Mapping With I Pad/Android Workshop.

Hi Folks,
For some time now I have been lurking around the edges of this technology for research and mapping purposes with a view to purchasing either an I Pad or Android pad.This would require quite a few hard earned $$$$$ to set up and a very steep learning curve to get up to speed with GIS and mapping software and the various types of files involved.
It would be a pretty fair bet that other members could well have a similar interest and like myself be somewhat challenged on how and where to start; this brings me to the reason for this post.
Would there be sufficient numbers of members within striking distance of say the Lower Hunter to make a workshop on the above tech stuff worthwhile? Obviously we would require a couple of members as mentors/tutors who have a working knowledge of the various aspects to the hardware/software required and who would be prepared to give up their time on the day.
To start the ball rolling could we get some idea of those members interested in this type of system, if the numbers stack up OK and and a couple of tutors can put their hand up we could possibly find a location and a date prior to the start of the cooler months and the start of the prospecting season.
Perhaps Nugget might like to comment on the idea and be able to add further ideas.
Cheers, SinHof.

I would love to attend something like this in Melbourne.

I know how to use most of them, let me know if any help is needed.

DD

I used to use Oziexplorer when I worked for Defence some years back but you cant get it for the Ipad yet. Memory Map seems to work ok

Hi Diggerdude,
Thank you for the offer to share your skills with this tech stuff, we will have to wait a while to see how many people are interested before we can move forward.From what I have read on the subject it can be a very powerful tool to use both at home prior to a trip and more importantly in the field, lets hope we get enough starters to make the workshop a reality.
Cheers, SinHof.

SinHof,
As we do when another member asks a question of us, I checked your profile and as I`ve used Oziexplorer on PC & more recently on a android phone since Ozi was produced, your thread interests me greatly. Saving gold finds to a mapping program such as Ozi has helped me locate more and as now I`m getting on in age thus memory not what it was, revisiting old waypoints with the Z has really added to finds. To me over the years having such a database of finds is as important as having a top notch detector.

Just wondering how you have progressed in this direction?

Hi Norvic,
Mate my original post on this subject was way, way back, there was little or no interest in the idea of a workshop on the subject so it drifted off and came to nothing. Since then I have purchased a Garmin Montana 650T GPS and run that in conjunction with Basecamp, Garmin's propriety software program on PC and laptop. To date the system works quit well for my current requirements, next year a couple of us are planing on doing a lot more exploring into some rough country, mostly on foot, it will be interesting to see how well the GPS/Basecamp performs in terms of mapping and waypoints, should be OK from previous experience.
Cheers, SinHof.

Yeah, I noted the date, I too have recently purchased a couple of Garmin Rino 750s, mainly because son is getting a wee worried about his old fella when we prospect together, the UHF radio polling feature is a safe way of us knowing where we are. Basecamp looks OK but not in the league of Oziexplorer- Android phone combination. Is good to have a geo map in pocket(on droid phone) showing your location plus old finds in relation to geo features whilst prospecting.

I also have noted that there is not a lot of interest amongst most prospectors re GPS-Mapping combinations mostly the GPS is used for safety but have found it is far more, a very powerful tool. Many thanks for reply.

For those interested I use a GARMIN eTrex 30 to record my meanderings and overlay the track on google earth. I also download Google Earth placemarks of my "places of interest" aka POI's to the eTrex prior to my outing so i can confidently walk to them. The same POI's are downloaded onto a pdf topomap on my iPhone and viewed in Avensis PDF Maps app. This works for me so far.

The screen grab image records 2 separate trips to the same general location on private property. The red arrows relate to notes concerning the location.

Who has spotted the old puddler?

Casper