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best digital GPS watch

18K views 45 replies 11 participants last post by  gaijin 
#1 ·
If one is not interested in sports related metrics or biophysical data, which GPS watch would you recommend? A requirement is that it can use GPS to sync it's time and retain it after a reboot.
 
#13 · (Edited)
There have been in the past, the Casio PAT-1GP and PAT-2GP and GPR-100. Mentions and pics in here: https://www.watchuseek.com/f17/gps-timekeeping-casio-caught-short-521356.html

But I don't think there is a digital one out there now that wasn't designed with time keeping only, and not for running/logging sports. The analogue ones that come to mind are the Seiko Astron, mentioned already, the Citizen Eco Drive Satellite Wave, and the recently mentioned Casio GPW-1000 GPS Hybrid Wave Ceptor (using both Atomic Radio and GPS).

I wonder if it is because the manufacturers don't believe there is a market for a digital watch with GPS for timekeeping only.
 
#7 ·
So far I think there is no purely digital watch that uses GPS for timekeeping and nothing else. I only know the ana-digi "Morgenwerk":
Morgenwerk Satellite Precision Watch Is More Accurate Than Your Mobile Phone | aBlogtoWatch
Their homepage is still "under construction" however so I don't even know if any of those have ever left the prototype-stadium.

AFAIK Morgenwerk has sold no watches. It may be the case that their watches will be up for preorder in the summer.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Do you want the gps for anything other than time?
If a GPS watch does more than time, that's fine by me, but it has to do GPS timekeeping well. For example, I'm frustrated that the Garmin tactix does not do time well -- it could, if only the software were written with timekeeping in mind, but it's not, and timekeeping is very clearly not Garmin's focus. The tactix is a fine watch for many purposes, but it simply does not keep time as well as a $25 WWVB watch because the Garmin (with current software) cannot be kept from drifting for more than 50 hours without either human interaction or removal from the wrist to charge.
 
#11 ·
My brand new (first ever) RC, Solar Powered, Digital watch... Seiko Brightz SDGA009.>

Hey Ronald,

Arrived from Katsu a couple of months ago.
I'll turn 59 years young next month...

HiDef-EPD 80,000 pixel display, Atomic time accuracy, Solar Powered/NEVER needs a battery?

In a perfect world....According to Seiko....This should be the LAST (maintenance free) watch I'll ever have to buy again? Hopefully if I live long enough..
I'll keep Y'all posted. :~)

 
#14 ·
Re: My brand new (first ever) RC, Solar Powered, Digital watch... Seiko Brightz SDGA009.>

My problem with e-ink is that it's too slow to display seconds, and I like to see the seconds.

ePaper (like the Sharp display Pebble uses) is fast, but takes too much energy to change, making displaying seconds a bad idea.
 
#17 ·
I would seriously reccommend the Suunto Ambit2. Its great! I own the sapphire, and it wears so well its become my daily driver lately.
 
#18 ·

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#21 ·
If they'd only use the GPS for timekeeping the watch could well be solar powered like the Citizen or Seiko models. No need to recharge every couple of days. Maybe Casio will one day also use it in digital models but at the moment they're obviously still following their path of making analogs for which they can charge a premium. I don't wear analog watches at all anymore.

Cheers, Sedi :)
 
#25 ·
I got a bit excited about GPS time keeping but the fact that GPS does not transmit DST was a huge let down...

Atomic time keeping DOES transmit this data so all you need is a sync...

Lack of DST in GPS data is a huge let down in my book.
 
#34 ·
Gajin,

thanks for taking the time to bring up your post. That certainly demystifies some of the "urban legends" I keep reading about the Fenix in particular and GPS watches in general |>


cheers
 
#36 ·
Gaijing thanks a lot for the post. 5-6 weeks between charges is more than a good enough for me.

Might give fenix 2 a try...

A question for you if you don't mind: if gps is not used but abc functions are (I like to check the baro couple of times per day) does that majorly affect battery life?

Thanks for answering in advance.

Cheers from Canada.
 
#40 ·
You're welcome :)

The fenix 2 has a maximum 5 weeks battery life while the fenix/tactix have a maximum 6 weeks battery life. I believe the main reason for this is that unlike the fenix/tactix which offer an Always On/On Demand choice for the sensors (Altimeter and Barometer), the fenix 2 keeps the sensors in an Always On mode.

This Always On mode allows the Barometer and Altimeter to build a history and display this history as a graph at the bottom of the respective data page. This data history continues to be updated until it is either erased by the user in order to start a fresh data history or the watch is reset. This data history is not available in the fenix/tactix On Demand mode.

If the sensors are not accessed, the fenix 2 goes into a low power mode which preserves battery life, but obviously the more the sensors are accessed there will be a slight reduction in battery life simply because the watch comes out of Low Power mode each time. I don't know exactly how much each Baro/Alti check affects battery life, but it is not much. The same is true on all three watches when the backlight or the compass are used - if they are not used, battery life is maximized, but each time they are used there will be a slight reduction in battery life.

Important to note: The fenix 2 is rated for < 5 weeks battery life when the sensors are Always On (not an option). On the other hand, the fenix/tactix are only rated for < 2 weeks battery life when the sensors are Always On (see page 4 of the fenix Quick Start Manual here: http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/fenix_QSM_Web_EN.pdf ). Battery management has been significantly improved in the fenix 2.

Hope this answers your question.
 
#44 · (Edited)
Yes, there are many time display options available. Here are a couple quick and dirty pics showing just some of the digital seconds options with no analog seconds display:







The Day, Date, Battery charge, Moon Phase and Sunset (or Sunrise depending on time of day) info displayed above and below the time can also be turned off completely or you can choose other info to be displayed.

HTH
 
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