Tried to map a local mound site with my phone's GPS and got a totally wrong reading

I was helping a friend check out a small mound group in central Ohio, about 15 of them in a field. I used a free GPS app on my phone to mark their spots. When I got home and checked the data against an old survey map from the 1970s, my points were off by almost 30 feet. I think the phone's basic GPS just isn't good enough for this kind of work, but my friend says it's fine for a hobbyist and the old maps could be wrong too. Has anyone else tried using consumer tech for field notes and run into this kind of problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathang6712h ago

30 feet off? That's not even close...

casey_campbell11h ago

Funny how we've all gotten used to that kind of sloppiness. It feels like a lot of things are just "close enough" now, from delivery times to assembly instructions. That 30 feet isn't just wrong, it shows a real lack of care in getting the basics right. Makes you wonder what else is that far off when nobody's checking.