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InReach Mini 1-sec recording questions

SpikySimonW
over 3 years ago

I've got a multi-day / multi-stage enduro later this year (hopefully), standard requirements: stick to prescribed route, carry a satellite tracker set to ping every xx minutes, submit GPX evidence of route taken on completion.

Plan to use my Edge 1030 for nav and recording, with an InReach Mini for satellite tracking and hopefully backup recording (1 second) - I have some question on the latter for those more familiar with the unit than me (only ever used it as a tracker / emergency SOS provision):

  1. Presume the InReach Mini can do this type of 1 second recording, ie. results in the same type of accurate GPX files similar to an Edge/fenix etc?
  2. Impact on battery life - ideally I'd like to be able to get 2 or 3 full days riding (12+ hours a day) without having to worry about recharging (will be carrying a battery pack so can top-up overnight / on the move if need be)?
  3. How are the GPX files broken down? ie. if the first stage was over 3 days - switched the unit on first thing day 1, off at the end of the day, then on again at the start of day 2 etc - would this result in a single GPX file or 3 separate GPX files? More out of interest - fingers crossed I won't actually have to use these backup files, plus there are plenty of tools available to split/stitch as required.
  4.  How are the GPX files taken off the device, is it possible without using a computer? ie. smart phone app, in a similar way to Garmin Connect for the Edge.

I'm toying with the idea of also taking along an eTrex 32x for backup navigation and backup recording, though swaying against it possible: one less thing to carry, to worry about charging, plus will have my phone for backup navigation in a pinch. So my current thinking hinges on whether I can rely on the InReach Mini for backup recoding..?

Thanks in advance.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Umm, no good news here.

    If you run the Mini with any logging interval of 30 seconds or less, the Mini will keep the GPS radio on continuously. (It will warn you about that when you set the logging interval.) This is a giant battery suck. I don't remember exactly how bad it is, but I doubt that the unit will last 3 days at one-second intervals.

    Even with short-interval logging, you may not quite as accurate a track with the Mini as with other handhelds (or watches, for that matter). The Mini has very aggressive power management, which (anecdotally) seems to affect the position error. It's not bad mind you. Just perhaps not quite as accurate as other devices.

    There are no GPX files. The only way to get the log data off the device is to sync, either with the mobile Earthmate app or with a wired sync with your computer. There is an upper limit to the number of points the device can hold before the log wraps. 10,000 sticks in my head, but I could easily be wrong in either direction.

    Edited to add: This is a decent primer on the whole sync thing. It covers more than just the Mini.

    https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=qiulCjRzjR8d2P9C9xZyPA

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to twolpert

    Thanks for the reply/info - in my further searching around these forums it seems you are the premier font of knowledge when in comes to all things InReach! :)

    A nugget I noticed just now on the product spec battery life: "up to 35 hours at 10-minute tracking with 1-second logging" and further on "TRACK LOG: Single auto overwrite track log" = putting these two bits of info together it would seem shortsighted to give a battery life estimate yet not be able to actually store at least those number of 1-sec track points for the duration quoted!?! That's not to say this is the case..

    So it would seem, to meet my needs, I'd have to be sync'ing the InReach Mini via the iOS app each night (to be safe) to ensure the track logs are pulled off the unit before they are overwritten, then if I were to actually need them I'd access/export them from the Garmin Explorer website.

    Brings up a follow-up question: when you sync with the EarthMate iOS app, does it need to have a data connection to actually pull data off the InReach Mini? Obviously without a data connection I wouldn't expect them to appear on the Garmin Explorer/MapShare web site, but would hope they'd be queued on the phone for when a data connection is available. Of course, while this is common sense, it wouldn't be the first app to require a data connection for no apparent reason. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to twolpert

    As an aside, am I missing something in terminology in terms of track points? I see the top-of-the-range GPSMAP 66 series tops out at 20,000 track points.. yet on my Edge 1030 I've record single rides 15-20 hours moving time = 54,000 to 72,000 points at 1-sec recording? Am I confusing functionality?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to SpikySimonW

    Limits might be different on Edge. It's also possible that you are not really recording at 1 second intervals. Some units have a setting which adjusts the interval dynamically. I don't remember the details. If I try to "name that setting", I'm going to screw it up.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to twolpert

    "Smart recording" is what you're thinking of Slight smile

    Definitely set to 1-sec (for accuracy), just something I've not given any thought to - in terms of "range" I've only considered battery life, and on several occasions used a portable battery pack to keep it going on-the-fly, with a resulting activity file / GPX / whatever that seems fine. Like you say, maybe the Edge units are different, though the underlying tech / logic / limits generally seems the same across the board. Will try to dig a little deeper, for my own curiosity if nothing else. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    On 4., you can export GPX files from the Explore website. So it's Mini <Bluetooth> Earthmate app <data | wifi> Explore web. Note that from the satellite tracking you will have your 10 minute track already there, but once it uploads from Earthmate then the high res track will fill in. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to carleson

    Thanks for this. A quick related question:

    Do the two track recordings (10-min satellite tracking + on-device 1-sec track recording) intelligently combine into one.. or are there still two tracks albeit you'd reasonably expect each of the points on the 10-min track to exactly match a point on the 1-sec track?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to SpikySimonW

    On a good day, they combine visually on the map on the web site. In particular the long, straight lines between send points disappear in favor of the the smoother line formed by logged points. I don't believe I've every tried exporting one. I would assume that they are combined there as well. However, the "sent points" don't contribute anything useful to the resulting track. If you're going to export for some reason, you probably want the most detail possible

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to twolpert

    Got it, thanks.

    In my mind I'm thinking (purely for my spectators pleasure!) they get the interval send points during the day to follow my approximate progress, then after an upload in the evening say get a more accurate track of my route to-date. Then repeat for the next day etc. Good to hear this should be loosely how it works (in theory at least!).

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to SpikySimonW

    nb. as is the same for a lot of my questions, I really should just put my hand in my pocket and activate an InReach subscription and go test these things out! I do have some planned real-world applications where this could be useful in a few weeks time = hopefully I'll be able to educated myself further on these!