![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johnridleyI ordered GPS items last night. I wound up getting two things:
Car navigation GPS - I got a Garmin 1390LMT for $180. I wanted the 4.3" widescreen, which gets up to $120 or so (for the 255W). And at that point, the upgrade to the 1350LMT is an absolute no-brainer - it was something like $160, and comes with lifetime map and traffic - just lifetime map updates is $80 when bought separately, so getting it with the GPS for $40 is the way to go. Then I bumped to the 1390 to get the bluetooth, it was another $15, and while I don't know if I'll ever use it, if I ever want it I'll never beat $15 cost. Then I added another $4 to get it from Amazon instead of some Amazon partner called "portable guy" which doesn't inspire that much trust, and it's something I may want return rights on.
Geotagging tracker - I nearly went with the AMOD unit, but it takes AAA cells and only has a 12 hour battery life, and the sensitivity is not the best out there. I don't want to carry a whole 'nuther type of battery just for this, I already carry enough crap. I wound up with the QStarz BT-Q1000XT. It uses a LiIon battery (charges from mini-USB so I already have all the charging stuff). The new version uses an updated chipset with 66 channel reception, runs 42 hours on a charge, and is said to have enough sensitivity that it can retain a GPS lock inside or in the overhead compartment of an airplane.
On the downside, it does require using their software to download tracks. But on the upside, their software is apparently really good and will optionally export Google Earth KMZ files which allow a virtual fly-through of your track with the photos you took embedded and viewable, which seems like a pretty cool thing especially for small areas, like "hike through xxx national park" or something.
The other downside is that the damned thing went up $10 while I was waiting until payday to buy it.
Car navigation GPS - I got a Garmin 1390LMT for $180. I wanted the 4.3" widescreen, which gets up to $120 or so (for the 255W). And at that point, the upgrade to the 1350LMT is an absolute no-brainer - it was something like $160, and comes with lifetime map and traffic - just lifetime map updates is $80 when bought separately, so getting it with the GPS for $40 is the way to go. Then I bumped to the 1390 to get the bluetooth, it was another $15, and while I don't know if I'll ever use it, if I ever want it I'll never beat $15 cost. Then I added another $4 to get it from Amazon instead of some Amazon partner called "portable guy" which doesn't inspire that much trust, and it's something I may want return rights on.
Geotagging tracker - I nearly went with the AMOD unit, but it takes AAA cells and only has a 12 hour battery life, and the sensitivity is not the best out there. I don't want to carry a whole 'nuther type of battery just for this, I already carry enough crap. I wound up with the QStarz BT-Q1000XT. It uses a LiIon battery (charges from mini-USB so I already have all the charging stuff). The new version uses an updated chipset with 66 channel reception, runs 42 hours on a charge, and is said to have enough sensitivity that it can retain a GPS lock inside or in the overhead compartment of an airplane.
On the downside, it does require using their software to download tracks. But on the upside, their software is apparently really good and will optionally export Google Earth KMZ files which allow a virtual fly-through of your track with the photos you took embedded and viewable, which seems like a pretty cool thing especially for small areas, like "hike through xxx national park" or something.
The other downside is that the damned thing went up $10 while I was waiting until payday to buy it.
