1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,200 Welcome to Botch's Off-Road Podcast. 2 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:21,360 Everything from over landing your stock element to wheeling something crazy. 3 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:25,520 Today it's just going to be me and Alex and we're going to talk a little bit about comms 4 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:32,880 and navigation, what he uses, what I use, how we utilize it to find trails. 5 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,860 And I think it's going to be an interesting one. 6 00:00:36,860 --> 00:00:38,480 I guess we'll start out with you, Alex. 7 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:40,340 What do you, what do you primarily use? 8 00:00:40,340 --> 00:00:43,480 What is your go-to navigation? 9 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:50,440 For navigation, it depends if I'm actually navigating or following trails, always Onyx. 10 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:52,240 Onyx is what I pay for. 11 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:57,280 Onyx is, it's just easier to use when you're going down the trail. 12 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:02,820 But if I'm actually recording or mapping something, then I always go to Gaia and I just use the 13 00:01:02,820 --> 00:01:04,840 Gaia free version for that. 14 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:05,840 Okay. 15 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:06,840 Yeah. 16 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:10,920 The, uh, Onyx is like a really, for me, a really simple UI. 17 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:15,800 Um, and it's super easy for beginners. 18 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,680 Um, they have everything kind of highlighted out on the maps. 19 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,180 Um, it's very easy to click on them and add way points. 20 00:01:23,180 --> 00:01:30,600 So if you do any kind of scouting, um, like Alex and I do, we, we like to scout on the 21 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:35,720 state forests and stuff for potential camp spots, potential trails we want to do. 22 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,520 Um, then it makes it really easy to put those way points down. 23 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:41,500 They give you coordinates. 24 00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:45,040 You can color code them and organize them however you want to. 25 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,640 Um, so it's really nice there as well as, uh, being able to track your routes. 26 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,480 Like he mentioned, uh, on Gaia, you can also do that on Onyx. 27 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:58,240 Um, and I guess why do you prefer Gaia for tracking? 28 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:00,400 Just the operating system on that? 29 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:01,400 Yeah. 30 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:07,080 So Gaia's, um, recording system or their mapping system, not really their mapping system, but 31 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:12,760 their recording system, the way that it records, it's just easier to actually make good looking 32 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,040 maps that are clean and clean. 33 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:17,040 Just clean. 34 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:18,040 Yeah. 35 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,960 So for me, uh, that, uh, I understand why you would need that, but for me, as someone 36 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:27,600 who does my type of overlanding, like we've mentioned in the, in the previous episodes 37 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:33,360 that I, I don't necessarily need that for making my, for, for making maps. 38 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,000 Um, but I do, I do want them for scout locations. 39 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,800 I like the, the highlighted areas. 40 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:45,760 Um, I like to be able to download my off road maps and have everything, everything sitting 41 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:47,820 really easy to get to. 42 00:02:47,820 --> 00:02:50,280 So I, yeah, I really like Onyx for that. 43 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:58,640 Um, I do actually, when I am scouting campsites, I will cross reference Gaia and Google maps 44 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:04,660 actually on satellite view while I'm looking for campsites or off road trails. 45 00:03:04,660 --> 00:03:10,240 So one of the ways that you can actually go about it is choose your preferred app to, 46 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:15,280 to take your trails or campsites, go down to your state land and start looking at the 47 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:21,320 ends of the trails, you know, where they roundabout or where they end zoom in on these satellite 48 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:23,200 pictures and look for clearings. 49 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:29,560 Um, you can click down on Gaia on that exact point, copy your coordinates, paste them to 50 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:36,880 either of the Gaia or the, um, the Google maps and you can get different satellite views. 51 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:43,940 So for instance, um, last night I was doing some of the Wexford County area of Michigan 52 00:03:43,940 --> 00:03:51,080 and I was cross referencing from Onyx to Gaia or Onyx to Google. 53 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,000 And they actually have a different time of the year. 54 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,560 So it's more like fall when the leaves are down. 55 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,840 So you can actually see the trails better and you can see if it's a campsite. 