The new GPS_BLE is coming soon!

A new version of the GPS is finally coming soon! I'm currently working with app developers to ensure it works as intended. Read more to learn about the journey to get here and why it's time.

It's been about 6 years since I took the prototype I kept lending to my friends, and turned it into a product. In that time, I've worked on these while rocking a baby in a bouncer, through a processor shortage, while in-between houses as we moved to Indiana, while rocking another baby, and through global tariffs that impacted the supply of components and bare boards. While making these, I've also supported other racers and enthusiasts with their projects. 

The most pleasant surprise in all of this has been my customers - an area I was apprehensive about when I started this LLC. It's been great to see GPS units in Autocross, rally cars, and even "hey, I bought a car with your GPS - it still works great!". So far, it's been a pleasure to support everyone, and I'm excited to deliver some of the things you've been asking for. Thank you all for being awesome.

Over the years, there have been some clear areas for improvement:

- USB-C 

- iOS Support 

- Battery power

- CAN support

USB-C was pretty much a no-brainer. No one likes inserting a cable the wrong way, and even in my own house it's gotten difficult to find Micro USB cables.

iOS Support - this one has been tricky. The GPS_BT used Bluetooth Classic, specifically its Serial Port Profile, or SPP. This profile is great because it's surprisingly fast, and it's universally supported on Android devices. It has a big problem, in that it's not directly supported on iOS devices. When designing the GPS_BT, I chose a radio that supported Apple's encryption, and enrolled in the MFi program, however access to the proprietary hardware and the resulting speed still proved problematic. The new version resolves this issue by using BLE 5.0 - it's sufficiently fast to carry the 25Hz of GPS data, and supported on iOS.

Battery power - While I initially designed the GPS to be semi-permanently mounted in a car with the best possible reception, there's definitely something to be said about portability. Whether you have multiple cars, instruct students, or simply want to loan out your device, it's nice to have that flexibility. The difficult part of doing this on the design side is sourcing certified batteries through a reputable vendor, and doing sufficient testing to ensure the design is safe. To accommodate this, as well as CAN support, I've decided to make three variants:
- The GPS_BLE, currently being shipped to app developers now for testing. This one uses the same case as the GPS_BT, but with laser engraving rather than a sticker, totally new hardware and firmware, and an updated radio.

- A battery powered variant with internal antenna

- A 12V powered variant with remote antenna, potted for rugged applications

More details will come soon as app support comes online and variants complete testing!