Mobility Site - View Single Post - Pros and Cons of PPC/GPS "Off-Road" Systems from Users

LHR · 12-28-08, 02:14 PM

This is a copy of a quick review I posted way back in 2007; although a bit outdated, it's still relevant and perhaps someone that has tried the latest version can enlighten us.

Here's the original thread:
Finally: Download GoogleMaps to PPC-cache, view/ navigate on-or OFFLINE!

my first time trial of Tracky 2.1
This app looks great as I'm in the process of buying an off-road app for hiking and geocaching.

3 quick observations:

(1) does not seem to support DGPS (Differential GPS) on my Garmin 10x Bluetooth receiver (SirfIII) and possibly WAAS (not sure if WAAS/EGNOS somehow impacts DGPS)

I configured my BT on com8 and selected 4800 baud, and noriced that any readings related to WAAS/DGPS show up red (Invalid) - (BTW, on garmin receivers, an easy way to distinguish a DGPS reading is when you see a satellite number above 32, in my case (east coast) i see either a 48 or 51)

It does not seem to obtain 2D locks (I compared it whilst simultaneously running GPSinfo) - anytime GPSinfo showed a 2D lock, this app showed INVALID and thus no lock

(2) While I really liked the Google functionality, for hiking and geocaching a topo map is what really helps (as Google does not show trails covered by trees, etc) - so, i almost bought Back country Navigator - which instead of google maps it automatically downloads aerials or topos from usgs databases. so my point here is: would i be able to easily download USGS/terra server topo maps to this app?

(3) Can this app display Full screen maps like Navio?

So, in summary for hiking and Geocaching, : I've evaluated:
a) BeeLine gps (loved it as it fully supports DGPS but main problem is there is no map functionality - only a blank screen!!!)
b) Navio - (best Google map interface as it shows in full screen - currently my top choice)
c) Back Country navigator (best and easiest to download precalibrated US topo maps - my second top choice, only because it doesn't seem to support Google maps and I wouldn't be able to use it outside of the USA)
d) Tracky 2.1 - just learned about it today - looks excellent if only it could work with my Garmin BT receiver - see my 3 observations above.

I should probably post this feedback on the off-road sticky, but wanted to get feedback on those of you that have used Tracky2.1

cheers

12-28-08, 02:14 PM	#28 (permalink)
LHR Aximsite Rookie Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 63 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	This is a copy of a quick review I posted way back in 2007; although a bit outdated, it's still relevant and perhaps someone that has tried the latest version can enlighten us. Here's the original thread: Finally: Download GoogleMaps to PPC-cache, view/ navigate on-or OFFLINE! my first time trial of Tracky 2.1 This app looks great as I'm in the process of buying an off-road app for hiking and geocaching. 3 quick observations: (1) does not seem to support DGPS (Differential GPS) on my Garmin 10x Bluetooth receiver (SirfIII) and possibly WAAS (not sure if WAAS/EGNOS somehow impacts DGPS) I configured my BT on com8 and selected 4800 baud, and noriced that any readings related to WAAS/DGPS show up red (Invalid) - (BTW, on garmin receivers, an easy way to distinguish a DGPS reading is when you see a satellite number above 32, in my case (east coast) i see either a 48 or 51) It does not seem to obtain 2D locks (I compared it whilst simultaneously running GPSinfo) - anytime GPSinfo showed a 2D lock, this app showed INVALID and thus no lock (2) While I really liked the Google functionality, for hiking and geocaching a topo map is what really helps (as Google does not show trails covered by trees, etc) - so, i almost bought Back country Navigator - which instead of google maps it automatically downloads aerials or topos from usgs databases. so my point here is: would i be able to easily download USGS/terra server topo maps to this app? (3) Can this app display Full screen maps like Navio? So, in summary for hiking and Geocaching, : I've evaluated: a) BeeLine gps (loved it as it fully supports DGPS but main problem is there is no map functionality - only a blank screen!!!) b) Navio - (best Google map interface as it shows in full screen - currently my top choice) c) Back Country navigator (best and easiest to download precalibrated US topo maps - my second top choice, only because it doesn't seem to support Google maps and I wouldn't be able to use it outside of the USA) d) Tracky 2.1 - just learned about it today - looks excellent if only it could work with my Garmin BT receiver - see my 3 observations above. I should probably post this feedback on the off-road sticky, but wanted to get feedback on those of you that have used Tracky2.1 cheers