GPS / mobile GIS in the field

The iTrek Z1 datalogger GPS with a solar panel is based on the MTK chipset produced beginning in Q1 2007. I brought this GPS data logger, along with three other GPS units, on an ethnoarchaeological research project in Peru in 2007 where we travelled with a traditional salt-bearing caravan for 14 days, and I gathered 9 days of data logging with the iTrek Z1. I conducted this test to evaluate the precision of the GPS in the southern hemiphere where there is no WAAS.

The Arequipa, Perú GPS Base Station

The Arequipa base station operated by the International GPS Service (IGS) no longer appears as an available base station in the Trimble - Differential Correction list (GPS Pathfinder Office, GPS Analyst), though the data continues to be served by the Garner host at UC San Diego.

Anthropological fieldwork with a Garmin Edge 305 with Heart Rate monitor

GPS technology has greatly simplified the process of locating sites and features on the landscape and mapping positions, linear features, and areas. There are two main groups of GPS units used by field scientists: "recreational" and "mapping" grade GPS units. This post is about using Recreational GPS units for fieldwork in 2006.