View Full Version : PDA's Bushcraft training tools
Hi Im just about to get a PDA, Something ive been putting off for a long time as i havent been able to justify it (funny i dont normally have that problem :-D with toys n gadjets ).
But ive finally found enough reasons to go for one now looking at them im going for a Windows Pocket PC based model as they now have a massive capability compared to a couple of years ago.
In fact Im going for a O2 XDA2 which is a mobile phone and a PDA this has the same or better specs as most other PDAs but is half the price.
One of the first things i will put on it for out door use id memory map or similar closley followed by a blue tooth GPS receiver ( as mentioned in another topic in this section ) I really want to use this for logging Dives and dive sites but it will be great for tracking and marking Outdoor resourses etc .
With the modern storage capability (SD Cards up to 1GB ) a massive amount of data can be held many many volumes on out door stuff ie E books Do we have a list of Ebooks relating to Bush craft ??
The other thing is you can write your own as you ar in the field the XDA2 has an inbuilt camera used for Stills and Vidio clips etc so you can build up pictures on plants etc for sorting out later etc
Being a phone as well it can dial straight into the Web so giving access to unlimited info Even posting a question on here when you may need a quick answer like can i really eat this and if so how :shock:
Or a short vidio and voice over from when you where shown a technique back on the course and need a refesher when your trying it on your own.
So to recap
What Bush crafty E books or soft ware is out there
ATB
Duncan
Well had a quick search and found this Ebook place
and an outdoors section
http://www.ebooks.com/subjects/492.smm
any of these catually any good ??
ATB
Duncan
i can't help but think that our friends in the colonies :shock: :-D have a slight lead in this field. perhaps you'd be better off asking the forums over at www.equipped.com i reckon chris kavanaugh and his mates will be the best source.
i've heard of several very helpful e-books available. don't forget associated subjects like first aid and so on.
cheers, and.
I think sargey was spot on refering your to Chris :biggthump
well after a look round the web last night there are several websites doing ebooks just ahve to sift out the usefull ones
Nother thing seems there are many software packages to help write your own ebook in the right formats etc so no reason you cant do your own yes you can do it on these machines in Word etc But your own library of short ebooks written how you understand and on on teh things you need to reffer to seems like a good idea
Duncan
Well ive found and down loaded a copy (free) of the US army Survival Mannual = 2.5MB but havent had a chance to look at it yet (think i have the paper copy some where :roll: )
Ive also found several usfull looking titles unfortunatly not all ebooks are the same and only certain formats are suitable for PDA use and not all are avalible in all the formats :yikes: mainly the ones i would like ie more specalised like Wild plant ID, or wilderness recipies,
I have also found a freeware ebook publishing program so i can make ebooks in .LIT format from Word docs etc so i can tinker with producing my own aid memoir books and see if they have any advantage over just using Word format etc on a PDA
if any one is interested i can compile a list of my findings and put em in the recources folder on here ??
ATB
Duncan
Viking has a link to the Swedish army survival manual which is great but is in swedish :-(
most of the books on the expedition advisory centre website are free to download, and they are very good
www.rgs.org/templ.php?page=5expepub
You can also create ebooks for Microsoft Reader (which is included with Windows Pocket PC) using a free Word Add-in:
http://www.microsoft.com/reader/developers/info/rmr.asp
You can also create ebooks for Microsoft Reader (which is included with Windows Pocket PC) using a free Word Add-in:
http://www.microsoft.com/reader/developers/info/rmr.asp
Cheers unfortunatly it only works on MS Word 2000 and 2002
I have 97 at home and 2003 at work :banghead:
this is what im looking for but again its not avalible on a format for MS reader or Pocket PC
http://www.ebooks.com/books/128840.smm
ATB
Duncan
Adobe Reader is available for the Pocket PC ...
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrppcdload.html
Been after an excuse to get a PDA :-D
Exploriment
01-04-2004, 07:29
This site is a veritable treasure trove of (in many cases free) apps for PDA's.
http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1?file=palm_milapps
joe.ford
08-04-2004, 12:22
:-) I've had a pda for my college course and was wondering if their are encyclopedia type things, thanks to reading your suggestions I may find sumthing :You_Rock_
Justin Time
09-04-2004, 10:08
For those of you woh like to keep track of animals on your local patch, or your estate if you're wealthy, there's a cool free programme called CyberTracker (http://www.cybertracker.co.za) which works on Palm PDAs.
This site is a veritable treasure trove of (in many cases free) apps for PDA's.
http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1?file=palm_milapps
unfrotiunatly most are For Palm Based units
However ive now had my PDA for a couiple of months now and its very impressive
Ive purchased a set of Memory Map Digital maps this works well and have a fair bit of 1:50000 loaded on the PDA and well as the Road Atlas and a marine chart
Im going to Get a Bluetooth GPS reciver for it later
The main reson for the mapping was for me to log my Diving of the south coast which works well ( even got the marine case for it )
Ive solved the problem for Bush Crafters on Battry life At the NEC show there was a small stand selling a Small Solar powered unit that charged 2 AA batteries this could then be plugged into the PDA ( or mobile phone etc ) to recharge it it was little bigger than a Packet of Fags
http://www.solartechnology.co.uk/Frameset.htm
Just need some Plant recognition stuff now ( found a French e book but couldnt get the free trial to work :-x
ATB
Duncan
So have you found any e-books on plant recognition and any other bushcrafty stuff yet then?
It would be soooooo cool to have all the edible plant, wildlife, field guides and books I use ALL stored on my PDA (or at least on SD cards I could drop in) - my idea of heaven! Dream on, right?!? :?:
my mum has a PDA :naughty:
and a SD card :naughty: :naughty:
Containing lots of bushcraft ebooks??? :shock:
Now all I need are some books to download to it.
