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Cellphone for detecting - apps/camera/saftey ?

TCosbyJr

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Jun 3, 2012
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I figured this had to be the best area to post this thread. If not mods feel free to move it.

I guess I just joined the rest of social society and finally purchased a cellphone and service, a reconditioned Samsung Galaxy with a no contract unlimited Straight Talk plan (arrives Monday). I've had iPhones (3 and 4) in the past when I had to have a phone, but it always seems a iOS update either kills the battery or apps are no longer updatable so I jumped ship.

Anyway I got the Galaxy as my family likes the safety aspect of me having a phone with me, and made me take one of theirs when I left usually. :roll: Sadly it is a sign of the times in that aspect, or so they tell me. Anyway I saw that KellyCo is doing some game using a app and it got me thinking.

What can the cellphone do in our hobby?

I know it can take pictures or video in the field, finds, and such goodies (mine is a 13 MP camera); however, are there any good Android apps for it? Maybe something for mapping/gridding an area, GPS tracking, or other goods? With a variety of aspects in our hobby, and re-purposing other things, I figured there had to be hidden gems it can do. I so far have found onX for maps at $30 a year for one state which might be worthwhile.

I thought if I have to pack the dang thing around I might as well turn it into a useful metal detecting tool as well and would appreciate any tips or recommendations. :yes:
 
I would recommended Tapatalk App for reading and posting comments and pictures to the forums. It makes it easy to keep up with several forums and posting pictures is easy too.

Cliff
 
There are some metal detecting apps that will help you grid and log pictures and locations. I used a couple but some of them were stuck as beta releases and never improved on. I honestly found it easier to run a Garmin and log it all on my laptop.
 
I would recommended Tapatalk App for reading and posting comments and pictures to the forums. It makes it easy to keep up with several forums and posting pictures is easy too.

Cliff

Thanks Cliff. I had my wife install it to show me on her iPhone and it looks like it will be good to pass time with if I am out somewhere too.

There are some metal detecting apps that will help you grid and log pictures and locations. I used a couple but some of them were stuck as beta releases and never improved on. I honestly found it easier to run a Garmin and log it all on my laptop.

Great, but too bad many are abandoned projects. I have a handheld Garmin I was hoping the cellphone could replace, at least in cell signal areas. The Garmin has been great and I've been able to pull off the plots/coordinates and overlay on Google maps and Earth before. I'll have to play around and see if either will help. Much like keeping a highly detailed log of finds seems great to me, but after a few hunts each year I tend to lose all interest entering all the data to do it. :lol:

I use OnX for property owners.

Nice to see a actual user of it. I saw the property aspects as a great use, and as it does live maps perhaps it could help in gridding or keeping me on track too.

I know it has map tools and can import/export to a PC, have you tried out those features? If so how were they (especially the import/export)? I will have to try their free trial and see but sounds ideal.
 
Pics of course.

Magnification app to help ID a crusty smooth copper.

Back Country Navigator app to get to remote sites and not get lost.

One Touch location app so my wife can find my dead body if I step in an old well or fall off a cliff.

Messenger app so I can instantly text a pic of a cool find to detecting friends to make the jealous.
 
Pics of course.

Magnification app to help ID a crusty smooth copper.

Back Country Navigator app to get to remote sites and not get lost.

One Touch location app so my wife can find my dead body if I step in an old well or fall off a cliff.

Messenger app so I can instantly text a pic of a cool find to detecting friends to make the jealous.


Hopefully you stay within cell phone coverage, since all of these would need it. Many phones actually rely on their cell signals to help the internal GPS. If you're just in need of an emergency beacon, there are hundreds of options for pocket size devices that can just send a ping to an emergency network with your location.
 
Having the garmin and then using my laptop really is nice. In the field I tag a find, type in a real short description (MB, RB, knife, etc) and move on. Then about once a week or so, I will download the GPS data to my laptop. I also make use of the different icons to give me a general idea of my finds over a location. It also helps with my wooded areas to locate trails and positions that match up to old maps. I have a screenshot of it below. Another perk is being able to set points I want to make sure I hit when I get to my location, I can set up boundaries for properties, even plot out max range around where I find piles of fired minie balls.

 
Pics of course.

Magnification app to help ID a crusty smooth copper.

Back Country Navigator app to get to remote sites and not get lost.

One Touch location app so my wife can find my dead body if I step in an old well or fall off a cliff.

Messenger app so I can instantly text a pic of a cool find to detecting friends to make the jealous.

Many thanks Jeff you got me sold that the cellphone will help. I must admit the idea of being tied to another bill, and feeling a loss of freedom (able to be reached anywhere/anytime) had me avoiding a phone in recent years.

