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It was a little challenging to get it installed and running. I had done a lot of research before settling on this GPS logger. I also knew the included PC software was weak but the logger received such high reviews for sensitivity and longevity. But I have big plans of it on my next cruise in Jan 2011.I found the BT747 software suite to support Bluetooth transfers natively on my Mac. I know GPX is just an XML file but to edit the points based purely on GPS coordinates is a nuisance.In summary, I give this unit high marks on its intended purpose. I am very happy with the performance of the logger.
There are plenty of Mac and PC software packages to perform data mashups and photo geotagging. I knew it did not come with Mac drivers or software. But it works and it works reasonably well allowing me to create GPX, KML or many other file formats. It is definitely accurate and seems to log for hours on end. I have not yet taken a long trip. A little frustrating is the lack of good paid or free GPX editors.
The main caveats are in terms of software which works but could be better.
Rated for 48 hours, it actually lasts a week or more with 1-2 hours usage a day.It is a huge improvement over using any of the built-in GPS of phones with quick, accurate, and highly-sensitive locks, ESPECIALLY over the horrible Qualcomm GPSone that's currently in all HTC phones.Works quite well with Google Maps, Garmin Mobile XT, CameraAware Buddy, Navizon, and so on. Forget hacking your phone's registry to get less lag and better GPS response. Just get this, and break the HTC/Qualcomm shackles of the heater/battery-sucker crud known as GPSone.Does not conflict with your Bluetooth headset, so you can sync both to your phone at the same time. Registry hacking in Windows Mobile phones may be necessary in order to configure the GPS sharing (known as GPS Intermediate Driver) to use the Qstarz on an external com port.
I left it run almost 2 days, nearly 42 hours, before it died. It went on a trip to Ireland the Scotland with me and performed so well I am thinking of new ways to push it to see where it might fail.First it locked on just about anywhere, inside airports while in my luggage, inside the overhead bin on the plane while inside my luggage, inside cars while in my pants pocket, in buildings, in hotels, in pubs large and small. I can charge from my laptop, desktop, car charger, wall charger, even from those little engergizer 2xAA battery thingies. So I cannot talk to how it does anything else, nor do I much care.
I have easily almost 2 weeks of time, in 1 minute increments about 10-16 hours a day, stored on here. It does what I needed it to do very well with no problems or complaints. I ran it on XP SP3 on 2 machines and it had no issues of any kind.Thirdly it lasts FOREVER. I have used several GPSs over the years and this one takes the cake. Amazing.The one thing you really really really do have to do though if you plan to geotag photos, and I know you already know this but just listen anyways, is to sync the camera clock to GPS time (in your home timezone if possible). Plus since it charges via USB I can charge it ANYWHERE.
I even made a charger from a USB cable and a 4xAA battery holder. So I can charge this from rechargeable batteries as needed without connecting to my laptop.Forthly it stores a lot of info.
My camera time drifts, I had synced it before maybe 6 months ago when using the Garmin GPS around home, but I was 5 minutes off, which would be fine except that my shots of a given church were blocks away, my shots of the Cliffs of Moher are geotagged from the parking lot, etc until I corrected for the drift. It locked on everywhere, and when it did not it just kept me in the same location until it did find a lock, meaning it did show me bouncing all over the place when I was really just sitting still.Secondly the software is OK, I did use it for downloading the data, setting up the GPS, exporting to GPX and Google Earth, and some preliminary review of the days events, but really that was it.
You cannot erase from it , it just overwrites the old stuff, so I can see all the way back to when I first got it still, plus the 9 day Ireland/Scotland trip, plus all the flights to and from, plus misc playing around with it. 42 hours.
That is amazing. It is all still on there.
There is no way to tell what time this GPS thinks it is, but since all GPS receivers use the same time it is a simple matter of syncing to any GPS or just to a reputable Stratum 1 or 2 time source online.
