Ray Holohan from Illinois sent us an interesting e-mail:
Recently I
have started using an iphone so I got an app from Cabela' s called Recon Hunt.
It is really a neat program that is set up for tracking a wounded deer. You
have satellite imagery and GPS ability, plus it gives you all kinds of data that
can be printed out and kept.
I have been using it all summer on all my practice
tracks and walks with Rosco. I'm planning on using it this tracking season. So I
have come up with a way to carry and use it in the field. I showed it to Joe
Walters and Chris Barr and they think it is really neat, and they are telling me I
should put a patent on it. I'm not really interested in doing that, but thought
I might offer it to club members (I think Ray means United Blood Trackers) who use a smart phone for the
same purpose out there. I'm using an iphone with a protective case on it.
The device that I have made is fabricated from .050 alum. and is very light. It
offers more protection and pretty much keeps the phone waterproof. It it is
carried around your neck with a binocular harness and whenever you want to mark
blood or a wayward point you just flip it open and punch it in. The device is
fairly easy to fabricate. If someone would want one, I would tell them to make a
cardboard template of their phone - the exact side size, thickness and
placement of any buttons they would need to use, and send it to me. I think I
could make them for 40-50 dollars . They could get their own binocular
harness. If you think this might have some interest would you mind posting this. There are five photos
attached that pretty much show how it works.
Ray can be contacted at rantler@ameritech.net
3 comments:
Very interesting. I was unaware of the tracking app and will definitely give the app a try. I have found other tracking apps for the iphone have been less than useful. This one sounds pretty good. I am curious how the aluminum case effects signal strength on your smart phone, especially in marginal areas of cell reception. Am I correct in that you have an Otter case on your iphone? What is the purpose of the tab that sticks out from the case?
Andy,
We had a post here on the app
http://borntotracknews.blogspot.com/2011/03/cabelas-recon-hunt-app-new-tool-for.html
Andy that tab you see is nothing more then a catch for the spring loaded locking pin. This allows you to open it fast and easy then all you do is push it close and the pin locks in the tab. It probably is a little crude but works really well.
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