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Mini 2 Tracking compared to "legacy" InReach devices

JasonPursell
over 3 years ago

I've used the mini, explorer+, and SE InReach devices and have gotten very used to the tracking system with mapshare and earthmate app.  However, i just got the mini 2 and things are fundamentally different. I was playing around with tracking on the Mini 2 and noticed major differences. 

Firstly, I should say that collections now make a lot more since they are prominent in the Explore app. They didn't exist in earthmate app.

Tracking on older devices was divided into Tracking points and log points.  Both tracking points and log points would be displayed on the Earthmate app map. However, on the mini 2, tracking is made up of tracking points and activity points. The mini 2 uses the Explore app and only the Activity "path" is displayed. The tracking points are not displayed on the Explore app map.  The track points are sent via satellite to the mapshare.

Another unexpected thing. After tracking started and stopped and everything is synced to the cloud -- the Explore app only shows the Activity, but not the new track in the library. However, both the new activity and the new track are shown in the library on the Explore website (and mapshare). So, there is this weird disconnect between what is actually IN the collection.

Explore App (after completing tracking):

Explore website/mapshare:

is this expected behavior?  As a long distance hiker I am interested interested in the tracking path. I’m trying to understand this new way of tracking. Is the activity path supposed to merge with or make the track path more accurate? If not, then the activity path just seems to junk up my mapshare page.

also, why isn’t there a document for people like me coming from the “old” way. Seems like a gap in the documentation.

thank you 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Garmin-Leslie

    Hi Leslie!

    Thanks for your response. I have since figured out how the "Standard" and "High Detail" Activity Recording settings relate to the logging of activity points (see https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/inreach/f/inreach-mini-2/287901/inreach-mini-2---problem-bug-with-tracking-freezing/1388540#1388540), but I think the question that Jason asked, and the thing that I'm wondering about, pertains to something different.

    Let me try to rephrase: when using the "Standard" Activity Recording setting, the activity point logging interval should match the tracking point interval. So, each tracking point should -- in theory -- only have one corresponding activity point, and the two should probably even originate from the same GPS fix.

    Instead, we're seeing this cluster of a dozen or so activity points around the one tracking point. The question is: why does it log all those points when a single one would suffice?

    My own hypothesis is that the device activates the GPS receiver when it's time to send another tracking update to the network, and simultaneously starts logging activity points. The device then continues to update its GPS position and logging activity points (every couple of seconds) until the tracking update message has been sent (this being an educated guess on my part).

    If the above is correct, then clearly it gets the job done, but it does result in a rather messy jumble of activity points. I'm just wondering if this is the intended behaviour, or in fact more of a bug than a feature.

    Thanks!

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Garmin-Leslie

    Hi Garmin-Leslie, thank you for your diligence. I apologize for not replying sooner. I’m currently hiking the Appalachian Trail. So far the Mini 2 is performing great. I actually like the Activity paths and the way they  show in the Explore App. Everything seems to be working great - battery, tracking, messaging. There are a couple of quirks that I learned, but very minor.