Lost hikers found..with just a dead cell phone?

ThriftyJoe said:
I'm not a smartphone expert. Is that a "you are here" type function that automatically shows your position on a map so you don't have to know anything about your phone's GPS function?
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Pretty much. It's about as brainless as it could be. The downside (well, one of them....) to relying on a cell phone for your only navigational aid is that most of them have poor battery life.
 
How do "cell phones" react to cold and wet these days?

Ed: By which I mean the wondrous hand-held electronic devices that people use to communicate, keep time, etc. I fear I am technologically-challenged.
 
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Thomas Linton said:
How do "cell phones" react to cold and wet these days?

Ed: By which I mean the wondrous hand-held electronic devices that people use to communicate, keep time, etc. I fear I am technologically-challenged.
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Mine can swim ten feet deep for five minites and still work fine. Cold affects the battery charge. Not an issue if you keep it warm next to your body. BTW, these two were located by the one 911 call they placed through a cell tower.
 
And are these sort of performances "average" or "normal"? HUMV or Impala?

My neighbor is a contractor, and he constantly complains about his "cell phone" getting broken or dying in the rain.
 
Thomas Linton said:
And are these sort of performances "average" or "normal"? HUMV or Impala?

My neighbor is a contractor, and he constantly complains about his "cell phone" getting broken or dying in the rain.
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I had that problem for years. I have a Samsung Rugby II now and it can swim with the fishes and resists impacts. I build and service swimming pools. And there are tougher armored ones too. They are becoming more the norm for people who are active in the outdoors. Mine holds a charge for up to a week, but I do not use it for entertainment and surfing the web.
 
ThriftyJoe said:
Here you go: http://spareone.com/why-spareone-emergency-phone.php#emergency

Emergency cell phone powered by a lithium AA that they say 'can' last 15 years. Comes in a waterproof package. Supposed to be more tolerant of temperatures than a smartphone. 75 grams. Amazon has it for $47.
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That phone looks nice! I have a little beat up old nokia that I carry around for the same purpose, but being chargeable with easy to find standard batteries would be nice. On the other hand you can get AA emergency chargers for most gadgets these days. The other thing to consider is having an emergency device that can connect to wifi, like an old smartphone, could be very useful in an emergency travel emergency since you will not be running up large fees planning the next leg of your trip.
 
Thomas Linton said:
And are these sort of performances "average" or "normal"? HUMV or Impala?

My neighbor is a contractor, and he constantly complains about his "cell phone" getting broken or dying in the rain.
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Water resistant and shock resistant are not standard these days, but you can get them.
Samsung rugby II
Samsung galaxy xcover
Samsung galaxy xcover II
Samsung xcover 271
Nokia 3720.
Sony xperia z
Sony xperia go.
Sonim
Insmat
Motorola defy

Not all are equally tough, I suspect the ipx67 rated xcover 271 is the toughest of the bunch. Then there are waterresistant cases and such.
 
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I have an app, "gps toolbox" on my galaxy nexus that gives me a proper gps readout so I can get real co-ordinates, accuracy estimate and signal strengths. Not info that's easily available with most mapping software, and means I don't really need a data connection. That said, once I'm off-road, the phone generally gets shut off and put away. I'll probably be found with a fully charged phone in my backpack, in a service area, dead, never having bothered to try to call for help. As young as I am, cell phones weren't available to me growing up, so I treat them as a "nice to have" more than a necessity. But since I need my phone so my bosses can get ahold of me, and since they are damn expensive toys, I'm pretty careful about how i treat it.
 
ThriftyJoe said:
I'm not a smartphone expert. Is that a "you are here" type function that automatically shows your position on a map so you don't have to know anything about your phone's GPS function? If so, I think I could pretty much walk out with a simple map that showed the direction back to the main road. Anybody with a smartphone want to try it and see?
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I think the problem is that those who rely only on a GPS or GPS app on a smart phone lose the ability to actually read a map. Do they know they have to orient the map? Can they at least do basic terrain association to determine direction without a compass?

I use a topo map the majority of the time, but I will stop and double check my position with my GPS app; my compass is a back up and it's a good challenge to always use triangulation to check your position the old-school way.

I've been able to do the terrain association verification with my smartphone GPS, but as most mentioned, battery drain limits that to a day or two at best. Even with a batter charger pack, I really try to limit the use of my phone. My wife drained her phone on one of our last trips by just taking a ton of pictures...

ROCK6
 
Once you have the Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, GPS, GLONASS and so in built in the rest is just software. They can program software to do anything they can think of using those tools.

There are applications that will pinpoint you on a map or allow you to select waypoints to travel back to (with an arrow pointing you towards the waypoint). The can give you GPS coordinates, compass readings, track your journey, give weather alerts, tell you the number of daylight hours, driving directions, nearby services. For emergencies there are applications that will send off your location via email, sms, and phone at the push of a button. With the right apps you can update your position to an online map so family member trying to track you down can get your last known location with ease. Also you can carry much more comprehensive maps in electronic format than is physically feasible.

Worth having IMHO. It's almost worth it to have a spare and a way of charging them. YMMV

Most phones these days even let you use the flash as a flashlight. :)
 
ThriftyJoe said:
Lots of guys carry just a compass in their kit for a day hike and don't bother to print out a map. Heck I used to do it. Is that half a plan?
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I think it depends a lot on the type of terrain, and how well you know it.
 
Thankfully I grew up before all these devices became so important to so many people. I would hate to think that I was betting my navigating/orienteering (possibly survival) on a battery.
 
Yes, I learned to navigate in unfamiliar terrain with no map. And with no compass. I am not an expert at it like some are, but I have done it adequately for years. It is best to have a general knowledge of the terrain, but most of the places I have traveled are tree covered so sighting landmarks is not often possible. The swamps of South Arkansas is one example. But if you try, you can generally figure out rough compass headings.
 
ThriftyJoe said:
But can you navigate with no map or visible familiar landmarks, with just a compass?
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Yes it can be done. The trick is to be aware of how you got there in the first place. If you were blind folded and dropped into a forest with just a compass it wouldn't work but if you are actually aware of your bearing as you move in, it's not all that difficult to get out. I very rarely take a map unless I'm doing a long hike. I wouldn't recommend it though.;)
 
You can navigate using
-the sun and stars,
-a compass and map,
-a conventional GPS and map, or
-a Smartphone that combines the GPS and map for you

You can start a fire by
-rubbing two sticks together,
-or you could use a flint and steel,
-a match, or
-a lighter

You could communicate using
-your voice,
-hand signals,
-smoke signals,
-snail mail,
-land lines, or
-wireless radio

My point is that using a more effective tool is not inherently wrong as long as you understand the steps in the progression. Being able to use the low tech alternative is important but you should not shun the high tech solution just for being high tech. Just don't rely solely on the high tech solution.
 
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