Dual Electronics XGPS160 Multipurpose Universal 5 Device Bluetooth GPS

9 reviews for Dual Electronics XGPS160 Multipurpose Universal 5 Device Bluetooth GPS

1. 

   Dave Edmiston – 2 January 2025

   Reliable off-road GPS
   I originally bought this four years ago (just two weeks short of four years) to mount on the hood of my off-road car. The car just turned 8,000 miles this weekend, and XGPS finally died. Those were 8,000 rough miles through heat, dust, rain, and snow–mostly very bumpy miles. This poor little puck has been through a lot and has seen some things.I was bummed when it finally gave out, especially since we were exploring new territory that I would have loved to have recorded. I’m not bitter though. The first thing I did when I got home from the trip is ordered a replacement. It came out to about two-cents per hard mile, which seems worth it to me. That comes out to about $2.50 per long riding day, which is absolutely a bargain.I mounted mine to my CanAm’s hood with the MobArmor case. I connect it to the iPad on my dash via Bluetooth and it’s been pretty bullet-proof for four years.The only down-side is that the power draw is higher than the MiniUSB connection can support, so I have to remove it from the car every night and fully charge it before the next day’s ride. Otherwise it will power down after a few hours of driving. If we’re going on a night-ride on the same day, I definitely need to remove it and recharge it, otherwise it will quit and leave us roaming in the dark with very few visible landmarks.It comes with basic software. I definitely recommend adding better aftermarket software to the iPad. I use LeadNav off-road race software and the combo of this puck, the iPad, and LeadNav is a superior setup. Everyone else in my group has something basic in their cars, but mine is the most reliable and informative. The consequence is that I’m the designated leader for 99% of our trips because I have a nav that I can use while we’re moving instead of having to stop and figure out what’s what.Here’s to another four years and another 8,000 miles.

2. 

   Just Josh – 2 January 2025

   Simple setup, works great with racing telemetry apps, old mini-USB charging
   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.

3. 

   Bill – 2 January 2025

   Great for tracking speed and location
   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.

4. 

   Mark – 2 January 2025

   Hardware failed after 10 uses. Dual’s Android app is VERY unstable.
   ** 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’ internally2b. 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.

5. 

   Sergio Villa Ramos – 2 January 2025

   Buen producto, pero la recepción es irregular en la cabina de un Airbus 320, se pierde la señal regularmente.

6. 

   Jama – 2 January 2025

   Magnifico receptor GPS, conectado al iPad pro sin ningún problema

7. 

   Steve Davies – 2 January 2025

   Fantastic device, improves my Navionics accuracy on iPad dramatically 👍👍

8. 

   祐 – 2 January 2025

   以前使用していたXGPS150より受信感度が良く、Bluetoothとの接続にかかる時間も短縮されています。Batteryの持ちも長くなりました。問題は1つ、Amazonに出品されている金額は市販の倍しております。今回必要に迫られ高額でも購入しましたが、今後は予め前もって代理店からの購入をします。

9. 

   william connor – 2 January 2025

   So far I have only used SkyPro XG160 once in the aircraft and it performed as advertised. Very please with price threshold ($142 Can) and performance right out of the box. No difficulty at all in obtaining bluetooth connection with my Apple Air iPad. Works extremely well with ForeFlight. Checked unit accuracy against GPS in aircraft – it performed flawlessly.William Connor