GlobalSat

GlobalSat was founded 2000 in Taipei, Taiwan by Prince Cheng and produces many different kinds of GPS devices (e.g. Car Navigators, GPS Engine Boards/Modules, Bluetooth GPS) mainly as an ODM (Original design manufacturer) for different brands. But they also have some products for end-consumers.

BR-304

• RS-232
• Price €50-70 (new), €30-40 (used)
• SiRFstarII
• Channels 12
• No internal memory
• Connectors RS-232 and PS/2

As far as I know this is BR-305 with RS-232 connection instead of the USB. Bad thing about this connector is it doesn't have pins for voltage, so there is another connector (PS/2 or USB) for power, and that connector is in the end of a really short piece of wire, because of which I had to get USB-extension. It may seem stupid to use both RS-232 and USB, but the reason is that when USB is used only for power, the receiver doesn't need any drivers at all, in any OS. Another difference between this and 305 is that this one seems to work well in cold, I got to test it in −27 °C for about half an hour.

BR-305

• USB mouse
• Price €40–60
• Trackpoints: 0 points (no memory)
• Connection: PS/2
• SiRFstarII
• Can't handle cold environment
• Channels 12

Works well with laptops. Stops working on low temperature. Uses serial USB, so it should work with all GPS track programs, loads pl2303 on Linux.

Good buy, but I recommend buying the 353 instead.

BT-308

GlobalSat BT-308
Description	receiver
GNSS	20 channels chipset: SiRF Star II e/LP augmentation: waas
Memory	Internal: no. External: ? no.
Integrated equipment	magnetic external antenna
Connectivity	bluetooth
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	110$
Notes	Full review

BT-335

GlobalSat BT-335
Description	receiver
GNSS	20 channels chipset: SiRFstar III augmentation: waas;egnos;msas
Memory	Internal: (60.000 max logging).
Connectivity	bluetooth
Batteries	internal Li-ion (>24hrs lifetime)
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	80€
Notes	Shipped with Windows program for configuration and downloads Can log position; position, time, speed or position, time, speed and altitude. Recording interval could also be changed. For Mac OS, configuration and gps downloads can be made by GlobalSync. Read a review for mac [1]. Works good with gpsd (tested with xgps on mac, start it with gpsd -p /dev/cu.BT-GPS-.... after you have paired the device the mac) Works good on gnu/linux systems with gpsd. Spanish how to use BT-335 on Ubuntu in Tutorial. Spanish how to extract data logger on Ubuntu with GPSBabel in Tutorial User review

BT-338

GlobalSat BT-338
Description	receiver
GNSS	20 channels chipset: SiRFstar III augmentation: waas;egnos
Memory	Internal: (60.000 max logging).
Connectivity	bluetooth
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Notes	Full review NMEA 0183 commands supported (from specs): GGA (1sec), GSA (1 sec), GSV (5 sec), RMC (1sec); (VTG and GLL are optional) Transfer rate: 38400,N,8,1

BT-359

GlobalSat BT-359
Description	receiver
GNSS	20 channels chipset: SiRFstar III augmentation: waas;egnos
Memory	Internal: (15hrs max logging).
Connectivity	bluetooth
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	80$
Notes	Full review,Battery from Nokia 3310/3330 fits and works, but too thick, cannot close lid. Should be slimmed versions of these somewhere.

BT-368

GlobalSat BT-368

GlobalSat BT-368
Description	receiver
GNSS	20 channels chipset: SiRFstar III augmentation: waas;egnos;msas
Memory	Internal: .
Connectivity	bluetooth
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	47£

BR-303

GlobalSat BR-303
Description	receiver
GNSS	12 channels chipset: SiRF Star II e/LP augmentation: no
Memory	Internal: .
Connectivity	usb
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	50€

BR-305

GlobalSat BR-305
Description	receiver
GNSS	12 channels chipset: SiRF Star II e/LP augmentation: no
Memory	Internal: .
Connectivity	ps2
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	50$

BR-355

GlobalSat BR-355
Description	receiver
GNSS	20 channels chipset: SiRFstar III e/LP augmentation: waas;egnos
Memory	Internal: .
Connectivity	usb;rs232
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	60$

BU-353

GlobalSat BU-353
Description	receiver
GNSS	20 channels chipset: SiRFstar III e/LP augmentation: waas;egnos
Memory	Internal: .
Connectivity	usb
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	28£

Works well with laptops. Stops working on low temperature. Uses serial USB, so it should work with all GPS track programs, loads pl2303 on Linux.

Good buy, this unit will almost always get a lock directly, and I really recommend it over BU-303. The sad part is that the lock usually isn't that good. I've experienced very strange behaviour where it will lose GPS lock and get a new bad lock positioning it self 50 m from the right position and then drift back to the right position. I'm not sure why this is, or exactly what is happening. It also has issues when you are stopped or moving slowly where the position jumps around by a few metres. Once it as been running for a 5–10 minutes this problem goes away.

DG-100

Globalsat DG-100 with washer

GlobalSat DG-100

GlobalSat DG-100
Description	logger,receiver
GNSS	12 channels chipset: SiRFstar III augmentation: waas
Memory	Internal: (60.000 max logging).
Integrated equipment	wapoint button
Connectivity	usb
Batteries	2AA (20hrs lifetime)
Features	addresses points of interest mass storage mode Waterproof
Price	110$
Website	http://www.globalsat.com.tw/products-page.php?menu=2&gs_en_product_id=6&gs_en_product_cnt_id=55 Globalsat

• good and bad things: read user manual
• user review
• alternative, open source managing software on sourceforge (a must!)
• dg100utils open source download and configuration software
• JOSM-Plugin to download data directly into josm, where it could be saved as a .gpx file
• dg100ctl setting utility for the DG-100, includes a graphical interface with Qt, works on Ubuntu
• Supported by gpsbabel on linux: gpsbabel -i dg-100,erase=0 -f /dev/ttyUSB0 -o gpx -F "track.gpx"

Tip: Glueing a washer around the on/off button prevents accidental switch off when carried in a backpack