inReach Explorer as GPS when Freedom plan suspended

[Stuart .]

With REI's 25% off sale on the inReach SE and Explorer, I'm looking carefully at both models. I'm leaning toward the Explorer with its GPS functions. To date the only GPS I have used has been ViewRanger on my smartphone. Last weekend a Delorme rep was demoing the new features in Earthmate, which seem to have addressed most of the concerns about the Explorer when it was launched. However it appears that I can only try Earthmate out for myself as a subscriber.

My line of questioning for existing users of the Explorer is: if I suspend a Freedom plan, can I still use the Explorer as a GPS? More specifically, can I create a new route in Earthmate and import it to the Explorer? Can I use the Explorer on trail to record my track vs the route? And can I export the track back to Earthmate after the trip? Aside from a lack if SOS, text and track transmission to Mapshare, what limitations exist when a Freedom plan is suspended? Finally, would it be smarter to buy the SE as a dedicated satellite communications device, and a separate GPS for trip planning and recording?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Bob Gross]

"Finally, would it be smarter to buy the SE as a dedicated satellite communications device, and a separate GPS for trip planning and recording?"

That is sort of what I do, except that I don't use it much for trip planning.

Planning is done on the home computer using a mapping program, and then a custom paper map is printed.

–B.G.–

[Lance M]

Stuart,
I recently asked Delorme customer service the following question:

"The InReach brochure states 'Navigational features of inReach Explorer are only available with an active satellite subscription plan', Does this mean the Explorer will not even display Lat/Long without an active plan?"

This is their reply:

"Good Afternoon Lance,
Thank you for contacting DeLorme. That is correct nothing will work if you do not have a subscription plan. If you have further questions feel free to contact us.
Have a good day! "

I suspect the same is true for the SE. One solution is to carry just the Delorme when you have an active satellite subscription plan and carry just a separate GPS when you don't.

[Stuart .]

Hi Lance,

That's as succinct a reply as you could expect. Hmmm, I'd hoped to get away from buying two different devices. I guess I'll continue using ViewRanger on my phone for short trips. The decision is whether to just bite the bullet and go for the Annual Safety Plan so I'm not SOL for a spur of the moment multi day trip…

Open question to all: do you have to be on an internet connection to change plan with Delorme? Is there a way to upgrade from Safety to Recreation when you're out on the trail?

[Mike W]

You have to connect the inReach to your computer with a usb cable and perform a "sync" to enable any plan changes (internet connection is required).

[Richie S]

I think you can also be in outside and in connection with satellites – mine has been updated, though I'm sure there are caveats that apply that make they say you need to be connected.

[Richie S]

It's a great device, though I wouldn't rely on it for GPS function.

For a lat/lon pickup I'd consider trying to pick up either a Fenix 1 or 2 watch which should be on sale somewhere pretty cheaply right now with the 3 out.

[Stuart .]

Thanks Mike and Richie. The lack of 'real' GPS capability is a definite disadvantage, although I got the impression that when paired up with a smartphone it was better than good enough. And the lack of switching plans on the fly might be a limit, but that all depends on the intended audience. What's giving me real pause is the fact that GPS is crippled without an active subscription… I've gotten by without a real GPS forever, and so far I haven't needed a satellite communicator. Maybe I should give it one more season before taking the plunge.

[Mike W]

>> It's a great device, though I wouldn't rely on it for GPS function <<

You've obviously never used the Explorer.

As long as you have a plan, the GPS function of the Explorer is excellent! Better than my Garmin Foretrex and certainly better than a Fenix which doesn't even have a map screen.

I don't carry a GPS anymore, the Explorer has replaced it. I can upload tracks and way points during my trip planning phase and view them on the map screen of the Explorer when needed. It also has a digital compass, barometric altimeter and accelerometer.

Very nice unit.

[Bob Gross]

"It also has a digital compass, barometric altimeter and accelerometer"

Have you compared your apparent elevation from the barometric altimeter to the GPS altimeter?

I would guess that if the weather is changing, the barometric altimeter will vary a lot. If you are in a difficult reception situation, the GPS altimeter may be quite a bit off. How do you know which one to believe?

–B.G.–

[Richie S]

I guess I should have added for me. I have the SE.

I tend to be more of a GPS as a backup person. Either I'll just get the grid coordinates if it will work with the map I have, or I just like seeing my position on a full map screen.

Most of the time my GPS stays switched off unless I absolutely need it.

[Mike W]

>> How do you know which one to believe? <<

As long as I can calibrate the altimeter to a known elevation (and I usually try to do that within a 24 hr period or less), I trust the barometric altimeter. The typical scenario is to check my topo map for an elevation (top of a pass is always great) and then calibrate the altimeter.

