Within the past few months, I bought an iPad mini 5 with GPS and paid for a subscription to GaiaGPS. One reason I went with this is that one of my nephews is a former Navy Seal with a specialty in communications and he uses it on his iPhone. (He was the biggest member of his team, so guess who got picked to hump the radio?)
Well, I should have questioned him a little more closely, and now that I've lived with the system for a while, I'm discovering the downside of civilian (versus military) grade equipment.
I live in Southern Nevada and a few months ago, it was working brilliantly - in Southern Nevada. Well, now, with two software upgrades under my belt, I've taken the iPad to Eastern Nevada (Great Basin NP) and into Utah, and damn, I'm having a lot of trouble maintaining GPS lock.
I didn't have trouble before, and now I am. And now, my Seal nephew is telling me that he sometimes has trouble maintaining lock on his iPhone and - AND - this is a particular problem in Utah, although he hasn't yet told me why Utah.
Well nobody on YouTube has mentioned this. And nobody on GaiaGPS users forum is saying it either.
So, here's where I want to learn more:
1. How good is my GPS hardware in the iPad mini? Is it only just acceptable for the common, run-of-the-mill customer? Or is it a really good piece of gear?
2. Is there anything I can do to reduce interference or difficulty within the iPad mini?
3. IF the GPS hardware in the iPad mini is the weak link here, is it possible to find a better quality aftermarket GPS unit that can be slaved to it?
Your phone and I pad are the problem. I have never had an issue with my Oregon 550 or similar model GPS systems. My hunting buddy and I have had to pick up stupid [bleep] out in the wilderness because their phone died or they "lost service". Buy a real GPS and your problems will go away. I use mine in Oregon, Nevada, utah and recently Wyoming and South Dakota. Like I said, no issues.
