Do i need a seperate stand alone GPS to get to Deadhorse Alaska

[antmanbee]

There are also several good speedo apps that use gps.
I am thinking of ditching the speedo on my Jackal and just using a moto g for the speedo. No speedo cable needed and accurate and has trip odometer too. I just need to make a mount with a charging plug and I can remove the moto g easily when the bike is parked.

[sbaker]

Hello, that was an interesting intellectual challenge on my trip.. What if, as I was taking a leak by the side of the road, a bear or some other predator came out of the woods... What would I do? ... My Solution.. .. Keep the bike running.. pee close by, be ready to jump on and ride.. Regardless of clothing condition... :)

"What could go wrong?" .... ummm I nearly spit my coffee.
Should we tell travellers about the fifteen minute rule?
When you stop on the side of the road it takes about fifteen minutes for the scavangers (coyotes, wolves and bears) to smell the new meal?  I'm not sure if this is true or not. I only ever stop for thirteen minutes at a time.

[sbaker]

Wayne:

 I have been in numerous situation where my iPhone doesn't know where I am, but my Garmin does.. Mostly in Remote places... LIKE: The British Virgin Islands, where cell service is spotty and GPS is LOCKED ON... I do rely on Cell/GPS in a major city, but one beyond a metro area.. There is nothing like a "settled' GPS ..

Why do you think a so called real GPS is more sensitive?  I tested a lot of GNSS devices in an RF chamber. Often the phone's were more sensitive, had better processors, and received more bands like Glonass as well as GPS.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Wayne Orwig]

I have been in numerous situation where my iPhone doesn't know where I am, but my Garmin does.. Mostly in Remote places... LIKE: The British Virgin Islands, where cell service is spotty and GPS is LOCKED ON... I do rely on Cell/GPS in a major city, but one beyond a metro area.. There is nothing like a "settled' GPS ..

What offline map data where you using? What app?

I can't speak for whacky iPhones. I know my Android devices have a true GPS, and when used with maps stored on the phone, it is better in most ways than a Garmin.

[Yukonica]

Hello, that was an interesting intellectual challenge on my trip.. What if, as I was taking a leak by the side of the road, a bear or some other predator came out of the woods... What would I do? ... My Solution.. .. Keep the bike running.. pee close by, be ready to jump on and ride.. Regardless of clothing condition... :)

Hope you had a great trip and made some great memories. You know, we welcome people back for more.
I travel these roads for work a fair amount. This is about the most accurate picture you'll see of an animal's response to humans in the area.

[ITSec]

Thanks for the info.  I downloaded the SYGIC app and will try it out..........If I can figure out how it works, or if it needs a GPS or internet signal to actually work?  Im slow when it comes to this tech stuff......Thanks again....

Sygic works without cell phone or Internet service, as long as you have already downloaded the appropriate maps (important!). The interface for this is a bit funky, since the Europeans who built the tool call each state or section a 'country' - they're used to smaller countries from their experience. Sygic uses the built-in true GPS of more modern phones, not the cell location signal from towers. As Wayne and others have said, the phone's GPS capability can be as accurate (10 meter resolution nominally) as a stand-alone GPS.

One thing to note - any location service running continually on a phone will significantly increase battery usage, so plan on using a power feed!

Personally, I still run a separate GPS and have the Sygic setup for a backup.

[rodekyll]

10 meters (12') of location drift in modern satellite gps would be very low quality.  It's more like 1/2 meter (18") with most true GPS.  Mine shows a change in position when my boat bobs in the water.  It knows when I got off the left side of the trike v the right side.  With that fine a resolution, what do you need with MORE accuracy?  In my opinion, using cell towers as well as GPS is a ploy by the consumer demons to suck up your data quota and tell THEM where you are.  It also uses even more battery than GPS alone.  I don't use my data link unless I'm actually looking for data -- weather, WG, news, that sort of thing.  If I can't find open wireless, I try to tough it out till I can.

Yes, SYGIC requires a GPS to find position, but it does not require cell service except to download the program and charts.  You can get all of NA, including Mexico onto most any phone. 
A caveat about SYGIC -- it's been very successful.  That means there are counterfeits out there.  Be sure you're getting yours from a legitimate outlet (google play).  If you're not sure, go to the SYGIC website and follow the official links.

And yes, even with my previous hi-cap battery phone I could not get 8 hours out of a charge when using GPS.  Early on I plumbed in a small (150w) A/C inverter that included a couple of USB ports.  I took one USB to the handlebar for normal GPS work and routed the other to a little compartment over a fuel tank.  When the weather sucks I put the phone in the compartment and just listen for nav over the headset.

How you attach the device to the bike is another bucket of bones.  We could have a thread for nothing but the methods and devices out there for mounting phones, GPS units and tablets to bikes.  HINT -- still working on it.

[sbaker]

Wayne.

My point is with my GPS I can always use a Lat and Long to determine my position on a paper chart. I don't need internal maps internal / downloaded maps, I only need a position and then I can plot my fix and navigate from there with a simple compass and watch. It is nice to have downloaded maps or charts, it is convenient, but Lat and Long are the ultimate navigational tool.. Along with the two things that DON"T relay on electricity.. my Compass and my common sense.

What offline map data where you using? What app?

I can't speak for whacky iPhones. I know my Android devices have a true GPS, and when used with maps stored on the phone, it is better in most ways than a Garmin.

[Wayne Orwig]

My point is with my GPS I can always use a Lat and Long to determine my position on a paper chart. I don't need internal maps internal / downloaded maps, I only need a position and then I can plot my fix and navigate from there with a simple compass and watch. It is nice to have downloaded maps or charts, it is convenient, but Lat and Long are the ultimate navigational tool.. Along with the two things that DON"T relay on electricity.. my Compass and my common sense.

Like this? Easy.
That is indoors, so the accuracy is poor.
Probably wasted my time blanking out a bit of the coordinates. 

[Kiwi_Roy]

After Wayne's post I thought I would try turning the data off on my I-phone 6, sure enough the GPS still worked but the maps would disappear after a minute or so when you move off the edge. From that I concluded that the phone downloads the data to draw the map chewing up data in the process.

I wish I had known about the android thing before I bought a new TomTom GPS, oh well.

[kirkemon]

For my back-up, I do my route maps on my iPad then take a screen shot. Works ok for me.

[rodekyll]

I do my route planning on paper and my "backup" is my road atlas.  The GPS maps help me inspect details.  I try to collect the gas-station-type folding maps for the states I travel through.  I use the GPS more for turn-by-turn navigation, finding gas, and doing quick snoops of the "road not taken" to see if I want to take it.

The old windjammers had a map holder on the compartment covers.  I miss that.