[JenniferLeigh]

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I'm going to Thailand in a month, and I'm looking for something inexpensive to track my trip and geotag my photos.

In the past I've used Geotag Lite for the iPhone, however it failed to track me on my last hike so I'm a little iffy on relying on this. Does anyone have any experience using these GPS apps in Thailand? Battery life is also a concern.

I've also considering some dedicated trackers, such as the Columbus v990 or the i-GotU GT 600, I have a pretty limited budget (under $100). Looking something small with good battery life. I have a 7-8 day hike planned for next summer, so ideally I'd like to get something I could use on this trip as well.

Any tips or recommendations would be appreciated!!

Thanks!

[Lowell Goudge]

I don't know of any GPS that has battery life beyond about 14 hours at present. What you should look for, is something that has a removable micro SD card, and that plots track points to the card at regular intervals.

I use a rather more expensive farming unit, that also holds maps, and ther are free maps for most countries on line.

I use the freeware program geosetter for post processing the GPS data into the photos, takes about 20 minutes to set up and then can run for hours to write all the data. I have batched 1500 photos overnight.

Also note my GPS is water proof. Not weather resistant like a camera, truely waterproof. I use it kayaking, because it has an oversized body that has sufficient displacement to float. There are smaller waterproof units that do not float, which are ok if you never plan to go on water, but the cost is about 3-4 times your budget.

I logged 10 days in Corsica this summer with mine, generally charging batteries nightly

[JenniferLeigh]

Thanks for your input. I should be able to charge nightly in Thailand, but will look for something with replaceable batteries so I can bring extra for future multi-day treks. Waterproofing isn't a concern for me, if anything, I'll throw it in my dry bag but I doubt I'd need it. Size is key however, I'd like to be able to throw it in my bag, set and forget. My day pack is already getting big enough with my camera gear

[vonBaloney]

Thanks for your input. I should be able to charge nightly in Thailand, but will look for something with replaceable batteries so I can bring extra for future multi-day treks. Waterproofing isn't a concern for me, if anything, I'll throw it in my dry bag but I doubt I'd need it. Size is key however, I'd like to be able to throw it in my bag, set and forget. My day pack is already getting big enough with my camera gear

You can throw it in your bag, but you can't *bury* it in a bag and expect it to work accurately -- it needs to be just under the surface, preferably on top or in a pocket that is not covered up by other stuff -- technically it is supposed to have "a clear view of the sky" and all that. I use a Holux M-241 logger. But no card -- you have to offload the tracks with a USB cable and it needs a special driver which can be a pain. It can easily hold a week's worth of points though. Some others work like a thumb drive -- no driver needed, but I liked the features on the Holux better. With any of them, you will need to change the battery everyday, maybe more than once for really long days. The Holux takes a single AA, so I just use eneloops and switch it out everyday. So if you can charge at night that should be no problem and you'll only need to carry a few batteries.

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Last edited by vonBaloney; 11-01-2012 at 11:08 AM.

[JohnX]

Take a look on eBay for one of these - i-blue 747A. Battery lasts for a long time, but in any event is easily changed.

Supposed to log once a second, 125,000 data points = c35 hours.

Data upload from internal memory via USB cable or it'll act as a data logger in conjunction with another device via Bluetooth.

[Al Chicoine]

I have an iGotU-100 - tiny little unit, good battery life between charges, and (theoretically) waterproof. However, it was very difficult to tell when it was on (a blue light flashes, but hard to see in daylight). And the software that was bundled with it (@tripPC) is not the easiest to use. But most critically, the battery failed (permanently) after about 2 years. As there is no easy way to replace it, the unit is toast. I'd still recommend the thing - it was only about $70, and maybe I just got a bad unit - but decided to go in a different direction with my next geotagger.

Ended up buying a Garmin Foretrex 300. It's the size of a large watch, so a little larger than the smaller GPS logger. But it also has far more utility than simple data loggers (you can mark waypoints, select tracks, etc.) Also waterproof, and best of all, it takes AAA batteries (so easy to switch during your trip). For about $120 I think it's a solid value.

[Lowell Goudge]

Thanks for your input. I should be able to charge nightly in Thailand, but will look for something with replaceable batteries so I can bring extra for future multi-day treks. Waterproofing isn't a concern for me, if anything, I'll throw it in my dry bag but I doubt I'd need it. Size is key however, I'd like to be able to throw it in my bag, set and forget. My day pack is already getting big enough with my camera gear

mine is waterproof with replaceable AA batteries, I use LiNH AA cells at present.

you can get small hand held units with a size of a circa 2000 cell phone. ,i.e. 5 inches long 1 inch thick and 1.5-2 inches wide.

biggest size driver, like anything is screen size.

as I said, best bet is one with removeable micro SD. I put an 8 gig into mine, and there is no issue with track storage. the GPS writes one track fil;e per day and continually appends to it until the day is over.

[JenniferLeigh]

You can throw it in your bag, but you can't *bury* it in a bag and expect it to work accurately -- it needs to be just under the surface, preferably on top or in a pocket that is not covered up by other stuff -- technically it is supposed to have "a clear view of the sky" and all that.

