Acer n35 running GPS Data Logger The Acer is primarily a conventional relatively low spec Pocket PC PDA with built in GPS receiver and Destinator Maps (UK and Ireland maps provided in the price here in the UK). To turn it into a logging device while using the Navigation software I needed to duplicate the GPS COM port which is being achieved without problems to date using from Franson in Sweden (US$29.95 for the Standard version, US$9.95 for the Express version). This software provides virtual COM ports for the GPS receiver so that more than one software package can access the GPS receiver at the same time. For more on using an Acer n35 GPS see page. Also has one.

GPS Information on Garmin, Lowrance, Magellan and other CONSUMER receivers. Home › Hardware › Does any USB GPS work with. But no use investing in a gps receiver if it will not. I do not mined installing and tweaking drivers to make.

The Acer n35 is almost identical to the Navman PiN 570 GPS receiver, with the software being the main difference. Was able in the spring 2005 to run PDA. See also the. The n35 is a follow-up to the n30.

Where the n30 had a Bluetooth chip, the n35 has the GPS receiver chip. The Destinator (v.

3 and up) software is able to log by itself. You get a binary format which is described by, that page also includes a plain converter. Currently you lose information about number of satellites and how good the position is, but may be an alternative if you do not wish to use extra software. The N35 is known to have problems with the power/USB connectors with time. So after months of usage (specially in a car) the connector on the N35 will loose contact with the mother board, and the N35 battery will not be recharged nor it will be recognized in the computer.

An Acer N50 with a Bt-77 antenna Acer N50 is a normal PDA without an integrated GPS antenna. User use it coupled with a BT-77 Bluetooth antenna and to track his movements. Adapt (general) now has its own page. Asus A696, with display protective film, running TGPS This device is a PDA with • Windows Mobile (version 6 is installed on most devices) • GPS receiver: SiRFstarIII ( Caution: static navigation is ON by default!) • Display: 3.5 in LCD (240x320) • CPU: Intel XScale, 416 MHz • Internal memory: 256 MiB (the operating system reports total of 169 MiB for data storage and 53 MiB for program storage) • SD-Card slot (supports SDHC; I use a 8 GB card.

You may need to install a firmware update - download from Asus website) • WLAN, USB, Bluetooth, infrared, headphones connector I tested different GPS tracking software (OSMtracker, TGPS, NoniGPSPlot) as well as commercial navigation software (Navigon MN7) and everything worked well. Weeds Control Without Poisons Pdf Editor there. Bad things • Static navigation is activated by default. I used the SirfTech tool to deactivate it (just google for 'SirfTech'). As already stated somewhere on this page, when the static navigation is activated, it is not possible to create usable tracks when moving slow, means with normal pedestrian speed (under 4-5 km/h) or slower - the GPS unit will just not update coordinates. • Data transfer is slow over all interfaces (WLAN and USB are slow on this device, and Bluetooth/IrDA are slow per definition).

• When WLAN is activated, a blue LED is blinking; when Bluetooth is activated, an orange one is blinking. This is sometimes disturbing, especially at night or/and in the car. I found no way to deactivate these lights; tried some registry hacks from internet but they did not work.

Good things • Long battery time • Delivered with all needed accessories, including USB data/charger cable for PC, AC charger, car charger cable, car mounting bracket (not very stable; the device often vibrates, which makes reading the display very difficult) Asus GPS BT100. Globalsat DG-100 with washer • Datalogger/USB mouse • Price: €100/GB£100/US$90 • Type: datalogger and USB-mouse in one. • Trackpoints: 60,000 points • Battery: two AA NiMH batteries, 20+ hours, recharge trough USB-port. Holux GPSlim236 This is a bluetooth device, about the size of a small matchbox (46.3x67x19mm). Its lithium battery lasts about 10 hours, and is a standard model so you can get a cheap spare from eBay, etc. You can charge it via mini-USB but can't transmit data over this, as you need a special cable from Holux. I haven't tried this - Bluetooth is fine for me.

The USB cable gives to possibility to upgrade the firmware (enable WAAS/EGNOS) and disable the Static Navigation (bad for pedestrian use) with SirfDemo. Have used this with a laptop, Dell Axim PDA and Nokia 6230i with no problems. It has a SiRFstarIII chipset so is quick and accurate in getting a fix, with the usual caveats of 'canyoning' in cities. Standard NMEA output.

Had mine about 2 years. It failed after about a year but was promptly replaced. The newer GPSlim240 has a similar spec.

But no replaceable battery, though it's a bit smaller. More info: • • Holux GPSlim240 Also a Bluetooth device as the GPSlim236, but this unit is more compact (64×22×15mm 3), slightly less battery life (somewhere between 6-8 hours). Data is transmitted over SPP Bluetooth and gives standard NMEA output.

