Follow me and GPS question

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Follow me will require a device that is GPS enabled? Correct? Am I wrong to say any WiFi only tablet will not work with follow me then?

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I am a bit confused about this...

Do all WiFi/Cell devices have GPS built in? Would I have to use my iPhone instead of iPad Air for follow me feature?
 
Follow me will require GPS in the device. All Android tablets have GPS. Only cellular iPads/phones have GPS chips.
 
Garmin makes a GLO Bluetooth GPS receiver. $99.00 U.S. It is supported by the iPad, but will the application support it ? This device uses both U.S. and Russian (glonass) sattelites. This is the same as the p3 itself. Anyone have any experience with this device ?
 
If you need to add GPS to an Apple device, you can do so with the Dual XGPS160 or Dual XGPS150A GPS receivers.

If purchasing a new Apple device, it would be less expensive to get a cellular model and keep the cell service deactivated (unless you need it for something else).
 
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Follow me will require GPS in the device. All Android tablets have GPS. Only cellular iPads/phones have GPS chips.

I'm more confused now:

1. I've got an iPad Air (first gen) cellular + 128GB. BUT, I disabled the cellular as I now use tethering to my iPhone (when I want to connect the iPad to the internet remotely). Does the cellular service have to be enabled on the iPad for the GPS to work, or are you saying it has an independent GPS chip?

2. If it does have to have cellular service enabled, would an alternative be to have it tethered to the iPhone satisfy the GPS requirement?

3. If above is true - isn't having a cellular device in the vicinity opening up potential interference issues?
 
I'm more confused now:

1. I've got an iPad Air (first gen) cellular + 128GB. BUT, I disabled the cellular as I now use tethering to my iPhone (when I want to connect the iPad to the internet remotely). Does the cellular service have to be enabled on the iPad for the GPS to work, or are you saying it has an independent GPS chip?

2. If it does have to have cellular service enabled, would an alternative be to have it tethered to the iPhone satisfy the GPS requirement?

3. If above is true - isn't having a cellular device in the vicinity opening up potential interference issues?

You do not need to have a working SIM / connection in the cellular version for GPS to work.
 
An apple device uses assisted GPS. What that means is if the cellular service is on it cuts the GPS lock time down to a few seconds using the cell towers. If the cellular service is off, the stand alone internal GPS will work fine, cellular is not required for GPS lock.
 
I'm going to order the Garmin device. I will report back my findings. I would trust Garmin name over some unknown. I have always owned Garmin and they great to deal with if you have issues.
 
We do not know much about the capability of the follow me mode but the 3rd party apps prefer devices with barometers built in to more accurately measure altitude of the device it is following as GPS is not as accurate. This is of interest if you are rapidily changing height, running up and down a hill for example and want the Phantom 3 to maintain a relative altitude and not crash in to the hill.

I've used both devices with and without barometer and for me it was OK but I am not inclined to run up and down hills that often ;-)

iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 with Cellular have barometers. iPad Mini 2 and 3s with Cellulars do not.

Its not a show stopper but I guess if you want the best accuracy and do not need follow me on Monday it might be worth doing a bit more reading.

I personally live with the inaccuracy of an iPad Mini 2 with GPS and await the iPad Mini 4 or use my iPhone 6.

And like I said - I'm not 100% of the capability of the follow me mode in DJI GO so perhaps someone who has tested it can comment. It might not be anything to worry about.
 
Thanks to all for info...

So now I need to sell my iPad Air and buy a WiFi-Cell version... ;-(

Sept.9th will be Apples announcement:

Maybe wait for iPhone 6S PLUS? Big enough? Thoughts from users - OK size? Or better to have a Mini or Air?

Or maybe a new 12" iPad Pro - duct taped the RC - LOL!

What iOS devices are most using?

Thanks!
 
I fly with my Android phone from time to time, but its too small! I had a Mini 2, but ditched it because it was no better than my S6. No I fly a 10" tablet 90% of the time.
 
So now I need to sell my iPad Air and buy a WiFi-Cell version... ;-(

LOL sorry, like I said I don't know the ins and outs of the DJI GO implementation but some of the advanced features in the 3rd party apps do benefit from an accurate height reading. For example I did an orbit (their version of the POI) with me standing on a foot bridge. I used my iPad Mini 2 with GPS but because I started from a different height when I started the orbit with the camera aiming at me I was actually cut off on the bottom of the frame/video and it was down to the GPS height reading being inaccurate by 16 feet on that occasion.

I have considered the same Garmin you are looking at, and there is another for $250 with a barometer from a different manufacturer but in the end I decided to keep using my iPhone 6 in the hope the iPad 4 Mini has a barometer.

Just suggesting caution and perhaps look at what you might want to do in a months time rather than rush out spending money now.
 
I Always run my iPhone 6 in airplane mode when flying. The only thing I
Miss out on is the maps unless I cache them in advance.
 
I just got my Garmin Glo a couple of days ago and had the chance to test it yesterday and was very disappointed. I am using an iPad mini 3 wifi only model updated to iOS 9.0.2 with a P3P with the latest 1.4 firmware.
When I was testing the whole setup with the Garmin Glo at home (without flying) I noticed that the DJI Pilot App would get sluggish and freeze every now and then and the video feed would break up into cubes and sometimes go away and the screen would go blank and the status bar would give a "disconnected" message. I thought that this was because of my proximity to the wifi router at home and next I headed to the field to test follow me mode and setting the home point to my location. Follow me mode worked perfectly and I was able to set the home point to my current location but the app was freezing and the video feed was getting broken again same as it was doing at home. I turned off bluetooth on the iPad and the problem was gone, everything worked perfectly again!
I gave it a lot of thought and I believe it is not that the bluetooth transmission that is affecting the lightbridge link between the transmitter and aircraft since its power is negligible. Apparently the iPad is using a lot of resources in order to process the external GPS data string causing the Pilot App to hang!
Has anybody had a similar experience with the Garmin Glo?
Any solutions/suggestions?
 
I just got my Garmin Glo a couple of days ago and had the chance to test it yesterday and was very disappointed. I am using an iPad mini 3 wifi only model updated to iOS 9.0.2 with a P3P with the latest 1.4 firmware.
When I was testing the whole setup with the Garmin Glo at home (without flying) I noticed that the DJI Pilot App would get sluggish and freeze every now and then and the video feed would break up into cubes and sometimes go away and the screen would go blank and the status bar would give a "disconnected" message. I thought that this was because of my proximity to the wifi router at home and next I headed to the field to test follow me mode and setting the home point to my location. Follow me mode worked perfectly and I was able to set the home point to my current location but the app was freezing and the video feed was getting broken again same as it was doing at home. I turned off bluetooth on the iPad and the problem was gone, everything worked perfectly again!
I gave it a lot of thought and I believe it is not that the bluetooth transmission that is affecting the lightbridge link between the transmitter and aircraft since its power is negligible. Apparently the iPad is using a lot of resources in order to process the external GPS data string causing the Pilot App to hang!
Has anybody had a similar experience with the Garmin Glo?
Any solutions/suggestions?
Your symptoms sound very similar to what many are reporting since they have switched to iOS9.x. Many people have reported great success with the GLO, but the reviews were from before iOS 9.x was released. Did you fly trouble free with 9.x prior to using the GLO?
 
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