RCV-3000 Bluetooth Data Logger USB GPS (Bluetooth, USB GPS, 66CH, WAAS, 200k Waypoints)

It appears they didn't pay the bill for the map provider so the application application has a big empty box where the map should be with an error message.

About the size of two packs of gum. Rechargeable battery is nice. Was able to get a fix while sitting on windowsill inside of my house - though to be expected the scatter plot was quite large - for being indoors. RCV-3000 has an LED that shows when it has a GPS fix.There is cloud based software that can be used to extract the data from the RCV-3000. It is a bit wonky (not so intuitive) - but does do the simple job of extracting the logged points/tracks. The cloud based software can be used to create a GPX file with the tracks. There are many online utilities to convert from GPX format to KML format (i.e. for Google maps/earth).The TRACKSHARE UTILITY needs to be downloaded in order to extract the tracks. Read this sentence again - as it was not so intuitive to me at least.Also HOLUX provides a simple WINDOWS APP that can connect via BLUETOOTH to the RCV-3000 to check whether RCV-3000 is working. Seems to work ok after a few trials. Once connected via BT - you need to go to DEVICE MANAGER in WINDOWS to see what COM port on the PC it is connected to. Then select that COMM port in the HOLUX WINDOWs simple application.Also - for the CLOUD based software and TRACKSHARE utility - the help/user guide explicitly says to connect to the RCV-3000 via USB connection. This is ok - but I have not YET found a way to connect via BLUETOOTH to the TRACKSHARE utility. User guide makes not mention of such - and my first attempts failed at such. This could limit usefulness if working with a TABLET. If this is inded the case - this is a limitation. If I find out more - will update this review.Also - one can use TRACKSHARE utility to configure the RCV-3000 for various tracking options (i.e. log position every 30 seconds, overwrite logged data when memory full, etc)If you need a small GPS lightweight data logger - with a long battery life - that you can toss into your pack simply to track where you have been - then this appears to be a good option.

Background:After my last GPS logger (also by Holux) started going haywire (of all times on a helicopter flight over an erupting volcano!) I had to get a new one to replace it. I use this logger primarily to geo-tag all of my photos, and also to track my all of my commercial airline flights. My last GPS logger, model M-241 was great: good accuracy, and usually lasts ~10 hours on a single Ni-MH AA battery. There's also a mini-USB port for charging, or in my case I can connect it to my Li-ion power bank while exchanging the AA battery. Since the M-241 did exactly what I needed, I'll be comparing this product (RCV-3000) to it.The Good:This replacement RCV-3000 is very similar to the M-241 and supposedly more sensitive. I personally haven't noticed any increase in sensitivity, but that may be just my particular use cases (usually I'm walking or in a vehicle). The RCV-3000 still can't get signal if you're sitting in the middle seats of a commercial jet, but can get signal if you're seated at a window seat (as can the M-241). The RCV-3000 also has the mini-USB port which can be used in case the proprietary battery runs out. The on/off switch is a lot simpler on the RCV-3000 compared to the M-241, though it's still easy to be flipped off on accident (I keep it in my pocket, and it happened once on my last trip). The RCV-3000 lacks the LCD (compared to the M-241) screen so no more real-time information on your current latitude, longitude, altitude, heading, and speed. This wasn't a deal-breaker for me, maybe it extends battery life a little longer. The RCV-3000 also has a better form factor than the M-241 (rectangular prism on the RCV-3000 vs. a roughly cylindrical shape resembling on the M-241).The Bad:Recently I went on a trans-pacific flight and noticed the RCV-3000 stopped recording data at sometime after takeoff, but started recording again a little before landing. After a couple more flights where I carefully watched the altitude on my smart phone GPS app, and the plane's altitude information, I noticed the RCV-3000 stopped recording data one we went above about 31,000 ft. When we descended to less than ~30,000 ft. it started recording again. When I returned home and loaded my GPS tracks on my computer, sure enough the altitude cap was at 10,000 meters exactly. So apparently this unit does not record data above 10,000 meters (~31,000 ft)!! What kind of GPS logger does that? My old M-241 easily recorded all of my flights up to at least ~13,000 meters. I've attached 2 pictures showing the RCV-3000 capping its altitude at 10,000 meters, and another log from another flight where it recorded altitudes up to ~13,000 meters. This is unacceptable to me so I will be getting another M-241 logger instead, since everything else is about the same (compared to the RCV-3000) anyway.

Bluetooth does not work with iPhone, There are others much better ones.

Works as advertised.

Works as described

Works Great

Used this extensively (and successfully) for a photography project to Geo locate my photographs on my Nikon D7200 equipped with a Foolography Bluetooth/GPS adapter on the camera. The output stream is standard NMEA and should work with just about anything.I literally carried this small device in my front jean pocket for 15,000 miles on a motorcycle for the entire riding season of 2016. It logged every inch of it very accurately. In all conditions, high altitude, desert, hot, cold, wet and dry. Never had a single issue. The Holux unit obviously is not waterproof, and I did not get it wet, but it was always in my pants pocket, and occasionally under rain gear. My point is, it saw a lot of use, under less than ideal conditions, and never had any issues.Battery life was the real surprise. They claim 20+ hours of life, and I don't doubt that at all. All day, every day. 10+ hours easy. I would start off at sunrise and go all day, the low battery light wouldn't even be on. Sometimes I would forget to take it out my pocket at night, left it on, and get up to find it still going with the low battery light on. 20+ hours!The included software is a bit finicky and has a few bugs, but I just used it to export the data out and import it into something else, like Google earth. The tracks/data points match perfectly to the satellite imagery in Google Earth and Adobe Lightroom. The pairing with other devices is straight forward enough, and I never had occasion where I had to re-pair it with my foolography receiver on the camera.It's just a fantastic solid little device. It's great fun to open up Earth to go back and relive the journey. Thanks HOLUX!