Garmin GLO review

[+user13371]

Wow! How often do you see me use exclamation marks?

http://gpstracklog.com/2013/04/garmin-glo-review.html#more-21350

 

That review has some interesting scatter graphs. Accuracy seems incredible -- suggests the ideal geocaching kit might be a GLO discretely tucked in your hatband and and a cheap smartphone to navigate with.

[+Red90]

Yes, but could just be caused by filtering.

[+user13371]

True, the real test will be returning to a previously marked spot and checking repeatability. But I have a hunch this filtering - averaging 10 fixes per second and discarding the crud - is really doing a good thing.

Edited April 13, 2013 by user13371

[+MRC & JLC]

We have Garmin GLOs and they are truly amazing. Quick to find satellites, and they find so many more than our regular etrex vista and are sooooo much more accurate.

 

That being said, they're PERFECT for placing a cache. But your caching experience, no matter how great of a gpsr you have, still depends on the accuracy of whomever placed the cache you're looking for.

 

One of the best things is being able to use your smartphone and get REALLY accurate readings using your app of choice.

 

The only two problems we've come up with: 1. It would be great if the unit came with some velcro. I'd love to be able to stick it right onto the strap of my backpack. (I've now done this myself, but seriously, the stubby little sticky "feet" on the unit will never make it sit still, no matter where you set it... Well, maybe on carpet.) 2. The stupid on/off button is REALLY sensitive. You don't want to put it in a pocket or anything if you think it's off. You'll most likely pull it out to use it the next time to find the battery dead because an incidental bump turned it on and drained the life out of it.

[+user13371]

MRC&JLC, can you do a little test? Use the GLO to set a waypoint somewhere on or near your property. Go to the exact spot tomorrow and tell me how closet he GLO thinks you are to the waypoint. To the limit of your patience, repeat this kind of test over a few days and locations.

[+eccentric_]

MRC&JLC, can you do a little test? Use the GLO to set a waypoint somewhere on or near your property. Go to the exact spot tomorrow and tell me how closet he GLO thinks you are to the waypoint. To the limit of your patience, repeat this kind of test over a few days and locations.

I can do that tonight, we have a benchmark down the road and I've wanted to check out the difference between my phone (Nexus4) and the GLO. I was going to take the dog for a walk anyway I'll do a couple points around the house too.

 

Katie uses the GLO but we hid 6 caches together yesterday. When I compared data the phones was ~2-4m from her GLO which seems far but I was standing 2-3m away in all cases. I was surprised how close the the two devices were.

 

I don't think the GLO is filtering if you open the Log it's more data than what would be shown if it was averaging 10samples/second before sending it.

[+Onslow Fisherman]

MRC&JLC, can you do a little test? Use the GLO to set a waypoint somewhere on or near your property. Go to the exact spot tomorrow and tell me how closet he GLO thinks you are to the waypoint. To the limit of your patience, repeat this kind of test over a few days and locations.

I can do that tonight, we have a benchmark down the road and I've wanted to check out the difference between my phone (Nexus4) and the GLO. I was going to take the dog for a walk anyway I'll do a couple points around the house too.

 

Katie uses the GLO but we hid 6 caches together yesterday. When I compared data the phones was ~2-4m from her GLO which seems far but I was standing 2-3m away in all cases. I was surprised how close the the two devices were.

 

I don't think the GLO is filtering if you open the Log it's more data than what would be shown if it was averaging 10samples/second before sending it.

I assume that you are using an app to "pair" your GPSr and the GLO so that you get the coordinates acquired showing on your phone.

I have just purchased a GLO and have a Galaxy S4 and haven't yet figured out how to link them.

I would like to be able to use the combination for both hiding and finding geocaches, or any other locations.

I still have a lot to learn so any/all advice will be helpful.

Jim

Edited May 7, 2013 by Onslow Fisherman

[+BlackRose67]

I can do that tonight, we have a benchmark down the road and I've wanted to check out the difference between my phone (Nexus4) and the GLO. I was going to take the dog for a walk anyway I'll do a couple points around the house too.

 

Katie uses the GLO but we hid 6 caches together yesterday. When I compared data the phones was ~2-4m from her GLO which seems far but I was standing 2-3m away in all cases. I was surprised how close the the two devices were.

 

I don't think the GLO is filtering if you open the Log it's more data than what would be shown if it was averaging 10samples/second before sending it.

I assume that you are using an app to "pair" your GPSr and the GLO so that you get the coordinates acquired showing on your phone.

