How not to get lost, going to the forest for mushrooms? Bushnell GPS Returner Overview
Hi Geektimes! We present an overview of the gadget that will help you not to get lost in the forest or the city limits. The review was performed by a long-time user of Habr and Geektimes - Andrey Kambarov. We must say right away that soon the second part of the review will be published, with a detailed test of the device in the field.
I have been wanting to make a GPS tracker for a long time, but my hands never reach. And then I got into the hands of the GPS returner Bushnell Backtrack. Let's see how it works and what is inside it?
The device comes in a nice black gift box. In the box there is a blister with the device itself, a warranty card and instructions in Russian. No batteries included. And the device is powered by two AA batteries and lasts for a very long time. For 3 weeks of use, I was not able to discharge them.
The case is bright, it fits comfortably in the hand, the device is controlled with just two buttons - under the thumb and index finger of the right hand.
Turned on by long pressing the power button. The first search for satellites takes several minutes, it is better to wait for the fixation motionless. The same button switches the selection of one of the three saved points and the compass mode. Each of the three points has its own icon - an asterisk, a car and a house.
When you turn it back on after a short period (while the current almanac and ephemeris are valid), GPS fixes quickly, within a few seconds, but for some time the position is refined and the point setting error can be tens of meters, so do not rush, it’s better to wait a half minute if You want to save one of the three points more precisely.
Unfortunately, there are no GPS coordinates or clocks on the screen, only a compass. By the way, the compass is hardware and very sensitive. So much so that it feels metal a few steps away, so orientation in the city can be significantly difficult if you have a car, sewer manhole or other massive piece of iron next to you. We tested the device in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora and periodically showed the compass with a significant error, but it was worth 5-10 meters away and it again showed correctly. Unfortunately, the arrow may show a limited number of directions, but the digital azimuth value will help you orient yourself.
By the way, the compass adequately indicates the direction only in a horizontal position, which is honestly stated in the instructions.
And of course, the most interesting - what is inside it?
We take out the batteries, unscrew the 4 torx screws and insert the plastic card, screwdriver or pick into the gap between the halves of the case. Carefully disconnect the latches and remove the orange cover.
It’s so easy to remove the electronics - the battery contact springs are very tight. Having unscrewed a couple of cross-head screws and freed the contacts, we remove the board with the screen and find out the most interesting: The board is based on the ublox UBX-G6010-ST chip. Compass - a small box in the photo at the top left of the board. Swiss company ublox is one of the leading manufacturers of GNSS chips. From datasheet:
“The chip is presented in the MicroLeadFrame (MLF) package with dimensions of 8 x 8 mm, generates two accurate time pulses with a frequency of up to 10 MHz, and also processes raw data from GPS satellites. The chip is capable of interacting with just one GPS satellite located in the field of view. The frequency of time synchronization at the level of 15 nanoseconds is achieved thanks to the use of the sampling error correction system. The integrated timestamp and counter measure the time of external events with high accuracy. ”
The chip complies with the AEC-Q100 standard and is manufactured in accordance with the requirements of ISO / TS 16949. Correct operation is guaranteed at temperatures from –40 ° C to 85 ° C. "We see that the main purpose of the chip is a source of accurate time for mobile operators.
Unfortunately, GLONASS is not supported. But the main minus is not at all in this, but in a cheap and primitive frame antenna made of a piece of steel wire.
Yes, in principle, the device works, but the accuracy is low. Immediately after recording the coordinates of the point in memory, within 30 seconds the coordinates can float away for 20 meters or more, so it will be difficult to search for a car in a large parking lot, especially since the compass is not an assistant for us there - it will be constantly distracted by cars standing nearby. In general, at distances of less than a few hundred meters, the device is practically useless, but if you go further away, it is quite capable of returning you to the edge of the forest with which you went mushrooms and lost your way, or find the road where your fishing car is parked. Or find a camp in the mountains from which you left and got lost. The RF part is covered by a screen soldered to the board around the perimeter and, in principle, there is nothing interesting there.
We continue to disassemble.
The board is attached to the screen with latches.
On the reverse side of the board you can see the power circuit with inductors and a control chip and display information on the LCD. Board version from 2011.11.17 Backtrack II revision G. The screen clings to a flexible cable through the connector. Everything is neat and beautiful. The backlight is realized by two SMD blue LEDs through the screen.
Total we have:
Pros
Minuses
Well, personally, I would like to be able to write travel tracks, although I understand that this is not quite the task of the Bushnell returner , but of another device :) In
total, the device is limitedly useful in the city, but in the country or on the trip it is very useful and pretty thing. As a gift to the fisherman, hunter, mushroom picker, traveler - that’s it. Well, you can give your child a hike.
The dadget invites authors interested in testing our devices and writing an objective review, to collaborate. The device after the publication of the review remains with you. More information about the offer is here .
I have been wanting to make a GPS tracker for a long time, but my hands never reach. And then I got into the hands of the GPS returner Bushnell Backtrack. Let's see how it works and what is inside it?
