GPS logger - Specific question.

R

roe1and

Messages
20
Edit My Images
Yes
I've been looking at getting myself a GPS logger. But it has to be:

a) not too expensive
b) run on aa or aaa batteries
c) must be able to get the time off it

I've been looking at the Holux M241c but it's a bit difficult to get a hold of here in the UK

Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Cheers
 
Well, mine only meets one of those requirements, it was ~£40, the QStarz Q1000p. However, I would say don't get caught up on it having to have aa/aaa (or any other easy to get hold of) battery type. Many devices nowadays will charge from USB. You can get solar, wind-up or battery powered mobile-saving devices to charge USB, and a GPS logger is going to be low powered. If you see a model you like, but it doesn't have the right battery, consider alternative charging methods before dismissing it.

Relatively cheap. It is ~3cm by 2cm by 5cm from memory.
Does not use aa/aaa, it has a proprietary lithium battery. However, it uses a 'standard' miniusb connector for both charging and data download. This means that you could get a wind-up, or mobile saver device to recharge it if you are worried about batteries. (I suspect that this could be done with most GPS data loggers, so unless you are really tight on space/weight, I wouldn't let the battery type hang you up too much)
Batteries last between 1 to 4 days, full usage. It can do logging at 5Hz (5 times per second), or up to never. It can log based on position, speed, time, and records HDOP,PDOP, NSAT etc. IF YOU WANT IT TO. If you do not want these, you turn them off, and the 4Mb of data storage will go further. I record HDOP and position only I think. This will last a significant time. I usually set it to every 5m I think, and use a computer to filter to HDOP <=2
It has no screen.
I have in the past recorded trans-atlantic plane flights, after the initial lock (which took ~5 hours after being shipped from HK), it usually locks within 20 seconds in a car (often a lot lot faster), and will sustain a lock better than some othe GPS devices I have.
To connect to it, you use USB or bluetooth. The bluetooth is good, when I have been on holiday, I set my laptop up to scan the bluetooth channels, when the GPS datalogger comes into range, the laptop automatically logs into it, downloads the RAW data, performs any UTC/GMT/daylight correction and splits the tracks into days. It also wipes the memory and resets the capture type, so I can just walk away and continue with the device (unless it needs charging).
 
a). I suppose it depends on one's definition of expensive. But I doubt that mine (Genie BGT-31) would count at £130.

b) Mine also uses a rechargable Li-Ion batteries, chargable via USB (or a couple of AA/AAA in a charging unit with a USB cable attached). I used mine in Africa and it logged my position once every second for almost three days continuous on a single charge.

c) I can't believe there's a logger available where you can't access time as part of the log.

I originally bought a small, cheap logger - the i-gotU - and found it difficult to configure, hard to use and seemed to have a bttery life measured in seconds rather than days. As with everything in life, it's worth paying for something usable.
 
Given configuration, the software which comes with dayaloggers always seems to be rubbish.
However, as most of them use a standard chipset, there are many programs (such as the bt747 that I use http://sourceforge.net/projects/bt747/ ) that give much more fine-grained control over the devices.
For example, one of the devices I had, had a power-safe measure which was not possible to turn on from within the supplied software!
 
+1 for the QStarz logger. They are great (though as mentioned, the bt747 software and geosetter is a far better option than the software they come with)
 
roe1and said:
Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Cheers
Click to expand...

What type of mobile phone do you use?

Most modern smart phones have basic GPS and some form of logging.

For example the iPhone will log the GPS of any picture taken on it, and my old Samsung can save and log coordinates.

Not the shiniest option, but certainly a decent budget one if you already have the device and don't mind manually entering the data!
 
I have a Qstarz Q1000P too which is good. Good battery life and as others have said there are ways and means to recharge.

The problem I had with it was memory capacity. On a long trip at the logging frequency I wanted the internal memory wasn't big enough.

After a bit of research I found three Wintec WBT-202. It logs to a micro sd card (comes with a 1GB one) which is good for months. The logs are also accessible via USB mass storage and are usable directly with my geotagging plugin for Lightroom (with the help of GPS Babel).
 
Just a quick update. I got me the Holux M241c and I'm well impressed. Battery(I use rechargeables) last well over 12 hours which is more than enough for me and the reception is really good. It picks up even on badly overcast days and doesn't seem to mind when you pop in and out of tunnels or shops. The display is a huge plus especially when you travel across time zones. I would definitely recommend this!
 
coldpenguin said:
Given configuration, the software which comes with dayaloggers always seems to be rubbish.
However, as most of them use a standard chipset, there are many programs (such as the bt747 that I use http://sourceforge.net/projects/bt747/ ) that give much more fine-grained control over the devices.
For example, one of the devices I had, had a power-safe measure which was not possible to turn on from within the supplied software!
Click to expand...
+1
Good bit of software that. There is even a J2ME version which will run on most older phones, I used it from my K800i.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top