Most of what I learn in this industry is a result of consistently interacting with recons all over the world. In fact, I had the luxury of sharing dinner with Rick McAlister and Pat Doherty last night in Vermont and, as always, I learned some things. This week’s info stemmed from an email exchange with the ever sage Roman Beck.

GoPro's latest and (not) greatest

Since the launch of the HERO5, GoPros have had internal GPS sensors, making them useful for extreme sports, motorsports, and recon testing…especially when paired with Telemetry Extractor. Reportedly due to shortened battery life and overheating issues, GoPro decided to remove the GPS sensor from their latest model, the HERO12. Accelerometers and gyros remain.

This video talks about potential solutions, including relying on your phone’s GPS, using a HERO11, DJI Osmo Action 4, or Insta360 One RS.

​If you’re testing a larger vehicle, getting GPS via the phone is just an inconvenience, but if you’re testing something small like a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, or motorcycle, it can complicate things.

I think I’ll snag a couple HERO11s and work with those for a few years while they figure out how to reintegrate GPS. If I was a betting man, I’d put money on this being a temporary issue.

Lou Peck
​Lightpoint | Axiom​

P.S. Speaking of colleagues and GoPro telemetry, I had a chance to ride Big Willow with Eric Deyerl on Sunday. Here's a hot lap from the nose of my 2016 Yamaha XSR900 with some data overlaid (via the HERO10).