Fossickers / Prospectors - iPad / iPhone / Android App in development

[Hesh]

Is there a guestamation on when this awesome idea will be available??

 

[gcause]

Hi Hesh,

The app is still in development, its a part time thing for me (weekends and week nights) so it will take time.

I'm only working on the basics of the app at the moment. i.e. the things that make it an app, settings page, map page, etc.

I am going to put out a first cut in a couple of weeks that people can try out on their devices.
The first cut will be for iOS and cover the iPhone and iPad devices.

Android will have to wait until after the iPhone and iPad are released.
The reason for this is theres over 19,000 different Android types / models to cover so its a much harder build for device specific functionality like GPS, Location and Maps as there is more that can go wrong.

The app wont do much just yet but it will be the basis for the full application.

Cheers,

Grant

 

[gcause]

Hi Grant and all interested forum members, There was a new Victorian government mining information service released this week, "Mining Licenses Near Me". I have had a look and it is certainly interesting. Works on PC, Ipad and Iphone5. This appears to have some of the features Grant was talking about and he maybe able to use this in working on his app.
Link below:

http://www.energyandresources.vic.g...maps-reports-and-data/mining-licences-near-me

One thing to keep in mind, when I entered the program I was asked if you wanted to "share your location" with Vic Gov site, so that one will be up to you guys to sort out for yourselves.
Cheers

Hi Highway1,

Looks interesting, will look further into it.

Cheers,

Grant

 

[Golddiggergirls]

Hope all is going well with your app development Grant, what a great idea and I wish you all the best with it....!

Cheers,
Bec.

 

[gcause]

Thanks Bec, its getting there slowly, only get to work on it in my spare time.

I've been building my Dry Washer and preparing for the Palmer River trip so work on the app has been ticking away in the background when I get a spare moment.

All the best with your adventures.

Cheers,

Grant

 

[KiwiKaren]

Oh! I am a bit late to this conversation but happy I found it!
I am a total beginner with this prospecting thing so my suggestions might not hold much weight but....
I would like something like: Known panning locations within X Kms (search) (drop down selection for Panning/detecting/gem fossicking and also diff distances)
Also access - Does the area require 4WD or not!?
I have heard of prospectors having apps for burn off alerts. I believe this is both for safety AND to know when new areas open up that were too overgrown to detect? Would that be handy to incorporate?

 

[G0lddigg@]

Hey karen if everyone knew all the panning spots then that takes 90% of the fun out of it research testing and chssing6 crazy ideas is what its all about for me.

 

[KiwiKaren]

Golddigg I just ment the ones everyone seems to know about not special locations you have hunted out! For a beginner typing in places to gold pan Victoria (google search) leads you to some pretty random and not so helpful sites. In here and other forums people are more than happy to band about Slaty Creek, Warrandyte and others I cant remember right this second. :8

 

[G0lddigg@]

Search for prospecting and fossicking x areas shpuld give you good results. It would be impossible to keep accurate because parks are forever changing flora reserved areas dependant on conditions. Best to check with local councils or ask here.

 

[gcause]

Oh! I am a bit late to this conversation but happy I found it!
I am a total beginner with this prospecting thing so my suggestions might not hold much weight but....
I would like something like: Known panning locations within X Kms (search) (drop down selection for Panning/detecting/gem fossicking and also diff distances)
Also access - Does the area require 4WD or not!?
I have heard of prospectors having apps for burn off alerts. I believe this is both for safety AND to know when new areas open up that were too overgrown to detect? Would that be handy to incorporate?

Hi Karen,

All suggestions hold equal weight

Release 1 scope is closed for now so these would have to go into Release 2.

There is no known panning locations directory that I am aware of, best I will be able to provide is a layer that shows where all old mines were located and your proximity to them.

Will also be able to show all known designated fossicking areas / general permission areas (GPA's).

As to Access 4WD or not, don't have access to a directory service that tells me that to be able to create a layer from.

If there is a directory somewhere that advises when burn offs are occurring I could use that to show these. However it would not imply you have access to these areas. You still would need to obtain permission to the areas.

Thank you for your suggestions they are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Grant

 

[user 794]

Hi gcause

For two aspects of KiwiKaren's points you might find these of interest - but please note it has been some time since I was involved with the first one.

1) 4wd only roads. See Open Street Maps www.osm.org - free downloadable maps for Garmin can be obtained from http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ These should have tags showing 4wd only roads and there would be a directory somewhere behind the scenes. You might be able to find such at the Wiki http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Main_Page There is also a forum for questions etc. Lots of work though I suspect to find the "easy" way to get access to the directory you would be after.