56 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:03,520 So yeah, so it's a, it's a good way to cross reference both to use multiple apps. 57 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:09,400 Um, it is not necessarily, especially when navigating, um, it's always good to have multiple 58 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:10,400 apps. 59 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:17,080 Um, you don't want to have just one tool, um, when they all kind of do something different, 60 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:22,480 um, even Gaia has got a little bit of different, uh, trails on theirs comparatively to what 61 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:23,480 Onyx has. 62 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,740 And Gaia doesn't really have any trails. 63 00:04:26,740 --> 00:04:30,520 So Gaia pulls from external sources. 64 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:35,920 And on that same front, uh, we, the rest of us in botches, we haven't gotten you on this 65 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:40,560 yet, but we use a third mapping, uh, program called ATAC. 66 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:47,280 Um, ATAC is supposed to be used, uh, if anyone has any experience with the army's blue force 67 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:51,200 tracker, um, to tell you where troops are located and stuff. 68 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:55,160 Um, ATAC is the civilian version of that. 69 00:04:55,160 --> 00:05:02,680 And we use that in conjunction with mesh Tastic, which is a off grid mesh network radio that 70 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:12,320 sends, um, location data, location data, data, location data, location data and text messages. 71 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:19,280 Uh, so we're able to keep track of where each person that is on our ATAC or on our system, 72 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:22,400 where they are on the trail, what they're experiencing, and if they need help, they 73 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,000 can throw a quick flare up and we can pinpoint right where they're at. 74 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:27,000 Yeah. 75 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:32,400 So, and that's, that's really good too, because that kind of, it doesn't defeat the purpose, 76 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,920 but it is a definite way around using something like a garment in reach. 77 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:41,080 So you can use a garment in reach and you can pay for the subscription and you can pay 78 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:49,400 $300 for the, uh, for that, or you could go with how Alex just described and overall much 79 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:54,360 cheaper and you're still getting pretty much the same thing. 80 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,480 Except it doesn't reach out to satellites. 81 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:02,260 So you know, if I'm wheeling in Michigan, I might go the mesh Tastic route. 82 00:06:02,260 --> 00:06:06,320 Maybe I'll do mesh Tastic with, uh, maybe I'll keep a weather balloon in the truck. 83 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,120 That way I can just send it up and get help quicker. 84 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,560 Um, cause that'll reach all the way to Chicago. 85 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:17,720 I mean, I here in we're in Northern middle West Michigan and I talk to Chicago every 86 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:18,720 night. 87 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:19,720 Yeah. 88 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:25,800 Um, so it's not quite as good as like a actual satellite connection. 89 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:31,040 If I was going to wheel and say Colorado, I would definitely go with an inreach or, um, 90 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,080 Nevada or Utah or even Arizona. 91 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:35,080 Okay. 92 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:40,080 But it still gives you a little more peace of mind. 93 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:44,360 And I think that in the future, as the mesh network grows, we might get to a point where 94 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:45,720 that's all you need. 95 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:46,720 Yeah. 96 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:47,720 Yeah. 97 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:52,560 And, uh, and now with today's, uh, technology, another, another way to navigate, which we 98 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,120 all use pretty frequently as your phone signal. 99 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:59,040 So I'm boosting your phone signals pretty important too. 100 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:05,240 And if you want to go that route, um, I actually use a wee boost overland. 101 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:10,880 It was probably, uh, I want to say on sale, but it was, I would just say $500 for it. 102 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,120 And that, that runs actually pretty good. 103 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:18,800 Uh, you just have to keep in mind that you're boosting your, your existing signal. 104 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:23,340 Um, and just not to get like frustrated if you don't have any signal and it's not boosting 105 00:07:23,340 --> 00:07:28,360 your signal, you have to understand that it's only going to boost the existing signal with 106 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:29,760 that in mind. 107 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:37,800 I have AT&T and when I did do my wheeling trips up in the UP, um, I had, you know, four 108 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,720 of ours, 4G and 5G almost the whole time. 109 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:43,400 So I really do enjoy it. 110 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:50,960 I haven't had any testing out of state with it yet, but so far it's been very rugged. 111 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:52,560 The Mount is very rugged. 112 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:54,360 It's very easy to use. 113 00:07:54,360 --> 00:08:00,640 Um, you can pop your antenna into different locations and the, uh, and there's multiple 114 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:05,160 ways to hook up your antenna if you want to like hard wire it or run it through the fire 115 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,800 box or the, I'm sorry, the, she's, what am I thinking? 