Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
I'm very pleased with my Garmin eTrex Vista HCx. Bob if (*ra4 != 0xffc78948) { return false; } On 19 Apr 2012, at 13:20, kenneth gonsalves wrote: > hi, > > what are recommendations for a handheld reasonably priced gps unit? > -- > regards > Kenneth Gonsalves > > > ___ > talk mailing list > talk@openstreetmap.org > http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
On Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:20:10 kenneth gonsalves wrote: > hi, > > what are recommendations for a handheld reasonably priced gps unit? Bit old these days, although maybe that makes it cheaper, but I love my Garmin Geko 201. Waterproof, takes two AAA cells. Reasonably accurate. Robust. Well-implemented features. I'd like to know what's current, but I am always extremely happy when I use my Geko. Best wishes, Andrew ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
Hi, Am 19.04.2012 14:20, schrieb kenneth gonsalves: > what are recommendations for a handheld reasonably priced gps unit? I am also very happy with my Garmin eTrex Vista HCx, allthough it doesn't feature a recent GPS chipset. On the german list there is a discussion at the moment about current GPS-loggers (+ Bluetooth-connection to use them as GPS dongle for other devices) and their chipsets. Very interesting (and new) devices that have been mentioned there: http://www.kowoma.de/gps/geraetetests/wintec_wbt202/wbt202_p1.html (using u-blox 5) http://www.kowoma.de/gps/geraetetests/iblue%20747A+/iblue747A+.html (MTKII-chipset) The pages are in german but you can find other reviews of these devices via Google. Depends on what exactly you are looking for. A device with a "big" screen for map display and navigation or just a GPS-logger with pushbutton to create waypoints ... Best regards, Jannis ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
kenneth gonsalves writes: > hi, > > what are recommendations for a handheld reasonably priced gps unit? I still enjoy my Columbus/Visiontac V-900. It's a GPS data logger which records georeferenced audio notes. It's quite compact, and the battery lasts from morning to night (rechargable). -- --my blog is athttp://blog.russnelson.com Crynwr supports open source software 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315-600-8815 Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | Sheepdog ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
What do you want to use it for? What's your budget? What features do you need? Any special requirements? etc Steve On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 10:20 PM, kenneth gonsalves wrote: > hi, > > what are recommendations for a handheld reasonably priced gps unit? > -- > regards > Kenneth Gonsalves > > > ___ > talk mailing list > talk@openstreetmap.org > http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
Do you know how this compares to the newer touch screen Garmin devices (Dakota, Oregan, Montana)? I know that upon release the GPS performance (read "Accuracy") of the touch devices was below the Vista HCx. Wondering if they could fix that via firmware upgrades or even improvements to the hardware. I really liked my Vista HCx, because of the very fast time to fix, the high accuracy and the fact that it actually had a scrollable map (something the Geko is lacking). But then the usability with that small joystick was just... bad when using the map. Claudius Am 19.04.2012 14:40, Thomas Davie: I'm very pleased with my Garmin eTrex Vista HCx. Bob if (*ra4 != 0xffc78948) { return false; } On 19 Apr 2012, at 13:20, kenneth gonsalves wrote: hi, what are recommendations for a handheld reasonably priced gps unit? -- regards Kenneth Gonsalves ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
On Fri, 2012-04-20 at 16:52 +1000, Steve Bennett wrote: > What do you want to use it for? What's your budget? What features do > you need? Any special requirements? an NGO is constructing toilets over an area. They need to map the locations and state of construction/repair/beneficiaries etc. They will need several devices as 50,000 toilets are being done - so around 200 USD. -- regards Kenneth Gonsalves ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
