I have had the opportunity to work with a few different GPS receivers and have had the opportunity to test a few as well. These devices have covered a huge range in price and accuracy- from a Garmin Glo to a Trimble Geo XH with an external antenna.
Last year I tried two models from Bad Elf (the Pro+ and GNSS Surveyor). These both work well for what the manufacture has designed them for. I shared some of the information from the testing in another post.
I also had the opportunity to use the EOS Arrow 100 in an area with a heavy overhead canopy. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the Arrow 100 performed in these challenging conditions. Unfortunately I was not able to test the Arrow 100 thoroughly. However, recently a colleague shared a link to an excellent blog post by Anatum Field Solutions in which several Bluetooth GNSS Receivers are compared in a variety of conditions – the Arrow 100 being one of those tested.
The GNSS receivers tested and compared include:
- Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor
- EOS Positioning Systems Arrow 100
- Geneq iSXBlue II
- Trimble R1
- Trimble Leap
- Trimble Geo XH 6000
These GPS units were tested on a surveyed course that included a variety of conditions – from open sky to heavy forest canopy. Results are presented which discuss both accuracy and precision for each device. In addition, the quality of the companion apps for each receiver is discussed.
One thing to note is that the Trimble Geo XH 6000 is used with the Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS), as are several of the other GPS receivers. Significantly better results can be obtained by post processing to differentially correct the data. Also, using an external antenna with the Trimble Geo XH will also improve accuracy and precision.
If you are considering the purchase of a Bluetooth GNSS receiver to work with your tablet computer, I would recommend that you review this article before making your decision on which device will be the best fit. This article does a terrific job of presenting a very through comparison of these GPS receivers.