116 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:10,200 The, uh, the firewall. 117 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:11,480 So yeah. 118 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:16,480 So that's definitely a really nice, uh, a really nice addition. 119 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:21,240 With that wee boost, um, does that work with any phone carrier or yeah. 120 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:22,240 Yeah. 121 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:23,240 Yep. 122 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,080 So there's no phone carrier, there's no subscription. 123 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,280 You just need to be within that booster there. 124 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,860 So there are two antennas on the booster. 125 00:08:30,860 --> 00:08:34,880 There's an external antenna and then an internal antenna that you mount somewhere close to 126 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,280 where your phone's going to be mounted. 127 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:42,480 Um, usually, and, and I might get this a little wrong, but it's, uh, there's a sweet spot 128 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:43,480 actually. 129 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:46,680 And it's something like 13 inches away from your phone is what they say. 130 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:48,480 You can get like the stronger signal. 131 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:53,840 And actually if you bring your antenna too close to your phone, it actually lessens the 132 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:54,840 signal. 133 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:59,900 So you do want to monkey around with it before you actually mount the inner antenna to make 134 00:08:59,900 --> 00:09:02,520 sure you're getting the strongest signal that you can. 135 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,320 Uh, and yeah, I mean, this works really well. 136 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:09,320 CNN and I both have AT&T, but we've, uh, we've turned it on. 137 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,080 I have a hard wired now to the battery. 138 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:17,280 So we've turned it on to where other people could just go into the cab area, the truck 139 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:21,920 and text their families if they needed to, or, or look at YouTube video up on how to 140 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,040 fix breaks, something like that. 141 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:25,800 That's pretty cool. 142 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:26,800 Yeah. 143 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,020 I mean, for the price, um, it's definitely expensive. 144 00:09:30,020 --> 00:09:36,600 It's definitely my most expensive comms slash navigation, uh, purchase. 145 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,380 Uh, but you know what? 146 00:09:38,380 --> 00:09:39,380 So far I don't regret it. 147 00:09:39,380 --> 00:09:44,760 I think it was a, when I had the money, it was a decent, it was a decent purchase, um, 148 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:47,440 uh, for, for navigation. 149 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,120 Eventually I will get a Garmin in reach. 150 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:56,000 Um, I think that with the type of travel that we want to do later in, in our lives, when 151 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:04,120 we start getting a little bit more financially capable, um, that'll be really useful to have. 152 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:11,320 So yeah, so we kind of tackled a little bit on, on the navigational apps, but hard copies, 153 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:13,620 do you even carry them anymore? 154 00:10:13,620 --> 00:10:15,400 I don't have any hard copies. 155 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:16,400 Yeah. 156 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,240 I haven't carried them in a couple, I'd say two years. 157 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,720 I had a large, um, a large map from Michigan. 158 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:30,200 Um, I will say that it's probably nice to have a map of the area that you're in. 159 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:37,960 Um, if for some reason, uh, something went wrong and you don't have power, you don't 160 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:39,280 have phone, anything like that. 161 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:44,520 Of course you never want to be, you never want to have to rely on your electronic devices 162 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:45,720 when you're out in the wild. 163 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,840 Uh, you know, if you break your car breaks down and you can't provide power and you don't 164 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:56,760 have any way to solar power it or just carry, carry spare devices. 165 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:03,000 You can, but I'm thinking long-term, you know, I, to me, I am a, to me, I am a, a worst case 166 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,260 possible scenario kind of guy. 167 00:11:05,260 --> 00:11:09,760 So I'm thinking, you know, your, your car breaks down, your alternator goes out, your, 168 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:11,000 your battery dies. 169 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:16,680 Um, you're stuck out in the middle of nowhere and slowly everything dies without you getting 170 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:21,580 service and you have no way for you and your family to navigate your way out of whatever 171 00:11:21,580 --> 00:11:22,580 trail you're on. 172 00:11:22,580 --> 00:11:29,400 So that's, I mean, of course you can just pick a, pick a direction or go up river or 173 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,800 follow the lake shore or railroad tracks, however you want to do it. 174 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,160 Um, I think it's always nice to have one. 175 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:37,160 Huh? 176 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:38,160 Let's say that again. 