External GPS for Android/iPhone

  • HTML tutorial

Whoosh

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Netherlands
First Name
Ruud
Last Name
Vollebregt
I have the GPS Pro. It's worked like a champ with Gaia.
A minor issue that probably happens with all external gps' is if it's not hanging or laying in the proper orientation, the arrow curser on mapping app won't be pointed in your direction of travel.
eh, sorry, that is not possible.
The GPS system has no sense of direction (as strange as that may seem).
A GPS receiver registers a position on a virtual globe, and does so many times over - and then plots these repetitive measurements as a retrospective course. It's computer can then extrapolate course and speed as a probable direction at a probable speed.
It has no sense of north or south, and it is in no way sensitive to its own orientation.
What _can_ happen though, is a GPS antenna being positioned under a metal roof or under a metal coated windscreen. The GPS satellite signal is only very weak, and prone to disturbance by mister Faraday and his friends. Such a weakened signal can be 'overshadowed' by reflected signals (by mountains, tall buildings) coming through your uncoated side windows. Thus you might get position errors every now and again, but they have nothing to do with the orientation of the antenna and/or the receiver.

The thing that can murk these waters is, that some of the GPS receivers also sport an in-built electronic compass. My venerable hiking unit for instance, a Garmin GPSMap 60CSx, can switch over from projecting a GPS-'course' while moving to showing where north is when not moving. It then _is_, obviously, sensitive to its orientation.
 
Last edited:

John Bishop

Rank V
Launch Member

Advocate I

1,451
Harpers Ferry, WV, USA
First Name
John
Last Name
Bishop
Member #

17942

The thing that can murk these waters is, that some of the GPS receivers also sport an in-built electronic compass. My venerable hiking unit for instance, a Garmin GPSMap 60CSx, can switch over from projecting a GPS-'course' while moving to showing where north is when not moving. It then _is_, obviously, sensitive to its orientation.
Perhaps that's what I've experienced, then. When the unit was randomly tossed in the pocket on the dash ('17 Jeep Wrangler) the cursor on the map was pointed in a direction I was not traveling. Now it lives on the visor pointing forward and it hasn't been an issue. First world problems... lol