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tom.benedict
86
Nov 18, 2017
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tom.benedict
86
Jan 16, 2018
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tom.benedictYeah, replying to my own post. Hate doing that.
Anyway, I've had the Brunton Get Back for a while now and have had a chance to use it in the field. It does exactly what it advertises: gives you three waypoints and the ability to see range and bearing to each one. No more, no less.
One weakness I've seen is that it takes a long time for the unit to get a satellite lock, and it doesn't like to move while it's trying to get a lock. This bit me in the butt during a recent hike out to Papakolea Beach (the Green Sand Beach) at the south point of the Big Island of Hawaii. Parking there is a scattered affair, and the "trail" is more a suggestion than an actual trail. I turned on my Brunton as we left the car, but because we didn't pause during the hike, it didn't get a lock until we reached the beach two and a half hours later. (DOH!) As a result I had no waypoint set at the car to lead us back. We took a supposedly "easier" route that wound up leading us is in a completely wrong direction, and had to hike an even longer route to get back. Wish I'd let it sit and acquire a lock before starting the hike! Patience is key.
One unexpected strength of the unit, though, is the 24 hour battery life that comes up so often as a complaint. In the month or so since I got my unit I've charged it a total of one time. Just once. I've taken it on numerous hikes and field recording outings, and it really hasn't run down much at all. Mostly that's because it's 24 hours of actual run time, not 24 hours of elapsed time on the clock. The thing only turns on for about five minutes at a time when you hit the power button, so it really doesn't discharge that fast. Unless you're obsessively checking your next waypoint and powering the thing up constantly, it's not likely to run down on even an extended hike.
As far as my use case goes, it's actually better than I thought. The real nemesis of a good field recording is unwanted noise: airplanes, music, people speaking, etc. Out here the worst of these is automobile traffic. You can be miles from a road and still hear the traffic. During three different hikes, Puu Oo Trail, Wailuku River Headwaters, and Kalopa Park, I set a waypoint as I left the highway. This gave me distance and approximate bearing to the nearest source of traffic noise. As I hiked in I could measure sound level and compare against the distance the Brunton was reporting to see if I was far enough away from the road to set my gear. It worked like a charm.
I never would've picked one of these up at the full list price, but I'm glad I picked one up here on Massdrop.
Anyway, I've had the Brunton Get Back for a while now and have had a chance to use it in the field. It does exactly what it advertises: gives you three waypoints and the ability to see range and bearing to each one. No more, no less.
One weakness I've seen is that it takes a long time for the unit to get a satellite lock, and it doesn't like to move while it's trying to get a lock. This bit me in the butt during a recent hike out to Papakolea Beach (the Green Sand Beach) at the south point of the Big Island of Hawaii. Parking there is a scattered affair, and the "trail" is more a suggestion than an actual trail. I turned on my Brunton as we left the car, but because we didn't pause during the hike, it didn't get a lock until we reached the beach two and a half hours later. (DOH!) As a result I had no waypoint set at the car to lead us back. We took a supposedly "easier" route that wound up leading us is in a completely wrong direction, and had to hike an even longer route to get back. Wish I'd let it sit and acquire a lock before starting the hike! Patience is key.
One unexpected strength of the unit, though, is the 24 hour battery life that comes up so often as a complaint. In the month or so since I got my unit I've charged it a total of one time. Just once. I've taken it on numerous hikes and field recording outings, and it really hasn't run down much at all. Mostly that's because it's 24 hours of actual run time, not 24 hours of elapsed time on the clock. The thing only turns on for about five minutes at a time when you hit the power button, so it really doesn't discharge that fast. Unless you're obsessively checking your next waypoint and powering the thing up constantly, it's not likely to run down on even an extended hike.
As far as my use case goes, it's actually better than I thought. The real nemesis of a good field recording is unwanted noise: airplanes, music, people speaking, etc. Out here the worst of these is automobile traffic. You can be miles from a road and still hear the traffic. During three different hikes, Puu Oo Trail, Wailuku River Headwaters, and Kalopa Park, I set a waypoint as I left the highway. This gave me distance and approximate bearing to the nearest source of traffic noise. As I hiked in I could measure sound level and compare against the distance the Brunton was reporting to see if I was far enough away from the road to set my gear. It worked like a charm.
I never would've picked one of these up at the full list price, but I'm glad I picked one up here on Massdrop.
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I record natural ambient soundscapes. A lot of the time I'm trying to record wildlife that won't make a peep unless I'm not there. So I'll hike in on a trail, eventually go off-trail, find some secluded spot to set my gear, and leave it there. Often I'll leave it overnight and recover it the next morning. When recovering gear I can always remember the trail route I took. I can always remember where I departed from the trail. But some of the spots I've recorded, the terrain is such a mess that it's easy to walk right past my gear and totally miss it.
I don't so much need to know where my gear is. I just need to know I can get back to it. For that, this is perfect. Yes, I have a phone with GPS. But I can clip this to my sound bag and not have to sweat it. Done.
Admittedly, I have weird hobbies. But there are a whole host of related use cases where I could see something like this coming in handy. Not for the list price, which I think is pretty steep for what it offers. But for $20? It's a keyfob with a memory of where it's been.