Navigation

[MattM37]

Always been fascinated by people navigating with the stars -- I can't get my mind around that at all. Out of all the achievements and "progress" of mankind, I think figuring out navigation takes the prize.

I do pretty well with map and compass, not that I'm very often anyplace where I really need to navigate. I've never used GPS.

Are you often in places where you have to navigate, and what's your usual method(s)?

[FirstBubba]

Never been much of a "navigator".
If it weren't for roadmaps, I'd never go anywhere! LOL!

I had a 16 foot run-a-bout.
In the main body of Lake Palestine, there was a huge floating log that seemed to never move. If you didn't know "where" it was, it could get ugly, quickly!
One evening about dusky dark, headed for the boat ramp at the dam.
I noted when I came into the main body of the lake, I could line up with the lights on the spill way and head straight for them.
Then you watched for the lights in the boat ramp parking lot.
When the two west lights lined up into one light, I would line up with those two lights. The floating log was about 100 yards to starboard.
Cut power to about half throttle and when you could actually "see" the dock, kick it onto neutral.
A little judicious R, N, and F and bring it along side the dock.
Don't ask me to navigate any other part of the lake on the dark! LOL!

[PigHunter]

Good question. As a kid, I started out using the sun's position and general time of day for navigation in the woods. Of course memorizing terrain features played a big part too. We had explored much of the woods around home and developed mental maps of the relationships of hills and drainages. That helped in guessing proper off-trail direction. Hunting opossums at night provided it's own challenge and memorizing terrain features was critical.

As a teen, I self-taught how to use map and a compass. That's all I had in the early days of hunting public land. There were several times I was in error but always figured out the right route without getting lost. There's been a few times I've driven using the sun as a reference when deciding to make a turn onto another road.

In 1999, I purchased the newly released Magellan GPS 315 handheld unit. I was a travelling salesman at the time and used it to help navigate to customer sites. It was a simple unit without road or topo maps but could store waypoints and have tracking. My rule of thumb was driving distance roughly equaled 1.2x straight-line distance. I used the unit for hunting, getting to my favorite spots in the dark without having to use trail markers. For boating, it was great for backtracking to the landing in the dark by helping to stay in the deeper part of the river channel.

Around 2003, I upgraded to a Magellan SporTrac because of the built-in maps. That unit proved to be very useful and I had fun using it in the car as well as for hunting. That's what I used in 2010 for hiking in Southern California.

In the mid 2000's I started using dedicated Garmin units for car navigation. Every so often I'll upgrade models and all three vehicles have one. We use them around town and for travel. I carried one to St. Croix in 2016 for use in the rental Jeep, having pre-programmed waypoints beforehand.

In 2011, I purchased a Garmin Foretrex 301 wrist worn unit. It's a simple device with limited functionality and no maps. But I really like the small packaging and ease of use. I've used it for basic navigation, as a speedometer, and as an odometer. That's my main means of navigation when hunting, hiking, and canoeing.

In the last three years I've started using my cell phone and apps for some navigation in the car as well as in the field as a secondary device. Using the GPS function is a power hog so it's not the best for long days in the woods unless you also carry a means of charging on the go.

[jhjimbo]

PH, there is new battery tech coming soon. It will give a Tesla 600mi range and recharge in less than 10min. It is called S.A.T. A basic EV is expected to cost about $15,000. Good time to buy some copper stock. The tech. will be used in everything.

My Navigation in my Grand Cherokee has a sexy voice that will tell you when to turn, ect.

In the woods remember, the moss grows on the north side of the tree.

[jhjimbo]

I took a course in boat handling and seamanship. It was broken down in sections and one was celestial navigation. Once you get into it it all makes sense. The Organization is 'United States Power Squadron'. I was their youngest member at 17 and was actually teaching some of the subjects.
This is a pic. of my Fathers boat.
Many times in the Great Lakes we would navigate from 150 to 300 miles going from all day to night. Night was nice as the buoy you need to find was usually lighted. My Father, Mother and Me would each plot a course and then average the three compass headings and usually come right out on the mark. Not bad for a 200 mile or more trip without seeing land marks. When working up a course you had to go from map compass rose, to magnetic course and then calculate deviation to get to actual compass course There is always deviation that has to be figured and east is subtracted and west is added. That is printed on the map and changes slightly every year.
We would travel a 1,000 to 2500 miles a year in the Great Lakes and St Lawrence. The St Lawrence is interesting as it has many ''range" markers. They are big structures on land that when lined up would indicate the channel. One might be a christmas tree the other a cross and when superimposed one on the other you were on the channel.
In the pic, when the stripe of another one is lined up you were on the channel.
The Ocean boats have a strict speed limit - I believe is was 3.7 knots 'over the bottom' if one was too fast the Coast Guard would call them to slow down.




