Mac Travel Recorder - 2.5.0.1

I've used a GPS for several years in the car and on the bike but haven't found one I like yet for my sailing canoe, so decided a simple travel recorder would be useful to track my routes. I checked out the models compatible with MTR then opted for a newer model: the Qstarz BT-Q1000P (Platinum). Luckily this works perfectly. You get a generous trial period but of course if you've already bought a new recorder and found it wasn't supported then you'd have to try and return it for a refund.

I haven't tried the Qstarz Windows software within Boot Camp but MTR seems to handle every task I have tried well. The manual doesn't cover every feature but Bert provides quick responses if you post your queries on the Mountain Rose MTR forum. The software has some idiosyncrasies (such as the registration procedure) but nothing serious, and I'd like to see the price reduced. It takes some time to download all the data points onto your computer but once downloaded it is easy and quick to export to Google Earth and Google Maps to see an accurate track of where you've been. The data can also be exported to a .csv file, which can be opened by Excel, allowing data to be sorted. I like to see my peak speeds while sailing my canoe and the tracks show my tacking angles more accurately than simply relying on my compass.

I haven't tried the GeoTag feature yet but imagine that would be really useful for sorting holiday photos, especially when touring. Just remember to set your camera to Universal Time (UT) so that the travel recorder and camera clocks are in sync.