tvanwho Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 Trouble for me is my brain is thinking in the slow lane as I will be hitting the 60 year old mark soon. Heck, I got lost repeatedly in Phoenix as soon as I got out of my parents driveway a few years back. It was rather embarassing. Even my father noticed and my 75 year old mothers memory was 10x as sharp as my feeble memory ability at 58. Simple is defintely better for me now,as in metal detectors ,GPS,and cell phones,computers. Yes, the old KISS rule along with Murphys Law I always remind myself of these days. Life was definitely easier back in the days of analog knobs, switches,meters on our gizmos and fewer options to choose from...maybe thats why the GoldBug 2 is still around as its easy to operate and still gets the small gold? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredmason Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 for marking your car or find locations all you need is the basic Garmin etrex...so simple even I can use it... I carry a very small camera, the etrex is small and they are both off until I need them... fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget65 Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Glad this topic came up ...I've been looking into a little handheld gps ... Been using my phone but even with a ottorbox its still taking an ass whoopin.. Was looking at the etrex but don't really know much about them... I've gotten lost a few times and its alittle scary around my parts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flakmagnet Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Hi Fred, I agree and etrex is all you need, they are very good units. I am pushing 'way past the ages mentioned here. I don't think anyone should let their age stop them from learning and using a gps. It will certainly make their detecting experience easier and it's not hard to learn. I agree with those who say it is important to mark your vehicle if you are in a new area. People who don't do that many times wind up doing a ton of unnecessary hiking. Again, this is a simple thing to do with a gps and once you do it you will see what a luxury it is not to have to worry about how to get back to base. fwiw 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimgior Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Buy a used smartphone and load Back Country Navigator via wifi. you can save topo maps that work offline, claim boundries and tracks to the claim - for a lot less than buying a gps. Also you can load a find-my-car app too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flakmagnet Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Jimgior, that's pretty much what I have come down to these days too. Back Country Navigator is cool. That and an app like 'Find My Car' has made a gps in many situations, unnecessary. While we're sort of talking about smartphones, has anyone noticed any interference with the 7000 and a smartphone? Curious… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norvic Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Not noticed any interference with the smartphone and GPZ as yet, have my smartphone in top left hand pocket only couple of inches from WM12, got to keep any metal away from right hand side when retrieving those smallies that's for sure. GPS data is as important to my prospecting as the detector, especially as memory deteriorates with age. Now with most GPSs being capable of transferring to and from the PC with USB it is far more convenient and accurate to when one had to do it manually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasong Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Concealed carry/tactical shirts are great in tandem with a cellphone or GPS. They have quick access velcro or plastic zippered breast pockets that keep the device from falling in the water or into your diggings and its real easy to pull them out and look at them without interfering with the harness or a hydration pack since the pockets face inwards and not upwards. I haven't noticed cell interference, but the Z will start talking on channel 20 or 22 (forgot which one) on a radio if you get radio within a few inches of the Z control box so talking on that channel might also interfere with the Z. It also interferes with my pinpointer (or vice versa) unless they are about 4-5 feet apart. BCN is awesome, I just record every excursion I take and export to KMZ and look at all my tracks on Google Earth, annotate them, and find those little hidden washes I always missed somehow or avoid backtracking over past unproductive sites. It's not accurate enough for final gridding but it is accurate enough to find little 10'x10' islands of missed land within large patches and humans being humans we all tend to walk similar paths and miss those exact same little patches and they can hide some nice stuff in plain view of real hammered places occasionally. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvanwho Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 So, are those Bushnell Track Back mini GPS units any good? I think they are around $60 and have up to 3 tracks with a Compass pointer. Maybe I could handle one of those and at least get back to my car. Heck, I was in the woods in Missouri years ago, metal detecting around this old Civil War era hotel foundation. We were told it was supposedly haunted and night was falling. I looked up and my 2 buddys had both left the area and needless to say, I was getting a mite scared. I sat down a minute as panic was setting in and thought it out and remembered the trailer we were staying at was at the top of the hill I was on, so I hiked up the wooded slope until I hit a dirt road finally and the trailer was close, whew....no GPs back in them days, only a compass, and most people that I know ,including me, haven't the brains to use one of those either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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