Note that this program will prevent you from ever using Fusion or Paralells on your Mac and should be removed if you need to use these. However, if it is successful at converting the data, you can see where you've been on a map, and the speed between points.Each time you quit the BT747, you will need to start it up again via the "BT747_J2SE_Install-jnlp" script.I use "HoudahGPS" for downloading the Qstarz logs in NMEA or GPX files (which is what I need to use for the Maperture program and I think most other geotagging programs); , without actually geotagging the photos there (which you could also do if needed, although the free version has a limit of 5 photos a time); however you cannot control the parameters of the Qstarz itself via HoudahGPS.Be careful not to use both the BT747 and the HoudahGPS at the same time, or it is very difficult to reconnect with the Qstarz again in the future (try shutting down your computer, repairing the Bluetooth and Qstarz if you do by accident). Also the "reference guide" included with the box is poorly translated and almost worthless. After all this the BT747 program should be open on your desktop.5. I wrote down what I can remember of getting this thing to work on a Mac for any one else who really wants to try. Pair the Qstarz with Bluetooth in system preferences, using the advanced box and following the prompts. The Qstarz will only be momentarily connected, and then will disconnect after noting there are no services available.
It's taken me 2 full days of messing around with the system of my computer to be able to download the data, and I'm still missing out on a lot of the functionality. Using Qstarz GPS tracker on a Mac:All in all, I would not recommend buying a Qstarz to a Mac user until they come out with some functional Mac software - it is way too complicated (and seems risky to me for the security of your system). Agree to allow the program files (all of them) access to your computer - once again I have no idea how serious of a threat to the security of your system this is. I also made a separate folder for the "BT747_J2SEInstall-jnlp" script, and made an alias for it in either "Applications" or a place where I start up programs.Now you can adjust the settings of the Qstarz itself, (it has many adjustable parameters which seem rather complicated to me, and is explained in the "bt747.free.fr/content/.q=book/export/html/4" on the documentation page - well worth downloading).You can download the data also in BT747, but it only comes in as a.bin file. Note that the "download and install" appear to occur together and may hang several times, just click on the install program again until it completes. Set your Qstarz GPS to "NAV", (make sure it has already been paired with Bluetooth in "system preferences"; at the bottom of the opening page (first tab "Log Operations"), at the bottom next to connect, move the option to "Bluetooth (for Mac)", and click on "connect". The open source BT747 program is what makes it all possible, and is a very useful and powerful program, in spite of the difficulty of actually installing it.To Make Qstarz BT-Q1000X work on a Mac:I strongly recommend reviewing the following web pages which probably explain most of the steps better than I do (but as I found out, also seem to leave some steps a little confusing, not that I can do it better): bt747.free.fr/content/.q=book/export/html/4stngiam.wordpress.com/2008/12/25/using-a-qstarz-bt-q1000p-gps-travel-recorder-with-a-mac1. Start up the Qstarz and set to NAV mode.
(this step may not be required and is probably better not preformed unless Bluetooth does not work): download and install a USB driver: Mac_OSX_VCP_Driver (from: bt747.free.fr/content/.q=book/export/html/4 and follow the link to silabs.com - VCP drivers); will require a restart. By the way, the windows program comes on a tiny CD about 3 inches wide and probably does not load into most computers. The copy I use came from "sourceforge.net/projects/bt747/files/bt747/Latest/BT747" (I had version 1.68.25) - download the full zip file, unzip it, open the folder and look for "BT747_J2SEInstall-jnlp". That's good.6. With any luck you should see information showing up in the upper right hand corner "GPS Device Data".
I think with Bluetooth, you will not need this USB driver and it is best to avoid this step.2. Start up your computer in admin user (assuming you have separate admin and user accounts - if not then just use your normal acct); open terminal and type in: sudo mkdir /var/lockit will then ask for your password; enter your admin password and "enter" (you will not see that the password is going in as the cursor will not move; I think that it just moves to the next line if the password was entered alright); then type in the following command and "enter" to make the locked shell globally writeable:sudo chmod 777 /var/lock(I have no idea what this does for the security of your system; as always, type those commands exactly without extra spaces). I think you can close the terminal then.4. It seems like a good GPS tracker and the Windows software might be good if it works, but for a Mac user, I don't think it's worth the hassle. For some reason you will not be able to start it up again from it's icon in Applications, but will have to run the "BT747_J2SE_Install-jnlp" script again every time in order to start it up again - it's much faster than the initial installation and does not download new files.