2) burn-off information can be obtained for Victoria through http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/fire-and-emergencies/planned-burns I'm not sure about the other states and I'm not sure if the information can be accessed for applications like you are developing but you never know. This information can be inaccurate as sometimes the planned burns do not occur. They also used to show planned burns for an extended period but I can not find that now.

Good luck.

 

[Jaros]

Thanks for those links Detectist. They will be useful.

 

[Guest]

an overlay of know occurrences and old workings is a must,

when your account is activated you will get location maps in the download section, also some data is here

http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.g...eoscience-information/products-and-data#_maps

also an ability for it to work offline is another must as most gold bearing locations are outside of phone service

old historical gold maps would be nice as well found at the above link,

if the map was able to pin personal finds i would assume it would be abused by some to throw others off, my 2 cents anyhow

 

[dryhorrors]

hey gcause, is it just for gold and gem fossicking? i would add somthing in there for the relic/coin hunters such as heritage listed area's etc those fines can be scary
cheers
dan

 

[Ramjet]

Hi Gcause. Just found and read through this topic. Great idea, good luck with it. As dryhorrors says above, a relic/coin version would be great.
Best of luck with it.

 

[gcause]

an overlay of know occurrences and old workings is a must,

when your account is activated you will get location maps in the download section, also some data is here

http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.g...eoscience-information/products-and-data#_maps

also an ability for it to work offline is another must as most gold bearing locations are outside of phone service

old historical gold maps would be nice as well found at the above link,

if the map was able to pin personal finds i would assume it would be abused by some to throw others off, my 2 cents anyhow

Thanks for that Chemstar.

In terms of pinning finds:

• No one will be able to see the location of other app users finds on their device.[/*]
• Only the person who owns the device will be able to enter and see their finds.[/*]
• If they choose to export their finds as a KML, KMZ file then others would be able to see the find locations but only if they choose to share the files with them.[/*]

Cheers,

Grant

 

[gcause]

Hey Dryhorrors / Ramjet,

There is only one version of the app

There is no difference if you are chasing gold and gems or relic and coins to the app they are just different types of "Finds".

The app will allow you to enter "Finds" it will ask you what type of find it is. i.e. Gold, Gem, Relic, Coin, Junk, etc.

Finds will record:

• Find Type[/*]
• Location[/*]
• Brief Description[/*]
• Detailed Description[/*]
• Ground Type[/*]
• Depth of find[/*]
• Coil type used[/*]
• Time and Date found[/*]
• It will also allow you to associate pictures from your cameras picture album with the find[/*]

Different types of finds will show different pins on the map.

Cheers,

Grant

 

[G0lddigg@]

i cant wait till this comes out on android although I'm seriously considering buying a ipad just for your app grant.

as it is i use three different apps ....... crazy right

 

[gcause]

Hey Golddig,

Don't go to the expense of buying an iPad unless you really want one I will be bringing out an Android version that will work on the phones and tablets but it will be a few weeks / months after the iPhone / iPad one.

The tool I use to develop the application is Cross Platform that is it lets me reuse a lot of the code across all the different platforms i.e. iPhone, iPad, Android

The only code I then have to do is the platform specific code i.e. Map, Location, Accelerometer, Compass, etc.

The other complication with Android is there is 19,000+ models / versions of device out there with their own propriety tweaks to Android so being compatible with all of them is a real challenge. That is why I chose the iPhone and iPad to start with as I only have to deal with iOS operating system that is the same across devices.

That is also why I am taking my time building the base app as it will need to be reused and compatible across all these platforms, not an easy task.

Cheers,

Grant

 

[G0lddigg@]

hey mate i know these things take time to get right, the trouble shooting, the live tests, the customer feedback the tweaks......

I don't envy you at all. ....

Ive been involved with mobile apps development since 2007 (blackberry days) when we started rolling out sms to 13/1300 numbers, and building push email network sync across employee mobiles..... things were relatively simper back then and difficult in their own right.

Now like you said everyone has instant access to additional functionality that may conflict with your application.... live personalisation .

I get why you've gone ios that market is always there and will always be stable. for me ios didn't offer enough flexibility and it seems the more money i spent on an iphone the less control i had over my purchases, so after 6 years being apple i'm converted to Samsung nearly 2 years.

I didn't realize you planned to roll-out android so quickly after ios so I will wait mate.

were all very excited..........