External GPS - which to get.

[shadowpuck]

I'm a driving instructor and like to use laptimer to record laps at events.

what's the current thoughts on the best external GPS (dual xgps150, emprum?) to use with laptimer and either an iphone or an ipod touch?
i'm considering upgrading either my phone, or picking up one of the new ipod touch devices.

i'll be using either the iphone or ipod touch in the car, mounted on a dash mount that puts it next to the stereo - putting it on the windshield is not a good solution for my use. in some testing at the track this weekend, the internal GPS on the iphone was ok - it had some issues (nothing too surprising).

if i were to go with the dual xgps150 - will the iphone allow more than one bluetooth connection? if i'm using my phone for this purpose then i'd like to also be able to use it for navigation on the street so - i'd need to be able to connect it to my hands free in the car as well as the external GPS.....

[Harry]

Hi,

I assume you have seen this? http://www.gps-laptimer.de/Compatibility.html

To my knowledge, the iPhone's BT stack is able to connect to more than one BT device at a time. I have no personal experience however...

- Harry

[shadowpuck]

harry,

thank you for the reply - and, great piece of software!

i did look at that page and found it to be a great summary.
i was just curious if there was any recent information given some of the improvements on the iphone, the ipod, as well as the software improvements in iOS, LapTimer, and the firmware updates for the various devices.

so, mostly just curious if anything has changed to make one device preferred over another since that page was posted....

thank you again for the time and assistance, harry.

[Harry]

Hi,

That page is always up to date. Its a frequent topic

- Harry

[shadowpuck]

good to know - thank you!

one final question for anyone with knowledge/experience - if you've used the emprum inside a car in a mounting position other than on the windshield (ie, your phone or device isn't mounted to the windshield) - how did it perform? did you notice an improvement?

i realize this might be a tough question to answer - so will appreciate any info/knowledge anyone can offer.

thank you!

[Harry]

All GPSes need to be positioned near the windscreen. For lap timing and data recording, GPS conditions cannot be good enough.

- Harry

[shadowpuck]

for my application then, sounds like i might need to consider the xgps150, i'm just concerned about the lack of higher refresh rate compared to the emprum.
however, while i can mount things to the windshield for my events, i much prefer not to do this as every windshield mount fails at some point. the advantage with the xgps150, in my case, is that i can mount it on the back deck of the car with a clear view of the rear window - which would suffice for generating a strong GPS signal.

[hms]

I have an Xgps150 and for track days I mount it to the dash using Velcro. iphone goes in the glovebox out of sight so I cannot be accused to timing on the track day.
I didn't like the idea of the silicon pad, not secure enough in my mind for a trackday, with some of the circuits I use, they will not allow anything that is not secured properly, and will not allow any rubber sucker mounted devices. So far I have had no problems with the velcro.
Not using the silicon pad allows me to have a power lead connected to the unit, so I don't not have to worry about running out of power during the day.
h

[shadowpuck]

I have an Xgps150 and for track days I mount it to the dash using Velcro. iphone goes in the glovebox out of sight so I cannot be accused to timing on the track day.
I didn't like the idea of the silicon pad, not secure enough in my mind for a trackday, with some of the circuits I use, they will not allow anything that is not secured properly, and will not allow any rubber sucker mounted devices. So far I have had no problems with the velcro.
Not using the silicon pad allows me to have a power lead connected to the unit, so I don't not have to worry about running out of power during the day.
h

That's great info - thank you. Are you happy with the data provided by the
Xgps150?

[hms]

Yes, seems ok to me.
I went with the 150 as at the time it was the only one that could be mounted away from the iphone, as I wanted the iphone out of the way so I couldn't be acused of timing on the track days.
One point is I have posted on the dual site a couple of times about when they are releasing the info to get the 5hz refresh rate, but the moderators seem never to approve the posts so I never see the question on the thread, or any answer!
H