Of course though I will still do that, when I am out detecting I will not be bothered. I will mute my phone or at least ignore it and blame it on the headphones. :lol:

Hopefully you stay within cell phone coverage, since all of these would need it. Many phones actually rely on their cell signals to help the internal GPS. ...

A bit of digging about cellphones and GPS, and indeed cellphones work without cell towers just like any GPS device. Awesome! Also great news as my older Garmin can't compete screen wise or interacting as a smartphone does. Article here, and quote below...

To clarify a common misconception: You do NOT need WiFi or Cellular connection for your smartphone GPS to work. Even in Airplane Mode, your smartphone will communicate with GPS Satellites to get your location, just the same as a conventional handheld GPS like a Garmin. That is, your smartphone has a built-in antenna and GPS chip for getting your location from GPS satellites. But for this to work with your maps (e.g. plot your location on map), you DO need to pre-download maps to your App for it to work properly in the backcountry.

That's not to say depending on the location the cellphone/GPS antenna may be adequate in bad reception areas. Garmin sells a device called the Garmin Glo to send the GPS data via Bluetooth to cellphones to fix that. A marriage of both technologies for sure.

Having the garmin and then using my laptop really is nice. In the field I tag a find, type in a real short description (MB, RB, knife, etc) and move on. Then about once a week or so, I will download the GPS data to my laptop. I also make use of the different icons to give me a general idea of my finds over a location. It also helps with my wooded areas to locate trails and positions that match up to old maps. I have a screenshot of it below. Another perk is being able to set points I want to make sure I hit when I get to my location, I can set up boundaries for properties, even plot out max range around where I find piles of fired minie balls.

Very nice, glad to hear it works great for you. I am hoping to do something similar with the larger areas I hope to detect soon.

A few are all but abandoned ghost towns, I already had permission too for nearly the whole town. I didn't find much with a quick trip a few years ago when I discovered them, but some great potential especial with a new detector (F75) and a way to track the areas.

Research is great but tracking down the owners and getting permission seems to be a much larger task. I've found the original fairgrounds of my city/county as it moved in the early 1900s, main roads that changed, abandoned neighborhoods due to floods, the location of the large railway station terminal in the 1800s, etc, but many seem to be impossible to track the owner or are tied up in various estates or trusts. That is another topic for another time though.
 
The app you are looking for is called Tect O Trak

Totdem-768x644.png


Find out more about it here:-

http://historyhunters.co.uk/tectotrak

I am a metal detectorist from England and the developer of the app. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. :cool:
 
I figured this had to be the best area to post this thread. If not mods feel free to move it.

I guess I just joined the rest of social society and finally purchased a cellphone and service, a reconditioned Samsung Galaxy with a no contract unlimited Straight Talk plan (arrives Monday). I've had iPhones (3 and 4) in the past when I had to have a phone, but it always seems a iOS update either kills the battery or apps are no longer updatable so I jumped ship.

Anyway I got the Galaxy as my family likes the safety aspect of me having a phone with me, and made me take one of theirs when I left usually. :roll: Sadly it is a sign of the times in that aspect, or so they tell me. Anyway I saw that KellyCo is doing some game using a app and it got me thinking.

What can the cellphone do in our hobby?

I know it can take pictures or video in the field, finds, and such goodies (mine is a 13 MP camera); however, are there any good Android apps for it? Maybe something for mapping/gridding an area, GPS tracking, or other goods? With a variety of aspects in our hobby, and re-purposing other things, I figured there had to be hidden gems it can do. I so far have found onX for maps at $30 a year for one state which might be worthwhile.

I thought if I have to pack the dang thing around I might as well turn it into a useful metal detecting tool as well and would appreciate any tips or recommendations. :yes:

I keep pdf copies of my detector user manuals.
 
The app you are looking for is called Tect O Trak

Find out more about it here:-

http://historyhunters.co.uk/tectotrak

I am a metal detectorist from England and the developer of the app. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. :cool:

Awesome! Yes that looks great and what I am wanting. Google told me my account is not associated with a compatible device when trying to buy it, so I have to wait for my phone to be delivered. I thought I'd have it waiting to be installed. :D

Your app looks like a vastly improved version of something I tried to do with a old Garmin GPS connected to a PalmPilot Color's serial port years ago. Yes it was as crude as it sounds and I gave up on it after a few test runs. :laughing:

No questions at the moment as I see it does backup and restores, along with exporting XML files for Google Earth. I watched the video and it looks great! Now I just need to get a USB power bank/quick charger for my phone so I can keep detecting.

I keep pdf copies of my detector user manuals.

A good idea too. I have no doubt I'll have a question with my new machine, even after using it for a bit before setting out.
 
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