How long will the battery last with GPS use?
- Thread starter PaulusUK
- Start date
I can't imagine any reason to just run the GPS.. What context? Car navigation? GPS Tracking? What?
The Tilt used about 120mA just for the GPS, I suspect the TP2 would be very close to that.
As a handheld GPS for walking.
I use a program called Memory Map which has terrain maps and plots routes, waypoints etc.
The GPS would need to be on all the time, but the screen could be off and just turned on when I need to glance at the route/map
I used to get just under 2 hours from my Diamond and about 2 1/2 hours from my m700 - so I had to carry some external batteries
I use a program called Memory Map which has terrain maps and plots routes, waypoints etc.
The GPS would need to be on all the time, but the screen could be off and just turned on when I need to glance at the route/map
I used to get just under 2 hours from my Diamond and about 2 1/2 hours from my m700 - so I had to carry some external batteries
For thst sort of usage, I'd honestly suggest getting a bluetooth GPS unit. Does MUCH better under cover (trees, urban 'trees', etc) and takes a huge load off of the device.
I've gone on 3-4 hour hikes using TrackMe, which sounds like a similar program, and was only down 20% on battery. That'd get me WAY more battery life than my legs had in 'em.
Good luck, I'll check out Memory Map. I'm a geogeek, I collect all sorts of GPS related software.
I have a question regarding GPS. Once you've started using GPS, do you have to manually turn it off (like WiFi or BlueTooth) or does it cycle off automatically?
Wouldn't bluetooth communication also drain the power?
Which would be worse - the BT or the GPS working?
erm... Perhaps not you, but I answered this very question somewhere else already.. anyway...
Bluetooth is very low power. And obviously if I'm saying the GPS uses hordes of power and to use a Bluetooth device because of power, the internal GPS is worse (much worse). How much worse? Same workload, same software, BT vs internal GPS on the Kaiser (same GPS as TP2) was a difference of 100mAh. 8.3% more battery drain per hour.
Bluetooth GPS also has other advantages...
- Faster fix
- More accurate
- More sensitive
- More options (in terms of which GPS you get and what features IT has)
- One more small thing to carry around
In terms of features, I keep saying I'm going to upgrade my BT GPS to the Columbus V900 (or other like models). It'll act like a normal BT GPS, or self-logger to a memory card, even a 'stealth' mode which logs a point every N minutes which you could effectively let run for a week without running out of battery and years before filling a 1G memory card.. Also you can attach voice notes to a coordinate, or 'mark' a spot with a button push, both of which you could refer to later by viewing the resulting data in Google Earth or other means.