kenneth gonsalves writes: > On Fri, 2012-04-20 at 16:52 +1000, Steve Bennett wrote: > > What do you want to use it for? What's your budget? What features do > > you need? Any special requirements? > > an NGO is constructing toilets over an area. They need to map the > locations and state of construction/repair/beneficiaries etc. They will > need several devices as 50,000 toilets are being done - so around 200 > USD. The Columbus V-900 is $89. Charges via USB, records on a micro-USB, has a button to take a waypoint, or another button to press to record a georeferenced audio note. Gets a fix within two seconds if the previous fix was less than two hours ago. It's only 1cm thick, so it slips nicely into a pocket. -- --my blog is athttp://blog.russnelson.com Crynwr supports open source software 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315-600-8815 Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | Sheepdog ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
On Sun, Apr 22, 2012 at 11:22 PM, Russ Nelson wrote: > [..] The Columbus V-900 is $89. Charges via USB, records on a micro-USB, > has a button to take a waypoint, or another button to press to record > a georeferenced audio note. Gets a fix within two seconds if the > previous fix was less than two hours ago. It's only 1cm thick, so it > slips nicely into a pocket. > > I've been eying the Columbuses. Do you know what the difference is between the V900 and the (newer) V990? One feature that I particularly like about the 990 is the ability to switch to passive mode (GPS off) when the internal accelerometer doesn't detect movement or the device loses its fix for more than a few minutes. That would mean you could just forget about switching the logger off and on. Does that really work? Also the built-in voice tagging seems nice, anyone tried that for mapping? Link: http://cbgps.com/v990/index_en.htm -- martijn van exel geospatial omnivore 1109 1st ave #2 salt lake city, ut 84103 801-550-5815 http://oegeo.wordpress.com ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
On Mon, April 23, 2012 14:09, kenneth gonsalves wrote: > On Fri, 2012-04-20 at 16:52 +1000, Steve Bennett wrote: > >> What do you want to use it for? What's your budget? What features do >> you need? Any special requirements? > > an NGO is constructing toilets over an area. They need to map the > locations and state of construction/repair/beneficiaries etc. They will > need several devices as 50,000 toilets are being done - so around 200 USD. > -- > regards Kenneth Gonsalves What about a camera with built-in GPS? That way you can make photo documentation of the progress at each site with a timestamp and geostamp[1]. Many cameras also record audio, so you could have timestamped, geostamped audio too although I'm not sure how independent/integrated the GPS in such a camera is. Remember, when taking a picture *of* the site to adjust for the offset *to* the site, or just take a picture straight down or something. A random 30 second search brought up the Casio Exilim EX H20G for $199 at Amazon. Another option is a smartphone with a built-in GPS, but maybe they are expensive. Best wishes, Andrew [1] I'm not sure if anyone uses the expression "geostamp" although Wikipedia assures me it exists. ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
On Mon, 2012-04-23 at 15:31 +0900, Andrew Errington wrote: > > an NGO is constructing toilets over an area. They need to map the > > locations and state of construction/repair/beneficiaries etc. They > will > > need several devices as 50,000 toilets are being done - so around > 200 USD. > > -- > > regards Kenneth Gonsalves > > What about a camera with built-in GPS? That way you can make photo > documentation of the progress at each site with a timestamp and > geostamp[1]. Many cameras also record audio, so you could have > timestamped, geostamped audio too although I'm not sure how > independent/integrated the GPS in such a camera is. as far as I know, the accuracy of camera and cellphone GPS units are not enough - we are talking of toilets in row houses in villages, a few meters apart. (I may be wrong here). -- regards Kenneth Gonsalves ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
I can imagine it could be annoying if you are stopped in a tunnel and it switches off and later logs are then lost. Phil On 23/04/2012 6:37 Martijn van Exel wrote: On Sun, Apr 22, 2012 at 11:22 PM, Russ Nelson wrote: [..] The Columbus V-900 is $89. Charges via USB, records on a micro-USB, has a button to take a waypoint, or another button to press to record a georeferenced audio note. Gets a fix within two seconds if the previous fix was less than two hours ago. It's only 1cm thick, so it slips nicely into a pocket. I've been eying the Columbuses. Do you know what the difference is between the V900 and the (newer) V990? One feature that I particularly like about the 990 is the ability to switch to passive mode (GPS off) when the internal accelerometer doesn't detect movement or the device loses its fix for more than a few minutes. That would mean you could just forget