GlobalSat BC-337 Compact Flash GPS

• PCMCIA Adapter For Laptop Use
• Built-in Patch Antenna
• 20-Channel All-In-View Tracking

First off, I have one thing to say to those other reviewers above...READ THE MANUAL! Geez... You can also get the latest software/drivers off the GlobalSAT website.

Besides the lack of Mac support, most of the other issues mentioned are user based. There is KML, CSV, TXT and even GPX file export functions built right into the software. I admit, the software could be more intuitive, but it does work as advertized (if you read the manual). A few more user friendly enhancements would go a long way to increase the usability, but as far as a "self contained logger" goes...it works.

So far, I have tested the unit down to 1-second resolution @ up to 250mph, tracking walking to air-racing, and even zig-zag aerobatic courses for up to 4 hours (it holds about double that at max res) with no problems at all. It never missed a waypoint, or lost GPS lock.

In short I'm impressed with the performance, wish it had a few more bells and whistles, but for the $85 price...it's well worth it. There are some good forum discussions and DIY software for this unit out there too.

I gave it 5 starts to help compensate for the other poorly written reviews, but I would normally give it only 4 stars due to the rather spartan software functions.

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I'm active duty Air Force, and I ordered one of these to test as a replacement for a much older, bigger and more expensive GPS logger that we had been using. We were all very surprised and pleased with the result. The software really isn't that bad, and lets you make many modifications to the default settings of the device. We've tested it in multiple aircraft from high speed fighters to slower bomber aircraft, and it worked surprisingly well. The pilots just turned it on, slipped it into a pocket and flew their mission, then just turned it off. We were able to get good data on their position, speed, altitude everything we needed!

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This is an extremely frustrating little device. The hardware itself is pretty good. The GPS is extremely sensitive, it can store a lot of log data, and it is very gentle on the batteries. The problem is getting the data off the device. The instructions are pretty straightforward. Install the drivers. The device will show up as a serial device. Launch the software, run the setup, and away you go. The problem is that GlobalSat's software will not recognize the correct serial port. Even if you open control panel, look at the port that has been assigned to the device, and manually configure the serial connection, the software won't communicate with the device the vast majority of the time.

The software isn't completely broken. I have managed to get tracks off of the device on occasion, but the vast majortiy of the time it simply will not work. I purchased the device with the intention of carrying it in my pocket at all times and recording my location whenever I went out on photo-taking trips so that I could always have a track to geotag my pictures. Unfortunatley, I haven't been able to successfuly connect to the device for about six months, so I've had to give up on it. It's really a shame the device doesn't simply mount as a portable drive and let you copy tracks off. That would have made it a 5 star device.

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The logger does all it is supposed to and will run for around 24h on a single charge. It takes regular AAA batteries. You can charge the batteries by attaching the logger to a USB port. Just wonderful.

The logger is also very sensitive, which allows logging through the small windows in airplanes even. It is fun to download the file after the flight and check the gate you departed from on Google Earth.

The only drawback is the software which is a bit rough and counterintuitive. But then once you convert the data and save them you can use any other program that does the job the way you like it.

Recommended.

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Nice sensitive GPS datalogger. Selectable point logging time works while running. Had to kill gpsd, run globdog-dg100, start GPS-Mouse mode, start gpsd /dev/ttyUSB0.

I'll try geotagging photos soon.