Bad Elf and Apple Device Problem

DanielEstrada · ‎03-17-2015

I have been evaluating the Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor with the following devices: iPhone 6 (iOS 8.2), iPhone 6+ (iOS 8.2), iPad Mini 3 (iOS 8.2).

Bad Elf GNSS SURVEYOR: BE-GPS-3300.

The issues I have been experiencing are difficultly pairing three units to the Bad Elf. Keeping connection once paired. The Bad Elf is supposed to be able to be used by 5 devices at one time. My unit will not connect with one unit for a length of time much less three.

I can sometimes keep connection to one unit at a time but once the bluetooth is turned off on the unit connection can't be re-established. Currently, none of the devices will pair. An error message will flash quickly onscreen ("This Accessory is not supported by this iPad or iPhone")

I reset the iPad and was able to maintain a connection long enough to check the firmware on the Bad Elf before I lost the connection.

I don't believe it is a software issue as I am running Collector for ArcGIS, but I am not ruling it out at this time.

In the field I also noticed loss of accuracy if I touched the receiver or if I wore the receiver on the lanyard even if I kept the receiver's view unobstructed.

If anyone else has experienced

I would very much appreciate any technical support for this issue.

fk · ‎05-14-2015

Have you made any progress with GNSS surveyor? I was thinking about purchasing one and running it with ArcGIS collector till I saw this. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

DanielEstrada · ‎05-14-2015

HI. Bad Elf made an update and the capability issue seems to be resolved for the time being. However, Bad Elf also sent out an announcement to not upgrade to iOS 8.3 yet. So there is a lag in compensating for iOS updates that can potentially and will give you problems when you are collecting data. If the receiver won't connect, you can't get data that day.

When the GNSS Surveyor works I am getting 5m and better accuracy on all my devices 83% of the time and only 3% of the time did I get submeter, which the GNSS Surveyor doesn't advertise that it can. Personally I am not going to recommend the device for my agency's continued usage based solely on the update issue that takes a while to resolve and to date there are not any work arounds for it.