about switching the logger off and on. Does that really work? Also the built-in voice tagging seems nice, anyone tried that for mapping? Link: http://cbgps.com/v990/index_en.htm -- martijn van exel geospatial omnivore 1109 1st ave #2 salt lake city, ut 84103 801-550-5815 http://oegeo.wordpress.com ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA256 On 23/04/12 07:37, Martijn van Exel wrote: > > I've been eying the Columbuses. Do you know what the difference is between > the V900 and the (newer) V990? One feature that I particularly like about > the 990 is the ability to switch to passive mode (GPS off) when the > internal accelerometer doesn't detect movement or the device loses its fix > for more than a few minutes. That would mean you could just forget about > switching the logger off and on. Does that really work? Also the built-in > voice tagging seems nice, anyone tried that for mapping? Link: > http://cbgps.com/v990/index_en.htm I used to map with the V-900 until the plastic case broke on the edge with the LED. I know of two disadvantages. 1. You always needed a charged battery as acurrency droped a lot if there was not much power left. 2. It is only possible to log either audio or gps-position at once. E.g. you can only log audio while stopping, otherwise you will miss parts of the track. Maybe that changed as I used version 1. Cheers Colliar -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux) iEYEAREIAAYFAk+VJ18ACgkQalWTFLzqsCvaqwCgzq0Pwk9HxZyf93B5W7VvhwA2 qn8An0VDRiqoc2CaZ/5ca5pXPqex2+yT =dm5o -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA256 Oh, I forget one major disadvantage: There was no usb-data support. Therefor you always had to pull out micro sd and use a card-reader to transfer the data. Cheers -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux) iEYEAREIAAYFAk+VKNcACgkQalWTFLzqsCtSgwCffh6UH1GHmXL9G2FeYefr4bhK a0MAn1cjUbjGr2CJp4qCbPFTYSi4d9C9 =r4uP -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
> From: Andrew Errington [mailto:a.erring...@lancaster.ac.uk] > Subject: Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit > > What about a camera with built-in GPS? That way you can make photo > documentation of the progress at each site with a timestamp and > geostamp[1]. Many cameras also record audio, so you could have > timestamped, geostamped audio too although I'm not sure how > independent/integrated the GPS in such a camera is. Remember, when > taking a picture *of* the site to adjust for the offset *to* the site, > or just take a picture straight down or something. > > A random 30 second search brought up the Casio Exilim EX H20G for $199 > at Amazon. The Canon Powershot SX230 is a good option since you can put open source firmware on it. The problem is the accuracy of camera GPS units is pretty bad, and battery life can be an issue. You're better off with a separate unit and then syncing them up. ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
Am 23. April 2012 12:05 schrieb Paul Norman : > firmware on it. The problem is the accuracy of camera GPS units is pretty > bad, and battery life can be an issue. You're better off with a separate > unit and then syncing them up. +1, I guess it is similar as with smartphones (AFAIK the main problem is the antenna): I am often taking fotos with an iPhone and record the track in parallel with a Garmin. When you later compare the geotags of the phone with your GPS-tracks from the Garmin you will see much butter accuracy from the dedicated device, but the phone has the advantage of storing the direction (orientation) very precisely. In JOSM you can later associate the GPS-positions from the separate track to the photos and the cool thing is that the orientation data from the phone is kept in the photo together with the new position data. cheers, Martin ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
I have the VisionTac VGPS-900 (which is the same as the Columbus V900), and am very happy with it. 1) For me, the audio recording is a vital feature, especially when mapping house numbers, shops, POIs, turn restrictions etc. Having used this a lot, I can't see myself going back to a logger without audio recording! I have _not_ had any problem with the audio recording function stopping the recording of GPS points - it seems to work perfectly OK for me. 2) Accuracy is good. 3) Seems to get a fix quite quickly, even when you've moved a long way with it turned off. 4) Battery lasts ages. 5) The onboard software does quite a lot of interpolation/extrapolation, so that you can sometimes see the track overshoot when doing a sharp turn. I've seen a review online somewhere that shows this happening with all of the 'high sensitivity" GPS-receivers though, so not unique to the V900. 6) As someone else mentioned, there is no USB data connection (the USB port is for charging only), so you have to take out the microSD card to transfer the data to a PC. Mine came with a USB microSD reader, so I don't see this as a problem. As far as I know, the V900 does not have any internal accelerometer, so if the V990 has one, then that's a difference. -- View this message in context: http://gis.19327.n5.nabble.com/handheld-gps-unit-tp5651586p5660208.html Sent from the General Discussion mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
