13 votes

Is there a GPS watch that does not have any wireless radios?

I’m looking for a device that can track runs, whether it’s a watch or small device, which just exports raw GPS data via USB. I don’t want it to have Bluetooth, and it’s not enough to be able to disable it, I would just like it to not have any wireless radios whatsoever. Have you guys ever seen anything like this? I feel like it doesn’t exist on the market.

6 comments

  1. [2]
    cfabbro
    Link
    After a quick google I found this article which seems to have 2 bluetoothless GPS watches: The 'Soleus GPS Sole' and 'Timex Ironman GPS', which both appear to only have USB connectivity.

    After a quick google I found this article which seems to have 2 bluetoothless GPS watches:

    The 'Soleus GPS Sole' and 'Timex Ironman GPS', which both appear to only have USB connectivity.

    6 votes
    1. BlindCarpenter
      Link Parent
      Wow that’s great, thank you. I might splurge for that timex one eventually. It looks like it does exactly what I need.

      Wow that’s great, thank you. I might splurge for that timex one eventually. It looks like it does exactly what I need.

      4 votes
  2. [3]
    fleg
    Link
    I've got Garmin Forerunner 10. It's not the newest, but it's exactly what you're looking for - tracks the runs using GPS, and after that you plug it into your computer, it's displayed as a...

    I've got Garmin Forerunner 10. It's not the newest, but it's exactly what you're looking for - tracks the runs using GPS, and after that you plug it into your computer, it's displayed as a removable drive, with which you can freely manage the saved tracks. They are saved in some Garmin's proprietary format, but gpsbabel handles them just fine - so probably there are also more user friendly applications. So not only you don't need any wireless to handle it, you don't need any proprietary software either.

    5 votes
    1. [2]
      BlindCarpenter
      Link Parent
      That’s awesome thanks! Do you have a particular desktop program that you use to organize or view your gps routes?

      That’s awesome thanks! Do you have a particular desktop program that you use to organize or view your gps routes?

      1 vote
      1. fleg
        Link Parent
        Not desktop, but I've found NextCloud's GpxPod is great for that

        Not desktop, but I've found NextCloud's GpxPod is great for that

        2 votes
  3. ruspaceni
    Link
    Sadly I don't think you'll find much luck. That entire market is driven my miniaturisation from the smartphone boom, which has involved a lot of feature cramming. Anything small enough to go on a...

    Sadly I don't think you'll find much luck. That entire market is driven my miniaturisation from the smartphone boom, which has involved a lot of feature cramming. Anything small enough to go on a wrist is going to have some range of wireless connectivity on the same chip I bet.

    If you really do find nothing and start to get desperate, you could start looking into the ifixit/whatever repair forums to see if any look particularly "hardy" and might survive you taking a blunt stab at it with the soldering iron (there's no realistic way to be accurate and DIY). Who knows, maybe the firmware wont care or maybe it'll brick it.

    3 votes