2014 GPS options

[Pt2285]

so i found this thread from 2012 and since its 2014 there has to be updated tech on the market. http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f114/gps-how-useful-37343/

so in 2014 is the lowrance unit still the better option or is an ipad with a bluetooth gps unit or stand alone the ticket now? it would also seem that since the truck itself has gps navigation and a screen that someone would make an SD card that you could pop in and out that has all the pre-ran trails, tracks, roads, etc.. and you could just utilize the factory screen.

has anyone tried ipad- video out by any means - into AV video in of factory system for a display that way?

it just really seems that someone or somehow there has to be a hack to not need a lowrance these days when you already have all the components in your truck already.

 

[Rookie]

The stock gps doesn't have a lot of the trails you might run. On Snoball there were a lot on the factory nav but that was because that route uses a lot of forest service roads and what not. I use an iPad with a dual XGPS along with many others and it works well as long as you either have the maps downloaded in detail for the area or you have cell service and a data plan for it. Plugging into the av inputs would require nav TV while driving and if you needed change something you would still have to use the iPad screen.

 

[t_j]

so i found this thread from 2012 and since its 2014 there has to be updated tech on the market. http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f114/gps-how-useful-37343/

This thread is less than one month old all information in it is current.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

a sat connection will be much more reliable than a cell connection. from what i understand, the tablet (or phone) uses cell towers to triangulate your location allowing for a faster gps connection. if no cell service is available, then it could take a very long time to finally get a gps signal. the lowrance (or similiar) has different gps technology allowing for a constant connection as long as you have satellites in range

 

[Huck]

a sat connection will be much more reliable than a cell connection. from what i understand, the tablet (or phone) uses cell towers to triangulate your location allowing for a faster gps connection. if no cell service is available, then it could take a very long time to finally get a gps signal. the lowrance (or similiar) has different gps technology allowing for a constant connection as long as you have satellites in range

Wrong.

If you have an cellular iPad, it had a dedicated gps chip. It does not use cell towers or any type of cellular service.

Cell service need not be active for gps chip to function.

I used it flawlessly in the middle of the badlands with no cell service and on every other trip I've done. I don't even have a SIM card in my iPad



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[t_j]

a sat connection will be much more reliable than a cell connection. from what i understand, the tablet (or phone) uses cell towers to triangulate your location allowing for a faster gps connection. if no cell service is available, then it could take a very long time to finally get a gps signal. the lowrance (or similiar) has different gps technology allowing for a constant connection as long as you have satellites in range

While phones/tablets typically have A-GPS (Assisted GPS. similar to the GPS setup in the factory nav unit) they will function correctly as a GPS device without cell service.

Cell service and wifi are used improve initial location time, phones maintain a database of cell tower and WIFI AP co-ordinates that are used to help assist a fast location while gaining an accurate location via the GPS satellite constellation. The other portion of A-GPS in phones/tablets is use of inertial sensors to provide higher resolution and accuracy for the user.

The main differentiator between initial location acquisition between a phone/tablet and a lowrance is the view it has of the constellation. Lowrances will have a faster initial pickup when used with an external antenna than with their internal antenna. The internal antenna on a lowrance is probably way better than that of a phone/tablet which is why your get faster locations. Also the lowrance chips will be able to provide faster updates on the current location than the cheap chip inside a phone/tablet.

There is an alternative technology available on the market that provides the same function as the GPS constellation and receivers, this is called GLONASS which is a russian operated satellite constellation with global coverage. A lot of the garmin devices are now shipping with support for this to provide improved accuracy using only satellite data.

 

[jondle]

Wrong.

If you have an cellular iPad, it had a dedicated gps chip. It does not use cell towers or any type of cellular service.

Cell service need not be active for gps chip to function.

I used it flawlessly in the middle of the badlands with no cell service and on every other trip I've done. I don't even have a SIM card in my iPad

Partly wrong.

Mobile devices use cell tower triangulation and wifi network information to generate a rough location when available. Once GPS locks on with more accurate information it starts using that.

So, you can fully use all mobile devices in the absence of all cell and wifi signals, but it will take a little bit longer to find a location than if you had cell and wifi service.


Edit: Sorry, @t_j beat me to it and provided way better info.

 

[Rookie]

The biggest thing to note here, what good does a gps position do you if you can't even seen the map to tell where you're at?

 

[t_j]

The biggest thing to note here, what good does a gps position do you if you can't even seen the map to tell where you're at?

Always pre-cache the area that you plan on being in if you are using a tablet application.

 

[Pt2285]

The stock gps doesn't have a lot of the trails you might run. On Snoball there were a lot on the factory nav but that was because that route uses a lot of forest service roads and what not. I use an iPad with a dual XGPS along with many others and it works well as long as you either have the maps downloaded in detail for the area or you have cell service and a data plan for it. Plugging into the av inputs would require nav TV while driving and if you needed change something you would still have to use the iPad screen.

totally get what your saying and call me crazy. but thinking aloud here, if the factory nav system runs off an sd card. then it would be possible for someone to create there own nav program info with the routes plotted on it. it could be something as simple as "hey eveyone, DL this file and load it onto a formatted SD card and when we get to the trail head, load it up." im sure it would involve some code hacking for different file formatting but it seems possible. or maybe im just dreaming to hard.