AMOD Photo GPS Logger Testing

I can’t help it.  And those that know me know I can rarely help getting excited about gadgets that others roll their eyes at.  In this case, I didn’t want to bring a full fledged GPS to Nepal (yes, this is the justification, right up front…..no need to worry about me bringing it up later) because when Kim did that on her first trek, it didn’t work quite right and became more of an annoyance than a fun recorder.  It’s not like she needed it for finding her way, but I wanted to geotag the photos so I could see where they were taken.  Geotagging, for those currently scratching their heads, is the process of matching up GPS data about where you are on the planet with pictures you’ve taken.  Done well, it’s real easy to match up a trip with a map and photos.  Kinda cool. Totally geeky.

So I purchased a Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger with the hopes it’ll make life easier.  Well, not really easier.  Easier would be to bring no camera and no GPS.  I know.  But Easier from the stand point of inspiring others to get out and see the world, experience new cultures and just explore!  So with that in mind, this little gadget will be traveling with me.  It’s about the size of two boxes of matches, feather light and gracefully lacking in a lot of bells and whistles.  As geeky as I can be, I usually like my gadgets on the simple side or horribly complex.  In this case, I want it to do one thing; record GPS track points unfailingly.  And the Amod is right up my alley sporting all of two buttons: On/Off and a waypoint button for marking an exact location.  This will be handy to mark a location we stop that has some significance while I note it in my journal.  Once again, I know what you’re thinking…..you’re trying to record too much and not experience the trip in front of you!  Or maybe you’re not thinking that.  The beauty is I can just let it all go if I like and there is not a lot of weight to carry.  If I get tired of using it, I have other uses back home so the money, as inexpensive as it is, isn’t wasted.

The device comes with some software to help tag your photos.  While I’ll give it a try, I’m partial to using BreezeBrowser to tag my photos as they are imported with its Downloader program.  The Amod GPS Data Logger is said to output into NMEA format, which BreezeBrowser can handle no problem.  Ok, now I’m really getting excited…..but it’s late and I need to pack more and go over the many lists before I can go play.

I’ll be testing it out in the next few days and I’ll post back how it goes.  If all goes well, it’ll travel with us and dutifully record our path through the Himalayas.  If it doesn’t go well….lesson learned and move on.