177 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:39,160 But maps are nice. 178 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:40,160 Maps are nice. 179 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,000 Throw one underneath your seat and forget about it till you need it. 180 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,080 Like I mean, and they don't even take up. 181 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:47,080 Right. 182 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,840 Well, you got to, you got a general idea, right? 183 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:52,720 So, but yeah, so, okay. 184 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:54,040 So we kind of agree on that, right? 185 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,320 So we don't really have anything physical. 186 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:02,760 Maybe we should just, uh, at some point I, you know, I have so many backup devices though. 187 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,080 That I haven't really worried about it. 188 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,640 And I think in Michigan, unless you're in the UP, you wouldn't have to, right? 189 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:13,200 I mean, you're, you're pretty close to anywhere. 190 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:20,240 I mean, even the UP, you pick a direction and head that way within at least 50 miles, 191 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:21,240 you're going to hit something. 192 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:22,240 Yeah. 193 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:23,240 Yeah. 194 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,240 There's someone's house or yeah. 195 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:26,240 Yeah. 196 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,480 That's when you get up to like these bigger States that are more rural. 197 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:35,560 Um, that'll definitely come maybe a little bit more important to have that as a backup. 198 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:37,320 But so, okay. 199 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:41,840 So we're not doing any much, anything physical, especially in Michigan. 200 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,080 Um, we're both utilizing onyx and Gaia. 201 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:49,560 We're both utilizing the paid onyx and free Gaia. 202 00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:51,920 And then you have your mesh tastic. 203 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,800 And um, what was the other thing? 204 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,680 The um, the mesh test. 205 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:01,400 Yeah, mesh task Dick and a tech. 206 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:05,480 Um, what else are we, what are, what are we trying to use here? 207 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,520 Um, we're not using, we're not really using Google maps. 208 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:10,520 Don't use Google maps at everybody. 209 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:12,040 I I'm D Google. 210 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,880 I haven't used Google in at least two years. 211 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:20,840 Only only time I use Google maps is when I'm on the highway, which I will use it for that 212 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:25,120 because the, the system is really nice for navigation on highways. 213 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,760 I go on the trails, it's useless. 214 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,800 I actually have a Garmin, an actual physical GPS. 215 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:34,960 I run a Garmin drive 65. 216 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:35,960 Yeah. 217 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,600 And that's what I use for on road navigation. 218 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:44,960 Um, what's really cool with the drive, the drive smart, I think is what it's called. 219 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:50,240 Um, is it actually connects to your phone and talks to the Garmin, uh, network. 220 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,520 So like, let's say there's an accident. 221 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:57,600 It updates that in my GPS and tells me and tells me what route to take to go around it. 222 00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:58,600 Yeah. 223 00:13:58,600 --> 00:13:59,600 Yeah. 224 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:00,600 That is nice. 225 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,360 And I know Google does something like that, but it's nothing of that, uh, that caliber. 226 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,480 Um, and yeah, you have yours, you have your little, uh, your screen there that made me 227 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:08,480 remember. 228 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:13,920 I actually, um, just bought a Amazon special info, like a, what is it? 229 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:20,560 Maybe an eight inch LCD screen that goes into my, uh, into my, you know, my radio area and 230 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,160 I actually run two different navigations. 231 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:29,360 Uh, you know, I'll run the onyx on that or I'll run Gaia on it and I'll run onyx on my 232 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:33,360 phone so that I have two different types of navigation up when I'm driving. 233 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:38,320 I could see if there's a trail here on Gaia that, or, or a type of trail on Gaia that 234 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,120 I didn't see with onyx and vice versa. 235 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:46,960 Um, like I said, the more maps you have up while you're looking and doing trails, uh, 236 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:47,960 the better. 