Receiver should be up to 3 meters away. Packaging includes USB cable and car lighter adapter ( Caveat: This should be obvious, but always remember to check the package contents list before buying; never had any trouble so far, but it's always good to be careful) for charging up the battery. Claims to have WAAS/EGNOS demodulator included, but never tested this. The unit has room for a lanyard which is not included in the package. Its only control is the on/off switch, and it has three LEDs for indicating low battery power, Bluetooth connection status and GPS signal acquisition. This unit was successfully used with Bluetooth-enabled laptops and Nokia N80 with only one firmware-related problem. Care should be taken not to use SiRFdemo's 'Synchronize Protocol/Baud Rate' option on Bluetooth devices, or to otherwise tinker with this unit's baud rate, as this caused it to output garbage from that point onward.

Turning it off and back on didn't work. Letting it run out of battery charge didn't work. What solved it was opening up the unit, finding the battery and shorting two of the three battery terminals. More info: • • Holux GR-213 This is a simple receiver that is to be connected to any computer. Delivered with a driver for most recent Windows. To make it run under Linux, just compile your kernel with support for pl2303 serial-to-usb (as a module or into kernel), then everything should be fine with GPSd. It features a magnet, which is quite useful to put it outside your car, on the roof.

I could ride at 130 km/h in quite heavy wind without having it to move a millimeter. It is also completely waterproof (once, i've forgotten it, and after being covered by 5 centimeters snow for a few hours, it still works). It outputs standard NMEA. Holux M-241 Article principal: Holux M-241 can be used as datalogger or as receiver via the Bluetooth interface.

It runs with a single AA alkaline battery, in logging-mode up to 12 hours. Under Linux, Java Phones, Palm and WinCE it can be used with (you will have to set the Baud rate to 38,400 bit/s).Also for Linux, helps you extracting/formating GPX files and clearing memory for next uses, much as gpsbabel works, and scriptable. More info: • • picky with the type of rechargeable batteries Holux M-1200.

Holux M1200 The M-1200 is Bluetooth device, though can be used with a custom USB lead. It is a sealed unit with a rechargable lithium ion battery. Recharge via USB or included car lighter lead. It uses the MTK MT3318 chipset and claims up to 23 hrs per charge. Colour LEDs show satellite lock, bluetooth connection and low charge.

They can be bought on eBay for about GB£25. Performance seems much the same as my older GPSlim 236, in a slightly smaller package. Only disadvantage is not being able to carry a spare battery.

-- 18:50, 22 January 2009 (UTC) HP iPaq hw6915. HP iPaq hw6915 showing OSM map of Windows Mobile 5 device (), with integrated GPS, camera, GSM phone, wifi and square 240x240 pixel display.,. Good things • Quick GPS connection with made by (finds satellites even trough thermally protected windshields, where other older GPS units cannot) • Up to 2 GiB of storage on a mini SD card (for maps, track logs, etc.) • Integrated camera and microphone could be used instead of note-taking with pencil.

Motorola A780 Linux-Smartphone showing the OSM map of Ludwigsburg with BikeAtor The mobile phone with build-in GPS receiver can be used with the -Software to track GPS. New versions of BikeAtor directly store tracklogs in GPX format compatible with JOSM. The original battery only lasts about 2 hours, but of course it could be replaced with one of a higher capacity to easily double the time. Other devices might give more exact results, but keep in mind: It's a cellphone with full navigation on board! No need for thinking about if you will or won't need your GPS - it's there, because you won't leave your cellphone at home, will you? Mio P550 Mio P550 is a PDA that runs Windows Mobile 5.

It has a built-in GPS module with the chipset. It´s possible to attach an external antenna. The device also features Bluetooth and WLAN. Car mount is included in the package. The device can be bought with or without included maps and navigation software from MIO.

A few of the devices sold before August 2006 had a problem with weak signal level, but the problem has now been by Mio. Questions about the device can be asked to Good things • GPS chip • Up to 2 GiB of storage on a SD card • All in one Bad things • Windows (crash, bluepage, etc) • Battery life (around 4 hours with GPS and not WLAN or Bluetooth turned on). The main problem with battery life appears to be caused by the Windows ActiveSync software continually trying to make PC contact. To fix this, follow this link: This details a procedure which adds a dummy connection, then sets ActiveSync to manual.

As a result, battery life is extended considerably. The Mio software also seems to be a bit of a battery hog. If you just want to log your track, look at Beeline GPS software - its inexpensive and includes a lot of useful geo-caching functions for quick annotation. • Mitac/Mio DigiWalker C510 A standard car navigation unit driven by SIRFstarIII and WinCE with simple media support and Bluetooth. As delivered the iGo software is completely useless for mapping, since it is not possible to get the GPX files out of the device. However, if you don't mind voiding the warranty, go to and learn how to hack it to add that feature (it is quite easy).

Pros • Quite accurate • Very good for car navigation • Easy hackable if you are into that sort of thing • Add a cheap SD card for practically infinite mapping Cons • Does NOT work for mapping without hacking • Low battery time, made worse by the device locking with a battery warning at 25% • Takes ages to recharge • Occasional 'blue screens' NavGear PX3015. Acessories Really look like Transystem i-Blue 747 Good things • Easy to use: plug on 'Log' to start logging, 'Nav' to enable Bluetooth communication, 'Off' to stop.

