Thread: HEMA HX-1 - dammit!

I thought about using one of our iPads with the Hema app loaded on it but neither of our tablets has a gps chip so I'd have had to buy yet another iPad and didn't want that. I do have the Hema apps on my phone but it's too small a screen for my liking.
Another annoying thing with the new HX - 1 is that the damn thing won't switch off when it's on charge, which makes charging a long, long process even when connected to 240V. You power it down and it just automatically powers back up again.
None of their online help provides an answer to this that I can find.

at least I solved one thing though - got it to hold 'north up' on the street maps.

I looked into the HN7 and HX1 but some of the issues mentioned here and the fact that a Tablet appears to have significantly better graphics turned me off them. I have also been led to believe using a tablet requires mobile coverage. Not for the service but for tower location information. This and the inbuilt GPS are both used. This was in some way confirmed when I could not find a new Tablet with FULL GPS functionality. They all seem to have A-GPS or Assisted GPS which I was told requires phone tower location information.

I am sure someone one will clarify things one way or the other as I still have not gone down either path.

Originally Posted by GregMilner

I thought about using one of our iPads with the Hema app loaded on it but neither of our tablets has a gps chip so I'd have had to buy yet another iPad and didn't want that. .

Hi,
You could bluetooth to a Garmin Glo or a Qstarz gps or even a BadElf with ñot much drama.
Cheers

Wait until these new "super screens" come onto the market. Then you can just leave one permanently in your car, and operate from the apps on your phone. You could run a navigator, Gap IID tool, music stored on your phone plus the phone itself all from this screen. My iPhone sits in a cradle on the dash permanently connected to power supply and large external aerial when I have it in the car - so this system would be ideal.

Superscreen – Supercharge your phone with a 10.1″ HD display by Transcendent Designs —Kickstarter

This easily solved by just buying a GPS Receiver. I bought a Garmin GLO unit for my non-cellular iPad and it works a treat. U can even have up to 10 people logged in using the same GPS receiver....

One thing people don't usually talk about is the accuracy of their iPad/Tablet/phone tracklogs. With my dedicated Garmin Montana u can change the frequency of the breadcrumbs that are left behind. More breadcrumbs the more accurate the tracklog is. No point having breadcrumbs dropped every 100mtrs if your on a real windy road or a tight bush track, etc. Not sure if u can adjust the frequency of the breadcrumbs on iPad/Tablet devices....

Originally Posted by GregMilner

I thought about using one of our iPads with the Hema app loaded on it but neither of our tablets has a gps chip so I'd have had to buy yet another iPad and didn't want that. .

Originally Posted by pop058

. I have also been led to believe using a tablet requires mobile coverage. Not for the service but for tower location information. This and the inbuilt GPS are both used. This was in some way confirmed when I could not find a new Tablet with FULL GPS functionality. They all seem to have A-GPS or Assisted GPS which I was told requires phone tower location .

Hi,
Mobile reception is not absolutely necessary, it does help to get a faster initial fix by downloading the NMEA sentence for the gps to start calculating the trilateration, (lock-on).
Apart from that the gps works fine off the network.

My tablet only gets Internet via WiFi, ADSL at home or a mobile hot spot when travelling, and if in remote areas, the hot spot is not even turned on.

Cheers

Originally Posted by trout1105

Does this setup work when there is NO phone reception and if it does how much data does it chew up?

Can't use much data when there's no reception!
The maps are internal and so long as the device has an internal GPS that's what it uses for location.
I've been downloading geotagged Hema maps and using them via Avenza on a Samsung Galaxy tablet. Works a treat. Doesn't have the extra theoretical functionality of the HN7 or the Hema app, but it puts a blue dot on the map and allows me to mark way points, which saves me having to stop and show my copilot where we are on the map (!). About 12 hours of battery life.
All we needed for the Flinders Ranges with paper backup.

I have a Hema HN7 which I find is great. I mainly use it for tracking where we are and looking ahead, in 4WD mode. I don't use most of its fancy features much.

I bought a new iPad to run my GAP IID and have loaded all of the ExploreOz maps on it. This is great also and can be used anywhere and doesn't require any phone reception. I accidentally found out that you can track your route on the map while flying! This is really good and I love it. All I want to do in a plane is see what is below and where we are going! I also have a speedo app and can watch the speed of the plane. The only issue is that you have to be at around 3 or 4 thousand metres for the GPS to start working. It doesn't work close to the ground. I also used it to it to track progress and location on the Ghan earlier this year, including monitoring the speed. Very useful, as long as I was near a window.