Just seen this from SkyDemon
If Apple had not deliberately avoided using the world-standard serial NMEA protocol and instead forced everybody to buy ridiculously overpriced apple-compatible GPS receivers, we would not have this problem.
That’s not really the case any more.
iPhones since the 4S and iPads since the 3rd generation support Bluetooth 4 LE and there is no ‘Made for iPod’ certification needed for Bluetooth 4 LE accessories.
The fact that all the Apple compatible GPS receivers are still ridiculously overpriced has everything to do with marketing and nothing at all to do with Apple’s choice of standards!
However, none of the “old” bluetooth NMEA GPSs works with any Apple product, or ever will.
It is only new bluetooth devices for which Apple had to go “open”.
It shows you how non-techie I am. I would have thought that if the external GPS failed, the internal one would take over? Having said that, when I started to fly with my bottom of the range Garmin 96, the signal would drop out on the internal GPS regularly so I bought an external one that worked all of 3 flights and even replacing the external one with another external one it would not wake up and enjoy life. However, the internal GPS started working again and pretty much worked 99.9% of the time right up to the time I semi-retired it for the Nexus and iPad. Black magic I tell ya, black magic………………. :-)
I would have thought that if the external GPS failed, the internal one would take over?
I don’t know of any device which does that, although on non-apple devices one could write a moving map GPS app which auto switches. I have been told (not sure if true) that on apple devices the app cannot choose between internal and external GPS.
I still use a very old Emtac bluetooth NMEA GPS which has been working faultlessly for 12 years, and its internal battery means I have some backup for an electrical failure (together with the battery in the tablet). Its altitude is a constant ~150ft out – an old bug in the SIRF-2 chip which was widely used in bluetooth GPSs until a few years ago. This GPS works with everything except apple devices. It even works with a brand new Samsung android tablet.
Maybe the simplest reliable solution is a plug-in Bad Elf (etc) powered by a cable, no Bluetooth, no extra battery. Works well for me.
For obvious reasons I have not updated my ipad mini or ipad to IOS 8.3 as I use both of these to fly with. I use Skydemon on an Ipad mini, which is a wifi+cellular version therefore it has an inbuilt GPS. My ipad is just a wifi version. I generally fly with both of these connected to a Garmin Glo so I have double redundancy for tablet and GPS unit. There is a firmware update for the Glo, Skydemon says that it fixes the problem, but no mention of that specific issue on Garmins web site. Any how, I’ve just done a test……updated my Iphone to 8.3 and updated the firmware on the Glo to 2.7. I have just fired up skydemon on the phone and connected to the Glo via blue tooth and it seems to work, at least as far as I can tell from the confines of my office.
“how do you know if its the Glo providing the GPS data?” I hear you ask. If you put skydemon into fly mode and move your phone around, the display does not change, however, if you move the Glo around, the displayed plane and the compass rose moves. Not very technical, I know.
The GNS2000 works perfectly with iPad/iPhone, and I think with € 70 it’s not really “terribly overpriced”
Just wait for the next iOS update and it will all work again as it did in 8.2. In case somebody missed it: GPS does work in Flight Mode with 8.3
As one using two iPads: a yoke mounted mini running Garmin Pilot (GP), Sky Demon (SD) and Air Nav Pro (ANP) and a full iPad running the same+ and both drawing GPS from an external XGPS160 or Garmin GLO (with the 2.7 firmware update) I complained bitterly to Apple when they screwed up last time – on the 8.0 to 8.10 upgrade.
They assured me it could not happen again and that the instance concerned was a one off – clearly not true – so simply waiting for Apple to correct their cock-up, as suggested by Flyer59, is not an option.
The work around suggested by Jude I am sure will work but fearing making a complete Horlicks of the thing, I have no option but to acquire two plug-in GPSs to avoid the Bluetooth issue in the future – so far I have three GPS units, the two above being supplemented by a GNS2000 – now make that five!
I know, I had the option not to upgrade both iPads at the same time – but after Apple’s grovelling apology and using hope / experience I did: are Apple lying – are they talking??
