Use of Ionic as GPS tracker

[usher99]

New to Ionic past couple of weeks.  I think it might just replace my current small gps device to geotag photos.  I have no clue how many trackpoints it can store. Any idea?   I may have to use it in a car and then hiking for 10-15 hours.  I have a backup battery to recharge but unclear if can hold 54,000 trackpoints----15X60X60. Does it save the files as long as I sync to my phone every few days?  I may not have wifi for days at a time so it can not get to Strava.  Downloading the gpx files from Strava seems to go very smoothly.  My little "I-got you" can hold 64K track points but I can configure it to check only every 15 sec or so --that can last quite awhile.  It can not access the Glonass constellation like the Ionic so suspect the Ionic may be more accurate on average.  I suppose I would have to use the Ionic in "run" mode as no just "gps" or "hike" mode that I see.  Appreciate any comments.

[Rich_Laue]

The GPS in the Ionic does not have the ability to store track points,  it is used to track your walk/run/hike/bike, please read the user manual for more info. 

[usher99]

Thank you for commenting.  I was using the term trackpoint  loosely as a stored gps location which appears to be stored at a 1 per sec frequency if the Ionic has a signal. I have downloaded the .gpx files from strava and it seems to work but am wondering about how many points can be stored before the memory is filled.  It would be nice to know if syncing to the phone will store them as a backup and insure no location data is lost.  I don't want to learn the hard way on a long trip in the field and loose the ability to geotag my images. Appreciate any clarifications.  I did not see any information on this issue in the manual.  

[Rich_Laue]

Sorry @usher99 no fitbit data is stored or submitted to the phone, the ionic sun's is data to Fitbit cloud sevices.

Your runs map will then be displayed as a map in the fitbit app or on the web.

Just like with strava you can download the GPS data of your run.

How do I track exercise and activity with my Fitbit device?

Learn all the ways you can track activities with Fitbit

[usher99]

Thank you.  That is very helpful to know.

That means I require wifi or cellular data to insure my gps data is not lost. We may be out of any contact for several days at a time.  The remaining critical question is how many hours of gps data can the Ionic hold before the memory is filled--and what happens then?

[Rich_Laue]

I'm not sure how much GPS memory it can hold or if it can hold more than one run

[Rich_Laue]

Of hand I don't know my understanding is that it is not how long but how much of the GPS the tracker can store.

The tracker will store 7 days of detail data then another 23 of daily totals. 

I checked and don't this as being implemented

[usher99]

Thanks for thinking about this.  I divided my run this AM into two separate segments and it saved both.  

I really hope to find out if one hikes 10 hrs per day for one week with no wifi or cellular data will the ionic keep all the data? I wish syncing would offload the data but it seems not.  

[Rich_Laue]

@usher99 I'm not sure what you mean by syncing  the stored data,  before syncing Fitbit uploads the data to your Fitbit account and removes it from your tracker.

[usher99]

Apparently the gps data is stored in the cloud with Fitbit then is synced with strava.   I don't know what happens when syncing with no wifi or cellular data available.  From other comments it seems if no internet access is available the ionic gps data is not transferred.  I hope that is incorrect.  

[Rich_Laue]

@usher99 as you say a successful sync is when your tracker has sent it's data to the Fitbit server in the cloud. With no cellular or wifi there will be no successful sync and your tracker will hold onto it data.

[usher99]

Thank you for clarifying that point. So if the Ionic can hold a weeks worth of data it implies that even if hiking with GPS on for 10 hrs per day for 7 days it can hold all the data.  It would be nice to have that confirmed. Do you think that is true?

I may have to bring my little geotracker as a back-up.  Too bad it doesn't let you off load the data to the phone until have wifi or cellular. That would be a killer feature for geotagging application. I realize one device can not be all things to all people.

[Rich_Laue]

The ionic has limited memory, when it comes to the daly data, this is stored in one bank of memory. I remember a recent post that implies that the music and GPS data share memory. In any case I'm not sure what happens when the money for the runs are filled up.

[usher99]

Yes, I hope fitbit chimes in and informs us how much data can be stored.  They usually say about one week of activity data but what about hiking 10 hrs per day for one week with GPS going especially if have some music stored? 

[GraceGFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi @usher99, nice to see that you're digging into the Fitbit Forums. @Rich_Laue, many thanks for those answers. 

About the memory your Fitbit Ionic :

• Saves 7 days of detailed motion data – minute by minute for seven days in between the times you sync your watch.
• Saves daily totals for past 30 days
• Stores heart rate data at 1 second intervals during exercise tracking and at 5 second intervals all other times
• Sample rate for GPS is 1 Hz

Finally, the Fitbit Ionic has 2.5 GB of storage that is reserved exclusively for music.

Thanks for posting and I hope to see you chatting around enjoying the Forums!

[usher99]

Thank you for clarifying. Hiking 12 hrs per day for a week at 1 HZ sampling is over 300K locations stored.

That is quite good.  I wish I could use some of the other memory for gps data to extend the time before missing  gps data--perhaps a firmware option in the future. I will bring my other gps tracker for backup in case there is no wifi overseas for over a week.  The hike is in quite a remote area.  I do not wish to lose the ability to geotag my images.  Thanks again.

[sfringer]

I would suggest testing this use case before travelling and relying on an unproven solution. It would be unfortunate to not have the data you expect to be present at the end of the trip. Your use case is certainly not one I would suspect was accounted for in the design of a "fitness tracker".

I think you'll also find that you'll need to be recharging your Ionic quite frequently if you're using the GPS for extended periods of time. It's rated at up to 10 hours tracking for GPS - that would probably be under ideal conditions.

[Colinm39]

@usher99  I would add more testing as well as @sfringer. is suggesting

I have the Ionic as well, and for comfort I had the Ionic GPS going as well as Mobiletrack on another email account to compare my GPS results.  I was happy when I received the signal.

I would be getting answers from the Forum on pausing a GPS exercise, because there was/is an issue and I don't know what was resolved  because users were losing  their tracking data.  Maybe it was only a phone GPS issue.

Parallel to all of this we have a planned selected release release of OS 3.0.  So if your hiking is close now for departure I would probably forgo the OS update if it's presented on your phone App.

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@sfringer wrote:

I would suggest testing this use case before travelling and relying on an unproven solution. It would be unfortunate to not have the data you expect to be present at the end of the trip. Your use case is certainly not one I would suspect was accounted for in the design of a "fitness tracker".

I think you'll also find that you'll need to be recharging your Ionic quite frequently if you're using the GPS for extended periods of time. It's rated at up to 10 hours tracking for GPS - that would probably be under ideal conditions.

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[GraceGFitbit]

Thank you for your kind reply @usher99 and for your comments @Colinm39 and @sfringer. 

We thank you for be part of the Fitbit family, customer's satisfaction remains our number one goal.

If you have additional questions please don't hesitate, it is always a total pleasure to help you.

[usher99]

Thanks for the comments.  Certainly do not want to lose any tracking data.  So far the .gpx files have always been available  from Strava on the few times I have tried.  I do carry a couple Anker batteries to recharge whatever gear via usb on most trips.

I was prompted to upgrade the firmware today but will not do so until others report all is fine. I may be pushing the Ionic to do something that was unintended but it could  be fine as a geotagger  if only it would back up the data temporarily to the phone when no internet access is available.