Setting up a Tablet to track off your Garmin Alpha or Astro
Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 1:18 pm
Dell Venue Pro 8 (120.00 ebay)
Hard Case for the tablet (49.99 Dell)
Converter to connect Garmin to Tablet (10.00 Dell)
Car mount for Tablet (60.00 Ram)
Xmaps GPS map (Optional) (109.00)
First thing you need is a tablet that will run full Basecamp/Base station not the mobile version of basestation. Most tablets don't have the software to do this so do your research.
Windows® Requirements
IBM-compatible computer running Windows Vista Service Pack 2 or later
Microsoft® .NET framework 4.5.1; a current version of .NET will be installed if needed
A video card that supports OpenGL version 1.3 or later to view 3-D terrain
Mac® Requirements
Intel-based Mac running OS 10.8 or higher
1024 MB RAM (2048 MB recommended)
This is what I ended up setting up
I found the Dell Venue Pro 8 to be the best deal and it runs on windows 8 - Best prices I found were on Ebay for refurbished ones.
http://www.dell.com/us/p/dell-venue-8-pro/pd
I had issues with connecting the two devices at first as your are connect a mini USB to a Micro USB - get the Dell converter and attach it to a garmin USB cable
http://accessories.dell.com/sna/product ... u=470-aarr
Bouncing around in the rig is tough on computers- best case I found was the
Targus SafePort Rugged Max Pro
http://accessories.dell.com/sna/product ... u=A7250101
For the Car mount I went with the Ram X-grip mount – not cheap but bomber. It says 7" tablet but it holds the 8" in the case no problem on a nasty road. Nice thing about the Ram mount is you can pick what works for as far as a base to connect it to the car. I run a jeep so I went with the short window mount but truck guys might want the long window mount or the dash mount.
http://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-HOL-UN8BU
That’s all the hardware you need
I highly recommend the Xmaps Land Ownership maps but, you don’t have to have them.
http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/
Total cost with the Xmaps, Case and Car Mount- $350.00
But you could get it done for under 200.00 easy.
Here is all you need to do to activate it.
Load base camp on your tablet and if you want to run the Xmaps you need to load that onto the tablet version basecamp as well.
Update BaseCamp on the tablet and do a general update on your Garmin before utilizing BaseStation:
To use BaseStation with your Alpha/Astro
Turn on the device (Alpha or Astro)
On the Alpha , select Setup > System > BaseCamp BaseStation > Prompted
Connect the Alpha to the Tablet
Alpha will prompt you with “USB cable detected enable basestation?” select yes to enable BaseCamp BaseStation mode
In BaseCamp, on your tablet wait for device to appear below the Devices heading
Under the device name, Tap the BaseStation folder
This will start tracking of your handheld and any dogs on our dogs list that you have collars turned on for.
*Tablets meeting the system requirements for BaseCamp can be used to run BaseStation mode. Tablets that do not meet these system requirements cannot be used. Windows RT is unsupported.
For you guys that guide and outfit this would be great for clients. For me I hunt in wolf country and anything that gets my fat but to the tree faster is a good thing.
I'm not a computer guy and I'm not looking to make any money off this gig - I'll try and answer your questions but, I'm just a hound guy like you.
Matt