237 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,480 So at least that's, that's my view on it. 238 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:51,480 Yeah. 239 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:56,400 I, if I'm actually doing trails, I usually only have onyx up. 240 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:03,200 Uh, I'll do onyx, I'll do onyx or ATAC because if I'm in New Lego County, I tend to run ATAC 241 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:04,200 instead of onyx. 242 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:06,320 Yeah, that, that makes sense. 243 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:12,400 Um, and then, so as far as that goes, like we, we do a lot of wheeling in groups. 244 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,600 So, um, communication is pretty important. 245 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:22,440 Um, I know that you told me, uh, when I first got started of a couple of different radios 246 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:27,240 and I ended up going with the, the Midland, uh, what is it? 247 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,120 MT or MX 275. 248 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:30,120 Yep. 249 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:31,120 MXT. 250 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:32,120 Yep. 251 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:33,120 MXT 275. 252 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:40,320 And I went within the same extended range antenna that you have and we get, uh, on 253 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,040 a clear area, probably what? 254 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,160 Three, three miles, maybe more. 255 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:46,920 Well, it really depends. 256 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:53,600 Um, so I, I've ran it for a while expressway driving without the, uh, eight DBI antenna 257 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:55,040 just running stock antennas. 258 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:56,280 I've had 20 miles. 259 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:57,280 Oh yeah. 260 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:01,000 I've had, now that you mentioned that I've had that a while I, um, when we separated 261 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,440 and I started going for trails and the group stayed on the highway, I could hear them for 262 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,600 a while before I actually got on there. 263 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,160 So that's a fair point. 264 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:16,120 Um, when we're on the trail, um, you know, you can only, you can only worry about yourself 265 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,600 as far as what your, what your communication goes. 266 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:21,440 Um, me and Alex, we're good. 267 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,040 We have pretty long range communications for what we do. 268 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:31,920 Um, yeah, which is, you know, we're not typically more than three miles away from each other 269 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,120 for any reason when we're wheeling. 270 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:41,240 So, but for some of these bigger overlanding groups, um, a lot of the, a lot of the handhelds 271 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:43,440 don't reach out much farther. 272 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:47,480 So maybe you can hear them just barely, but they can't hear you. 273 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,800 So that is something important to look at when you're looking at comms or what you're 274 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:56,000 doing, how you're going to wheel with who you're going to wheel and then kind of go 275 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:57,400 about it from there. 276 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:06,560 Um, there are different powers on some of these GMRS, uh, capable, you know, systems. 277 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:13,280 And my big thing with, uh, like the handhelds, the handhelds are useful, um, obviously really 278 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:18,000 short range, but you can't hear a handheld when you're in the truck actually wheeling. 279 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,000 Yeah. 280 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,000 It's nice. 281 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,880 It's nice to have a built in radio that, you know, is actually loud enough that you can 282 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:29,160 hear it because you might be getting a message, but if you can't, if you can't hear the message, 283 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:30,480 you never got the message. 284 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:31,480 Yeah. 285 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:32,480 Yeah. 286 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:33,480 Well, and it's nice. 287 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:34,480 I think it's good to have both. 288 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,920 And to your point about having, you know, a built in, uh, you know, speaker and with 289 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,720 the radio, it is pretty loud, but while you're wheeling and your wife's talking and the kids 290 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:50,760 screaming, I, my experience, it's not loud enough for my ADHD to focus on the, on the, 291 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:51,760 on the voice. 292 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:58,880 I have an external speaker that I plug into the, uh, to the, the onboard unit, I guess. 293 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:03,360 Uh, the, and I see two 75 and I think you have one too, right? 294 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:05,640 I think we both run the same external speaker. 