How / what and how often do you log?

[ovizii]

This isn’t about choosing a specific GPS tracker, but rather about the methodology for logging and submitting GPS data efficiently.

I decided that logging directly to Geopulse in real time would use too much battery, and I don’t actually need real-time updates. My current tool can log to CSV and batch-submit, but it doesn’t keep a queue, so it repeatedly uploads all points, leaving Geopulse to handle duplicates.

For example:

If I rotate CSV files daily and submit hourly, the submissions effectively send:
1/24 + 2/24 + 3/24 … + 24/24 of the day’s data.

Total after 24 hours: 300 “hours” of data, i.e., 12.5× more than necessary.

I reduced submission to every 4 hours, which still results in 3.5× overhead.

I then switched from CSV to GPX 1.1, hoping to submit data retroactively, since CSV files require manual upload via my GPS logger. GPX files can be imported directly into Geopulse, but unfortunately they don’t contain the accuracy of each point.

So I’m weighing my options:

1. Submit each data point immediately – real-time, accurate, but high battery usage.
2. Batch submit every 4h via CSV – higher data overhead, but can include accuracy and other metadata.
3. Stick with GPX – low battery and easy import, but lose accuracy and metadata.
4. Switch to OwnTracks with MQTT – seems promising, but on Android it doesn’t support offline mode: OwnTracks feature comparison

Also Owntracks mentions that:

• You may find HTTP mode more reliable on Android 6 and higher
• Outgoing messages may only be sent in batched intervals. Location updates or event messages may be delayed.
• When using MQTT, the broker connection is not guaranteed to be maintained permanently. A reconnect will be attempted regularly or when a message is sent. If the connection is established without the clean session flag, missed messages will be received once connected.

This makes it sound like it does support batch sending and even offline mode?

Additional question:

Do you use different logging profiles for walking vs. driving?
What intervals or distance thresholds do you use to log or retain points for each mode?

[MrColumbo]

I thought about this as well since geopulse works better with more data - i am for sure simplifying. Anyway .....in the past I used gpslogger on android and typically logged every 30 seconds but only uploaded via Wifi. I recently switched to colota which is very efficient when it comes to battery usage. I am still logging every 30 seconds but since most of the time colota uses less than 1 percent of my battery I am even thinking about logging every 20 seconds but so far i did not change the default settings (= every 30 seconds). I am still only uploading only via wifi.