Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)as of this writing, there seem to be two main GPS dataloggers that have (1) essentially no user interface aside from status LEDs and a couple of buttons (i.e., the device can just be turned on and will automatically collect position data until turned off) and (2) a "driverless" mode that does not require installation of a USB/serial driver and an OS-dependent data-downloading application (i.e., the device just looks like a USB storage device when connected to any host computer with any operating system). these are the Amod AGL-3080 and the Wintec WBT-202 (the older Wintec units, like the WBT-201, seem to have been discontinued).
the Amod uses the common SiRF-III GPS chipset, has a battery life of around 10-15 hours using 3 AAAs, and saves its data in the standard NMEA-0183 format. as such it's really easy to work with in the field, though the battery life is not always enough for a "working day." my experience is that its TTFF in an urban environment is ok but not great - in a wide open lot it still takes about 2 minutes to get a cold fix, and standing next to a 3-story office building it can often go 10 minutes or longer without a fix.
the Wintec uses the common uBlox-5 GPS chipset, has a battery life of around 20-25 hours using an internal (but replaceable) Li-ion battery, and saves its data in Wintec's proprietary TES format. because of the latter choice, either Wintec's Windows WBT_Tool or an open source application (such as recent releases of gpsbabel) are needed to convert the data to other GPS formats. my experience is that its TTFF in an urban environment is markedly better than the Amod's - i can typically get a cold fix in about 90 seconds standing next to a 3-story office building.
i think both are pretty usable; the Amod is somewhat easier to work with but the Wintec has much better performance. for me, the Wintec is probably more useful.
Additional positives/negatives:
- the Amod firmware has to be reflashed depending on whether you mainly intend to use it for walking or biking/driving. the reason is that the way it does smoothing/filtering of noisy position data is different at different speeds, and there is no way to set this other than reflashing. WBT_Tool sets this kind of configuration for the Wintec. both the Amod reflashing tool and the Wintec WBT_Tool are Windows-only.
- the Wintec comes with a 1GB microSD card, so its out-of-the-box storage is much larger. this can be expanded to 2GB (but not larger). note that the microSD card also provides an additional, physical way to get data off of the device.
- the Amod comes with a solid Velcro-closed strap (that goes into a solid strap-slot on the case) so it really can be hung safely off of a bag strap or carabiner hook. the Wintec case has a really tiny and weak slot for a string-style strap (not included). it really wants to go into a mesh pocket or something.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Wintec WBT-202 Bluetooth Data Logger GPS Receiver (u-blox5, microSD Slot w/ 1GB MicroSD, Motion sensor)
Wintec WBT-202 includes all features of WBT-201, and based on the latest u-blox 5 GPS & GALILEO chipset. It supports both backup memory and Micro-SD card to record more than 1 year of data under continuous operation. Also, the software is built-in to the unit and you don't need CD to access to the software.
