The ultimate/affordable GPS navigation system

[rluther]

So I've recently come up with my version of the ultimate GPS navigation system. The best part is that it's actually quite affordable too.

Using an old smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S4 in my case) and an external bluetooth GPS tracker (Canmore GT-750F(L)) I can use satellite imagery without a sim card or any data service. Handheld GPS devices usually have pretty terrible mapping software and the touch screens are horrendous. If you're worried about damaging your smartphone get a heavy duty case and you're good to go.

There are a few different smartphone apps you can use to download and use offline maps but I used BackCountry Navigator. It's a pretty awesome navigator app and it allows you to download Microsoft's "Virtual Earth Hybrid Aerial Imagery" from Bing Maps. You can also download all kinds of other topo maps for offline use. I've mainly stuck to the Aerial Imagery maps because I like to have that view of the land when I'm planning my hunts and when I'm in the field. Along side this app you will also need an app to connect the external GPS to your phone or tablet via bluetooth. For that I used Bluetooth GPS.



So in total here's what you need:
1. an old phone or tablet that has bluetooth capabilities
2. an external GPS tracker that also has bluetooth capabilities
3. the Bluetooth GPS app
4. some type of offline mapping app such as BackCountry Navigator
5. some .kmz files of Alberta WMU's and park boundaries (optional)
5. a backup battery pack (optional)

I found out about this system from this post on slatedroid.com and full credit to that author smithmal. To summarize the system works by pairing your phone with the GT-750 GPS unit and then running the Bluetooth GPS app. You also need to turn on developer options and turn on "allow mock locations". Once you have this setup the phone will be utilizing the gps signal from the GT-750 and you can turn off the phones data, wifi, and gps. You can now open what ever mapping software you want and use offline maps to navigate without any service. If you have problems with the set up consult smithmal's post here.

As for the offline maps its super simple with BackCountry Navigator and once you have those downloaded to your phone you may want to add in outlines of the WMU your planning on hunting and outlines of the protected parks that may reside within your WMU. I found a post on here from a user called CAC (Thanks Chris!). Chris has converted the WMU outlines into a .kmz file that can be imported into BackCountry Navigator as a trail. I don't know Chris and I've never talked to him but he is awesome for making this and he deserves all credit for it.

I found another source of .kmz files that outline Alberta's protected parks. You can download this .kmz file from the Alberta Parks website. Once you have these downloaded on your phone you can import them both into BackCountry Navigator and select which WMU's and parks you want to display.

(Sorry you may have to open these links in a new tab or something)

The final result is a reliable GPS navigation system with aerial imagery and all of the necessary borders in the palm of your hand. The GT-750 is really quite small and I just throw it in a ziplock bag in the top of my pack when I go out. If you're able to repurpose an old smartphone you can have this system for less than $60.



There is one caveat I will mention and that's battery life. The GT-750 has over 13 hours of battery life but your old phone might not and the bluetooth/mapping app might drain your battery quite quickly. I think if you turn your phone onto airplane mode and just have bluetooth on and run Bluetooth GPS and BackCountry Navigator your battery life shouldn't be a problem. From what I've found this hasn't been a problem for single day hunts. I don't need to check my GPS every minute so my phone battery still has plenty of battery after an 8 hour day in the mountains. I do bring a battery backup just in case.

I couldn't find anything in the forums so I decided to write this up myself. There are a few different write ups on other sites covering what I've posted here and I am kind of ripping them off but the links are there and I wanted to make this post with everything in one spot so here it is. I hope you enjoy and can take advantage of this system. Let me know if you have any improvements or want to share what your navigation system looks like.