External GPS for iPhone

mccmcc
edited March 2018 in RaceChrono for iOS
I'm using RC iOS version for karting session on an iPhone 6s but i'm not very happy about the accuracy of the track records due to the use of internal GPS.

I would like to add a bluetooth external GPS for less than 100$.

It's quite unclear looking at the RC site and forum what is the right combination.
- Garmin GLO seems to be supported but it's not in the recommanded list for iOS despite there are explanations to pair a Glo on iOS for use in RC. Also unclear if it works at 10Hz or lower rate
- QSTARZ BT-818X would be a cheap interesting choice but I can't find clear information about the use with iOS

Any feed-back of iOS users ? Or other recommandation ?

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Comments

  • edited August 2017
    Hi,

    - Garmin GLO works on iOS only 3-4 Hz, and it's not on recommended list due to some trouble with it (yet to be confirmed though) on iOS. Still works well on Android and still recommended for that platform.

    - Qstarz BT818X does NOT work on iOS.

    Currently there's nothing available under $100 that I could recommend.
  • Thanks for your answer. Maybe I'm gonna try GLO anyway through Amazon to see if it brings better results for karting anyway. Internal GPS is really to slow.
  • Hi, I've just got my garmin GLO today, as aol suggested, it only got around 3-4 Hz on iphone. not recommended for track use.
  • I think 3-4 Hz is fairly good for track use, but there has been other (yet unconfirmed) issues with it. If accuracy is good with it, then I see no problems in using that.
  • Thanks aol, according to your experience, does xgps 160 works with ios device and provides 10hz update rate?
  • dukeiii, yes. It has sometimes problems with making connection, but otherwise it's very good. Only affordable GPS I can currently recommend for iOS. Here's instructions to solve connection problems: http://racechrono.com/article/faq/why-doesnt-racechrono-connect-to-my-dual-xgps-160
  • Thanks aol, i'll give the glo a try on the track tmr. See if I should return that and order the xgps 160 instead.
  • There’s going to be RaceChrono update soon (v5.0.6) that should fix some issues with Glo & iOS. Doesn’t fix the update rate though.
  • I just ordered a Garmin GLO from Amazon to give it a try. I hope to test it on Saturday. I will give you feed-back after testing it on a karting track.
  • edited August 2017
    mcc, just update to v5.0.6 from App Store when you go there. Should be out by Saturday.
  • I will drive Saturday morning CET, I will check if it is available ;-)
  • I got v5.06 tonight. Are they any special settings to do when testing the GLO ?

    Are you interested in monitoring something in particular ?
  • edited August 2017
    @mcc, no special settings for now. I tested iOS + GLO combo yesterday with car and motorbike and everything was OK. Karting is a different environment though...
  • Ok, I will share feedback after giving a try. Stay tuned.
  • Got my GLO. Just tried at home with the latest version. Seems OK, with a refresh rate between 3.8 - 3.9 Hz. I will test on track tomorrow.
  • edited August 2017
    I was testing yesterday on iPhone 6S and got 2.5 - 2.8 Hz. The trajectories are fairly smooth anyways.
  • Unfortunately I was not able to test on a karting track as I found my car with a flat tire this morning ... anyway I did try with my car on the way back home after repairing building a road track.

    It went well, quite a smooth draw of my path that map pretty well with google satellite view. The road had plenty of turn and there were quite good in general.

    Refresh rate is confirmed at 3.7 - 3.9 on my iPhone 6s with last release of iOS and last RC. Didn't check for now the GLO firmware that comes out of the box.

    According to this small test, it's far better than with internal GPS.

    Interesting too, I use quite often Waze for navigation, the experience is also far better with GLO.

    I have made several screenshot of my trial if you are interested in.
  • Good to hear. No need for screenshots if you didn't have problems in general. I'm interested for hearing more in karting use.
  • To confirm, GLO firmware was 3.0.0 (latest).

    I will keep you posted when trying it on the karting track, I hope next Saturday.
  • Finally went to the karting track this afternoon to try iPhone RC latest + GLO : result is quite good. 0"03 delta for lap time compared to onboard chrono tracking.

    The only thing I noticed when looking à the path record on the map is that the 2 last sessions are perfectly accurate compared to the 2 first sessions that have a few point outside of the track.
  • A sample video on a French karting track done during last session :

    Garmin GLO seems to be quite recommandable now for iOS version :wink:
  • edited September 2017
    @mcc perfect! :)
  • I've being using GLO with latest RC extensively in karting, during the last couple of months. It worked most of time. There are about 15-20% chances, the tracking points could get everywhere, and messed up the timing. Comparing to the transponder timing system at the track (which should be more accurate), the difference varies from a few hundreds to a few tenth. That is rather annoying. I'm wondering about paring the glo with a backup android phone, or get the dual 160 instead.
  • @dukeiii, thank you for the feedback. Try the Android phone to see if the problem goes away with the Garmin GLO receiver. It might be that your iPhone is dropping the connection and reverting back to internal GPS...
  • Hi everybody,
    I woulf like to know if this configuration can work:
    Iphone 5s + RC + Bad Elf GPS for Lightning Connector
    Somebody had experience on it?
    Thank you
  • @samueletenca In my opinion the Bad Elf with Lightning connector is poor. It takes very long to lock on satellites every time it is inserted to the phone. Also the data quality is not great on Bad Elf devices compared to Dual XGPS150A or Dual XGPS160. My recommendations on FAQ still apply. A new, very food choice is QSTARZ BL-1000GT, but it seems to cost $250.
  • @aol thank you vey much for your suggestion! do you know also QSTARZ BT-Q818-XT,
    a little bit cheaper than the other...
  • @samueletenca That receiver does not work in iOS at all. Only BL-1000GT will work from their current line-up.
  • Qstarz have now BL-818GT available, works with IOS, price is around 150usd.
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