible in bright sunshine, and very easy to change tones. WRUU653 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRUU653 Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 23 minutes ago, Sshannon said: On the Rino the repeater channels don’t appear by default, but once you enable it for repeater use they do. They are excellent. I don’t have the 750, but I have one a bit older. 675 maybe? No camera built in, but it does have the ability to send and receive pictures. It’s rugged, super visible in bright sunshine, and very easy to change tones. Damn it Steve, You are not making it easy to not spend more money Sshannon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sshannon Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 4 minutes ago, WRUU653 said: Damn it Steve, You are not making it easy to not spend more money Okay, so let me tell you one thing that some people here would object to. The channels on mine (and I suspect all others ) are all preset. By that I mean there’s a simple choice of 30 channels. You cannot have six different channels set up and ready to go to cover the six repeaters in your state that all use 462.700. You just have to change the tones for that channel depending on where you are. They’re really ideally set up for communications between people where you want to know where each other are. And, mine at least, is well made in Taiwan, not communist China. WRUU653 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRUU653 Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 It’s my own fault @Sshannon that I started looking at those. All kidding aside I covet much of their products. The idea that these are super visible in bright sunshine I found enticing. The idea that I would want two may keep my wallet safe. Thanks for the additional info. Sshannon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sshannon Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 2 minutes ago, WRUU653 said: It’s my own fault @Sshannon that I started looking at those. All kidding aside I covet much of their products. The idea that these are super visible in bright sunshine I found enticing. The idea that I would want two may keep my wallet safe. Thanks for the additional info. If you can live with a monochrome map, they have a model that you could afford to buy two of. I love how they share the location of each handheld. All the senior members of our rocket club carry them so we can keep track of each other. WRUU653 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweiss3 Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 You aren't going to get survey grade location with anything unless you are running a survey instrument (such as a Trimble R6 running VRS to be on state plane with a complete data collector). Anything you will get in the retail market will still be 3m (10 ft) accuracy at its best, which would be enough for your use. If it were me, I would just use a basic tablet and a spreadsheet. Put columns for northing and easting, get a radio that can measure the signal in db or dbm, and put that in column 3. Add other columns for comments and note readability or not. Compile when you get home, then add to your software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAF6045 Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 3 hours ago, Sshannon said: On the Rino the repeater channels don’t appear by default, but once you enable it for repeater use they do. They are excellent. I don’t have the 750, but I have one a bit older. 675 maybe? No camera built in, but it does have the ability to send and receive pictures. It’s rugged, super visible in bright sunshine, and very easy to change tones. Of course, if one enables repeater channels, one has to be aware of the FCC regulations regarding digital data... Quote § 95.1773 GMRS authorized bandwidths. Each GMRS transmitter type must be designed such that the occupied bandwidth does not exceed the authorized bandwidth for the channels used. Operation of GMRS stations must also be in compliance with these requirements. ... (c) Digital data transmissions. Digital data transmissions are limited to the 462 MHz main channels and interstitial channels in the 462 MHz and 467 MHz bands. IE; digital is NOT permitted on the repeater input frequencies (aka: 467MHz main channels). Quote § 95.1731 Permissible GMRS uses. The operator of a GMRS station may use that station for two-way plain language voice communications with other GMRS stations and with FRS units concerning personal or business activities. ... (d) Digital data. GMRS hand-held portable units may transmit digital data containing location information, or requesting location information from one or more other GMRS or FRS units, or containing a brief text message to another specific GMRS or FRS unit. Implication is simplex-only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sshannon Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 6 minutes ago, KAF6045 said: Of course, if one enables repeater channels, one has to be aware of the FCC regulations regarding digital data... IE; digital is NOT permitted on the repeater input frequencies (aka: 467MHz main channels). Implication is simplex-only Thanks for the reminder, but the Garmin radios don’t transmit GPS data on the repeater channels. Also, because they are capable of sending GPS data they have molded in antennas that cannot be changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over2U Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 If your tablet is being used inside a metal vehicle I see where an external antenna might enable reception of signals from more (navigation) satellites. I’m not sure if a Bluetooth connection between antenna and tablet would work in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidotoole Posted March 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 Thanks @Over2U and friends for your comments and help Sshannon and WRUU653 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcradio Posted April 11, 2023 Report Share Posted April 11, 2023 I use a Garmin GLO2 with an iPhone 14. Seems very accurate. Because of where I normally store my iPhone, the external bluetooth GPS unit really helps. Over2U and WRUU653 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXJ635 Posted July 7, 2023 Report Share Posted July 7, 2023 I second the Garmin Glo2. It is a small blu-tooth unit for gps only I use it on my Ipad and it improves the lag time for the gps to update. pcradio 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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