Tracking GPS data devices

[BETO74 0]

I need any kind of information about the best devices to track position/speed/etc during flight.

What makes such device good to track wingsuit flight? can it be used in Freefall?

The information is gonna be used for a proyect, I have in mind.

I'm also interested in the dinamics and the way such device works?

any help is appreciated, you can direct me to a website or anything you think is useful

http://web.mac.com/ac057a/iWeb/AC057A/H0M3.html

[pattersd 0]

try a search, its been discussed here numerous times before.

[elias123 0]

http://www.trackingderby.com/ maybe?

"In a mad world, only the mad are sane"

[yeyo 1]

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2842782;search_string=wintec%20201;#2842782

HISPA #93
DS #419.5

[hjumper33 0]

Anyone having anything else good to say about the foretrex 201? Im thinking about picking one up soon.

[notsane 0]

The Wintec WBT-201 is cheaper, lighter, smaller and has a more sensitive receiver.

[phoenixlpr 0]

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The Wintec WBT-201 is cheaper, lighter, smaller and has a more sensitive receiver.

I have one. I don't want anything else.

[bofh 0]

I have both. The Foretrex is nice to have when you want to know your speed, how far you've run and the distance and direction to a waypoint etc since it has a display. I've used it a couple of times when retreiving canopies. One can use it to navigate through clouds too.

The WBT is better when you don't need a display, like recording a track/jump, geotagging photos etc.

[Costyn 0]

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Anyone having anything else good to say about the foretrex 201? Im thinking about picking one up soon.

I have one, and although it does it's job, it's hopelessly outdated compared to current GPSes on the market.

The WinTec WBT-201 or the QStarz BT-Q1300 are much better options. They are tiny (the size of a dytter), have much better accuracy and faster acquisition times, and can store many many more trackpoints & waypoints. They do not have their own screen, so you can't use them for navigation as standalone units. They are however excellent logging devices with a very high sensitivity and accuracy.

I would not recommend buying a ForeTrex 201.

Cheers

Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

[Trae 1]

in reply to "The WinTec WBT-201 or the QStarz BT-Q1300 are much better options"
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Do these units come with their own 3D imaging program? or do they need to interact with other programs to output in 3D eg with Google earth?

[LouDiamond 1]

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in reply to "The WinTec WBT-201 or the QStarz BT-Q1300 are much better options"
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Do these units come with their own 3D imaging program? or do they need to interact with other programs to output in 3D eg with Google earth?

The meager software that comes with the WBT-201 allows for a Google compatible file format for export but is lacking by far IMO. The best bet and interface for the WBT-201 and pretty much all the other devices out there is Paralog.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[kallend 1,623]

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in reply to "The WinTec WBT-201 or the QStarz BT-Q1300 are much better options"
..............................................

Do these units come with their own 3D imaging program? or do they need to interact with other programs to output in 3D eg with Google earth?

The meager software that comes with the WBT-201 allows for a Google compatible file format for export but is lacking by far IMO. The best bet and interface for the WBT-201 and pretty much all the other devices out there is Paralog.

Scott: Export is by USB port? Or what?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Costyn 0]

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The meager software that comes with the WBT-201 allows for a Google compatible file format for export but is lacking by far IMO. The best bet and interface for the WBT-201 and pretty much all the other devices out there is Paralog.

Scott: Export is by USB port? Or what?

Yes, both units connect by USB port. That's also how you charge them, which I find a nice feature. They can also provide realtime location data through Bluetooth, so you can use them for other applications too.

Paralog supports both these units.

Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

[crwper 7]

This doesn't really help the OP, but I noticed the discussion of output formats, and wanted to ask a couple of questions here.

Development of my audible GPS has been a bit slower than expected, but I should have the first prototype built in a month or so, and will know shortly after that how well the GPS receiver performs. If all goes well, I should be getting a few samples out to testers sometime in July.

As it stands, the unit acts as a USB drive when plugged into a computer. When jumping, the plan is to log jumps as separate files, like images on a digital camera. The files will be a simple CSV format which records position-velocity-time either at the native rate (10 Hz) or at a slower rate (say 1 Hz) to save space. At 10 Hz, I'll be able to store about an hour worth of data on the device (so, maybe 20-30 jumps).

I have two questions:

1. Is this enough capacity? I can probably go to a larger capacity (thousands of jumps), but it would increase the price of the unit (about $200 now) by perhaps $25.

2. I figure raw comma-separated CSV data is about as versatile as it gets, but wanted to make sure this is actually usable by you guys.

Thanks for your input.

Michael

[Costyn 0]

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I have two questions:

1. Is this enough capacity? I can probably go to a larger capacity (thousands of jumps), but it would increase the price of the unit (about $200 now) by perhaps $25.

Yes, this would be enough capacity for me. It would be pretty easy to download the data after a day's of jumping. On what are you storing the data? I'm guessing you have fixed storage and not a removable SD/XD/CF/MemoryStick right? I guess that would make it bulkier, although it would be cheaper to expand memory; just replace the card...

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2. I figure raw comma-separated CSV data is about as versatile as it gets, but wanted to make sure this is actually usable by you guys.

Sure, CSV is about the most versatile you can get and would suit me fine. Only XML comes close, but it XML meta-data is too verbose and would take up too much room.