District 6 Home Page (uspsd6.org)

[bowhunter75richard]

I do not use any form of directional guidance, and so I probably also do not need to say that I have been lost more than once. But I really do not like to refer to it as lost, I just didn’t know where I was a few times. I have heard about onx and how wonderful it is and that it can even validate where your trek took you if proof is needed. Just how does that system work ?

[PigHunter]

I do not use any form of directional guidance, and so I probably also do not need to say that I have been lost more than once. But I really do not like to refer to it as lost, I just didn’t know where I was a few times. I have heard about onx and how wonderful it is and that it can even validate where your trek took you if proof is needed. Just how does that system work ?

Ditto. I don't like calling it lost - it's more like I'm just temporarily turned around.

I've never heard of the ONX app so looked it up for more info. It's interesting but there's not much at 1st glance on their web site. It warrants more research.

I used 'HuntStand' when in a lease 2018 / 2019 but wasn't all that excited about it. But it did show property lines. The app I use most is 'US Topo Maps Pro' which can be operational even without cell coverage.

[rock rat]

Lost? In the US? Just walk in one direction a few miles.

[FirstBubba]

Where I am in Oklahoma, getting lost is an exercise in futility! LOL!

Pre 1904 land rush, the countryside was laid out in townships and sections.
You may find a few blind sections, but you CAN NOT get over 1/2 mile from a road. Even if you ARE lost!

[bowhunter75richard]

https://youtu.be/Cp3bCRpro8I


part 2 of ONX tutorial. There are more parts if you want google them.

Thanks Danbo. Boy, there is a bunch of info to absorb in there. Very interesting as to what one can do with this app ! Might take some time to learn all the features, but well worth it !

[rock rat]

Actually it's spelled onX, kind of like how it's pronounced on-ex. Get the one that inserts into a GPS rather than the phone download. Phones run out of battery quickly when used as a GPS. Subscriptions lapse after a year. You don't need cell coverage to use the GPS feature on your phone or your GPS, but it's much better to go ahead and spend the 3 or 4 hundred for the GPS and the hundred or so for the onX chip. The amount of $ you guys spend on guns that end up spending their lives inside a safe you'd do better to get familiar with GPS.

[PigHunter]

PH, there is new battery tech coming soon. It will give a Tesla 600mi range and recharge in less than 10min. It is called S.A.T. A basic EV is expected to cost about $15,000. Good time to buy some copper stock. The tech. will be used in everything.

My Navigation in my Grand Cherokee has a sexy voice that will tell you when to turn, ect.

In the woods remember, the moss grows on the north side of the tree.

Jim, waiting on new battery tech is the best reason to postpone getting an EV. For now I'll just stick with my gas burners.

I'd use my cell phone more for hunting navigation if the batteries are greatly improved.

My Garmin car GPS has selectable voices but most of the time I keep it in silent mode and just monitor the display. I use a weighted dash mount in the middle, just under the rearview mirror. The GPS speedometer is often more accurate than that of the car.

[jhjimbo]

This new technology will just about put the gasoline industry out of business. They estimate a basic EV will cost about $15.000. If the electric for the 10 min charge is not too much, gas can not compete. States should not abandon their coal, natural gas and nuclear plants too soon.
BP is a big investor in the technology if that tells you something.

[jhjimbo]

Lost? In the US? Just walk in one direction a few miles.

About 50 miles in the Adirondacks if you happen to go the wrong direction. There have been pilots who had to bail out lost for days that would walk right across a back road and go right into the woods on the other side. Luckily, one guy that did that was seen and rescued.

[DakotaMan]

I took the same Power Squadron course that Jimbo did and it is a good one. I have relied on it in the great lakes, the gulf and both oceans on our coast. It works great. In big timber country I rely on terrain maps and a compass and I carry a whistle just in case. I don't hunt big country without a compass. The whistle lasts a lot longer than my lungs would if I ever need to signal for help. The whistle I supplied them has been instrumental in rescues a few times in the hands of rookies who got lost while we were hunting big country.

I've had great experiences with onboard satellite GPS navigation as long as I was able to maintain a signal (forget it in deep forests with overhead trees blocking the signal). It works great on the seas and across the eastern part of the U.S. I don't count on it in the big country of the Rocky Mountain wilderness. It is usually the overhead canopy that blocks signals. For those accustomed to cell phone navigation, you can forget that in the wild west because there is no cell signal.

I really never got into navigating by the stars because I prefer to stay put at night so I don't run into floating debris on the water or step off a cliff in the outback. My plan is to just sit tight til daylight but I've never actually had to do it. I did have a friend who prided himself on his night navigation skills. We both almost had our heads taken off when he hit a buoy that had broken loose and was floating in the middle of nowhere. It literally came over the bow hit the windshield and bounced over our heads at about 40 mph.