I am thinking that having a smart phone in the field could come in handy, especially for sending and receiving data files.
Not sure how these things work exactly. What would I need in order to upload or download from my Carlson Surveyor to, let's say, a droid? Do you need an app, or could you just move a file using the USB?
Any advice would be appreciated, and any ridicule for being behind the times would be appropriate.
A Blackberry with an e-mail account and a USB port, does all that and more.
I can even log on to the internet in the woods where I can NOT make or receive phone calls, explain that one!
:coffee:
The guy at the Verizon store couldn't tell me if I could transfer a file via USB.
> A Blackberry with an e-mail account and a USB port, does all that and more.
>
> I can even log on to the internet in the woods where I can NOT make or receive phone calls, explain that one!
FWIW - I think Research In Motion is a company on it's way out fast. Their only real advantage over the droid/iPhone market is the security of the Blackberry Server system, and that can't last too much longer.
Now if D.J. is concerned that his competitors may be trying to get an advantage on him by intercepting his coordinate files, Blackberry is the way to go. However if that's the case, I'm glad we're more traditional and just undercut each other up here 45 miles north of him. 😉
Dennis,
I think it's more about the size of the USB. All of the smartphones that I've seen (I have a Blackberry Tour) have mini or micro USB. My DC (Carlson Surveyor+) has a regular USB. The DC has bluetooth, which is how it connects to my BanTams, but my Blackberry does not (most do, just not the Tour, it doesn't have WiFi either). So, I'm kinda screwed. I could get a coordinate list in the woods, but I'd have to enter the points by hand. If I was hard pressed to, I could probably find a mini/micro USB to standard cord (I'm assuming that they make one)and find a way to transfer, but it already sounds like a headache.
Carl
I have one of those little kits you can get for $15 at walmart. It has the standard usb on one end, and an adaptor on the other. It comes with 4 or 5 other usb types that attach to the adaptor. Works great.
Heck, if I'm out in the field and discover I need additional files, I just think it's God's way of telling me to knock off for the day and go have a cold one. And who am I to question the mysterious ways in which our Lord works?
Jim
You mean you don't take a cooler full of beer to the job site?
>Dennis: I have one of those little kits you can get for $15 at walmart. It has the standard usb on one end, and an adaptor on the other. It comes with 4 or 5 other usb types that attach to the adaptor. Works great.
>James: Heck, if I'm out in the field and discover I need additional files, I just think it's God's way of telling me to knock off for the day and go have a cold one. And who am I to question the mysterious ways in which our Lord works?
Dennis: Cool, I'd have nobody to send me the files anyway...
James: I'm not all churchy... but I'm feelin' ya... I think the same way. Forgotten radios and dead batteries talk to me too. 😉
I'm not sure. Smart phones are not full blown computers, you cannot easily create folders, store files ect. ect. There are limitations. I would think blue tooth might be an option as well as Wi-Fi. It kind of boils down to what apps you have and if your phone is jail broke.
But to answer your question yes they are VERY handy in the field as long as you have service. The camera is good enough for job pics. Seeing your position on a quad map or aerial is nice. Getting directions to a street address using google maps is handy. The iphone does not have removable memory, but I have found that just about anything is possible with the correct application.
I downloaded all of the NGS monuments for my county and got them to display in Google Earth.
Checking the weather forcast on the phone is kind of handy.
Having your contacts from your PC on the phone and setting reminders and appointments on the calendar is helpful.
Be careful. We have found at LSU that not all smart phones are alike in that the same model will have different features implemented by one carrier and not by another carrier. The deciding factor is to try out a particular model of smart phone with ALL of the devices you plan to use with it before you pay for the smart phone.
> Be careful. We have found at LSU that not all smart phones are alike in that the same model will have different features implemented by one carrier and not by another carrier. The deciding factor is to try out a particular model of smart phone with ALL of the devices you plan to use with it before you pay for the smart phone.
Yes, I was thinking of taking the data collector into the store with me and making the geeks find a way to transfer data between the devices.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
my advice is do not be assimilated.
I just can't justify in my mind an additional fixed monthly outlay of $60 to $80 for a device mostly used to post on Facebook 24 hours per day instead of just doing it when I am at home.
Most ignore what I have to say on the internet anyway.
Mine has a removable micro data card.
Also, the USB to mini USB cable is somewhat a standard.
I have at least 4 just lying around.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, I have been thinking about that, but if I am forced to carry a cell anyway, why not carry something that has other useful features?
Dave
> Most ignore what I have to say on the internet anyway.
Are you sure it's just on the internet?
Dave
> > Most ignore what I have to say on the internet anyway.
>
> Are you sure it's just on the internet?
Well, he lives in a house full of women, so he oughta be used to being ignored.
I would say it depends on the phone and the USB cord. If you have a cord that will go from the DC to your phone, maybe it will work. However, I'd be careful about that because many (if not most) phones have one port that doubles as a USB transfer port and power. If they are anything like typical PCs, a direct connection could seriously damage the hardware (you can't plug a USB cable directly from one PC to another without a special USB transfer cable or you'll likely damage something -- the problem is due to the fact that most USB ports these days also send power out).
That said, I don't know if smartphones would have a problem with a direct connection or not.
If your DC has bluetooth, that's probably how I'd do it.
> If your DC has bluetooth, that's probably how I'd do it.
It does have bluetooth, and I was starting to think that would be the way to go, thanks Wendell.
Dave
LOL