• Small 46.5×72.2×20 mm • Charge on USB • Removable battery • Deliver with a car lighter charger + normal charger • Documentation include a Quick Start guide and a complete documentation Bad things • No external antenna port for precise in car logging • Quick start Guide only in English • Software for Windows only • Saving capcity in raw NMEA, CSV, or KML but no GPX Navibe GB732. Navibe GB732 Interface: Bluetooth Display: none Memory: 0 Trackpoints Chipset: SiRFstarIII Price: €~50 (eBay) The GB732 seems to be a pretty cheap and good device. It is proven to work with PC, Nokia 6230i and Nokia E61. The signal strength is pretty good and it outputs NMEA. Coupled with the Nokia 6230i running TrekBuddy it's a perfect solution for logging. The 6230i has a slot for MMC cards (up to 256 MiB) and TrekBuddy logs to the GPX format.

This format can be used directly to upload it to OSM. Alternatively it can log to NMEA. It also has a separate rechargeable, replaceable battery (compatible with Nokia 6230i) with 1050 mAh, a hard power switch (no standby) and an external antenna connector (not really necessary since the internal antenna gets lock on 6-8 satellites outside). The device has 3 LEDs: Bluetooth, Battery, Satellite. It seems to be made in China since the manual and the drivers CD feature simplified and traditional chinese as main languages (others available, too). It comes with a USB recharging cable (USB ->MiniUSB), a car charger and a normal charger.

All in all a good device for a small price. Good things • Good GPS chipset • Cheap Bad things • Don't move it during startup, it won't get a lock • Signal quality really sucks when carried in pocket. The device must 'lay flat on the floor' for good signals. • In narrow streets with high buildings the signal might 'drift' (moving north west while in reality you only move west).

Standing still for a few seconds helps the device to get you back in position. Navibe GB735 • Interface: Bluetooth • Display: none • Memory: 0 Trackpoints • Chipset: SiRFstarIII • Price: €~50 (eBay) It is proven to work with PC and SE K600i (with TrekkBuddy). Good things • BL-5C Li-ion battery (used in few Nokia mobiles as well) removable by user • AC charger and car charger in bundle Bad things. Navibe GM720 • Interface: USB • Display: none • Memory: 0 Trackpoints • Chipset: SiRFstarIII • Price: US$35 (eBay) Works very well in combination with gpsd on Linux. Very cheap, but comes with minimal documentation and without software. It is also possible (although unlikely, and this is not a specific risk for this particular device but probably for each 'gpsmouse' device) to mess up the settings in such a way that one cannot connect any more with the device, leaving one no solution but to open it and disconnect the battery (which is soldered) to reset the device to its factory defaults.

2001 Dodge Ram Van 1500 Service Manual. Of course this voids your warranty. See also the utility SirfDemo. Navilock BT-359. Navilock BT-348 with car charger Connection: Bluetooth • Based on SiRFstarIII chipset (most time a good fix) • Lithium-ion battery pack removeable • 3 status LED: Power status (charging, full, low power), Bluetooth and Fix (>= 4 satellites) • On/off button • 72×40×23 mm Works fine with: gpsd (Mac), Cetus GPS (Palm), cotoGPS (Palm), GPS4Palm (Palm).

Navilock BT-455PDL Photo Data Logger Connection: Bluetooth and USB • Price: €99-119 • Type: datalogger and gps-receiver with Mini-USB and Bluetooth connectivity • Chipset: SkyTraQ Venus 5 • Datalogger capacity: 100,000 trackpoints, no waypoints • Battery: Li-Ion battery pack, removeable, ca. 8 hours • Charge: Mini-USB, charger und car-adapter provided • Connection: Mini-USB and Bluetooth • Size: 70×28×20 mm • 3 status LEDs (green: GPS fix, red: power, blue: Bluetooth) • 1 on/off switch • GPS receiver can be used with USB (via the Prolific USB2Serial driver) and/or Bluetooth serial port emulation, any system (but no software provided) • DataLogger can only be used with windows • More info: Mini-CD with proprietary software, installs as iTravel-Tech Application. Functions: • Upload data from device, • Google, • PhotoTagger SW, • Upload photos to Flickr, • Configure device • Installs Prolific USB2Serial driver Not so good things: • Bluetooth cannot be disabled • No waypoints • Requires proprietary software to read the logged gpx data • Software for windows only • Default installation requires administrative rights to run; but if you install into a writable directory instead, you can use it as ordinary user • Only google supported Navilock NL-302U.

