Light-weight GPS tracking
Original post
Hello.
Can anyone suggest a good GPS receiver that's optimised for simply tracking routes and not much else? (ie. No display required.) I'm thinking of something light-weight that I could maybe stash on top of my pack and almost forget about, then extract something like a GPX file from it afterwards.
I don't have much experience with GPS receivers but my understanding is that they chew through batteries. I suppose that part of the optimisation might be that it didn't wake up to check its location more frequently than necessary for it to survive a couple of days.
Does such a device exist? I'm quite keen to be able to track where I've been, but so far I'm just trying to get an idea of what's available.
Thanks for any help with this.
Mike.
Hi
if that's all your wanting to do you could look at a gps datalogger. They are light and cheap and generally give very high resolution tracks (downloaded on a pc).
I use a Holux M-241 (mainly because it takes AA batteries) & I download tracks for the opensource project: http://openstreetmap.org/
I picked it up on eBay for about $114
cheers .............dave
Hi Dave. Thanks for the help, that's very useful. "Datalogger" was the term I was having trouble nailing down, and now I've found there's a whole class of them, though apparently very few obvious places to find them in NZ apart from the odd camera shop.
I might keep an eye open from now on in case I see a cheap one pop up anywhere.
gps 60 range are quite good 5 days avg for batteries and you can look at it to get depressed every now and again. then you save tracks every couple days then plug into comp after. (Memory map software I use.)
The problem I found with a Datalogger was that it was hard to tell if it was actually working in the field. I bought a cheap one (cheaper than skiveoff's), had it replaced once when it failed and then sent the replacement back when it failed too. It is a real bummer assuming it is working and it isn't.
I use a Garmin 60CSX and leave it on all the time when walking. The track log goes onto the card so there no chance of running out of memory. A pair of rechargable AA batteries lasts one maybe two days and it has the high sensitivity antenna which is essential if you are working in the bush.
Well I appreciate the tips. I'm starting to wonder if I might have set my budget to low (both financially and weight). I'll keep all this in mind as I look out for things.
If you are considering buying a GPS, get a price from KiwiGPS in Christchurch. See http://forums.gps.org.nz/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24 on the NZ Recreational GPS Society forum.
He has supplied GPS for many Society members and gives excellent advise and service as well. he just operates from home, no shop or web site, just word of mouth.
and another vote for Tony (KiwiGPS). Excellent advice & guidance with the various mapping softwares out there.
ya kiwigps is good, he can load maps on and everything. 60csx is also what I use and batteries last 5 days and you save track log every 3 days or so depending on how far you walk!
Have you considered the Garmin ETrex? I think they can be found at some online stores pretty cheap.
https://www.notebookcity.co.nz/product/garmin-etrex-h-high-sensitivity-gps-receiver-built-adventure
These guys do a pretty good deal.
Search the forums
| Forum | Buy / sell / exchange |
|---|---|
| Started by | izogi |
| On | 15 March 2009 |
| Replies | 74 |
| Permanent link | |
Participation in the forums signifies acceptance of forum rules.
In order to manage spam, new members are limited to 1 post every 10 minutes.
Formatting your posts
The forums support MarkDown syntax. Following is a quick reference.
| Type this... | To get this... | |
|---|---|---|
| Italic | *Italic text* | *Italic text* |
| Bold | **Bold text** | **Bold text** |
| Quoted text | > Quoted text | > Quoted text |
| Emojis | :smile: :+1: :astonished: :heart: | :smile: :+1: :astonished: :heart: |
| Lists |
- item 1 - item 2 - item 3 |
- item 1 - item 2 - item 3 |
| Links | https://tramper.nz | https://tramper.nz |
| Images |  URL/of/image |
 |
| Mentions | @username | @username |