Gaia on Iphone with external GPS

Albert Jr

Albert Jr

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Traveler I

98
Clarksville, TN
Hello guys! I am planning a family trip to Virginia in a few months, and I want to be prepared in case we break down or something happens. I will be taking my HAM test in a month to get my license, so a small Baofeng will be my radio for the trip. I just downloaded Gaia on my iphone, and I was wondering, could the phone be paired up with an external gps like a Garmin explorer?

I will be downloading maps to my phone, but will my position be tracked on the maps if I am off-line? Now this is all temporarily until I get my Tacoma or 4Runner. In those I am planning on installing a CB and HAM radio for communications.
 
Your iPhone has a GPS chip all its own. Google teardown and your iPhone version and you'll likely find info regarding a Broadcom chip of some sorts.

I have Gaia and an inReach Explorer, but I've never questioned the use of the two together. According to this, it works:

 
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Yeah I watched the video many times. It’s a pretty sweet setup, but at the end when he’s hiking and it’s tracking his route, he doesn’t specify if he’s online or offline? I he is offline, then I can download maps to my phone and track myself on them as I make progress.
 
At 1:08 he states that that iPad is not GPS-enabled. That means it's a wi-fi model, as the LTE models have built-in GPS. Unless he's in some fancy internet park, it's highly doubtful he's online.
 
Ah thank you I do remember that now. Well looks like I’ll be good and won’t have to invest in a tablet or iPad mini unless I plan to exhaust all my memory by downloading a bunch of maps. But I’m going to stick with a few, use the Garmin as well, and take my baofeng to give me a feel on comms and navigation. I appreciate the help
 
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On the trail, I use the Earthmate app more than Gaia, but it's nice to be able to reference both. In Gaia, check out the National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps. TONS of info on those maps and was the selling point for me subscribing to Gaia.
 
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I have not planned that yet as of the moment. The wife wants to go for the holidays, and it gives me a chance to see how well I can use Gaia and my HAM radio. We’ll be going to Bluemont though.
 
I just did a moto trip through some backroads in Belize. Before leaving I downloaded the region on my phone and it worked great. That, with my inReach, gave me great peace of mind, even on foreign soil.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk
 
My setup is Gaia, my iOS device and Dual Electronics XGPS150A GPS receiver. It’s is a much more accurate GPS than your phone. With the XGPS150A, the accuracy is within about 10 ft most times vs the iPhone alone which reads about 250 ft. It also saves precious battery on your phone.

Here’s a link to the XGPS150A on Amazon:

Dual Electronics XGPS150A Multipurpose Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk
 
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That’s awesome! It’s amazing how technology can let us get out there and keep a piece of mind huh. The XGPS150A is a cheaper alternative to other GPSs out there, and I hear nothing from good thing from the community, but some of the Amazon reviews are bad? Maybe user errors?
 
AValdez said:
That’s awesome! It’s amazing how technology can let us get out there and keep a piece of mind huh. The XGPS150A is a cheaper alternative to other GPSs out there, and I hear nothing from good thing from the community, but some of the Amazon reviews are bad? Maybe user errors?
Click to expand...
Seems like it might be operator error. A few reviews report Dual not having updated to support the latest iOS, but I have not found this to be the case. I also wonder if these users are leaving the unit on the dash in the blistering sun, even when not in use. That might contribute to the short lifespan reports.
 
AValdez said:
Hello guys! I am planning a family trip to Virginia in a few months, and I want to be prepared in case we break down or something happens. I will be taking my HAM test in a month to get my license, so a small Baofeng will be my radio for the trip. I just downloaded Gaia on my iphone, and I was wondering, could the phone be paired up with an external gps like a Garmin explorer?

I will be downloading maps to my phone, but will my position be tracked on the maps if I am off-line? Now this is all temporarily until I get my Tacoma or 4Runner. In those I am planning on installing a CB and HAM radio for communications.
Click to expand...


* Using your iphone alone, running the Gaia app, maps pre-loaded, your track will be recorded and visible (even in airplane mode with cell functions off).
* You could connect to a bluetooth enabled GPS receiver for better signal reception especially in canopy cover, but it is not needed.
* Not sure about pairing your phone to a Garmin Explorer. Perhaps via a mini usb or bluetooth.
 
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Yeah a lot of these people seem to want to buy a gps that will do everything for them, but don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it. It seems the GPSs put there will do the basics for us, yet we need to put some effort as well. I’m going to try just the gaia map with the phone offline and see how that goes here, locally of course. Then go from there. I’ll also be buying my baofeng here soon too.
 
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I use an older ipad air with the Dual Electronics XGPS160 along with Gaia maps. It has worked flawlessly for several months now. You just need to plan ahead a little to have the maps of the area you'll be exploring downloaded.
 
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