Thanks I didn't know this. I'll make sure to keep it in the outside pocket

[vonBaloney]

Thanks I didn't know this. I'll make sure to keep it in the outside pocket

Some of them can also be picky about which side is up because the antenna is on one side. They are pretty good these days about keeping a fix even with some obstructions, but sometimes if it is not locked onto enough satellites it will throw my location off by anywhere from 100 yards to a quarter mile. But usually it is spot-on. If it becomes super-overcast (and you are still taking pictures) -- like "impending blizzard overcast" you might want to actually hang it on the outside of your bag to give it the best chance. (Probably won't happen in Thailand.)

[JenniferLeigh]

as I said, best bet is one with removeable micro SD. I put an 8 gig into mine, and there is no issue with track storage. the GPS writes one track fil;e per day and continually appends to it until the day is over.

Thanks, this is a good tip. I won't have access to a laptop but I will have access to extra micro SD

[vonBaloney]

Thanks, this is a good tip. I won't have access to a laptop but I will have access to extra micro SD

I think they all have plenty of storage, card or not. I'm not sure how much memory the Holux has, but it holds a ton. I think I have mine set to mark the location every 30 seconds, which is fine for hikes. If you are on boat or something you might speed that up. But the only thing it saves is just a tiny snippet of text, which in computer terms is nothing. They all hold at least 100,000 points (probably more), which means you could have it on 16 hours a day marking every 15 seconds for a month and it wouldn't fill up.

[JenniferLeigh]

Thanks, I know nothing about GPS units; so all this information is new to me.

[Lowell Goudge]

Thanks, this is a good tip. I won't have access to a laptop but I will have access to extra micro SD

that's the whole point of reasonable storage, all the post processing is after the trip.. card stays in GPS until you get home

I think they all have plenty of storage, card or not. I'm not sure how much memory the Holux has, but it holds a ton. I think I have mine set to mark the location every 30 seconds, which is fine for hikes. If you are on boat or something you might speed that up. But the only thing it saves is just a tiny snippet of text, which in computer terms is nothing. They all hold at least 100,000 points (probably more), which means you could have it on 16 hours a day marking every 15 seconds for a month and it wouldn't fill up.

Couple of points here to consider.

You need to look at each GPS but many only have a limited 10K point active track accessible through the usb/serial link. perminent storage to the memory card is different.

Downloading through the usb/serial link can be time consuming, if it is even possible with the GPS unit you have, not all permit direct read access to the card, only to the current track log. thats why I pull the card and download it separately.

I run between 1 and 5 second updates to the card, even though geotracker can interpolate between data points with a user selectable time window.

also note, some GPS units, to save memory have a variable track logging time interval, based upon looking at your current track, and if your track is a straight line, it only records the end points as long as your direction remains unchanged. this can be important when trying to go back to where you took a shot, if you are guessing between track points. My unit lets you select from a menu, variable time track points, or one of a large range of recording intervals. I like fixed intervals better than a variable interval, but cheap GPS units use variable to save on memory

[JenniferLeigh]

The Holux M-241 looks good, reminds me of a roll of Kodak film :P Price is right.
Holux M 241 Kostenloser Versand Bluetooth GPS Receiver Data Logger Eztour | eBay

[vonBaloney]

You need to look at each GPS but many only have a limited 10K point active track accessible through the usb/serial link. perminent storage to the memory card is different.

10K points is pretty lame for a dedicated tracker (that doesn't have a card option).

Downloading through the usb/serial link can be time consuming, if it is even possible with the GPS unit you have, not all permit direct read access to the card, only to the current track log. thats why I pull the card and download it separately.

It can be a pain to set-up the first time, but speed is not a problem.

I run between 1 and 5 second updates to the card, even though geotracker can interpolate between data points with a user selectable time window.

My initial thought was to use a pretty tight window, but when walking/hiking 5 seconds is overkill unless you need to know the EXACT spot you were standing on, which I can't imagine why you would. It is not like the pictures themselves are of that spot (except maybe for a macro) -- the camera could be pointing anywhere and to something far away from where you are standing. Also, when you are taking pictures, you are generally milling around the same area or stopped, so all those other points are keeping track of your position while moving but you'll never need those to actually geotag a picture.

also note, some GPS units, to save memory have a variable track logging time interval, based upon looking at your current track, and if your track is a straight line, it only records the end points as long as your direction remains unchanged. this can be important when trying to go back to where you took a shot, if you are guessing between track points. My unit lets you select from a menu, variable time track points, or one of a large range of recording intervals. I like fixed intervals better than a variable interval, but cheap GPS units use variable to save on memory

Yeah, I think the Holux has all those options, along with the ability to act as a GPS antenna for other devices via bluetooth. In any case, I haven't run in any limitations with it -- it saves my tracks, and I can tag them easily. I think it was about $60 new.

One other note: set the clock on your camera accurately so that you can sync up the pics properly later. The GPS will generally get its timestamps from the satellites, so there will probably be a time zone difference. Some recommend setting the camera time to the same as the GPS time, but I like my pictures denoted in local time. You just need to figure out the offset later so you can put it in the program that will set the stamps. Jennifer, after you get your device, come back and we'll walk through the process of actually getting the tags into your images. Much of the included software with these things is totally lame, so don't worry too much about that because there are other options out there (free, like Geosetter). Only if you need some particular feature that a particular brand is offering with their software (presumably something other than plain geotagging -- many of them have functions for runners, etc). Otherwise, you just need it to spit out .gpx files and that's it...