Now you can close the BT747. Copy this to wherever you want to keep it and can find it again (maybe in "Applications"). I have no idea why the "BT747 Desktop Latest" icon won't just start up like any other program.7. Sometimes it can be converted, but I can never manage to export that new file to anything useful in other programs.
The actual GPS measurements seem to be rather consistently about 30 meters East of where they actually were taken, but other than that seem accurate. Make sure that you can connect to the Qstarz.You will need to assign Places for the "Raw log file" and "Output Directory" in the upper left corners (I made separate folders in my home/Documents). That's ok.3. Down load and install the following program: "Install Desktop version of BT747" from "bt747.free.fr/content" and go to the "Download & Install Desktop" (above the "documentation" link which is also very useful) in the left upper hand sidebar, and from there click on the "Install the desktop version of BT747".
At this point I would restart the computer, back into my normal user account; and restart the BT747 program via the "BT747_J2SEInstall-jnlp" script again. I think you actually have to shut the Qstarz off after using either the HoudahGPS or the BT747 before you can use the other program.I hope that all of this can be useful to you, sorry in advance about any points I've forgotten or if it doesn't work for you.
After comparing GPS data loggers for weeks, I finally settled on the Qstarz BT-Q1000x for several reasons:-Highest accuracy with the MTKII chip-Long battery life (rated for over 40 hrs, depending on which mode you run it). I bought a $3 bluetooth USB dongle and had no problem getting the Q1000x to connect to my Microsoft Streets & Trips via bluetooth and show me exactly where my desktop PC was located (as if I didn't know already :)* Pressing the Waymark button will record a waymark in the log.* You can tether the unit to your PC or PDA with a USB cable. * The logging feature simply records location+elevation at specified intervals. The unit would occasionally take a minute or so to get its first fix, but so far, I've not noticed any serious issues with losing fix.SOFTWARE:There's lots to mention here, but the main thing that I liked is that I point the software to a directory of photos, and it searches that directory and all directories under it to find photos with the appropriate time stamp in the EXIF. This unit locks within a few seconds *indoors*)FORM & FUNCTION:Less than 2.5" on the long side, this unit is smaller than my Sony Ericsson cellphone. A rubber back allows it to sit conveniently on my dash - but it operates just as well in my car's cup holder or in the recesses of my camera bag.It operates in two tracking modes: logging and bluetooth+logging. My goal was to get a GPS data logger for geotagging my photos when taking 1-2 week long trips. Doing the glovebox test was important to me as I want a unit that can track where my tour bus might take me when touring foreign countries.
It also allows me to export the trip, with photos, in a set of HTML files so I can upload the whole trip to my website.For details, download the manual off the website because there is a lot of info for this plain-looking unit. Bluetooth is an option, not a requirement.OPERATION:Turning the unit on and tossing it into the glovebox lets me track the car's location as I drive around. It goes well beyond my expectations and is well worth the $105 I spent for it.I understand the iBlue 747+ is an identical unit, but doesn't include the software. The unit can *track* 5 times per second (Hz), but will not *LOG* 5Hz. -Replaceable battery (Uses standard Nokia cell phone battery readily available for less than $5 online)-Locks on to satellites quickly (my old Garmin eTrex would take several minutes when sitting under the open sky. It then plots out my trip on a scaleable map (Google Maps, Google Earth, etc), with the photos in place.
This can be changed by software on the PC to record at time intervals or distance intervals or time and distance intervals ("every 15 seconds or 30 meters"). So if you're wanting a unit that will record your skydive or rollercoaster ride, this is not your unit.* Bluetooth+logging allows your bluetooth PC (or PDA) to connect to the unit and use it as the GPS for your mapping/navigation software. It even gives me a "play" button that plays a cursor along the trip line. For me, the software is well worth the extra $20.
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