New GPS card keeps you from going in circles

Since we started shipping the new Holux GR-271 GPS CompactFlash card a couple of months ago, I have wanted to test it out in a real-world situation. The new Holux card, which uses the SiRF Star III chipset—is supposed to not lose signals under tree cover. That was a common problem with the chipset used in an earlier GPS card.

I set out to test whether a Recon equipped with this new card will show the improved reception. Finding tree cover is something that is easily done in the mountains of Western Oregon. To conduct the test, I set up two identical Recon X-Series units with extended caps and TDS TerraGuide software. I installed the new Holux GR-271 GPS card in one and an older Holux GPS card in the other.

For the test location, I picked the most rugged terrain with dense tree cover, Old Growth Trail, near Corvallis. Not only does this trail go through a steep valley with limited view of the sky, but it also goes through a stand of 250 year-old trees that absorb faint GPS radio signals. I walked the route with both units running side-by-side so they would experience the same conditions. As you can see from the photo above, it was raining the entire trip.

Here’s a screen shot from TerraGuide of the trip. The new Holux GPS is colored green and the old Holux GPS is colored red.

Although the aerial photo is about 25 years old (the clear-cut area in the top left is now covered with trees), you can see that the route starts on a forest road and then turns off into an area with large trees. The new Holux GPS showed a satellite fix for the entire trip, while the older GPS only showed a fix for about half the trip.

Looking closely at the tracks above you can see that the Holux GR-271 GPS closely follows the road (white in the photo), while the old GPS wanders 50 to 100 feet from the mark. When you reach the large trees this situation gets even worse. You can see that the old card only got a couple fixes on the trail (visible as long straight lines), while the new card got a fix every 10 feet (shown by smooth contours in the track). In some places (near the far right), spurious fixes actually showed the track looping itself—something the trail certainly did not do.

Although this is only one real-world test, the new Holux GPS appears to record tracks much better than the old card. With any luck, this will translate into better performance of the Recon with GPS for outdoor navigation, GIS mapping and forestry applications (like TDS SOLO Forest). At least it will keep you from going in circles.

Run over by a semi—and still working

Run over something with an 80,000-lb. semi-truck, and you’d expect it to be squashed flat. And, to be honest, we would also expect the same of even our ultra-rugged handheld computers.

But recently, a Recon owned by Quintex Services fell out of a company truck onto one of the busiest streets in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Nobody knows how many cars and trucks may have run over that Recon, but one alert semi-truck driver stopped after he ran over it. He saw the Quintex label on the handheld and returned it to the company. “We really appreciate the driver who brought it back,” says Janette Finnie of Quintex. “He knew it was valuable and returned it.”

Except for some scuffs and a small crack on the touchscreen, the Recon looked no worse for wear. More importantly, it still worked. The next day, it was back on the job, and Finnie reports “it’s working great.”

Quintex delivers uniforms, linens and mats to businesses all over Winnipeg. The company has more than 30 Recons, which drivers use to capture customers’ signatures on electronic invoices when they make their deliveries. The company has been using the handhelds for about a year and chose the Recon after deciding that given their industry and Winnipeg’s harsh winter climate, a commercial-grade handheld wouldn’t be durable enough. The Recon has certainly proven that it is.

And while getting run over by a vehicle is well outside even the Recon's ruggedness specs, we're glad to see that the it has exceeded those expectations.

European IT video blog reviews the Recon and Ranger

Think of it as YouTube for IT guys: YourTechTV.com is a video blog site created by European media company Interactive Business Communications (IBC). It features videos and webinars on topics like supply chain logistics and Radio Frequency ID (RFID) as well as with product reviews. Two recent reviews posted on the site feature the Recon and Ranger.



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Practical tools for forestry management

I performed a demonstration of the new TDS SOLO Forest software at the Winning Technologies in Forestry trade show recently. SOLO Forest is the GIS and mapping solution for forestry applications developed by Tripod Data Systems (TDS), a Trimble company. At the show, we demonstrated the SOLO Forest software as part of a bundled real-time inventory management system, developed by one of our dealers. SOLO Forest is based on TDS SOLO Field mapping software, but with new capabilities specifically for forestry. These include:

• Grid Generation Tool—This tool allows the user to generate a grid of points to be sampled in a forest stand on their GPS-equipped handheld. The GPS will tell the user how to get to the point; once he’s there, a software interface will call up the timber inventory program so the user can enter measurements on the trees in that plot area. Once all the tree measurement data is collected, SOLO Forest calls up the next plot location on the grid to be sampled, with navigational tools to get the user there. It also marks completed plot points so the user knows when he’s visited all of the points on the grid.





• Split/Merge Polygon Tool—When collecting data in a forest stand, a user will often find an area that needs to be treated separately because of differences in tree size, species or other factors. With the split tool, a user can map out a separate plot area using GPS or from a map display on the handheld. The merge tool does the opposite when two areas have the same kind or size of trees.





• Buffer Tool—Many areas require a buffer zone along streams, rivers or wildlife habitats where trees cannot be cut. The buffer tool allows a user to define that zone around a point, line or area. Like the split/merge polygon tool, the buffer tool lets a user define the area using GPS or a map on the screen.

Besides the product demonstration, I also had opportunities to talk with customers and answer their questions. They’re familiar with electronic maps and GIS, but the most common questions were about how SOLO Forest handles different GIS file formats. Fortunately, I could tell them that it works with ESRI Shapefiles, along with projection information, AutoCAD DXF and other common files.

Forestry is one of those outdoor environments where rugged handhelds are proving very popular. With today’s software, mapping and GPS capabilities, they’re practical tools that can help foresters get more accurate data and do it more efficiently.

Spring forward three weeks early—and get your handheld in synch

Daylight Savings Time starts this Sunday, March 11—three weeks ahead of the traditional start. Congress mandated the change in August, 2005 in a bid to save energy. Starting this year, Daylight Savings Time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends the first Sunday in November. So not only are we springing forward earlier, we’re falling back later.

Ranger or Recon handheld computers with Windows Mobile software were designed to switch to Daylight Savings Time automatically—but it’s on the old schedule. The easiest solution is to install the patch from Microsoft. You can download it here: Steps for Windows Mobile. You’ll also find information in our technical bulletin here: 2007_Daylight_Saving_Time_Bulletin.pdf

All together now

When a forester takes one of our handhelds out to do a timber cruise, he may be using multiple technologies, but it all has to work together as one integrated system. That’s the message I got from talking with customers at the Winning Technologies in Forestry trade show earlier this year. They want the electronic maps, GPS, inventory management software and handheld computer to all work together seamlessly.

And with our forest industry partner LandMark Systems, we’ve done just that. LandMark’s RTI real-time inventory package combines our rugged handheld and SOLO Forest software with Tcruise forestry software and GPS. To the forester, though, it’s all one system. And that’s what counts.

Something else I learned at the show is the ruggedness we built into our handhelds has become the accepted standard. Most foresters know the Ranger and Recon work in the woods, so I get fewer questions about their specs. Occasionally, I’ll talk to a customer from Canada who might ask because “it gets pretty cold here, you know.” For the record, their operating temperature ranges from -22 to 140°F (-30 to 60°C).