I have just purchased a GLO and have a Galaxy S4 and haven't yet figured out how to link them.

I would like to be able to use the combination for both hiding and finding geocaches, or any other locations.

I still have a lot to learn so any/all advice will be helpful.

Jim

Jim....you really didn't need to buy the Garmin GLO.

 

Your Galaxy S4 already has GPS and GLONASS capability.

 

The Garmin GLO might be a bit more useful in your case if you are under heavy tree cover, but for a lot of cases, your S4 will probably be sufficient.

 

As for linking them, going by a review I read on a local retailes site, you need to use a "GPS Bluetooth app" and set up your device to allow "mock gps locations" (Settings, Applications, Development, Allow Mock Locations)

[+eccentric_]

I assume that you are using an app to "pair" your GPSr and the GLO so that you get the coordinates acquired showing on your phone.

I have just purchased a GLO and have a Galaxy S4 and haven't yet figured out how to link them.

I would like to be able to use the combination for both hiding and finding geocaches, or any other locations.

I still have a lot to learn so any/all advice will be helpful.

Jim

We use Bluetooth GPS so install that first.

 

-Turn on the GLO the both LEDs will be flashing (one is for the Bluetooth the other is GPS lock)

 

-On your phone turn on Bluetooth and search for new devices and pair your S4 and GLO

 

-Nothing happens yet because Android doesn't really know what is should do with it's new GLO friend. Time to start the Bluetooth GPS app. Make sure the check box "Enable Mock GPS Provider" is checked!

 

-Try to connect, hopefully it will work! If not open try the "Insecure connection" setting.

 

The "mock locations" is for developers testing new apps without having to be physically at a location. We are using it to pass the Bluetooth GPS data along. Android will better support this out of the box down the road but for now this is the work-around.

 

The GLO is great for hiding, it's added precision and accuracy helps everyone. Being small and portable you can place it on top the hide stand back so it has a better view of the sky and start averaging. We've had very positives comments about how accurate our GLO hides are.

 

Finding if the hider's coords are off you are no better than if you had used your phone to get you in the area. Too often I get in the mind set of, "the GPS says it should be right here!" so lately I've been leaving the GPS off.

[+Onslow Fisherman]

Thanks. That is exactly the method I am using. I still probably need to get the settings sorted.

Jim

[+eccentric_]

Thanks. That is exactly the method I am using. I still probably need to get the settings sorted.

Jim

Did you get it working?

[Sgt_Strider]

Is it possible to configure the GLO to produce a GPX track log?

[+eccentric_]

Is it possible to configure the GLO to produce a GPX track log?

If you are asking if the GLO can record a track without another device?

No it doesn't have any storage.

[Sgt_Strider]

Is it possible to configure the GLO to produce a GPX track log?

If you are asking if the GLO can record a track without another device?

No it doesn't have any storage.

 

Are there any apps for iOS/Android that can record a track point at a 1 second interval?

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

MyTracks has a 2 second interval and one that says "smallest" which may be one second.

[+eccentric_]

Locus would be another app that can record at 1s interval.

 

In the advanced settings you have the option to record raw NMEA data (GLO that's 10/s)

 

I'm not sure about the iOS side.

[Sgt_Strider]

MyTracks has a 2 second interval and one that says "smallest" which may be one second.

 

I think the keyword here is may. I don't understand why Google made it so vague. Either it's 1 second or it's not.

[Sgt_Strider]

Locus would be another app that can record at 1s interval.

 

In the advanced settings you have the option to record raw NMEA data (GLO that's 10/s)

 

I'm not sure about the iOS side.

 

You're referring to the free version or the pro version of the app? So if I set it to record raw NMEA data, then it'll basically record all of the Glo's GPS data at a 1 second interval right?

[+eccentric_]

You're referring to the free version or the pro version of the app? So if I set it to record raw NMEA data, then it'll basically record all of the Glo's GPS data at a 1 second interval right?

I'm using Pro, I'm not sure about the limits in the free version.

 

I've only recorded using my phones internal GPS which is GPS+GLONASS and that worked fine. I can grab the GLO and do a quick test tonight for you.

[Sgt_Strider]

You're referring to the free version or the pro version of the app? So if I set it to record raw NMEA data, then it'll basically record all of the Glo's GPS data at a 1 second interval right?

I'm using Pro, I'm not sure about the limits in the free version.

 

I've only recorded using my phones internal GPS which is GPS+GLONASS and that worked fine. I can grab the GLO and do a quick test tonight for you.

 

Please let me know of your results.