You can use the unit without logging too though right? Seeing as you get real-time feedback on your performance, I probably wouldn't be looking at the data afterwards, but going up on another jump to see if I can do better!
Cheers

Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

[crwper 7]

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On what are you storing the data? I'm guessing you have fixed storage and not a removable SD/XD/CF/MemoryStick right?

Yep, right now it's fixed memory, which is cheap and small. I am considering moving to microSD for upgradability, but the bulk is a bit of a challenge. Who'd have thought I would ever be calling microSD bulky?

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You can use the unit without logging too though right? Seeing as you get real-time feedback on your performance, I probably wouldn't be looking at the data afterwards, but going up on another jump to see if I can do better!

Exactly. The interface is absolutely minimal, partly because I found that when I jumped with my Palm Pilot prototypes, there was too much draw toward analyzing the data afterward. I figure someone will want to look at the data now and then, but I really wanted the focus with this one to be flying, so it's kinda like the iPod Shuffle of GPS units. The external interface consists of a USB connector, audio jack, power switch, and three indicator lights.

Michael

[Costyn 0]

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Exactly. The interface is absolutely minimal, partly because I found that when I jumped with my Palm Pilot prototypes, there was too much draw toward analyzing the data afterward. I figure someone will want to look at the data now and then, but I really wanted the focus with this one to be flying, so it's kinda like the iPod Shuffle of GPS units. The external interface consists of a USB connector, audio jack, power switch, and three indicator lights.

That sounds very cool. However, I think having the option to look at the data is good, as is having the gps track (in GPX format?). When you're eking out that last little bit of performance, you'll want to look at the numbers afterwards to be able to compare different jumps.

Maybe you can also include a couple of fields at the end of the csv file with some analysed data: max, min, avg, etc. But it would probably be easier to do this in a spreadsheet on a normal computer of course.

Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

[crwper 7]

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However, I think having the option to look at the data is good, as is having the gps track (in GPX format?).

Indeed. I haven't seen the GPX format before, actually. It's a bit heavier than CSV, but would probably not be an issue to write. My main concern would be the increase in file size.

Also, looking at the GPX spec, I don't see any velocity fields. Am I missing something?

Michael

[phoenixlpr 0]

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That sounds very cool. However, I think having the option to look at the data is good, as is having the gps track (in GPX format?). When you're eking out that last little bit of performance, you'll want to look at the numbers afterwards to be able to compare different jumps.

There is no use having GPX as internal format.
Embedded system is small in footprint and low on computing power and storage.

Its better just record "raw" GPS data/track and process it on PC and convert it to whatever format.

[Deniq 0]

The one of the newest devices is Wintec WBT-300. This device can save up to 4 points per sec (4 Hz).

I use now Wintec WBT-201, forerunner for WBT-300.

[Costyn 0]

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Indeed. I haven't seen the GPX format before, actually. It's a bit heavier than CSV, but would probably not be an issue to write. My main concern would be the increase in file size.

Also, looking at the GPX spec, I don't see any velocity fields. Am I missing something?

Sorry, I was thinking of a fileformat to save the gps track in, not to save your velocity data in, which would definitely be best in CSV format. It would be good to save the trackpoints in an existing format along with the CSV, so you can import it into existing tools like Google Earth.

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Its better just record "raw" GPS data/track and process it on PC and convert it to whatever format.

But what is a good 'raw' format? I was thinking of what would be the most useful format which you can drag off the usb mass storage device that it becomes when you attach it to your computer? What is a good compact file format to use?

GPX is nothing more than a lat, long, altitude format... and actually come to think of it, it's XML based, so better not use it, too heavy.

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The one of the newest devices is Wintec WBT-300. This device can save up to 4 points per sec (4 Hz).

Actually, it can send 4 points per second over bluetooth, but if you look at the specifications closely, you'll see it is not a logger and cannot save trackpoints and waypoints, so effectively useless for recording trackpoints, unless you have another device which can record them.

I have not seen any GPS loggers which can record more than 1 trackpoint per second.

Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

[hjumper33 0]

Im finding my new wintec 201s manual a little confusing, and with studying for my board exams until i leave for switzerland, I dont have a lot of time to figure it out. What combination of buttons do i need to press, and what lights going on actually mean im tracking a flight? Do you discontinue the track by turning it off after a flight? What software do you recommend for a mac if anything?

[kluGe 0]

1. Charge via USB until red power led turns green.
2. Press power button. GPS led will turn red. Leave him on until GPS led starts blinking, it takes less time when more sky visible to device.
3. GPS led blinking means device already know where you are and logging working.
You can hold "track" button for two sec to start new track and separate one jump from another.


You can use this software to do basic track downloading and configuration.

Auto log configuration have two interesting options. Create track point each N sec or each N meters. My preference was to create point each second.

Hope this helps more than manual :)

[bdrake529 0]

Charlie, when are you going to be in Switzerland (from when to when)?

I had to use Parallels running Win XP to configure my Wintec. There may be some unix based solutions out there, but I'm really rusty on investigating those.

This may be a good place to start:
http://hexten.net/wiki/index.php/Wintec_GPS

Brian Drake

[hjumper33 0]

Ill be there from the 16th to 30th of this month. Very excited, but take the second step of my medical boards literally the day before I leave, so not much planning time left. I want to make some bad ass wingsuit videos with data overlaid like ive seen on here!