Looking for a GPS for only one purpose

[ambys]

Data logging!

 

What I want to do is bring a GPS with me that will simply log the waypoints of an extended trip, so that I can send it to my PC for reference when I get back. I don't need any navigational features (heck, I don't even need a screen!), but long battery life is a must for extended trips.

 

I have a Palm TX and a bluetooth GPS module, so if necessary I could write some software that will do the trick (I knew that comp sci degree would come in handy ), but I thought I'd see if there's anything on the market that's suited for this purpose.

 

Does anybody know of anything?

 

Ambys

[gapertimmy]

I had the Garmin Gecko which was a great, small, light GPS unit (so small and so light that I either lost it or it got stolen) that doesn't have many bells and whistles.

 

http://www.backcountry.com/store/GRM0025/Garmin-Geko-201.html?PID=2196890

 

It has a screen, and does excellent navigation... but you could use it to simply log your tracks and download it to your PC. I think this model still uses a Serial interface so keep that in mind.

 

Garmin units that have USB interfaces tend to be a bit more spendy which is just ridiculous as most laptops don't come with serial ports anymore.

 

I attached the gecko to a ski strap and put in on my wrist for navigating, but it works well inside a pack too just for making a track.

 

Reception was just as good as other eTrex series I had owned, but like most GPS would have issues in deep canyons or in dense forests.

 

For what its worth, I think if you are going to carry the weight, you might as well have a unit that you can put some waypoints into... you never know it might come in handy someday.

 

mfgr page with all the stats on weight, battery life, data storage etc:

http://www.garmin.com/products/geko201/spec.html

Edited February 23, 2007 by gapertimmy

[sweatinoutliquor]

I second the geko. Cheap(ish), light, get's the job done.

[Kevin_Matlock]

From the garmin link Timmy posted above....

"Battery life: Up to 12 hours"

 

Is this considered good? I'm in the market too and I don't really see any units that have crap for battery life.

Seems to me a person would want to turn the thing on and LEAVE IT ON while it records your trip. But based on the short battery life, it appears all the makers of GPS units expect you to (A) get to a way point location and (B) turn the device on, wait for it to aquire sats, THEN save the location.

 

This seems like such a hassle and not very practical. Am I missing something?

[Ovr40]

it appears all the makers of GPS units expect you to (A) get to a way point location and (B) turn the device on, wait for it to aquire sats, THEN save the location

That's the drill with my Garmin etrex summit. It's not too bad really. I keep it in an accessible pocket, and the unit will acquire sats while walking, so it doesn't break my pace.

[Kevin_Matlock]

Hypothetically speaking, you see a potential way point that you suspect you would want to record but before you reach it you turn the unit on?

I have an old garmin and it takes 5 to 10 mins to fully aquire (to "3D navigation") so this would require me to either stop for this period of time at said waypoint and wait for it to be ready -OR- I've got to know in advance that I will want to record the location and will just have to turn the unit on?

I see this being an issue if you are in unfamiliar locations or when you can't see more than a few hundred yards ahead of you.

 

I dunno, still seems a little bit of a pain and just don't understand why they can't always be left on. Even a "low power record mode" would be nice.

Guess I should get to work inventing this!

[Mal_Con]

Most all of them already have a low power mode called battery saver or the like. The problem is they all contain an oscillator which has to be powered in order to receive and if it loses the signal it takes awhile to reacquire. Newer ones are faster and can be turned off easier. but are more expensive.

[ambys]

FYI, this is more type of thing I had in mind.

 

http://www.trackstick.com/ TrackStick

 

Battery Life: 5-7 days

Waypoints: ~4,000 at timed intervals.

No screen or in-field features.

 

The new SirfIII chipsets allow GPS receivers to save a lot of battery life because they remember where the satellites were even after the unit is turned off. Acquisition time is therefore significantly lowered.

 

I would take my Palm TX out in the field and write custom software, but I don't think that it would operate at such extreme temperatures. The Track Stick looks as though it may be a good bet.

[Kevin_Matlock]

5-7 day life is more like it!

 

But I wonder how well "remembering" really works? I know on mine I can see the sats moving around over a short time. Just makes me think that if you had the thing turned off for a couple of hours positions would have changed enough to call for a complete "re-acquire".

[ambys]

But I wonder how well "remembering" really works?

Well, I can say that it works great on the GPS I've got in my car. Since my first use it's never taken more than five seconds to pinpoint me.

[Lupin]

The SIRF chip makes a pretty significant difference. For example Garmin added the SIRF chip to some of there higher end GPS' in the last 6-8 mo and even just out of the box the one with the SIRF chip aquired satalite quite a bit faster than the ones w/o.. took about 5 min (and the unit thought it was still in taiwan when i first turned it on)