[+eccentric_]

I’m not sure what you intend on using the data for so I tried it a couple different ways.

 

GLO using ‘Bluetooth GPS’ app using mock location doesn’t record the NMEA data at the requested rate. One test was 0.2/s so I wouldn’t use this for recording NMEA data. The track and visual representation on the map are fine with this setup but NMEA wasn’t recording right for me. It might work fine on your device.

GLO connected to Locus as a BT GPS receiver records at a much higher rate than 1/s (one test averaged 8/s) this last test had 232 lat/lon samples in 47s or about 5/s I’m not sure why it seems to vary but it does.

GLONASS+GPS internal phone for a baseline and it seemed to be recording at around 1/s

 

These test were ~1min long, just enough to get samples.

 

I recorded a longer track ~20min and it was 1.1/s sample rate.

Edited May 23, 2013 by eccentric_

[Sgt_Strider]

MyTracks has a 2 second interval and one that says "smallest" which may be one second.

 

Rich,

 

Have you or anyone been able to verify that MyTrack's smallest setting is indeed a 1 second interval?

 

I just re-read your review on the Garmin GLO and you said it can provide position updates 10 times each second (10hz). Are there any iOS/Android/Windows(PC) apps that can fully record all of that data even on a 1 second interval?

 

Will any of the iOS/Android/Windows(PC) apps be able to work in the background or log the data into a GPX file while the screen is off?

Edited July 24, 2013 by Sgt_Strider

[Sgt_Strider]

I’m not sure what you intend on using the data for so I tried it a couple different ways.

 

GLO using ‘Bluetooth GPS’ app using mock location doesn’t record the NMEA data at the requested rate. One test was 0.2/s so I wouldn’t use this for recording NMEA data. The track and visual representation on the map are fine with this setup but NMEA wasn’t recording right for me. It might work fine on your device.

GLO connected to Locus as a BT GPS receiver records at a much higher rate than 1/s (one test averaged 8/s) this last test had 232 lat/lon samples in 47s or about 5/s I’m not sure why it seems to vary but it does.

GLONASS+GPS internal phone for a baseline and it seemed to be recording at around 1/s

 

These test were ~1min long, just enough to get samples.

 

I recorded a longer track ~20min and it was 1.1/s sample rate.

 

I'm using the data for geotagging my photos and logging my trips. I want to be able to record all of the GPS data from the GLO at a 1 second interval. Then I want to compare the tracks from a Garmin Oregon 600 or 62S (also set to record at a 1 second interval).

Edited July 24, 2013 by Sgt_Strider

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

MyTracks has a 2 second interval and one that says "smallest" which may be one second.

 

Rich,

 

Have you or anyone been able to verify that MyTrack's smallest setting is indeed a 1 second interval?

 

I just re-read your review on the Garmin GLO and you said it can provide position updates 10 times each second (10hz). Are there any iOS/Android/Windows(PC) apps that can fully record all of that data even on a 1 second interval?

 

Will any of the iOS/Android/Windows(PC) apps be able to work in the background or log the data into a GPX file while the screen is off?

 

MyTracks should work fine with the screen off. I have not tested for 1 second tracking, but it should be easy to verify by trying it and looking at the .gpx file.

 

I didn't write the Garmin GLO review. Boyd Ostroff did, so you may want to ask in the comments section there.

 

Hope this helps.

[Sgt_Strider]

MyTracks has a 2 second interval and one that says "smallest" which may be one second.

 

Rich,

 

Have you or anyone been able to verify that MyTrack's smallest setting is indeed a 1 second interval?

 

I just re-read your review on the Garmin GLO and you said it can provide position updates 10 times each second (10hz). Are there any iOS/Android/Windows(PC) apps that can fully record all of that data even on a 1 second interval?

 

Will any of the iOS/Android/Windows(PC) apps be able to work in the background or log the data into a GPX file while the screen is off?

 

MyTracks should work fine with the screen off. I have not tested for 1 second tracking, but it should be easy to verify by trying it and looking at the .gpx file.

 

I didn't write the Garmin GLO review. Boyd Ostroff did, so you may want to ask in the comments section there.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Are you aware of any apps that can write all of the data that it receives from the GLO?

[Sgt_Strider]

I forgot to ask this question earlier. Can both the iPad and a Nexus 7 pair up with the GLO and log data simultaneously?

[Sgt_Strider]

I forgot to ask this question earlier. Can both the iPad and a Nexus 7 pair up with the GLO and log data simultaneously?

 

No one here knows?