As far as the GPs elevation goes, I always assume a large plus and minus factor with that as I've found GPS elevation to be quite inaccurate at times. If you "auto calibrate" the Explorer, it uses the current GPS elevation for the calibration, so I avoid doing that.

You can also calibrate the Explorer Altimeter by entering the current barometric pressure but since I don't have a weather station handy while I'm backpacking, that's not much use to me.

[BlackHatGuy]

"The lack of 'real' GPS capability is a definite disadvantage, "

I don't quite understand what you mean by this. I think the SE (which I have) when paired with a smartphone is a pretty fabulous GPS.

[Bean]

>I got the impression that when paired up with a smartphone it was better than good enough.

[This is likely too long of a review for somebody really new to this device]

After reading this post, I did something to cause my device to want to activate again, and it appears like the Earthmate app is getting GPS data from the device even though I can't use the device itself (not sure if that means the GPS through bluetooth would work without a subscription plan). Although, even if it might be working without the device activated, the weight of it, makes me think it would be too much of a brick to carry only to augment a phone's GPS accuracy.

I haven't been using the map software much, but too many times when I tried to, the Earthmate bombed out on my Samsung s5 Active. The android app store reviews would lead me to believe this is the case for most Android users. A reinstall fixes the problem, but then I have to redownload a minimum 900mb of maps, not something I ever want to do on my data plan if WiFi isn't an option.

Worse for some people I'd imagine, is when it does work, the Earthmate maps seems to show only the most prominent trails systems. Other than places like Yosemite, the Earthmate maps sometimes has zero or only partial trail information and even the fire roads are incomplete. My 2008 24k Garmin maps are much better (and I thought they sucked), Google maps even looks to have more trails than the Earthmate map.

Worse than that, is I used it once to see how much further an established trail junction was, only to have Earthmate make me believe I had somehow passed it, but my surroundings didn't quite match up to what I was seeing on the topo (yet). Later that day, I looked at my breadcrumbs and all looked well, like it hadn't shown me passing the junction. Also had a situation where it had me on the wrong side of a creek while I was hiking, but when I went to look back at that recorded track later, it was corrected, like it hadn't shown me on the other side of a creek for 20 minutes. Which causes me to wonder if there is something about the how the map displays live location data that is out of wack. Both times I pulled up GaiaGPS, and that showed me right where I expected myself to be.

On the very positive side, the inReach does what I bought it for very well. Which is to allow me to send detailed messages and location updates to family. As I frequently find myself wanting to do something other than my planned route or taking an extra couple days. So, it's great to now have the freedom to go where I want last minute and extend a trip, without worrying that people will think I went missing, or if I have gone missing, they may look for me in the wrong place. All the other stuff would be nice, if it worked, but it isn't what I bought the device for. It is also fantastic to be able to confirm the message has sent, and then turn off the device and save battery power when 100 hours isn't going to be sufficient.

[Stuart .]

@Doug – You've got me really confused. Can the SE be paired with the Earthmate app on a smartphone to give you GPS functionality? My comment about the Explorer as a standalone GPS device was more about the screen size and lack of detail, but paired that's not the case.

@Brandon – That's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. Thank you for going into so much detail. I wonder whether the iOS version of Earthmate is more stable than Android. I use the latter today but I'm not tied to the platform. As for the location accuracy and map detail, that is a concern but I do have ViewRanger and printed maps as backups. Or rather, the Explorer and ViewRanger would be backups to my maps. Having grown up with Ordinance Survey maps in the UK, I am routinely disappointed with the consistency of detail I can get on US maps and mapping software. As you say, this is a communications device first and foremost, and a GPS secondly. If I decide to move forward with the Explorer, I'll do so with that expectation in mind.

[BlackHatGuy]

"@Doug – You've got me really confused. Can the SE be paired with the Earthmate app on a smartphone to give you GPS functionality? My comment about the Explorer as a standalone GPS device was more about the screen size and lack of detail, but paired that's not the case."

Sorry, I was a bit confusing. The Earthmate app is pretty much a standalone GPS (read about it here: http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?item=35408&section=10900). You can pair it with an SE or an Explorer to give those units added functionality – the Explorer will have navigation features the SE doesn't have.

[Sean Westberg]

"I guess I should have added for me. I have the SE.

I tend to be more of a GPS as a backup person. Either I'll just get the grid coordinates if it will work with the map I have, or I just like seeing my position on a full map screen.

Most of the time my GPS stays switched off unless I absolutely need it."

Yeah, I was pretty happy when I saw that the SE kicks out UTM coordinates. I'll probably leave my old GPSMAP 62 tank at home on short trips.

[Author]

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