Simple app for recording end of day positions

[DryFlyHiker]

I am looking for a simple iPhone app that will allow me to record my position at the end of each day. I do NOT want to have to have my phone's GPS turned on all of the time. There are plenty of apps that record your every step but I don't want that. I want to be able to record my daily position and then once a week or so upload those positions so that my family can monitor my progress online. It would also be great if I could integrate my position into my Word Press blog.

I have been searching the web but everything I find seems to want the GPS to be turned on all of the time.

Thanks in advance for any help or guidance you can provide.

Rich

[johnspenn]

Seems like you could use just about any of those apps, and only turn on your location when you want to record it.

[Engine]

If your talking about a thru-hike on the AT, Guthooks guide will do it. There is an option to email or text you position directly from the app.

[Venchka]

If your talking about a thru-hike on the AT, Guthooks guide will do it. There is an option to email or text you position directly from the app.

That feature only works if you also have cell service as verified by me on the CDT in an area that was 50+ miles beyond cell coverage.
Paper and pencil has worked since shortly after the Stone Age.
A thought: a screen shot using the Guthook app. Hang on. I'll be back.
Wayne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Venchka]

I'm back. Guthook app, Airplane Mode, screen shot of my current location.

You're welcome.
Wayne


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[Engine]

With my Droid, if I send a text and don't have service, it will save the text until I get to an area with service and then send it on it's own. I don't know if all phones have that feature.

[Venchka]

I tried that with the Guthook text message feature on my iPhone 5s. My wife never got the messages. I'm not ruling out operator error.
Wayne


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[couscous]

I want to be able to record my daily position and then once a week or so upload those positions so that my family can monitor my progress online.

+1 for Guthook's AT Hiker - it also has the option to save your daily position (with comments if you choose) in a Note file that can be sent out when you have cell or wifi access.

[Alligator]

Seems like you could use just about any of those apps, and only turn on your location when you want to record it.

And maybe do this a time or two extra during the day to make sure you get a reading for the day in the event your end of day stop is out of service. Or skip that day or enter manually. Or possibly Venchka's method. I'm not sure when he went to airplane mode? Can you put the cursor on the map to a known location? Or did he get his position then turn on airplane mode?

[hikernutcasey]

If you are only looking for coordinates the factory installed compass app will give you that. Just take a screenshot of it and send when you have signal.

[couscous]

I'm not sure when he went to airplane mode? Can you put the cursor on the map to a known location? Or did he get his position then turn on airplane mode?

The iPhone/iPad GPS function continues to work in airplane mode, so with downloaded maps you don't need cell / wifi access until you want to transmit information. This allows Guthook's apps to include a Google Maps link along with the screen shot even when in airplane mode.

[Alligator]

If you are only looking for coordinates the factory installed compass app will give you that. Just take a screenshot of it and send when you have signal.

A compass just gives direction. Is the app's compass tied to the GPS of the phone? Or does one need to to shoot another bearing? I'm guessing the first answer (or it uses cellular triangulation or both). A phone compass uses the phones internal position sensors, whatever indicates tilting of the phone. The one I have on my android is like that at least, and the user typically has to calibrate it by waving it around.

[Alligator]

The iPhone/iPad GPS function continues to work in airplane mode, so with downloaded maps you don't need cell / wifi access until you want to transmit information. This allows Guthook's apps to include a Google Maps link along with the screen shot even when in airplane mode.

OK but what about Android? The app works for Android? What happens when you don't have a GPS signal? Not as unlikely as no cell service but possible.

[Alligator]

If you had any kind of image file for the map where you were located, you could just pull the image up in your gallery, drop a marker on it (with a basic phone picture editor), then screen shot it (or just save the new image) like Venchka did. As long as you knew where you were stopped for the night.

[TwoSpirits]

Even with my data turned off I am able to get a visual of my location on Google Maps, and also a reading of lat/long and elevation using my "GPS Plus" app. Then I'm able to take a screen shot and/or text the info to whomever. Never tried yet on the AT, but the phone's internal compass & GPS have proven accurate for me. (Samsung Galaxy S7)

[Leo L.]

On most of my hikes in more remote areas, I have the habit to take a foto of every campsite, just for to remember where and when it was (the sequence of the shots is as important as is the date and timestamp).
Every smartphone with GPS adds the GPS location to every shot - so why not simply take a picture of every campsite?

[HooKooDooKu]

OK but what about Android? The app works for Android? What happens when you don't have a GPS signal? Not as unlikely as no cell service but possible.

Yes, it works in Android too... and unless you are hidden from the sky, you're going to have a GPS signal.

However, when the phone is out of range from cell towers and WiFi signals, it can take a while for the phone to get location ONLY with GPS.

I used the Guthook App for the JMT last year. I kept my phone turned off except for when I wanted to get a GPS reading. It typically took 5 to 15 minutes for the phone to locate itself only using GPS each time I turned it on.

[Alligator]

Yes, it works in Android too... and unless you are hidden from the sky, you're going to have a GPS signal.

However, when the phone is out of range from cell towers and WiFi signals, it can take a while for the phone to get location ONLY with GPS.

I used the Guthook App for the JMT last year. I kept my phone turned off except for when I wanted to get a GPS reading. It typically took 5 to 15 minutes for the phone to locate itself only using GPS each time I turned it on.

You could be in a valley and have a blocked view of the satellites. I can check this on my Delorme GPS unit and I'm reading there are apps for checking which satellites are currently viewable on a phone. It's not often, but it is possible to be blocked from enough satellites to prevent getting your position while still being able to see the sky.

[Alligator]

Sorry for all the posts...Anyway it's a magnetic sensor used for the compass. On my S7 edge, it's calibrated by twisting the phone. If I turn off location, the GPS, the compass app no longer provides location. I hadn't messed around with it, the phone is relatively new.

[Leo L.]

... I kept my phone turned off except for when I wanted to get a GPS reading. It typically took 5 to 15 minutes for the phone to locate itself only using GPS each time I turned it on.

If your smartphone is really smart, it keeps kind of a map about which satellite is where and when, by this getting GPS position typically is a matter of seconds.
Older devices don't have this Feature so smart, or have it only by separate software, or by getting this data via Internet.