Navilock NL-302U USB GPS Receiver Based on the engine board EM-411 from Navilock mounted in a more or less waterproof casing and an attached USB cable. Connection: USB • Based on SiRFstarIII chipset (most time a good fix) • USB Powered (max. 100 mA) • 1.5 m USB cable attached to the device • PL2303 USB-Serial converter chip (good Linux driver support) • Single status LED near the cable outlet (might not be available on earlier devices; might not work when in binary mode) • Very accurate when used in a car • not very accurate when hold in hand, accuracy seems to depend on direction towards sky accuracy was quite good now, I think last times this was just due to quite bad conditions. -- 18:11, 10 November 2008 (UTC) Works good with! Navilock NL-456DL (EasyLOGGER). Navilock NL-456DL (Wintec WPL 1000 Easy Showily) Connection: USB • Based on u-blox ANTARIS®4 SuperSense® • Powered by battery (2×AAA(LR03, size S)) (ca.

15 hours) • Can be powered by rechargable batteries as well (2×AAA). (1100 mAh NiMH ca. Medion E3210 • Type: Navigation System • Operating System: Windows CE Core 5.0 • Interface: USB • Display: touch screen 320×240 px • Memory: internal flash 1 GiB (probably less than 41 MiB free), optional SD-card possible (2 GiB tested), use of larger SDHC-Card unknown • Chipset: SiRFstarIII • Rechargeable battery built in, battery life: min.

3 h, car adapter included, recharge via this adapter or USB • Tracking update frequency: 1 Hz Sold at ALDI-Nord as Medion MD 96310 (E3210), navigation system. Software supports tracking, but this function is disabled by default. If a folder named 'Tracks' is created, the device logs all tracks there. This folder can be located either on internal flash disk (in folder ' My Flash Disk') or on optional SD-Card (in folder ' Storage Card'). The internal flash disk has very limited free space, the SD-Card can at least be up to 2 GiB in size.

Tracks are stored in *.trk format, which can easily be converted to *.gpx with GOPALnachGPX(). Data transfer via USB and Active Sync (works fine with Windows 2000 and XP). As this device is a navigation system there aren't any controls for GPS, although some people created alternative skins which give more control. Tracking runs always in background if the navigation is running, in card view mode as well as in navigation mode. The recorded track contains the real positional data, not aligned to any street data. Medion GoPal Navigator 4 ME • Type: Navigation System • Operating System: Windows CE Core 5.0 • Interface: USB • Display: touch screen 320×240 px • Memory: internal flash 1 GiB (probably less than 10 MiB free), optional SD-card up to 2 GiB • Chipset: SiRFstarIII • Battery life: min.

2 h, car adapter included • Tracking update frequency: 1 Hz Sold at ALDI-South as Medion MD 96860 (E3212), navigation system. Software supports tracking out of the box.

The recorded track contains the real positional data, not aligned to any street data. To turn tracking on, do this: • Press M button to leave the map display • Press the button for the system setup • Select Programm settings • Make sure Plot GPS track is activated The track will be saved in *.gpx format in the folder '/My Flash Disk/UserTracks'.

Merkaartor and josm can load the tracks out-of-the-box. Medion PNA470T • PNA470T: Personal Navigaton Assistant 470 Tmc • Operating System: Windows CE Core 5.0 • Processor: Samsung ARM920T-S3C2440A • GPS: SiRFstarIII • Display 4.3 in, 480×272 px Navigon MobileNavigator 4.X/5.X/6.X The software is able to store the NMEA logs parallel to normal card view, but also in navigation mode. It is the real GPS position stored and not the displayed one!! The software tries to position the arrow always on the nearest street. First you have to edit the file NavLib.ini in the MobileNavigator folder (MN 6: Edit mn6/NaviLib.ini). Search here for the section [GPS].

If it not exist create it. Then enter the line Autolog=1. This enables the logging function.

0 means no logging. Store the file. All logs are stored in the Windows folder (From MN 6.2: Stored in mn6 folder).

So be careful with long trips! They are named 'GPS Log Day-Month-Year Hour-Minute.txt'. When your tracks are logged you can move the files with ActiveSync on your computer and translate it with gpsbabel from NMEA to GPX. And now you can load them into. Navman 3450 IPAQ Sleeve A GPS receiver built into the IPAQ expansion-pack form-factor. Although the earlier models suffered from RF-interfence and excessively long warm-up times, the 3450 model seems to have solved most of these issues.

It also has an external antenna connection for improved in-vehicle reception. Once the unit warms up (1-3 minutes), it will find and hold lock with clear skys with ease. Performance near buildings and under trees is also quite good, as it will often hold a 3D lock. I found the program to work well. Click on the PocketPC image.

Click on the 3450 image. • Navman serial driver - you want the article titled - Serial Drivers for GPS 3100/3300/3400/3450 • Navman firmware update - you want the article titled - GPS Firmware Upgrade • Navman GPS tool (good for diagnostics) - you want the article titled - GPS Info Tool for Pocket PC Good things • Can be found cheap on ebay • If you get the original pack, it comes with the SmartST software, a windscreen mount and incar power-supply. • PDA screen/touch screen interface/good for making notes. • Compactflash II memory card slot to store tracks.