The device comes in a nice black gift box. In the box there is a blister with the device itself, a warranty card and instructions in Russian. No batteries included. And the device is powered by two AA batteries and lasts for a very long time. For 3 weeks of use, I was not able to discharge them.
The case is bright, it fits comfortably in the hand, the device is controlled with just two buttons - under the thumb and index finger of the right hand.
Turned on by long pressing the power button. The first search for satellites takes several minutes, it is better to wait for the fixation motionless. The same button switches the selection of one of the three saved points and the compass mode. Each of the three points has its own icon - an asterisk, a car and a house.
When you turn it back on after a short period (while the current almanac and ephemeris are valid), GPS fixes quickly, within a few seconds, but for some time the position is refined and the point setting error can be tens of meters, so do not rush, it’s better to wait a half minute if You want to save one of the three points more precisely.
Unfortunately, there are no GPS coordinates or clocks on the screen, only a compass. By the way, the compass is hardware and very sensitive. So much so that it feels metal a few steps away, so orientation in the city can be significantly difficult if you have a car, sewer manhole or other massive piece of iron next to you. We tested the device in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora and periodically showed the compass with a significant error, but it was worth 5-10 meters away and it again showed correctly. Unfortunately, the arrow may show a limited number of directions, but the digital azimuth value will help you orient yourself.
By the way, the compass adequately indicates the direction only in a horizontal position, which is honestly stated in the instructions.
Filling
And of course, the most interesting - what is inside it?
We take out the batteries, unscrew the 4 torx screws and insert the plastic card, screwdriver or pick into the gap between the halves of the case. Carefully disconnect the latches and remove the orange cover.
It’s so easy to remove the electronics - the battery contact springs are very tight. Having unscrewed a couple of cross-head screws and freed the contacts, we remove the board with the screen and find out the most interesting: The board is based on the ublox UBX-G6010-ST chip. Compass - a small box in the photo at the top left of the board. Swiss company ublox is one of the leading manufacturers of GNSS chips. From datasheet:
- u-blox 6 core.
- Navigation at signal levels up to –162 dBm.
- Cold start with a signal of -148 dBm
- Support AssistNow, hybrid GPS / SBAS engine (WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS) Anti-jamming technology.
“The chip is presented in the MicroLeadFrame (MLF) package with dimensions of 8 x 8 mm, generates two accurate time pulses with a frequency of up to 10 MHz, and also processes raw data from GPS satellites. The chip is capable of interacting with just one GPS satellite located in the field of view. The frequency of time synchronization at the level of 15 nanoseconds is achieved thanks to the use of the sampling error correction system. The integrated timestamp and counter measure the time of external events with high accuracy. ”
The chip complies with the AEC-Q100 standard and is manufactured in accordance with the requirements of ISO / TS 16949. Correct operation is guaranteed at temperatures from –40 ° C to 85 ° C. "We see that the main purpose of the chip is a source of accurate time for mobile operators.
Unfortunately, GLONASS is not supported. But the main minus is not at all in this, but in a cheap and primitive frame antenna made of a piece of steel wire.
Yes, in principle, the device works, but the accuracy is low. Immediately after recording the coordinates of the point in memory, within 30 seconds the coordinates can float away for 20 meters or more, so it will be difficult to search for a car in a large parking lot, especially since the compass is not an assistant for us there - it will be constantly distracted by cars standing nearby. In general, at distances of less than a few hundred meters, the device is practically useless, but if you go further away, it is quite capable of returning you to the edge of the forest with which you went mushrooms and lost your way, or find the road where your fishing car is parked. Or find a camp in the mountains from which you left and got lost. The RF part is covered by a screen soldered to the board around the perimeter and, in principle, there is nothing interesting there.
We continue to disassemble.
The board is attached to the screen with latches.
On the reverse side of the board you can see the power circuit with inductors and a control chip and display information on the LCD. Board version from 2011.11.17 Backtrack II revision G. The screen clings to a flexible cable through the connector. Everything is neat and beautiful. The backlight is realized by two SMD blue LEDs through the screen.
Total we have:
Pros
- Low power consumption
- Work from ordinary AAA batteries, which can be found in any store in any country and take stock with you.
- Well-read large screen
- Convenient body and nice appearance
- Convenient fastening to a thong on a neck or on a belt
- Quick restart when turned on for several hours to return to one of the points.
- Reliable GPS chip from one of the leading vendors
- High build and workmanship
- Screen backlighting, which is very important at night or in the forest!
Minuses
- Lack of dust and moisture protection
- There is no clock on the screen, although the GPS chip is just designed to get accurate time
- Weak antenna, which leads to low positioning accuracy
- Only 3 memorized points - frankly few
Well, personally, I would like to be able to write travel tracks, although I understand that this is not quite the task of the Bushnell returner , but of another device :) In
total, the device is limitedly useful in the city, but in the country or on the trip it is very useful and pretty thing. As a gift to the fisherman, hunter, mushroom picker, traveler - that’s it. Well, you can give your child a hike.
Dadget Testing Invitation
The dadget invites authors interested in testing our devices and writing an objective review, to collaborate. The device after the publication of the review remains with you. More information about the offer is here .