Philip Barnes writes: > I can imagine it could be annoying if you are stopped in a tunnel and it > switches off and later logs are then lost. It sleeps until you start moving again. Martijn van Exel writes: > I've been eying the Columbuses. Do you know what the difference is between > the V900 and the (newer) V990? Looking at the specs, the V990 doesn't have bluetooth, has a longer-life battery, and a more sensitive GPS receiver that gets a fix faster. It also doesn't come with a micro-SD card, nor a wall charger. Otherwise it looks identical but $30 cheaper. > Also the built-in voice tagging seems nice, anyone tried that for mapping? It's supafine! It's my favorite method of mapping. When you use my columbus-to-gpx.py converter, it produces a GPX file with voice file links that show up as audio bubbles in JOSM. Click on the bubble and it plays your note. It has some flaws, but the audio mapping is SO much fun that I ignore them: o The plastic surrounding the corner LED tends to crack. o There's a slight delay after you press the button before it starts recording. o It chops off the end of your audio note, so you have to release the button a few milliseconds after you stop talking. o It stops recording the track while it's recording your voice. o You have to pull the micro-SD to get the data off of it. o It has a bizarre log file format. It's a combination of comma-separated AND null-padded fixed-length fields. SRSLY> o It's so small and lightweight that it's easy to leave in your pocket when you do the wash, and it's not waterproof. I only washed it once, but once was enough. o It writes files into the root filesystem, and when you fill up the vfat directory space, it crashes. o Sometimes (I haven't figured out when) it crashes when I push the record button. Then it goes deaf, lights up the corner light white and then turns off. If I turn it back on, it quickly gets a fix and starts recording again. Takes about fifteen seconds total. Like I say: flaws and all, I'll buy another one when this one dies. -- --my blog is athttp://blog.russnelson.com Crynwr supports open source software 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315-600-8815 Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | Sheepdog ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
Re: [OSM-talk] handheld gps unit
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA256 On 24/04/12 04:02, Russ Nelson wrote: > Philip Barnes writes: >> I can imagine it could be annoying if you are stopped in a tunnel and it >> switches off and later logs are then lost. > > It sleeps until you start moving again. > > Martijn van Exel writes: >> I've been eying the Columbuses. Do you know what the difference is >> between the V900 and the (newer) V990? > > Looking at the specs, the V990 doesn't have bluetooth, has a longer-life > battery, and a more sensitive GPS receiver that gets a fix faster. It also > doesn't come with a micro-SD card, nor a wall charger. Otherwise it looks > identical but $30 cheaper. > >> Also the built-in voice tagging seems nice, anyone tried that for >> mapping? > > It's supafine! It's my favorite method of mapping. When you use my > columbus-to-gpx.py converter, it produces a GPX file with voice file links > that show up as audio bubbles in JOSM. Click on the bubble and it plays > your note. There exists an extra JOSM-plugin for the Columbus which works nice > It has some flaws, but the audio mapping is SO much fun that I ignore > them: I have only mentioned the cons., so far and did not talk about the pros: I liked it. Audio mapping is the best. It is much cleaner than talking photos and way faster than typing comments. The device is small, light and its battery lasts very long. Overall I, even knowing the flaws, I would still recommend it. Cheers Colliar -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux) iEYEAREIAAYFAk+ZQYEACgkQalWTFLzqsCuSJgCfX9DRmyFCtV4AFIws1YKT8b0X 9O0An228JJMJ5RkIgDGFaf/z+QqpsanX =H/ib -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk