BootsnAll Travel Community

This post is going to be a little bit nerdy, sorry in advance...

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with GPS data loggers or if they can recommend a specific one. for those of you who may not know what a data logger is here is an example: trackstick

I am looking for a module that has a good battery life (5+days) I would rather have it use an external battery (tripple a instead of lithium ion) because I am a backpacker and it would be much more convenient to change a battery instead of stop and charge the device. and it would be amazing if there is a Mac and PC friendly device...

my goal is to log road trips (ohio to portland, and eventually a 50 state drive) and then export the data to google earth/google maps so I can upload my exact trip to a web blog.

please let me know if you have had any experience with a device like this.

Thanks,
Steven

Any handheld GSP should be able to keep a log of way points and then allow download - you need to look for USB(wired) or bluetooth(wireless) connectivity - memory size/extendability for the number of points that you wish to plot. If you are doing a road trip it would make more sense to find a model which runs of the cigarette lighter in the car - most do. More on GPS Receivers

Yeah, a handheld GPS unit is probably your best bet.

1) it's about the same price as a unit that just logs location (like a GPS watch.)

2) You get a screen with maps, which could be pretty damn useful on a roadtrip.

3) They almost all run on regular alkaline batteries, and connect to your Mac or PC through USB cable.

Go visit hitch50.com

They used some custom code to use their cell phone as a GPS device and send the data real time to a server. The result was a real time update of where they were. It was very slick.

If you are going to be in a car, what I've done in the past is to use a USB GPS and just have it plugged into the laptop and use my laptop to collect the data.

Thanks for the input, i have seen hitch50 and i agree the live (every 15 minute) updates were really slick.

i already own a tomtom one gps for my car so i wasnt too worried about a screen and actual mapping software. i was more interested in a light weight, small device that i could put in the netting of my backpack to log hikes (entire Appalachian trail?) and also log my drives. plus wouldnt the screen drain batteries fast?

i like the idea of expandable memory, but at the same time a 4MB text file is pretty huge...

i like the gps watch idea, that way i wouldnt have to worry about remembering to carry a track stick around when i leave my pack behind.

I use a Garmin GPS Map 60CS (current model is the 60CSx)for cycling, sailing, and Geocaching. It logs tracks (20, with 10,000 points). It can hold 1000 waypoints. You can upload maps either from CD, or on SD cards. I've only tried Garmin's own maps and charts. Connection to the computer is USB.

Unfortunately, Garmin has yet to release their interface software, MapSource, for the Mac.

I really like Motion Based for storing and analyzing my tracks. I used it to do exactly what you propose: uploaded tracks from a cycling trip in Germany to Motion Based, then exported them as a set to Google Earth. What fun to zoom right down and see the towns we rode through along our track. MotionBased offers some extra analysis, and it logs weather conditions for your tracks grabbed from nearby weather stations.

Also unfortunately, the Motion Based agent that sucks data from the GPS to the website only works on the Mac with a couple devices (and not mine). Otherwise it's Windows all the way.

I rebel against Windows favoritism, but I'm also sick of not being fully functional on the road. So I recently partitioned my Intel PowerBook and installed XP, just so I could do navigation planning without having to carry a Windows laptop.

Humm. I think I out-nerded you!

Miamc, thanks for the great information.

I ended up buying this receiver http://www.semsons.com/rorggpsdalos.html

I should have it this friday (March 7th) I will let everyone know what I think of it. If anyone is interested in seeing how I plan to use it, I have been programming away at a new travel blog. http://stevenkeller.com/blog

thanks again,
steven

Does anyone know of any loggers like the Trackstick that will sync with Macs? I've spent the last day looking around and haven't been able to find one.

Thanks,
Marc