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Thread: Track Addict External GPS for 2020

  1. #1
    Potential Tuner
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    Track Addict External GPS for 2020

    Hi All, new member here.

    I have search for about an hour now and have concluded the following: Looks like most of these external GPS posts are 2 years old, or people are giving work-arounds for older equipment. One poster even went so far as to purchase the currently recommended BT-Q818XT from the track addict recommendation page, only to have to go into the module and change some settings. Apparently that page has the same info from another track addict post dated March of 2018...

    I am thinking about purchasing race render ultimate, but only if everything lines up... So, seeing as how the BT-Q818XT is the recommended device from 2 years ago, what is the better choice today that is plug and play for an Android Galaxy S8+? I am alrady running the recommended Kiwi3, and it is working good, far as I can tell. So whatever I get needs to be compatible, and obviously run simultaneously through bluetooth (plug and play).

    I have enough going on with researching parts, and prepping for the next track; I have no interest in wasting that valuable time getting something like this to work, especially on race day.

    Thank you!

  2. #2
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    Any answer here? Looking for same.
    Maybe GPS transmission hasn?t changed much in the last several years?

  3. #3
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    I asked a similar question regarding the latest recommended OBDII devices - no response directly from the contact form on http://racerender.com (the contact page) and there's been no response. It doesn't appear that anything's been updated in nearly 2 years, as one of the ODB devices listed has long been discontinued. Feelin' your frustration.

  4. #4
    HPT Employee Weston@HPTuners's Avatar
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    As with OBD, not much has changed in our top recommendations...

    XGPS160 works on iOS and most Android, and is the most common choice for iOS.

    Qstarz BT-Q818XT is a little more attractive in both price and in motorsports performance, but it is only compatible with Android. While there were some reports of problems with this model over the past couple of years, ultimately they were few and far between, with the consensus seeming to be that it was tied to a particular firmware version. Unfortunately I've not been able to change the firmware on my own unit to verify this. However, TrackAddict v4.6.1 includes some additional sanity checks that should help filter out bad data, such as from apparent device buffer overflows, which seemed to be what was happening in those cases. This app update is expected to be available on the Google Play Store in the next few days...

    As for new developments, we are starting to see Bluetooth 4/5 GPS units gradually come to the market, also known as BLE or BTLE. These have a major benefit of not being restricted by Apple on iOS like classic Bluetooth has been. The downside is that these do add some complexity and require specific work to support each individual device, much like BLE OBD devices do. It's not simply NMEA-0187 over a serial connection like previous GPS units, so the kind of universal support we've enjoyed with classic Bluetooth on Android is unlikely. That said, TrackAddict does already support one, the RaceBox Pro: https://www.racebox.cc/en I am aware of Qstarz coming out with a couple units recently as well, but haven't gotten to that just yet.

  5. #5
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    I've been using the BT-Q818XT for about 6 weeks now and the only complaint I have is the G rating will flicker even when the vehicle is at a standstill. I'm not sure if this is even something that can be fixed.

  6. #6
    HPT Employee Weston@HPTuners's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pixelzombie View Post
    I've been using the BT-Q818XT for about 6 weeks now and the only complaint I have is the G rating will flicker even when the vehicle is at a standstill. I'm not sure if this is even something that can be fixed.
    G-force comes from the accelerometers in your phone, and there is inherently some noise in these sensors, as they will pick up vibrations and such.