Anyone know where they could be got or even better, why doesn't bushcraftuk start up an e-book section that some of the techie people could do. That would be sooooooooo cooool! :o):
TheViking
12-09-2004, 19:44
Kath: what about the australian outdoor manual?? :-) I believe Scott has the link. There's also a vehicle part in.
Containing lots of bushcraft ebooks??? :shock:
No but lots of bushcraft pictures that i've put on there.
why doesn't bushcraftuk start up an e-book section that some of the techie people could do. That would be sooooooooo cooool! Um I think copyright laws might have something to do with it ... :wink:
So anyone want to compile a list of books that they would want. You never know the publishers might spot it and realize there's a market for putting out ebook reader formats for PDAs...
Mine would be (to start with at least):
Food for Free
Collins Gems: Trees, Wildlife, Flowers, Birds
Complete British Wildlife
I mean write their own ones and put them up for all to use.
the members could contribute to it and get together photos etc and the computer lords can put it all together.
Kath, what does it mean when Adi goes Hmmmm......
As someone who works as a writer I can say that would be a huge project representing a LOT of hard work for no return. It's a nice idea though, Scott! :wink:
Kath, what does it mean when Adi goes Hmmmm...... :?: Dunno but as a rule generally it means he's :mischief:
As someone who works as a writer I can say that would be a huge project representing a LOT of hard work for no return. It's a nice idea though, Scott! :wink:
I'm not saying that one person would have to sit down and do it. We could all contribute to various bits just like everyone contributes to the forums, sharing their knowledge etc.
Um I think copyright laws might have something to do with it ... :wink:
So anyone want to compile a list of books that they would want. You never know the publishers might spot it and realize there's a market for putting out ebook reader formats for PDAs...
Mine would be (to start with at least):
Food for Free
Collins Gems: Trees, Wildlife, Flowers, Birds
Complete British Wildlife
Good start,
I'd add one or more of HFW's cook books for some extra ideas about what do do with the sucessful forrage!
Cheers
David
Scott
Take a look at Total PDA (http://www.totalpda.co.uk/xhandheld.aspx?section=1), they have some pretty good deals on clearance and refurbished PDA's. I've got an iPAQ 3970 with a 256mb sd card. I've got memory map on it and it works pretty well.
What PDA would be good for downloading e-books etc and taking pictures for recording bushcraft information, also one where something like memory map can be put on it. And also infared/wireless access. Maximum price £200
The best one i found (was a few months ago so may now bw out of date)
is the O2 XDA2 which has a built in Camera and the bigest on board memory 128mb and the fastest chip ie 400mhz (like i say this may be old hat now )
Oh its a phone as well if you can get any decent signal from O2 :roll: which i cant :yikes:
oh its also smaller than most others even before you consider you dont need a separate phone
Have memory map loaded as well as Marine charts etc
I still havent found any ebooks to suit what i would like
But what you really want is an interactive book that helps you ID stuff
by selecting characteristics like leaf shape etc then when you found it has all the info you need including what you want to do with it
then you tag it on memory map so you can find it later :o): with your own photo and info etc if helpfull
and dont forget to log a reminder in the calender/Outlook to come back later in the year when the plant or fruits are going to be ready to collect
ATB
Dunc
tenbears10
28-09-2004, 14:09
Hope this isn't too off your thread but can I put ebooks on my ipod and read them in the field?
I will look into it but just wondered if any of you knew.
Bill
Not sure about the Ipod but I can recommend the XDA 2. If your looking at getting one though it might be best to wait for the XDA 2i to come out (should be really soon) It's got a slide down keyboard and a much better camera. Should be about the same price too.
I've got a brill little IPAQ 5450 which does the job and has built in wifi for where the wirless internet reaches so I can get on here on my travels!
Cheers
David
Not very bushcrafty, but for eBooks in general try to have a look here www.gutenberg.org
More than 13.000 titles.
Did anybody find any decent bushcraft ebooks in the end?
also what PDA would you recommend for the great outdoors?
Biddlesby
25-07-2005, 21:01
Not particularly for the great outdoors, but my PalmOne Zire72 does very nicely - cheap and with some good power. You can load an infinite number of programs on it - mine is music player, internet (through phone), organiser (of course), tv remote....etc etc.
And non of that microsoft crap either ;).
Bardster
25-07-2005, 21:54
You can get the "Fast Wild Food Cookbook" here http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/wildfoodjj/index.htm#morerecipes
its a free PDF download and as someone mentioned before you can get a PDF reader for pocketPC
its a great little booklet.
Biddlesby
25-07-2005, 23:10
Downloaded it. It looks good - looks of little recipies.
sandbender
26-07-2005, 07:30
Hope this isn't too off your thread but can I put ebooks on my ipod and read them in the field?
I will look into it but just wondered if any of you knew.
Bill
You can, but only ebooks converted to plain text...
"iPod 2.0 software brings exciting new features to your iPod, including a Note Reader that displays text files that are stored in the Notes folder on the iPod.
The Note Reader also displays the folder hierarchy in the Notes folder, allowing you to organize your notes."
"The size of any single note is limited to 4kb, any text beyond 4kb is truncated.
The Note Reader supports up to a thousand notes"
The iPod is probably not as useful as a palm for use as a digital device out in the wild.
Another option would be for folks to check out ebay for the older Macintosh Newton 2000 - 2100 organiser (£80-120), for a unit which was discontinued nearly ten years ago these machines have an incredible amount of support on the web and theres always new software in development for them. Add to that the huge screen which can switch to landscape view and you will have a much better ebook reading experience.
However it's greatest asset for those heading in up country is up to a month of battery life from four AA cells!