USB-GPS Working in PilotAware

[ianfallon]

Got it working 

Which of
a) plugging the GPS dongle into the top right hand side USB port (looking into the sockets)
b) being patient enough to wait for it to download the ephemeris data (up to 15 mins on first/cold start someone said)
c) moving the dongle nearer the window

I don't know, but it seems to work. Will try it out for reliability on my next flight.

I would think b and c !

[stephenmelody]

I would agree on B and C, no green flashing light, no GPS info - took me a while to remember that when I got mine!! I've had the GPS dongle plugged into various USB ports so I would discount A.

Also, the ipad has assisted GPS, which can use wifi and cellular services to triangulate your position, giving you a much quicker time to first fix than just a GPS dongle, which needs to see the satellites..., also why it works exceptionally well indoors.

[trapdoor]

I have a G-Mouse based on the MTK chipset, and one of the 'recommended' uBlox7 GPS dongles.

The MTK chipped GPS has an almost instantaneous startup, position fix is spot on, as is 'direction'. Whereas the uBlox7 dongle can sometimes take 5 minutes to come up on a cold start and sometimes goes in and out of GPS lock several times before it becomes reliable. It also has a tendency to 'wander' in both position and direction, and often shows a groundspeed (albeit very low) when the thing is just sitting there.

Given a choice, I'll use the MTK chipset G-Mouse as it appears to be 100% reliable both on the ground and in the air, and is easier to position for a sky view - and is unlikely to get knocked out or be shielded by the roof on my all-metal aircraft.

[ianfallon]

I have a G-Mouse based on the MTK chipset, and one of the 'recommended' uBlox7 GPS dongles.

The MTK chipped GPS has an almost instantaneous startup, position fix is spot on, as is 'direction'. Whereas the uBlox7 dongle can sometimes take 5 minutes to come up on a cold start and sometimes goes in and out of GPS lock several times before it becomes reliable. It also has a tendency to 'wander' in both position and direction, and often shows a groundspeed (albeit very low) when the thing is just sitting there.

Given a choice, I'll use the MTK chipset G-Mouse as it appears to be 100% reliable both on the ground and in the air, and is easier to position for a sky view - and is unlikely to get knocked out or be shielded by the roof on my all-metal aircraft.

Interesting! I don't see any of those issues with the uBlox.

[stephenmelody]

me neither... aside the groundspeed, but I would often get that at home with the built in GPS on the ipad (1 or 2 kts).

the only issue I did have was when it went a bit crazy on me, see this post: http://forum.pilotaware.com/index.php/topic,191.msg2714.html#msg2714

[ianfallon]

easier to position for a sky view

An appealing property for sure. We have 3 antennas on a PAW and really all of them need it 

[Robski]

We have 3 antennas on a PAW and really all of them need it 

Can you expand on this, please?
All ADS-B? All P3I? 2 + 1? 1 + 2? Does the GPS figure in the count?
If some are interconnected how are they linked together?
Ta!

[Admin]

4 Antenna really

GPS
DVB-T
P3I
WiFi

Thx
Lee

[bendavis]

I have a G-Mouse based on the MTK chipset, and one of the 'recommended' uBlox7 GPS dongles.

The MTK chipped GPS has an almost instantaneous startup, position fix is spot on, as is 'direction'. Whereas the uBlox7 dongle can sometimes take 5 minutes to come up on a cold start and sometimes goes in and out of GPS lock several times before it becomes reliable. It also has a tendency to 'wander' in both position and direction, and often shows a groundspeed (albeit very low) when the thing is just sitting there.

I too have those issues with my uBlox, taking an age to fix from cold, then shows a small amount of movement, only 2 / 3 mph then settles for a bit. None of which I got when using the iPads gps source.

Ben

[Winged_Jaguar]

GlobalSat BU-353S4 working great! Many thanks. It's SIRF lV.
Its showing remarkably accurate Altitude against known location height.
Thanks again.
Gerry

Following Gerry's success, my BU-353S4 did not appear to be automatically recognised as a GPS device in the most recent releases (Nov-Dec'15). In the device table it shows as a Prolific Technology, Inc. PL2303 Serial Port. I did get it working by going into the PAW Configuration Menu and changing the Port Table entry for the device from AUTO to GPS (default speed 4800 baud) and following this with a reboot. To repeat information detailed elsewhere you need to know which number port your BU-353S4 is plugged into. Looking at the USB ports with the Ethernet port to the left: Port 1 top left; Port 2 bottom left; Port 3 top right; Port 4 bottom right.

The Bad Elf GPS Pro+ 2300 also works but is correctly detected automatically without needing to update the table.

Chris
G-DATG

[roweda]

I too have those issues with my uBlox, taking an age to fix from cold, then shows a small amount of movement, only 2 / 3 mph then settles for a bit. None of which I got when using the iPads gps source.

The GPS receivers in Android tablets also have a tendency to show minor movement when stationery, where as iPad GPS are more stable.

[Robski]

The GPS receivers in Android tablets also have a tendency to show minor movement when stationery, where as iPad GPS are more stable.

That should say in SOME Android tablets!

My Samsung phone and Google Nexus 7 tablet are rock solid!

I should hope an iPad is better than a cheap tablet, given the price premium.

[exfirepro]

Not a PAW reference as neither of us had PAW at the time, but iPads built in gps isn't infallible either - out in France this summer I was using my (wi-fi only) nexus 7 to drive SD with only 1 dropout the whole trip. A colleague using a 4G iPad mini 3 kept losing gps fix and eventually had to borrow a bad elf to cure the problem for the rest of the trip.

Since adopting PAW I have had very reliable gps performance using a u-Blox 7 dongle on my PAW with both the Nexus and my i-Pad mini 3 - both of which are wi-fi only (the Nexus has a gps chipset but the i-Pad Mini doesn't).

Unless there is a strong technical reason not to (Lee?), I for one will continue to use a dedicated gps to feed my PAW no matter which display device I am using.

Regards

Peter

[Admin]

Unless there is a strong technical reason not to (Lee?), I for one will continue to use a dedicated gps to feed my PAW no matter which display device I am using.

To be honest, my recommendation is the U-Blox (dongle or g-mouise) plugged into PAW.
On a secondary issue, my MAC maintenance agreement and software developer license is up for renewal in 30 days time.
I have developed a single (free) app for iOS to be able to share the GPS data from iOS devices to PAW.
I do not intend to continue paying out on this, when I do not view this as a core part of PilotAware.

I guess if anyone wants to take on the maintenance of the GPS sharing app ....

Thx
Lee