Central Coast Wheelers

Warning: do this before you leave the house.

Cell or wifi required to set up.

Please choose which device you are setting up.

Base campNot marked yetStand at the trailer and press Mark this spot.
YouNo fix yetPress Where am I to read the satellites.
Distance backNot yetStraight line over the ground.
Direction backNot yet

Life is precious, and we take your life seriously. That is why we built Camp Compass.

Nothing is sent anywhere on its own. The saved spot is stored on this phone only. Sharing is the one thing here that needs to reach the outside world, by cell coverage or satellite messaging. A text will often get through on one bar when data will not.

First time using this? How it works, and what it will not do, is below.

  1. Set the location. Stand at the trailer, not fifty yards from it.
  2. Name it. Base camp, the truck, whatever you will recognise at dusk.
  3. If you get turned around, come back here. It gives you the direction and the distance.

Camp Compass does three things. It marks your camp so you can find it again, it points you back to it using GPS, and it shares your coordinates by text if you need help. The first two work with no cell service at all. Sending needs either cell coverage or a phone with satellite messaging.

This works without cell service. The satellite receiver in your phone listens to GPS and does not need a carrier or a signal bar. Marking camp, reading your position, and getting the direction and distance back all run on the device. Sending a message or opening driving directions are the only parts that need to reach out.

Coverage out on the sand is unreliable and nothing should depend on it. Open dune swallows a signal quickly. Open this page while you still have bars, at home or in town and save it to your home screen. After that it opens with no signal, from cold, without needing a tab left open.

The arrow is a straight line, not a route. It points at the coordinates you saved. It does not know about a wash, a fence, a closed area, or a dune face you cannot climb. Use it to orient yourself, then pick a way that works.

Setting it up

How Camp Compass works, and why GPS needs no cell signal → needs a signal

Used it to find your way back? Tell us what happened → needs a signal

Camp Compass is an orientation aid, not a rescue plan. A phone battery dies, a screen fails in the heat, and a fix can be tens of yards out. Carry a paper map, tell somebody your plan and your return time, and treat a handheld GPS or satellite messenger as the real equipment. If you are lost and low on water, staying put beside a visible machine is usually safer than walking.

The rest of the guide, including maps, permits, camping and weather, needs a connection. Open the full Oceano Dunes map when you have a signal.