Ok so the previous idea was great, the nokia, the bluetooth GPS and the 20 steps to geo-tagging an image when I get home. I had it all planned out. No, really I did. We took a drive (5 hours) to Quebec City last weekend. Great weather, great place. Among other things, I wanted to test my previous write up. Turned on the GPS, started the track record on the nokia, and went on walking and taking photos… It is only later on, when I got back home 2 days later that I realized that the GPX file generated by the nokia app had locked and was corrupted. All the points had the same coordinates. No good.

Today, I got a very good deal on a Sony GPS CS1KASP -ghaa I don’t know why they called it that. It could have been a nice name like VAIO. This thing comes fully equipped – leather pouch with clear plastic side to view status led’s, carabiner hooks and even a bicycle handlebar mount and clip.

My first test was by car. I went for a loop to 1) check accuracy of the device and 2) check the type of data file and how I could use it with iphoto 09′ and google maps, and flickr, as well as other projects that I have in mind.

Initial Results
Transport type: Driving
The unit was set on the dashboard.
Satellite lock was achieved within 40 seconds
Tracking at 50kmh looks close to accurate, see image below

View taken from Trailrunner

Closer view reveals inaccuracies, most likely due to driving speed vs tracking frequency

Based on the results above, I think the accuracy of the SONY GPS is quite acceptable, considering the unit was exposed to clear sky 99% of the time.

The next test is performed with the unit in a bag, in a bus, accross part of the city. stay tuned for the results as well as how I use the Sony GPS CS1KASP with a Macbook Pro on Leopard.

Share this!