Bluetooth GPS receiver for iPad mini?

[I_Heart_Seaplanes]

Looking at getting an external GPS receiver to use with my iPad Mini. Anyone have experience using Bad Elf / Dual X160 / Garmin GLO? What did you like? Not like?

I am going to be bombing around the southwest coast of BC this fall building night/inst time for the ATPL. I figure $150 is pretty cheap investment for some great situational awareness....if it works properly.

Please share your pros/cons, what you loved and what you hated. Thanks

[cgzro]

Trade up for the version with internal gps.. They work very well and if you are flying at night the glare issues etc will be non issue.

[Broken Slinky]

A couple of us have the Dual X160s and one Stratus 2. The Dual is decent but one of us did have issues with the logging capability on it. External GPS seems to give better accuracy numbers when using apps like CloudsAhoy but we haven't figured if it was GPS placement or a variety of other issues. That may be one negative towards built-in. Built-in will save you from having to deal with another piece of kit in the cockpit. The Stratus is definitely the Cadillac but a lot more money. It also doesn't work directly with other apps besides Stratus and ForeFlight. To see flights in CloudAhoy, etc... You have to log the flight in ForeFlight then import it to CloudAhoy. Can be a PITA but gives the same results.
For either of the units, I put stickers over the LEDs to keep from viewing them at night.

[slam525i]

I use the Bad Elf external GPS. I just turn it on and leave it in the bag/pocket in Cessnas/Pipers. Cheap and works well. Fast acquisition and good accuracy. Huge battery life and track log capacity. Works with any bluetooth compatible device but you need the iPad to change configuration/download track logs.

[donnybrook]

I use bad elf in the us and canada, works great. Will get satellites sitting inside the terminal.

[cgzro]

If I remember correctly the iphone uses gps augmented with cell tower information, ie it measures the strength of pings from the cell towers and computes a circle of position then overlaps to get points etc. may be useful at low altitudes and near populated areas. Anyway my only complaint with the i stuff is the screen visibility in bright light. Never had a reception problem, hell i sat in the back of a 777 a year or so ago with my ipad and it tracked the flight from toronto to hong kong no problem most of the flight. Was really impressed.

[snoopy]

I have the Dual XGPS 160 which I selected after researching all the alternatives. It's fabulous, and you can use it also with your Android devices. My ipad mini retina (Foreflight) does have the onboard GPS etc. but the XGPS input is far more accurate. It has WAAS and Glonass capability. Great battery power, and rubber bootie sticks to the windshield or dash with excellent results. Great customer service/tech support.
Only complaint is sometimes the Android phone is difficult to pair, and they STILL haven't come up with the Android app. Other than that, no complaints and no regrets.

Buy in Canada or US here:
http://www.gpscity.ca/search/q=xgps+160
http://www.gpscity.com/search/q=xgps+160

Cheers,
Kirsten B.

[I_Heart_Seaplanes]

Thanks for the responses. I actually didn't realize that the wifi only iPad Mini had a built-in GPS.

Snoopy, can you explain why you went with the Dual 160 over the Bad Elf Pro? The reviews I have found seem to favour the BadElf, but I'd like a dissenting opinion. Thanks

[x-wind]

I give the Bad Elf Pro four stars out of five. Syncs up to five devices. Around 8 hours battery life never had signal issue in a King Air. Reason for the four stars is it required a charger that was different from any over device I had - which is annoying.

Think it only works with Foreflight.

[snoopy]

I_Hart_Seaplanes,

First of all, a large contingent of Bad Elf purchasers are Apple freaks. Originally Bad Elf only supported Apple products, now I see they kind of support an Android device as long a you have an Apple device to moderate. For many people I think its just easier to buy what everyone else is buying - it takes energy to dig deeper.

I don't own an iphone, or a mac - in fact I can't stand the whole concept. I want total control over my software interface, and while I like standardization in the cockpit, I don't like it on my electronic devices. I'm a creative free thinker and I like open source software. I also like to hack, customize and modify. PC and Android for this gal thanks.

That said, in order to have the kind of IFR/VFR gps I wanted, complete with digital IFR/VFR plus topo maps and capability to add marine navigation - all in one unit - I had no choice but to go with the ipad mini retina. Foreflight was the reason. That's another story. So I bought the 120gb version so I can have all of North America aviation and marine database for offline use and still have gobs of storage leftover. And I bought the external GPS for accuracy. Goodbye Garmin - you're not progressing with technology. Anyway....

XGPS-160 works with Android, and doesn't require Apple to do it. XGPS tech specs are slightly better - more channels, faster. If you look, there are excellent reviews for XGPS160.

Dual did take a customer service hit around the time I bought my unit. This was due to the fact that nearly all the suppliers were backordered for the 160 model, and Dual customer service wasn't being very up front about the reasons for, or length of the delay. I wanted an Android/Apple capable device, and the XGPS had awesome reviews on a racing site - Harry's laptimer. I knew it was a good unit but I deplore bad customer service. I tracked down the head tech/design guy at XGPS and told him his people were giving the model a bad name and I was trying to justify buying the damn thing. That guy found me a unit while we were talking on the phone, and he was flat out classy. Changes were made. No regrets about my purchase.

Bottom line, buy what works for you. I always look for the best technology I can find, and all things being equal, where there's a choice, I go out of my way to support technology that is compatible with multiple platforms. For me the scale was already tipped for the XGPS and the Android support was icing on the cake.

Cheers,
Kirsten B.

[slam525i]

Thanks for the responses. I actually didn't realize that the wifi only iPad Mini had a built-in GPS.

It doesn't. It can get location data based on wifi signals, but no GPS. (Before you go out and buy one!)

Consensus amongst my group of recreational pilots is that the external gives you more options. If nothing else, at least you can move the external GPS to get a better signal whereas you can't with a built-in.

Regarding the charging, it uses a standard USB Mini socket.

For an example of battery life, I used it flying for an hour, landed, and promptly forgot about it, leaving it on for 10 hours until my return trip, with full data logging. 12 hours in total and the battery indicator still read full.

I'd completely agree that the Bad Elf is aimed at the iPad market. But the only reason I have an iPad is Foreflight, which runs only on iOS. Garmin Pilot is now available in Canada (and can run on Android) but the coverage is mediocre at best. Yes, you can buy it here, but there's no VNC/VTA and no CFS. The nav data is there, so i suppose you could fly IFR with it, but no "chart". (I think it has the approach plates.) I love Android, but Foreflight just has no reasonable competition up here.

[Hiflyer2]

I use a Garmin GLO on my sailboat and for fun while flying. It works great for everything i do with it.

[xsbank]

Bad Elf on my boat, works great as a backup to my plotter (doesn't interface to my autopilot).

[xsbank]

I-Heart, Pitt Meadows to Campbell River and back. Every night until you get the hours. Comox guys sleep in the tower at night so wake them gently. Fly around Pender Harbour so you won't wake me up. Watch for fog forming at Pitt Meadows late at night.