Suitable device/system/technology for recording and downloading locations (lat/long) of trees etc on our property

Forums › GPS, maps and mapping software › Suitable device/system/technology for recording and downloading locations (lat/long) of trees etc on our property

PeDa

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#279659 30-Oct-2020 16:23

Am wanting to create a database of plants at our place. Ideally we would be able to click on the device, store the lat/long and some descriptor of the plant, then download for use in other software.

Have been looking at a bunch of handheld gps garmins etc on trademe and slowly figuring out that some do not offer the lat/long format choices and have yet to find one that explains how to download a dump of the points once made.

Any recommendations? This is really to trial the useability of this approach given the accuracy problems we may encounter.

Appreciate any advice. next approach is to find some local trampers/geocachers who may be happy to show me what theirs can do (headed to Neighbourly)

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14 posts

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#2594053 30-Oct-2020 16:25

I have assumed that such devices would give me greater accuracy than smart phone and gMaps but happy to be told i am wrong

anatokidave

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#2594056 30-Oct-2020 16:29

IKE GPS ?

tchart

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#2594067 30-Oct-2020 16:54

anatokidave:
IKE GPS ?

Unless things have changed IKE requires post processing of GPS data to improve accuracy.

How accurate do you need it?

tchart

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#2594071 30-Oct-2020 17:06

If you don't care too much about accuracy I'd recommend something like Survey 123

https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-survey123/overview?rmedium=www_esri_com_EtoF&rsource=/en-us/arcgis/products/survey123/overview

PeDa

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#2594073 30-Oct-2020 17:06

IKE looks interesting but doesn't seem to add any extra to the GPS capability of the smart device it is partnered with.

In terms of accuracy, plants can be 1m apart for example. And we can cope with them being 4-5 m 'off' true provided they are reasonably consistently 'off'. We can make adjustments based on the satellite image layer we will use for 'truthing' this data.

On my quick, lets add some points on a GMap, that looks like we need something that will go to dd.mmmm or better dd.mmmmm accuracy (which may not be a helpful answer but looks like it gives us enough definition)

PeDa

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#2594074 30-Oct-2020 17:10

tchart: If you don't care too much about accuracy I'd recommend something like Survey 123

Interesting. "Full use of the app requires ArcGIS credentials." Guess I will have to see what 'non-full use' offers :-)

gregmcc

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#2594075 30-Oct-2020 17:10

GPS signal that is available to consumers is only accurate to 2-3m using your cellphone GPS or handheld GPSr at best, this can vary depending on cloud cover, signal reflection from large objects like tall building, big trees etc.

There are apps and on most GPSr's have an averaging feature that will given X amount of time in a spot will give around 1m accuracy.

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PeDa

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#2594077 30-Oct-2020 17:13

gregmcc:

There are apps and on most GPSr's have an averaging feature that will given X amount of time in a spot will give around 1m accuracy.

Thanks. I think 1m would be fine given i can easily pull the data on to a google map, tweak them over the sat image and the pull the corrected data out again.

Any suggestions of which Apps, or have i mis-read your comment.

gregmcc

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#2594078 30-Oct-2020 17:16

PeDa:

gregmcc:

There are apps and on most GPSr's have an averaging feature that will given X amount of time in a spot will give around 1m accuracy.

Thanks. I think 1m would be fine given i can easily pull the data on to a google map, tweak them over the sat image and the pull the corrected data out again.

Any suggestions of which Apps, or have i mis-read your comment.

None come to mind as I usually use the averaging feature on my GPSr, other than that GPS status on my phone has this has the accuracy listed in one of the corners

tchart

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#2594083 30-Oct-2020 17:48

PeDa:
tchart: If you don't care too much about accuracy I'd recommend something like Survey 123

Interesting. "Full use of the app requires ArcGIS credentials." Guess I will have to see what 'non-full use' offers :-)

You can just sign up for a developer account which is free. What they are referring to is that you can have public survey forms that don't require a login.

Survey 123 is actually pretty smart as you can configure it using Excel (form fields etc)

tchart

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#2594084 30-Oct-2020 17:51

Pretty sure survey 123 has GPS averaging.

Also hiking/consumer GPS devices aren't going to be any more accurate than your phone. Most phones support multiple constellations (GPS, Glonass) so you'll actually be surprised at how accurate it can be outdoors.

tchart

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#2594085 30-Oct-2020 17:52

Developer account sign up is here, this also serves as an ArcGIS login.

https://developers.arcgis.com/

PeDa

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#2594091 30-Oct-2020 18:18

@tchart - thanks - am diving deeper, but also distracted myself based on your idea of gps surveying by looking for some open source/free options and am trying to quickly digest this as an option: https://www.gislounge.com/free-field-survey-tools/ and https://inputapp.io/en/

ok well i do indeed have survey123 up and running and will give it a go when I get a chance over the weekend

SATTV

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#2594092 30-Oct-2020 18:43

I follow a fishing guy on youtube and he has a bluetooth button on his cap that when he presses it the GPS coordinates are stored on a map or chart so if he gets a good fish he can go back there.

I cant find the app or the button but I think that would be ideal if it integrates into google maps.

I will see what more I can find out.

John

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PeDa

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#2594104 30-Oct-2020 19:33

Question. Am I just not seeing it - how do I edit the OP title - makes sense given where this discussion has lead, to change "device" to a more inclusive term eg "system/technology"

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