295 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:11,600 We have a lot of the same, uh, just because I think I went based off of yours and definitely 296 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:12,600 don't regret it. 297 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:17,880 Um, the, the Midlands are really good, uh, a really good setup, honestly, for what we're 298 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,580 doing and for a lot of people, it's going to work just fine. 299 00:18:21,580 --> 00:18:25,880 And with the stock, I've been, so I've got, I've got the old MXC two 75. 300 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:27,800 I've got a USB a model. 301 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:32,000 Um, I got mine in early 2019. 302 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:37,800 I used to run it in my power stroke and it's, it's just rock solid, dude. 303 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:42,040 They just were, I've got mine on 24 seven. 304 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:43,680 It's been underwater. 305 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:49,640 It's it's been in trucks that don't really have airtight seals or anything. 306 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,480 I mean, it's, it's had the snot beat out of it. 307 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:53,480 Yeah. 308 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:55,480 Um, Midland stuff just works, man. 309 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:59,560 I mean, I just got mine too, but Midlands been around forever. 310 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:01,640 I mean, yeah. 311 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:05,640 If you're not running Midland and you're going for something else, that's cheaper. 312 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,920 Bayo Fang is another one that a lot of people run. 313 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:14,520 Um, and I think, uh, I think I had a Bayo Fang and that was honestly pretty solid until 314 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:15,520 I lost it. 315 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:19,600 So, um, but yeah, so you're running, do you have, how many? 316 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:20,600 Do you have any Bayo Fangs? 317 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:22,720 I think I've got three Bayo. 318 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:23,720 Yeah. 319 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:25,040 I've got three, four Bayo Fangs. 320 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:26,040 Yeah. 321 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:27,040 They're pretty solid. 322 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,280 Two UV5Rs and then two GMRS ones. 323 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:30,280 Yeah. 324 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,240 I think I had a UV5R at one point. 325 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:37,480 Um, but so are you carrying any, you have your onboard mics. 326 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:39,480 Are you carrying any handheld mics? 327 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,280 Uh, walkies, anything like that? 328 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:44,240 I've got, uh, two UV5Rs. 329 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:45,240 Oh shit. 330 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:46,240 I'm sorry. 331 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,520 I'm thinking, I'm thinking that you just have them at home. 332 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:50,520 Okay. 333 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,600 No, no, I usually keep them in the truck. 334 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,600 I've got them on the Mali panel from the back. 335 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:55,600 Yeah. 336 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:56,600 Well, that's a good place. 337 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:57,600 Honestly. 338 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:04,140 I have, uh, I have a two pack of cheapo Amazonians, um, with, you know, the USB-C batteries that 339 00:20:04,140 --> 00:20:05,600 you can charge while you're driving. 340 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,320 So I do like those. 341 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:08,320 Those are nice. 342 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:13,640 Um, for what they are, I can throw them to a friend and they can beat the crap out of 343 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:15,440 them and use them while we're hanging out. 344 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:16,440 And it's fine. 345 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:22,760 I can give it to my wife and it's nice to have multiple, uh, multiple communications. 346 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:28,960 So having me on board, I can sit there in the truck and she can spot me or she can help 347 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:29,960 me when I'm backing up. 348 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:31,440 I don't have to yell all the time. 349 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:33,440 That's the best part. 350 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:34,440 Yeah. 351 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:35,440 Yeah. 352 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:36,440 It's super nice. 353 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:37,440 They ask your wives. 354 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,280 So it's, uh, so it's nice. 355 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:40,280 It's nice to have that. 356 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:46,680 You can communicate without yelling and, and maybe there's something that gets missed and 357 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:47,920 it can cause issues. 358 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:53,240 So, um, so yeah, so we're running, so we're both running the MXT 275. 359 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:54,240 You have an older model. 360 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,040 I have the brand new model. 361 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,120 Um, we're both running extended range antennas. 