GPS Tracking Watches
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have been around long enough for most people to have a basic idea of what they do. Originally developed by the government for military use, the technology has evolved and now drives many products commonly used by consumers. The variations include GPS tracking watches, GPS tracking surveillance units, GPS enabled cell phones, GPS navigation systems for boats, automobiles, planes and portable handheld units, among others.
Over the years the accuracy of all GPS types has improved to the point (within a couple meters) of being almost mind boggling. Fortunately, for all of us, the cost of the technology has steadily decreased, even while the performance and reliability has improved. Only a few years ago the thought of buying a well made GPS unit for under $100 would have seemed impossible, yet today, it is a fact. With the reduction in cost, the popularity of these devices has almost literally, exploded.
The GPS evolution has also meant a drastic reduction in the size of the units. This breakthrough may have allowed the popularity to increase even more than the reduction in price. Who would want a device the size of a shoebox mounted on the dash board of a car or strapped to ones arm? Clearly, a GPS watch would never have become practical without the reduction in size. I still have a “handheld marine unit” from the early 1990’s that makes me laugh at the size, whenever I see it, which admittedly, isn’t often. Thankfully those days are long gone.
GPS tracking watches, receive signals from orbiting satellites to determine the user’s latitude and longitude usually within a couple meters. This makes its simple to track your current location, speed, direction of travel, distance to go, exact time and many other functions. For the serious running/walking enthusiasts a heart rate monitor adds the ability to tailor the exercise to personal targets and monitor them along the way.
The biggest challenge may be the decision of which GPS tracking watch is best for you, that’s where we will help.
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Review: Timex Ironman T5F011 - GPS Tracking Watch
Timex has a long standing reputation as one of the worlds leading watch brands. The Ironman T5F011 runners watch is widely available for less than $200 so it should fit the budget of most fitness enthusiasts.
Features;
Unit size - similar to a conventional digital watch
GPS Unit – Separate from watch
Battery life – up to 2 years
Battery type – AA for GPS unit
Water resistant – to 50 meters except GPS unit is splash resistant
Heart rate monitor – Yes
Lap memory – 100
Waypoint – 100
Routes – 50
Warranty – 1 year
As with the previous Timex GPS Watch we reviewed this one also uses a separate unit for the GPS receiver. This receiver will ordinarily be strapped to the arm or waist when in use. The receiver is only splash resistant which we think is a poor design feature for an outdoor fitness product. It would be much better if it were designed to be water resistant to 2 or 3 meters.
The unit did obtain a signal reasonably quickly but the manual does recommend remaining stationary until a signal is obtained. The receiver did a good job with maintaining the signal when the receiver was worn on the arm. Tree cover was a factor once it became moderately dense but in most cases performance was acceptable.
Accuracy was measure against a known distance and the results were almost identical. We also tested the speed and distance readout with other GPS units and found the accuracy to be good. Given the intended use the unit is more than accurate enough.
The heart rate monitor also performed well and would be a valuable feature for a GPS training watch. In fact given the low price we cannot make any good argument for not having the heart rate monitor.
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Review: Garmin Forerunner 305 - GPS Tracking Watches
Routes feature – Yes, 50 max
Warranty – One year
Being the big brother to the Garmin Forerunner 205 it might be helpful to read our product review for that model. The two models share basic features, size and functionality with the Forerunner 305 including the heart rate monitor. An optional feature available with the 305 is a cycling cadence counter but we did not test that option. It should be mentioned that the heart monitor and cycling sensors will work indoors since they do not rely on the GPS signal to function. So if you also work out using stationary equiptment these features will be useful.
For those interested in peak training we think a GPS tracking watch must have the heart rate monitor. It works well and when training on varying terrain there is simply no way to gauge heart rate without a monitor. In use the heart rate monitor readings do not “bounce around” to much but instead they remain reasonably steady. This allows a quick glance at the screen less often and with more confidence in the accuracy of the reading at any given time.
Since GPS accuracy is important to most users we paid attention to that while running and also double checked the readings with several other GPS units. To satisfy our curiosity we brought the Forerunner 305 watch along for a highway road trip and verified its accuracy using the highway mile markers. In all tests we found the accuracy to be excellent and cannot imagine the need for greater accuracy, given the presence of a strong signal.
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