GPX and TCX output from GPS Master Software

A couple of years ago, I bought a Pyle PSWGP405BK GPS watch with Heart Rate Monitor.

PSWGP405BK

It’s been a great device, though it’s big, and a bit ugly. The battery far outlasts my wife’s Garmin watches, and I love the customizable screens. My main problem has been the lack of a useful way to extract heart rate data. The problem is that the GPS Master software offers only two ways to export heart rate data: 1) TKL format, which is an undocumented file format used only by GPS Master, and 2) CSV format, which isn’t compatible with any web sites or software that I use.  Although GPS Master can directly export GPX files, they do not include the heart rate data.

I finally got sick of it today, and after wasting some time looking for an easy way to adapter existing converter software to work w/ GPS Master’s CSV files, I gave up, and decided to write my own programs. So, I give you csv2gpx, and csv2tcx. csv2gpx takes a GPS Master CSV file as input, and outputs a GPX file with heart rate data embedded. csv2tcx takes a GPS Master CSV file as input, and outputs a TCX file with heart rate data. Both programs have a simple command line interface. I have supplied full source code on github, so anyone can compile them to run on their own platforms. For Windows users, I have supplied EXE files. The command line syntax is quite simple:

csv2gpx workout.csv

or

csv2tcx workout.csv

The output will automatically be generated as workout.gpx and workout.tcx, respectively.

Here is a sample session:

C:\git\csv2gpx\test>csv2gpx 20150125074851.csv
Lincomatic GPS Master CSV to GPX Converter v0.2

Converting 20150125074851.csv -> 20150125074851.gpx
Avg HR: 131
Max HR: 159
Trackpoints 2398

Note that the output file is the same as the input file, but with GPX extension. csv2tcx works in a similar fashion.

I think csv2gpx and csv2tcx should work with any other watches that work with GPS Master, as well. Runtastic’s watch looks identical to my Pyle, as well as several other models that I’ve seen. For instance, the New Balance NX990 also uses GPS Master, and looks identical. As I’ve stated in a previous article, the watch is built by Latitude Limited, and the OEM calls it the Nav Master II.

Update 2015-01-27: Argh! I just confirmed that the fancy new updated version of GPS Master bundled with the New Balance NX990, aka NB 900 GPS, now exports HRM data inside its GPX files! So I wasted my time writing the utilities above yesterday! It has some nice UI enhancements, as well. Highly recommended! You can read my detailed description: Pyle PSWGP405GK Software and Firmware Updates.

Downloads: csv2tcx and csv2gpx executables for Windows

4 thoughts on “GPX and TCX output from GPS Master Software”

  1. I press the update watch firmware and what happened is that my watch turned off and it cannot turn on.and when i want to update again it appears message:”error in commucating with watch”.PLEASE HELP!!!

    1. That sucks. Either there was an error during the upgrade, or you flashed an incompatible firmware.

  2. Hello everybody,

    I used to have a GPS watch similar to yours. I found the same problem, but I realized that it happens only when I used GPS Master 1.x.

    This problem is solved with GPS Master 2.x

    This kind of watch is sold by several companies. In my case, I bought it al ALDI (Spain). You can download the last version of GPS Master in the following link:

    http://www.produktservice.info/24076692/ba.html

    By the way, I was so glad to have and use the watch, until the battery failed. It lasted nearly 4 years, and I tried to change the battery but I have no success as I was not able to find the same battery.

    Good luck!

    1. Did you try looking on AliExpress or eBay? I haven’t taken mine apart yet. If you can send me a photo of the battery, maybe I an find a replacement for you. Mine started to have problems charging and transferring data recently. I thought it was corrosion on the contacts, but it turned out that the USB cable went bad! Luckily, the charging cable clip is held together with screws, so I was able to solder on a new USB cable. That was a nice touch to make the clip serviceable.

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