GlobalTop G66: Super Sweet tiny GPS receiver
Submitted by RayDar on Fri, 02/15/2008 - 12:07.
I received my mail-order GlobalTop G66 GPS receiver today and my first impression is that it is super sweet, and of course it works with GeoNiche.
It obtains fixes quite quickly, locks onto a lot of satellites, and sends coordinate information an amazing 5 times per second.
The power switch is a touch-sensitive circle on the front. A very light quick touch turns it on and a long-touch turns it off. The switch is not pressure based. It requires the capacitance of a human finger to trigger it, so it's unlikely to turn on accidentally. If it does happen to power up accidentally, it has an auto-off feature where it will turn itself off if it doesn't begin communicating with GeoNiche within several minutes.
It's incredibly small, measuring about a half inch shorter and a quarter inch narrower than a standard business card. The whole thing is only a quarter inch thick, which is about half the thickness of a Palm Tungsten TX. It's quite easy to tuck it away somewhere, such as a shirt pocket, or the bill of a baseball cap.
The G66 has no moving parts or obvious LEDs to interfere with its high tech black and white stylish exterior. The standard three indicators (power, GPS, and Bluetooth) can be seen only when the unit is on. They appear about halfway between the button-sensor and the logo at the top (see picture from the link above).
It charges through a standard mini-USB plug. A car charger is included and you can charge it from any USB port but it does not come with a wall charger. With such a standard plug however, it should be quite easy to find one.
There is a recessed pin-activated reset button (that I hope I will never have to use) and an anchor point for a lanyard. It's so tiny and light that I can hardly notice it when worn around my neck.
It doesn't appear to have a changeable battery. I haven't had to replace the batteries in my other Bluetooth GPS receivers and I am hopeful that this one won't need it by the time I move on to something else.
They claim a battery life of "up to" 20 hours of continuous use per charge. It will be a while before I can measure this for myself.
Getting a new toy like this always energizes me to get out and do some GPSing.
Update: GlobalTop G66 Super Sweet tiny GPS receiver
Perhaps my expectations were too high. With it's claim of being a 51 channel receiver and locking onto anything in the sky, I was expecting incredibly stable readings no matter what. But this turns out to not be the case.
I recently used the tiny G66 GPSr geocaching and it performed well enough, but not spectacularly. It can sometimes get confused while traveling at slow speeds (< 2 MPH). At one point I was standing still and it was reporting that I was moving at 55 MPH for about two minutes.
Still, it is very convenient and stylish. It obtains a fix quickly and maintains it even in the forest. Using the G66 with GeoNiche, I was directed straight to several caches, even with the occasional erratic readings.
This will become my GPSr of choice for the time being, but for geocaching I will be using it with a compass.
((RayDar))