Bring Your GPS

GPS stands for Global Positioning System which was a relatively early project (1973) operated by the USAF to deploy satellites that could be used to calculate the position of objects or people on the surface of our Mother Earth. Originally a project of the Department of Defense (Navstar) GPS was released for public use in the 1980's. When you use a handheld or mounted GPS device the satellites determine the geographical co-ordinates of that device. Today GPS is integrated into devices from phones to cars that we use every day.

This is a helpful story from one of our visitors, John, who learned a valuable GPS lesson and would like to share it.

If you are treasure hunting make sure you bring your GPS. Don't make the same mistake we did a few weeks ago. We were in south Louisiana at Ceniere au Tigre which is right on the Gulf. The area has some ruins of an old resort that was a popular spot many, many years ago.

We were on the beach and really making some nice finds. We had found some old coins, some spoons, a couple of iron tools, and two nice rings. The tide was coming in and the sun was going down. We laid a couple of driftwood markers so we can resume our hunt the next day.

Little did we know that a blow would come that night creating a lot of rough surf and wash our markers away. If we would have thought to bring our GPS and grab a reading it would have been no problem resuming the hunt in what was a productive area.

We have a nice little Garmin hand held GPS that we got for geocaching. Normally that would be standard equipment and I don't know why we left it behind on that day. It sure was a mistake that I'll not likely make again. The one we have is a Garmin Rino handheld GPS.

It's not only to mark your spot that a handheld GPS comes in handy. If you go in strange territory it's good to take a reading when you leave your car that way you always have a point to aim at for return.

We used to take our iPhone along and use that for a GPS. That works fine but if you get rain it can damage it whereas the handheld GPS is pretty watertight. Another feature is the handheld GPS has replaceable batteries so on long trips you can carry spares and never be without. The iPhone battery can run down and leave you with no way to charge it.

Well to finish the story our trip wasn't a total loss because a few days later we seemed to get back in the good area and found a few more nice treasures. We marked this spot with the GPS though so next year when we come back we know right where to start.

The bad news: For GPS to function, you need to be in a place that offers straight-line access to four GPS satellites for an accurate reading. Any four, but these are not strong signals. Since these satellites' ranges overlap, there is coverage everywhere on earth. Heavy forest, hills or mountains block the signal. This means that if you cannot get a good position reading, you need to look for a place where you have more sky, higher ground. As long as you are aware of how it works, it can be a great tool.

The good news: You can get GPS readings even where there is no wireless service. Your phone may not work but the GPS can if you have enough sky. The GPS has the potential to guide you back to civilization in places where cell phones don't have a chance.

If you're buying a new GPS or replacing an older one for better accuracy, it pays to shop around. There's a huge selection of handheld GPS devices at Amazon. We also suggest you look at Eastern Mountain Sports because they often have promotional sales and closeouts that give you a lower price than even Amazon.

Please Note - Products shown on this page are for sale by various merchants, all available at amazon.com. We are affiliates of amazon.com and earn a small commission when you purchase using our links. We appreciate your help. We do not promote products we do not love to own.