Frederic

Good topic @Gaurav and good to revisit. Above i made an overview last year after doing lots of trials and tribulations. If your decision is to stick to smartphone (no Garmin devices), then these options i can recommend and i use myself: CALTOPO + Best website to organize and archive all your waypoints and tracks. (not the stupid folder type). This is my main program to store all my waypoints and tracks and never lost anything. + Phone application is fine to use which many custom map functionalities but there is a bit of learning curve. - Offline download of satellite maps is only low resolution due to copyrights. This is a pending issue. Using it online works totally fine. * Cost is 50USD/year if i remember correctly. GURUMAPS (app only, no website) + Very easy to install and use the phone app to navigate. + Free version allows for basic use. 40USD single purchase for life + Satellite imagery works fine if you have data on your phone. The maps are not super crisp but not bad at all. - No offline satellite imagery download option (only offline street and topo maps available). There is a workaround but it's quite complicated and i would not recommend (fetching MBtiles through Qgis).. There is also an app called GoatMaps, which have been launched by the original founders of GaiaGPS, but it lacks a lot of the functionalities and is not running stable with me. Then you have an app and website called Backtrackmaps, which surprised me with its ease to work with and the layout is similar to GaiaGPS. The only problem i see is that this is coming from a single owner / coder who made this, so i do not consider it as a professional platform. It has however lots of potential and might be worth testing. For any drive where i have data coverage, i use Caltopo and sometimes Gurumaps. For offline navigation i use my Garmin 276cx as it allows me to download Birdview satellite imagery beforehand which is quite nice. Takes some planning but i like the device as it's bulletproof and never let me down nor overheated.

Great to hear that! i agree that around 10psi is the sweet spot for the Geolanders on the short wheel base Pajero. Of course also good to double check with a second pressure gauge. I remember using a Viair pressure gauge for quite some time (which should be a top tier brand), only to realize that it was showing 10psi where all my other gauges were showing 12psi. Then i verified with inflating at the gas station to 33psi and that viair pressure gauge was showing 30-31psi, so definitely something was wrong, and 2psi in the sand can make a lot of difference Long story short 99% of the pressure gauges are made in China, but you can expect 1-2 psi difference in them. It's hard to tell if the measurement is really correct, but you will definitely feel the difference. cleaning the air filter should be indeed regular practice, and i also recommend checking your fluids the same time (before the drive). Those catalytic cleaners or injector cleaners i would say: it does not harm to try, and i do the same once in a while, where i put some injector cleaner and go for a highway drive in 4th gear to clean out the cobwebs from the exhaust 😁

Wheel spacers can be very helpful to widen the stance of your vehicle a bit, which is recommended after lifting it, so it does not become too top heavy. Some people claim it can cause premature wheel bearing wear. I have not experienced this with my previous vehicle. Just be careful that for RTA inspection it might fail if the tires protrude too far out of the fenders. Another potential issue is that it might rub the fenders a bit.

Totally deserved @Emanuel ! I've seen you improving every single drive, and your calm approach and teamwork attitude makes for a super pleasant drive experience! Spread your wings and fly my friend!

Well deserved @Kashx2 !

DRIVE DESCRIPTION Together with @Ishakin the lead, we will go and explore the pristine white dunes of Al Faya. Join us for a summer-fantastic drive! We request that every member who joins this drive review the information below and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquette, and responsibilities. MUST READ AND COMPLY Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities DRIVE DETAILS Level: Fewbie and above When: 10 Aug 2025, Sunday Meeting time: 06AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zmS98PammHuw72RW7 Approximate finish time: 9.30AM Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn. Mandatory off-road gears: Tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, shovel, first-aid kit, and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday 5PM. If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list. RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list. Latecomers will be returned back - Without any exceptions. Members without RSVP will be returned back - Without any exceptions. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON BELOW CALENDAR

It’s unfortunately not a standard M8, but a bolt with a special fine thread (if you are talking about an AOR off-road flag). Will bring a suction cup. Might do the job as well.

RSVP IS NOW CLOSED @Benje_Junior@kyle1west@INSTINCT@Kashx2@Gary F@Zahid Sharif@saumik1989@Danie@Ana@Johannes Roux@Deepak Eswar@Andrei S@J-P L@Simon D Glad to see you all signed up and join us in the middle of summer Few pointers for tomorrow: 1. We will use Channel 6: 446.13125Mhz Please bring your radio along, set to this frequency. 2. Please arrive by 5.45AM, so you have time to deflate and install your off-road flag. This way we can start the briefing at 6AM and head out before it gets too hot. 3. You can park your cars behind each other in this lane marked in yellow, rather than spread across the building: 4. Bring enough fluids and keep an eye on the car's engine temperature tomorrow. Summer is in full swing. See you tomorrow morning!

Great introduction Kyle ! See you tomorrow!

The 5 Watts or 10 Watts only relate to your broadcasting strength, not receiving strength. For optimal receiving quality, it’s the quality of the antenna and the radio in general that plays the biggest role. For broadcasting far and wide is where the 5 Watts or 10 Watts comes into play. Agree that within a convoy 5 Watts is more than plenty.

Hi @Mahesh_ very good topic you brought up! - When we created the 10 Carnity Frequencies, we wanted to make sure they are in the PMR446 range, which is the so called license-free frequency range. Doing this would avoid getting us in trouble with the authorities. Unfortunately these frequencies are indeed open for farmers and construction workers as well. However the most busy frequencies are usually 1,2,3,4. Perhaps we can start using 5,6,7,8,9,10 a bit more which should definitely help. - CTCSS codes are a nice option to use to avoid chatter on your chosen frequency, but the complexity for us to set it up is big. We regularly have new members joining us who struggle with programming their radios, and although we offer advice and help to program the most used ones, this would another layer of complexity with potential issues during the drive of not hearing each other or other broadcast issues. There used to be a time that most of our briefings were spent programming other people’s radios, and with so many different models being used this is a load that falls onto the shoulders of the marshal or lead. For that reason we decided not to use it. Worst case, Any new member that brings their radio can just type in the frequency we use, without further complications. - proper SQL or Squelch setting really does help, EXCEPT with the Baofeng UV5R which has squelch issues out of the box. For that reason there was a hack created that allows to extend the squelch way further than the original setting. It takes a laptop, CHIRP software, and 20mins of your time to install the hack. Whoever is interested let me know. - to avoid having two Carnity convoys using the same frequency, we have an internal drive planning sheet where we post the planned channel that each will use. This helps to avoid cross comms amongst channels, but sometimes we tend to forget or assume that the other convoy in a different emirate won’t hear us 😛. In reality when you are on elevated ground the signal can reach many miles.