Looking for a simple gps tracker with long battery life
I like to track the path when I cycling or hiking (e.g. this). Now I use my phone for this purpose which is totally inconvenient because of the battery.
So, I looking for something which can track my path
- Ideally, without any display.
- With a big enough battery.
- Ideally, with an ability to put some marks on the track.
I tried to google, but it looks like Garmin watches have too many options. And spot 3 requires some annual plan which probably an overkill for me. Also, I don't need heart rate tracker/cadence/whatever sensors.
Are there any types of gps devices that fulfill these criteria?
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The Garmin etrex series have what you need. It has long battery life (24+) active tracking and what's better you get them accepting AA batteries so you can bring spares. If you set down the tracker timer to once every minute and switch it off when you are immobile it 'll last even longer. The screen is not iPhone quality but you don't want to stare at a screen, it eats battery. It provides what you need and is fairly cheap. It helped me navigate some tricky terrain, where the path was gone and difference between wrong and right was less than 10m. I hate getting surprised by fog, but fortunately sturdy and no-frills equipment makes continuing your life more plausible now and then. Edit: you can down and upload maps and tracks with USB. And they are waterproof.
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The offer is quite qood these days if anyone is interested
With MTK based chipset (MTK II - MT 3329 - GPS constellation only). Almost all have bluetooth to communicate position to smartphone (better quality position probably, since smartphone is not optimized for GPS reception)
- Qstarz BT-Q1000 and variants. Has button for POI (to put marks in the log). Has replaceable battery - the common and easy to find Nokia battery BL-5C
- Transystem I-Blue 747 - same as above, one seems to be a clone of the other.
- Transystem GL-760 - has button for POI, integrated Li-Ion battery. No bluetooth.
- Holux RCV-3000 no button for POI, has replaceable Nokia battery BL-5C. No button for POI unfortunately. Newer variants have chipset Mediatek MT3333 which has Glonass, Galileo also
With Sirf chipset :
Canmore GT-750F - chipset Sirf Star IV (GPS constellation only) . Uses the same Nokia BL-5C battery. No button for POI
Transystem GL-770 - chipset Sirf Star V - (GPS, Glonass, Galileo etc). Integrated Li-Ion battery. Has button for POI
I tested almost all of them except Transystem GL-* and all have battery duration like 24 - 30 hours in logging mode. Precision seems better for Sirf one (Canmore GT-750F)
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For one day a phone will do it. Most android phones allow GPS in flight mode and there are plenty of apps that will log tracks offline (I use one called IPbike as a bike computer with data and WiFi turned off, for example). Some allow you to select how often to get your position, to save battery.
An alternative is an old non-mapping GPS. I've got an old etrex that does about 20 hours off a decent set of alkaline batteries. It records tracks (but you need a serial port to get them onto a PC). For navigating you would need to use it with a map, though it can display a route for you to follow, and a bearing to the next waypoint
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