• Has an MCX external antenna port. • The NAVMAN GPS system is fully compatible with NMEA 0183 Version 2.20. Bad things • Battery life - this unit has no internal sleeve battery, so powers from the IPAQ battery unlike other expansion sleeves.

• It seems the in-car power supply may blow your PDA charging circuity, if you leave it plugged in when starting the engine. • Must install SmartST serial driver, not the full package. • Despite 3 different versions of SmartST and two different computers, I found it impossible to load the SmartST map software. • The MCX antenna port is quite fragile. Getting it working. Navman N20(/N40i/N60i) These Navman satellite navigation devices are not PDAs, but they run Windows CE. They can be used for OSM by enabling the 'GPS data logging' function, which can be found in the fourth 'Route preferences' screen (see, page 110).

For the iCN 500 series a similar option seems to be available, see, page 64–65 (option 'Track Recording'). When this option is enabled, the device will save.log files in the My Documents directory. These files grow until they are 2 MiB, in which case a new file is created and used.

When the device is full, it appears to start removing older files. The files can be downloaded to your computer using Actice Sync or using Linux.

The.log files use the NMEA file format which can be translated to GPX by gpsbabel. Good things • Route navigation usable while keeping track logs (not snapped to the map) • Also usable outside of a car Bad things • Windows (one hang in some two months of usage) • Power switch (or sleep/hibernate really) is too sensitive, especially when not mounted in a car. I can't compare the quality of the GPS logs to any other device.

Track points are written every second, so every movement will get logged. The system can track a maximum of 12 satellites and has an external antenna connector. Navman PiN 570 Car navigation system. To take track logs, go to Setup ->Guidance tab.

Under Route Recording click Start, then enter file name etc. The *.gps log file is an NMEA file which can be converted to GPX format using GPSBabel • Large screen • 256 MiB SD card supplied, about half is taken up with supplied maps. • USB connection via ActiveSync, or you can copy the file onto the SD card then put the card in a card reader Nokia LD-1W (Bluetooth) • SiRFstarII • Trackpoints: 0 points (no memory) • Weight: 65 g • Connection: Bluetooth (speaks NMEA) • Discontinued model Nokia LD-3W (Bluetooth) • SiRFstarIII • Trackpoints: 0 points (no memory) • Weight: 65 g • Connection: Bluetooth (speaks NMEA) • Price: €~90 Includes DC-4 car charger, is compatible with the default Nokia AC-4E charger. The SiRF chipset is by default in, so doing mapping at anything under highway speeds will be a bit of a pain without changing the setting.

Nokia Smartphones (general). Nokia E90 running Sports Tracker Application The Nokia N95, N79, N810, E71, E90, 5330 XpressMusic, 5800 XpressMusic, 6220 Classic & 6110 (among others) have built-in GPS unit. It's useful have an up-to-date version of the Nokia software that uses to substantially speed up start up times (without the update, every time the GPS gets activated, it needed to perform a 'cold start' and download full almanac data from the satellites, which took several minutes). According to, on the N95 you get the best reception by sliding the keypad out, then holding the phone upsidedown, so that the numeric keypad is at the top, and has a clear view of the sky.

However, once the phone has a GPS lock, it's fairly good about holding it when you close the keypad, and hold the phone. At least all Nokia smartphones based on Symbian S60 3th or 5th edition phones will communicate with external GPS devices using Bluetooth. There are many free alternatives for capturing GPS tracks.

You can also photos taken using these phones using Nokia's free. MrGPS MrGPS is an high-performance, compact, robust, comprehensive application which logs GPS tracks and provides real time statistics with voice aid. It produces GPX logs including track segmentation and waypoints. The speech capabilities of MrGPS allow real-time hands-free assistance. Geotagging is also provided, with the possibility to quickly associate names to tagged positions. To meet the widest customization requirements and address differentiated usage needs, MrGPS provides 240+ configuration settings through menus and property files.

MrGPS has specialized functionalities to monitor and report altitudes via visible and voice based alerts and can integrate applications to upload produced logs to your personal cloud storage. MrGPS has many corollary functions, like automatic time GPS sync, configurable voice clock, astronomic calendar, system information tool and others. Documentation: Nokia Sportstracker Download, a free GPS tracking program from Nokia research labs. It allows to record a trip and export it to GPX directly.

The software page says it is compatible with the following phones: N71, N73, N75, N76, N79, N80, N80ie, N91, N92, N93, N93i, N95, E50, E60, E61, E61i, E62, E65, E70, E90, 3250, 5500 Sport, 6290, 6110 Navigator, 6210 Navigator, 6220 Classic. To start recording, select New Workout, and then when you have a satellite fix, press Start.

At the end press Options >Stop. To save a route, select Training Diary, select the date, open the workout, then Options >Save workout >Export as GPX. TTGPSLogger You can download, a GPS logger software for Symbian S60 3rd Edition(FP1, FP2) and 5th Edition. The GPS tracking log can be written in NMEA, GPX, or KML format by using Built-in GPS or Bluetooth GPS.

It is necessary to sign TTGPSLogger before installing it. Please read the documentation for details. WhereAmI also works on Nokia Symbian phones. It shows your position on downloadable OSM maps but can also generate GPX trails and waypoints (text, numbered, photo and audio).

Nokia N95 (Smartphone) Good things • In good conditions quite consistent position and tracks (in opened configuration without anything blocking the receiver that resides underneath the number keys) • Produces OK tracks when using greater than walking speed (car, bus, bike, etc.), even within city areas with high buildings if traffic-lights won't stop you. Bad things • Tends to 'undershoot' on curves and requires tens of seconds to recover to the actual track (could have some stupid position correctioning instead of providing 'raw' data). If possible, taking corners from both directions help to find the middle spot (I'm thinking of some way to auto-correct this phenomena -ij). • Does not recover very soon from accumulated mis-position after a leg with bad quality. • Inside of trains, I've had no luck in getting fix, get one before entering one (probably applies to busses too but I don't have enough data to say for sure as I always get the fixes before-hand nowadays). • Walking speeds produce great wandering here and there, especially bad if something blocking or giving multi-path effects (much worse than with higher speed). • Height readings are utter garbage, at least here in north.

Nokia N810 (Internet tablet). Nokia N810 with bluetooth headset, adapted mounting bracket, and external battery pack Nokia N810 is sold as an 'Internet Tablet'. It is a pocket size Linux computer with a built-in GPS, wlan and USB connectivity, Bluetooth, sound in/out, a not very useful camera, tiny but very functional keyboard, and a much higher resolution (touch screen) display than e.g.

The Apple iPod Touch which is probably the main competitor (though not in our field because that doesn't have a GPS). It's 13×7×1.5 cm approx and comes with a car bracket (which can be adapted for bike handlebar mounting with some ingenuity). Note it *doesn't* include a mobile phone (though you connect through one using Bluetooth).

As well as the 2 GB solid state disk, there is a miniSD card which makes storage expandable. You would be hard put to fill 8 GB of card with tracks, but voice notes run at about 60 MiB per hour. It's comparatively expensive a solution, though no doubt second hand ones will start coming on the market in due course. However, if you are using audio notes (recommended, see below), the device can record these for you as well, so you don't need a separate dictaphone. The use of the GPS is highly dependent on which software is used. At the moment, OSM mappers will want to install. This records and displays tracks over a map background which is OSM's Mapnik by default.

Unless started in the same place as it was previously stopped, the GPS/Mapper takes quite a long to to get a fix, but once it has it is nicely dense and apparently pretty reliable (though is just as vulnerable to woodland and tall buildings as other GPSs). I () have found a very efficient way to use it is with a Bluetooth headset (with the microphone covered with a bit of washing up sponge to suppress wind noise) to record continuous audio, and an adapted version of Maemo Mapper which provides for a single touch anywhere on the screen to make auto-numbered waypoints (so I can use gloves - essential on a bike in winter). The absence of wires is a big plus. The battery life can be a problem. It is about 4.2 hours with the display on continuously (presumably this will degrade as the battery ages). Obviously you could carry a spare battery, but I bought a cheap AA battery cage which means I can power it on external rechargable NiMH batteries if the built in one runs out. 4 hours of urban mapping at one go is quite a long session anyway through.

On the whole it has been pretty reliable, but it has crashed once on me while surveying and meant I lost an hour's worth of tracks (I think I might modify Maemo Mapper to do a periodic autosave, but in the meantime frequent saves are recommended). I don't think you'd necessarily buy this just for mapping, but if you want a mobile browser, media player, note taker, navigator, PDA etc, this could be a good solution for you. I certainly like it. Footnote: Maemo Mapper currently seems to have a track limit of about 5 MiB in a single track. (AC7SS) Nokia N800 (Internet tablet) The predecessor to the N810, this device deosn't have a GPS. But used with a bluetooth GPS, you can get to use pretty much the same combination of software as the N810. The advantage is the much lower cost.

Progin T-368. Progin T-368 • SiRFstarIII • Trackpoints: max. 2 GiB SD/MMC card • Weight: 100 g • Connection: Bluetooth (speaks NMEA), mini USB (needs special cable) • Price: €~90 • LC Display with blue backlight • 75 mA power consumption @ 5 V DC Unfortunately all SD cards in the image did not work on both two of these devices I had ordered. A new 2 GiB Transcend card however worked out of the box. O2 (general) O2 is a German mobile phone company. The PDAs labelled as O2 are mostly (or all?) produced by HTC and have a different name.

If you know the name, please complete the list. Qstarz BT-Q818 Bluetooth GPS mouse Some specs as specified by the manufacturer: • Chipset: MTK • Internal antenna with built-in patch antenna with LNA • Protocol: NMEA-0183 (v. 3.01) • Bluetooth: V1.2, 15 metres in open space • Bluetooth profile: SPP • 32 simultaneous channels • Sensitivity: -158 dBm • Operational battery time: 32 hours (!) • WAAS/EGNOS • Auto on-off functionality • Comes with two chargers; one for normal outlets and one for car lighter sockets. Good things • Accuracy seems good enough for mapping streets in old city centers like, for example, Amsterdam and still get reasonable tracks. • The somewhat extreme battery-life of 32 hours • The auto-on/off function is nice; it goes to sleep when you don't use it ( but, see bad, below) • Aside from the two charging solutions, it can be charged off a normal USB connection (if you have the correct cable, it requires normal USB to mini-usb) Bad things • This one may not actually be a problem with the device.

It seems the auto-on/off function may sometimes interfere with proper operation of the unit, apparently depending on what software you use. I experienced lost connections while using it with, resulting in traces that stopped before I actually wanted to stop logging. So, not good, that. On the other hand, using, this problem seemed to occur less often and, more importantly, when it happened the software would notice and simply reconnect. Might be the same device as. Qstarz BT-Q1000P Travel Recorder It's a bluetooth GPS logger based on the MTK chipset.

Specifications according to the manufacturer: • Chipset: MTK chipset • Sensitivity: -158 dBm • 51 channels • Power: rechargeable Li -Ion battery compatible to Nokia BL-5C • Operationnal time: 32 hours • Support One Touch to turn On/Off LOG mode • Up to 200,000 records • WAAS+EGNOS+MSAS • Auto On-Off function in NAV Mode, always on in LOG Mode The device can be set up and logs can be downloaded over bluetooth with the MTK GPS Datalogger Device Control Tool which can be used on Windows, Linux, Java Phones, PalmOS and WinCE. With this Software the Qstarz can be configured to log at up to 5 Hz!

Qstarz BT-Q1000X Travel Recorder It's a bluetooth GPS logger based on the MTK II chipset. Mtkbabel works fine with this device. Qstarz BT-Q1200 Solar Travel Recorder This is also referred as Super 99 Bluetooth GPS Travel Recorder. BT-Q1200 Solar Travel Recorder It's a bluetooth GPS tracker based on the MTK chipset. The small solar panel on the front of the device helps to preserve the battery.

Specifications according to the manufacturer: • Chipset: MTK chipset • Sensitivity: -158 dBm with fast FFTT • 51 channels • Power: Dual Power Supply - Built in rechargeable Li -Ion battery & Solar power • Operationnal time: 48 hours (using the solar panel) • Support One Touch to turn On/Off LOG mode • up to 200,000 records • WAAS+EGNOS+MSAS • Auto On-Off function The good news is that this device is perfectly working with linux using the tool. Note that this device has a smaller patch antenna than the BT-Q1000 models which may impact sensitivity.

See the Qstarz BT-Q1300 Nano • Chip: MTK • Channels: 66 • Sensitivity: -165 dBm • WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS • Memory: 200,000 datapoints, can log 1Hz, Internal 4 MiB • is compatible with the BT-Q1300 too. Ricoh 500SE • GPS-ready digital camera with Bluetooth and wlan. • Integrated GPS module. • Alternately, the camera accepts data from external Bluetooth-enabled GPS devices. • User-defined data-dictionary for tagging the media with workflow-related information. • Keep memos as part of your photo information.

• Waterproof, shock-resistant. • Price will be GB£549.99 and GB£599.99 wlan version. • • RoyalTek Article principal: Scytex NaviGPS / Locosys (B)GT-11 Article principal: • Price: without Bluetooth: GB£65, (€94 as at Sep.

2006), AU$199 • Price: with Bluetooth: GB£76 (€112 as at Sep. 2006) • Both the standard and Bluetooth versions of the NaviGPS are available in the UK from. Storage Depot will donate 10% of the purchase price to OSM if you buy a NaviGPS from them – see for details. Storage Depot are now (as at September 2006) supplying the version – this is identical to the other than the text on the device says GT-11/ BGT-11 instead of NAViGPS. Notice: If you order at Storage Depot the device is delivered without a cycle mount, without an arm strap and with a UK (non Europe) 240 V adapter.

Storage Depot offer the as an option for GB£6. • The Bluetooth version is available in Canada from and. • In the Netherlands, the product is known under the name Amaryllo Trip Tracker.

Check • Check the for other worldwide distributors. • 12 channels.

• SiRFstarII • 8,192 trackpoints (6,000,000 trackpoints using optional 2 GiB SD memory card). • Stores up to 1 month – ½ year of tracks on 2 GiB SD card. • Made for: biking, jogging. The NaviGPS A compact GPS with basic navigation capabilities and data logging.

No facility to display a map. The GPS performance seems to be acceptable.

It makes a nice bleep and flashes a red light when it achieves lock-on which is nice and reassuring. The unit is solid, well constructed and quite compact.

It is waterproof (useful if it rains, or for other forms of ) It contains a non-replaceable rechargeable li-ion batteries with a maximum battery life of 32 hours. The standard version comes with a car charger as standard.

Both models have a USB serial connection for upload and recharging. The ability to recharge via the USB cable is a very nice feature. It also comes with a standard adaptor for recharging from a car and the most compact and nifty 240 volt mains adaptor I have ever seen. The screen is small (33×21 mm; 128×64 pixels) but quite readable in daylight with mostly clear displays. The status symbols on the right of the screen (2D/3D, battery indicator, etc.) are quite small and hard to see (with my eyesight). The backlight is red which is a bit unusual (maybe it's intended to preserve night-vision?).

It is easy to accidentally set it permanently on, or permanently off, rather than the default auto-off mode. It has only 2 buttons for operation: an On/Off/Escape button and a joystick-like button for menu navigation. The joystick can be operated, albeit a bit clumsily, while wearing thin gloves and riding a bicycle. Not sure if it would be possible while wearing very thick gloves (eg ski-gloves). The manual comes as a PDF document on a CD, or can be downloaded (). It is well written (for a Taiwanese user manual), and runs to 66 pages. The editor's introduction is written from the heart and is a nice touch.

It has all the standard basic GPS features: routes, waypoints and track-logs (but no map display). A trip meter is provided that is clearly designed for the cyclist. It also has configurable alerts for speed, altitude and destinations which some people might find useful. It comes with a simple Windows application for uploading/downloading routes, waypoints and trackpoints. Installation of the USB serial driver was a bit fiddly, but otherwise it works fine.

In the software 'Version 1.1 B20060228' there are two main download options (Oziexplorer/GPX/CSV and Waypoint+) in addition to the raw NMEA files. This software version also uses GPSBabel to export the data in KML format suitable for use with Google Maps and Google Earth. There is a backup/restore function which creates a 512k binary file which I suppose is a dump of its flash memory. For Linux users, the Windows application appears to work OK using wine. The USB interface on the device is supported by the pl2303 driver and appears as a serial port (e.g.

/dev/ttyUSB0) providing raw data for gpsd or gpsdrive. Some further Linux information is.

This page includes a link to a page describing a that can be used in place of the Windows program provided with the device. It can record 8,192 track points in the built-in flash memory at 'compact', 1, 5, 10, 30 and 60 second intervals. Track logs It has a slot for an SD memory card which records tracks in format.

A new log file is started as soon as the device is turned on and records continuously. We assume a: • maximum NMEA string has ~500 Bytes/s and a minimal NMEA string has ~100 B/s. • ⟶ 0.5-2.7 hours/1 MiB. • ⟶ 2,000-10,000 Trackpoints/1 MiB. • ⟶ 2-10M trackpoints/1 GiB SD card. • ⟹ 500-2,700 hours of pure tracks/1 GiB SD card. • ⟹ 2.5-14 month of complete tracklogs (1 s, 2 GiB card, 12 h/24 h) The SD card track log data can not be read via the USB cable.

You need to remove the card and use an external card reader. Initially the device failed to write any data to my SD card but it worked fine after selecting the 'format card' option.

The same card had been working fine in a digital camera so perhaps the NaviGPS is a little fussy about the formatting of the card (that's probably because the NaviGPS expects the card to be formatted without a partition table and will not use the card if it contains one). To convert the track logs from NMEA to a format usable by openstreetmap, see the page. Good Things • Good for cyclists (Notice: cycle mount and arm strap not included if ordered at Storage Depot) • Price! TomTom Go with additonal Logging Software Main article: and Transystem i-Blue 717 My package didn't say it was a Transystem device, but it seems to be one. This small device works well with PCs and Mobile Phones. It is only a GPS mouse, so there is no setup or configuration. It has the same features as the Qstarz BT-Q818, so you might want to read its reviews, to, which is also found on this page.

It also appears to be identical to the BlueNext BN-800GR. Good things • Very cheap (€30, eBay, Nov. 2007) • Smart Standby mode: In standby, battery will last more than two weeks. You can wake it up by simply connecting by bluetooth, after disconnecting it will go back to standy. • Has a hard switch to completly power down • Charged over a mini-USB connector (but no data transfer over USB) • Replacable LiIon battery which is compatible with many Nokia cell phones • Connector for external antenna Bad things • Accuracy may typically vary between less than 1 meter and about 10 meters. With bad weather, even 60 meters and connection losses may occur. • While it gets a fix after 20-30 seconds when standing still, it takes up to 5 minutes when moving, even if you are only walking slowly.

When driving car or bike, reconnecting may be impossible. • My mouse (the same) fixes also fast when driving or moving. Transystem i-Blue 737 • Bluetooth GPS • Mediatek (MTK) chipset • 1 Hz (5 Hz via hack, requires opening) • Charge via USB • 23 hours battery time according to review: Links • Transystem i-Blue 737A+.

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