Dual Electronics XGPS160 Multipurpose Universal 5 Device Bluetooth GPS Receiver with Wide Area Augmentation System and Portable Attachment

Super easy to setup. Charge it up, turn it on with the single button, find it on your device’s Bluetooth menu and pair it. Done! A nice feature is that Dual offers an app for your phone or tablet so you can verify that the device is actually connected and see the real-time GPS data.Once I paired this to my iPhone the TrackAddict app recognized that I was using an external GPS received and began using the signal from the XGPS160 instead of the internal iPhone GPS receiver. The 10Hz update rate on the XGPS160 provides far greater car tracking resolution than the 1Hz that a typical phone receiver provides.The unit comes with a rubberized surround that is supposed to be used on your dash to keep the unit in place, but for racing applications that’s not an ideal solution. I ended up using some 3M Dual Lock fastener tape on the bottom of the unit. It holds the unit in place securely in my car but also allows me to pop it out when not in use.The only slight negative item with this unit is that it uses a mini-USB connection for charging. This is a bit of an outdated connector. I wish they would update it to use a USB-C connection so I don’t have to keep track of a separate cable just for charging this one thing.Overall an easy solution for adding 10Hz GPS to your phone or tablet. Perfect for racing applications.

The app to use with the product on Android is Bluetooth GNSS. You will also need to enable developer mode to utilize mock GPS (sets the unit to use the external GPS rather than the internal). You can connect and disconnect via the app. Others may work as well but this app works great with the unit. The product instructions, even on their website, are very dated. With this app, the product works great on Android. Product also works (without the need for an app) on iOS (iPads) with an app. It has a stable Bluetooth connection. The charge indicator light is supposed to go green once the unit is charged. My unit has been charging for months and charge indicator never went green. However, I just keep it plugged into a 12 volt plug and no issues. It also works unplugged but haven't tested how long it runs unplugged. I use it to provide GPS data on my tablet based chartplotting apps (Aquamaps and Navionics) on both android tablets and iPads.

** UPDATE after 3 weeks/10 hikes **Unit worked fine during the hike yesterday, I turned it off after the hike, had it begin charging with the cig lighter adapter on the drive home. When I went to turn it on to copy off the hike log, it would not turn on. No power light, no charge light (when connected to supplied USB charger. Completely dead.Based on a closer read of all the reviews as well as the poor state of apps for the device, I'm returning for a refund... I see no point taking a chance on a replacement.=============================Original review below=============================The receiver itself is better than "It's okay" but the apps required leaves a lot to be desired.HARDWARE: The receiver works good but the battery life isn't the best... it claims 10 hours with a 3 hour recharge but appears to fall short on the 10 hours. For me, the 3 hour charge is the bigger issue.Since the SkyPro was to replace my Garmin 62st GPS, which could go 24 hours on a charge with 2 AA NiMh batteries, the inconvenience of the 3 hour charge for the SkyPro compared to the AA's, they never took more than 10 MINUTES to recharge, using my fast charger.The SkyPro is very fast to pick up satellites, but bounces way too far when it loses a signal... going inside a cave for two minutes added over a mile of bouncing and a thousand-foot difference in elevation during that time. (Which means time must be wasted editing the track afterward.)SOFTWARE: (Android version)DUAL SkyPro Status Tool:1. The software is buggy, crashing a full 75% of each time I load it.2. The installation routine fails to ask for permissions, so of course it doesn't set them. The result of which means you cannot "Share" or "Email" the resulting .kml (Google Earth) file.THE FIX:Select: Settings > Applications > Application Manager > Status Tool > PermissionsChange: Contacts, Location & Storage from OFF to ONNOTE: The fix itself only took seconds, but to FIND the fix took over 3 hours of MY time. DUAL SkyPro support did not have an answer, so when I DID figure it out I emailed them recommending they add the issue and fix to their FAQs. (And recommended the installation routine be fixed as well)MOCK GPS SOFTWARE REQUIRED (Android):SkyPro recommended using either of two fee apps, 'Bluetooth GPS' or 'Bluetooth GPS Provider'- Bluetooth GPS: I tried this first but it only worked on half of the GPS/Tracking/Map apps I have so I uninstalled it.- Bluetooth GPS Provider: This worked with every GPS/Tracking/Map app I have so I would recommend this one. (It has ads, but you only visit the app screen long enough to click it to "Play" so they present no issue.The biggest gripe I have about the software is that TWO SEPARATE apps are required. As a software test engineer in a previous life (retired now) I would recommend:1. DUAL SkyPro Status Tool app should be more robust (more testing to stop the crashing)2. DUAL SkyPro Status Tool app should EITHER:2a. Rewrite the app to INCLUDE a seamless 'Mock GPS App' internally<or>2b. Create a separate Mock GPS app to work specifically with the XGPS160, not relying on the 'free' outside app developers.In all fairness, if one were ONLY to use the XGPS160 in conjunction with a mapping app, the SkyPro Status Tool need not be running, only the Mock GPS (Bluetooth) app must be running.Which brings up another point... although this product is sold as a means to provide more accurate GPS coords/elevation than the internal SmartPhone GPS (which it does) as well as lengthen battery charge of the phone (because the internal GPS is turned off) I found that having to have Bluetooth on constantly ran the battery on my phone down twice as fast as previously using the phones GPS alone.

I purchased this for open road racing to track my average speed. It is the most accurate GPS I have ever used. It is easy to connect to a phone or other Bluetooth device. It is very simple and performs well.