Last Post 29 Apr 2021 11:07 AM by  Mike Davis
Handheld GPS
 5 Replies
Author Messages
Mark Taylor
Greenhorn
Greenhorn
Posts:12



--
28 Apr 2021 11:50 AM
    I have been working with getting the claim boundaries loaded into an iPhone. Frustrating, to say the least. I have finally figured out all the steps to make it happen but wondered what others use to keep from wander outside the boundaries of a claim?

    I tried making a map at maps.google.com and saving it in Drive, then trying to open it in my cell. No go.
    I tried emailing myself a link to the shared map. No go.
    I tried to export the kml and email the file to myself. No go.
    I installed Google Earth and open the kml as a project. No go.

    A lot of failures before I was successful, and not sure I actually remember how I did it...


    So, what do most people use? Is it easier than, or better than, importing the claim boundaries into your iPhone? What are the pros and cons?


    (If anyone wants a procedure to get it into an iPhone I'll post here, but I suspect I am the last to know this tidbit of information...)



    Mark
    Jeffrey Gray
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:16



    --
    28 Apr 2021 12:21 PM
    I’d love to know how to do it. Thank you. iPhone 11
    Mark Taylor
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:12



    --
    28 Apr 2021 01:16 PM
    There simply has to be another way, simpler way of doing this...

    Using a desktop computer in the comfort of your own home...
    Go to maps.google.com and log in with your Google account.
    Click on the menu (three horizontal lines) to the left of the search input area. Select 'Your Places'
    Click on 'Maps'
    At the bottom, click on 'Create Map' and it opens a new tab.
    Look in the Mining Guide and find the claim you want to map.
    Locate the numbered or directional GPS corners of the claim.
    (Using Little Georgia in San Juan County, Colorado)
    Enter the NW corner in the search area like this:
    37 47 27.764, -107 40 3.899
    Press enter or click the magnifying glass icon.
    It will drop a pin on the map.
    Click 'Add to Map'
    Click 'Save'
    Click the edit icon that looks like a pencil.
    Change the label to 'NW' (or whatever you want. Numbers, etc. I match the Mining Guide labels.)
    Click 'Save'
    Enter each corner of the claim this way.
    Click 'Individual Styles' and change it to 'Uniform Style'
    Click on any point you made earlier.
    Click the Style icon that looks like a paint bucket.
    Select 'More Icons' and select a small point.
    All of your dropped pins should all change to small dots.
    Click on the Icon to Draw a line and select 'Draw a line or shape'
    Outline the claim with a line and save it.
    Zoom in at each point and make sure the line is consistent with each point.
    At the top click on 'Untitled Map' and change it to the Claim Name, County, State, whatever you want.
    Click the three dots to the right of the name and select 'Export to KML/KMZ'
    It pops up a selection. I leave the 'Entire Map' selected, and tick 'Export as KML instead of KMZ...' then click 'Download'
    Save it to your computer.
    Email the resultant .kml file to your iPhone email account. (I actually have to email it to the same account so that my iPhone will now see it.)

    Install Google Earth onto your iPhone. It is a free App in the App Store.
    Open your mail program on your iPhone and open the email.
    Click on the attached .kml file.
    My gmail account displays the raw kml data in the screen.
    At the top right there is the 'Send To' icon (looks like a box with an arrow starting at the center of the box going upwards)
    Click that and send it to Google Earth.

    You will now see your claim outlined in the google earth display.
    Be sure location services are on for google earth at least while using the app and your location will be shown within the claim.

    Google Earth will be able to use the offline cache as long as you view the area that you are going while you have internet access, just prior to going there. Google 'using google earth offline' to learn about manipulating the offline cache. It's not too much of a pain as long as you go from claim to claim through an area with internet access to update your cache for the next claim.

    I'm by no means a tech wizard. If someone else provides another solution it will be certainly better that this and I'll feel like a fool spending all this time doing this. I have a Rino somewhere... Once I locate it I'm going to figure out how to enter claim boundaries in it. It's bound to be easier...


    Mark

    Doyle McCandless
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:23



    --
    28 Apr 2021 02:05 PM
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LZB4qX8r2xk

    This is a link to Gold Trails on You Tube by Kevin Hoagland. It is interactive mapping on Google Earth and you can outline the claim, see it in 3D, and print. Wife and I are leaving for Arizona in a couple of days and we are making maps of the claims we may possibly hit along our journey. As far as handheld GPS, we are using an app on the phone that is supposed to work like a GPS, we will see. If you get into a bind and need a good answer, then go to the forum of "Ask Kevin Hoagland". This man is a tower of information and he is glad to share it. There are many members here that are willing to help, you just have to get their attention. I wish you both the best of luck. We will be posting on the claims we detect.

    Doyle
    GEROLD PERSONETT
    New Member
    New Member
    Posts:76



    --
    28 Apr 2021 02:56 PM
    I’m really old school and I don’t have a smart phone but I do use GPS. Here is how and what I do, I use Google Maps satellite image and type in the Mining Guide GPS coordinates, when I confirm the GPS coordinates and the claim layout I’ll copy the Google satellite image and save it using the Snip function on my computer, I use to print those images and take them with me and also a few close up images of the corners the boundaries and any reference markers I think that might help me stay orientated when I get to the claim, my kids bought me a small Fire computer thing so now they down load all those pictures to that now. But using GPS is the biggest help letting me know when I’m on the claim and how far away any boundaries may be and comparing them to my satellite claim maps. So far this has worked great for me, maybe it will work for someone else too.
    Mike Davis
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:3



    --
    29 Apr 2021 11:07 AM
    I haven't used GPS for claims, but I eventually might.

    But my suggestion is to use a "real" GPS. I have a Garmin Montana 700i, with iridium sattelite connection. The reason I got that is because I was out in the boondocks, in Montana last year, with my two small grandchildren, and my daughter lost contact with us for a day. She freaked out, fearing for the worse. No cell phone connections. No way to send track info to her. No way she could contact us.

    She actually called hospitals and calle d the state police and had them on the lookout for us.

    That was because I didn't have a real GPS. And what I did have, depended on a cell connection. So I got the 700i.

    That said, GPS will still work on an cell phone, but isn't nearly as easy to use as a real GPS, for real GPS purposes.

    With my GPS, I merely touch the map, and mark a waypoint. Then, I can set proximity alarms when I get near a waypoint. A real GPS also has the ability to track your steps, allowing you to go back to exactly the same position you were previously, even if it's years later (provided you save the track).

    Example: https://share.garmin.com/share/IPSCONE

    Go to to that link. The password is 5567. I will leave it password protected for a few days, then replace with image. It shows the kind of stuff you can do with real GPS>

    Good luck.


    ---