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GoTenna


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Just read an article discussing tech available when out for a hike and it mentioned GoTenna, which makes texting and sharing GPS locations available even without a mobile signal. Just wondering if anyone here has used this and what their experience with it was like.

 

Looks like it only allows communication with someone else who is hooked up to another GoTenna, but it seems like a useful tool.

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Just read an article discussing tech available when out for a hike and it mentioned GoTenna, which makes texting and sharing GPS locations available even without a mobile signal. Just wondering if anyone here has used this and what their experience with it was like.

 

Looks like it only allows communication with someone else who is hooked up to another GoTenna, but it seems like a useful tool.

Does this require each user to sign up for an account? With a wifi-only phone, I'd be offline for sure, and if I hand the other GoTenna to a friend at an Event, it's best that he can have at least some basic functionality (text message and coords?) without requiring him to get an account. Otherwise, as mentioned, I'd get by with radios.

 

One review said they had a typical range of 3 miles. Pretty good!

 

If all phones in the group have data communication, the Android caching App "NeonGeo" (and probably a bunch of other Apps) can send a location signal right from the App, to others in the group if they all have that App. Nice if the group is spread out. But these things all probably drain the battery as fast as you can charge it.

Edited by kunarion
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Just read an article discussing tech available when out for a hike and it mentioned GoTenna, which makes texting and sharing GPS locations available even without a mobile signal. Just wondering if anyone here has used this and what their experience with it was like.

 

Looks like it only allows communication with someone else who is hooked up to another GoTenna, but it seems like a useful tool.

Does this require each user to sign up for an account? With a wifi-only phone, I'd be offline for sure, and if I hand the other GoTenna to a friend at an Event, it's best that he can have at least some basic functionality (text message and coords?) without requiring him to get an account. Otherwise, as mentioned, I'd get by with radios.

 

One review said they had a typical range of 3 miles. Pretty good!

 

If all phones in the group have data communication, the Android caching App "NeonGeo" (and probably a bunch of other Apps) can send a location signal right from the App, to others in the group if they all have that App. Nice if the group is spread out. But these things all probably drain the battery as fast as you can charge it.

 

locus and oruxmaps have live tracking, with public and private "rooms" to access each other's locations. I'm using it now to track my kids as they run errands. it used very little data, and ping frequencies can be set from 5 sec to thirty minutes or whatever. i use it to track the wife/kids when they go to the beach, or i go to the woods. if there is a place without cellular connectivity (rare) at least the general location will be known.

 

the antenna being advertised here sounds pretty cool, since it just uses Bluetooth connect to phones. ble blue tooth low energy is pretty efficient. i would worry about battery loss at all.

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Moderator note: this is perilously close to advertising for a company selling a product that's not actually geocaching related. That runs afoul of a whole bunch of rules posted at the top of this group that you agreed to and that I'm too tired at this hour to quote but that you can probably guess.

 

Please direct discussions that aren't related to geocaching to that company's sales force or forum or whatever so we can keep this group focused on geocaching tech. Thank you.

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Moderator note: this is perilously close to advertising for a company selling a product that's not actually geocaching related. That runs afoul of a whole bunch of rules posted at the top of this group that you agreed to and that I'm too tired at this hour to quote but that you can probably guess.

 

Please direct discussions that aren't related to geocaching to that company's sales force or forum or whatever so we can keep this group focused on geocaching tech. Thank you.

 

uses:

communication between orienteering/hiking/biking/caching/contest groups

sending coords back to camp to verify completion of a task

sending coords back to camp and asking a question

sending camp a text "need help, twisted ankle!"

and tons more uses ! if everything no stamped with geocaching's corporate logo was eliminated, the forum would be deader n dead, and no one would know how to cache without a map/compass.

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Moderator note: this is perilously close to advertising for a company selling a product that's not actually geocaching related. That runs afoul of a whole bunch of rules posted at the top of this group that you agreed to and that I'm too tired at this hour to quote but that you can probably guess.

 

Please direct discussions that aren't related to geocaching to that company's sales force or forum or whatever so we can keep this group focused on geocaching tech. Thank you.

 

uses:

communication between orienteering/hiking/biking/caching/contest groups

sending coords back to camp to verify completion of a task

sending coords back to camp and asking a question

sending camp a text "need help, twisted ankle!"

and tons more uses ! if everything no stamped with geocaching's corporate logo was eliminated, the forum would be deader n dead, and no one would know how to cache without a map/compass.

One thing that would be pretty cool, is using it as a waypoint beacon (like a Chirp with a 3-mile range), if it works this way. And if it's legal to broadcast it like that. If not, maybe it could send the signal at particular times. Cachers could otherwise be off-grid, and the transmitter just needs power and a safe location (forest ranger's office or whatever). So it could provide coords and info about a waypoint, for a multi-cache. I have a Chirp with an alternate method of getting the coords, in case the Chirp won't work, and this could be set up in a similar fashion.

 

This particular product would need a way to allow any cachers to connect to it. So if it only works with a matched hardware set, or if each cacher needs to connect and set up a "GoTenna" account before starting, it's not as good as a beacon, unless the hardware is provided for the hunt. Or drop that whole idea, and set up a local web server on wifi.

Edited by kunarion
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