362 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:02,160 Um, we both have handhelds. 363 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:07,480 Um, we both have some kind of navigation, uh, unit. 364 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:10,640 Um, you have the Garmin, right? 365 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:15,000 The Garmin, uh, yeah, drive smart, drive smart. 366 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:16,000 Yep. 367 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:20,040 And I have the, uh, it's running off of my phone because I'm using car play, but I'm 368 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:23,680 using the, uh, my, my large, you know, eight inch display. 369 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:29,000 It's about just basically a tablet, um, that thing to help cause that runs Android, right? 370 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:35,520 Does that have, did that have a GPS, uh, antenna that goes with it? 371 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:42,600 I think it had an internal in the actual tablet itself because it, I, I want to say that that's 372 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:48,640 basically just a tablet and put it into a, you know, and, uh, whatever it is, it's function. 373 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,040 I've had a few of those. 374 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,680 I've had a few of those and all mine had a little GPS antenna that plugged in, and then 375 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:59,520 you put it in your window and I would just run my Google maps right off that. 376 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:05,080 I did not have one that I can remember, but that doesn't mean much because my memory is 377 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:07,480 pretty dog as everyone. 378 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:08,480 Goldfish. 379 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:09,480 Yes. 380 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:12,840 Goldfish memory about 0.3 seconds and then I'm resetting. 381 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:14,280 So yeah. 382 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:20,200 So I mean, that's, that's a pretty good, uh, that's a pretty good intro on to, uh, onto 383 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,160 to nav and con, uh, and comms. 384 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:29,360 Um, you know, we can talk all day about Onyx and we could talk all day about Gaia at the 385 00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:36,920 end of the day, guy is really good for, um, making, making routes, making trails. 386 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,200 Um, other than the, the bullshit that they're doing right now, they just raised the prices 387 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,240 on it to like what 90 bucks. 388 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:44,240 Yeah. 389 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:48,600 They went from like 20, no, it almost triple cause it was, I think it was 30 bucks and 390 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:49,600 now it's 90. 391 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:50,800 Yeah, I'm good. 392 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:53,280 I did the free before and I won't lie. 393 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:58,560 I definitely thought about doing the premium Gaia to have both because two is always better 394 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,000 than one, but 90 bucks. 395 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,000 There's no fucking way. 396 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,800 I can't justify that with as well as Onyx runs. 397 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:13,560 And if I'm talking preference, um, I'll just build routes and shit on Onyx man for that 398 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:14,560 price. 399 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,360 Hey, I don't even pay that much. 400 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:21,840 I usually wait until, uh, one of these off road influencers or overlanders gives a discount 401 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,800 code to Onyx cause they're all sponsored by them. 402 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,920 And, uh, and that's what I buy my yearly. 403 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:35,280 So yeah, Onyx, if you're listening, sponsor us, sponsor us 20s, do botches 20 for, yeah, 404 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,360 that'd be perfect. 405 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:41,480 All of our six listeners will greatly appreciate it greatly. 406 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:46,000 But when we're like 600 listeners, you guys are going to get a lot of kickback and it's 407 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:47,000 an investment. 408 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,680 You have to think about that. 409 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:49,680 Yeah. 410 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:50,680 Yeah. 411 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:51,680 Yeah. 412 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:52,680 Think ahead. 413 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:53,680 Yeah. 414 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:54,680 Think ahead. 415 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:55,680 Come on. 416 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,720 It's a good introduction to naps, comms, what we have, what we're using and why. 417 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,640 So yeah, man, thanks for, uh, thanks for joining me on here and, uh, let's, uh, we'll feed 418 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:06,240 our, uh, feed our wives. 419 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:07,240 Yeah. 420 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,240 My dogs are kind of going nuts. 421 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:15,240 We're about done. 422 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:25,060 I hope you enjoyed this mini-sode of the botches off road podcast. 423 00:24:25,060 --> 00:24:28,320 Please tune in every Sunday for a little 20 to 30 minute clip.