Advanced GPS

This tool requires a Pro license

The Advanced GPS options allows you to view detailed location information and manage a NMEA stream from a connected external GPS device. This location information will also be used for GPS based digitizing.

An external GPS unit used with Global Mapper will replace the internal location services information on your device with the NMEA stream from the external GPS unit.

Using a bluetooth connected external GPS device with Global Mapper Mobile® requires a companion app for the GPS device to be installed on your mobile device. The appropriate companion app is most likely produced by the GPS unit's vendor, refer to the device's manual to determine the specific app to download.

In order to use an external GPS device in Global Mapper Mobile on Android, the device must be set to Developer Mode with Allow Mock Locations enabled. This allows the external GPS to take over the location service and be visible to Global Mapper Mobile.

Follow these steps the make the GPS device location accessible to the Global Mapper Mobile app.

  1. Enable Mock Locations for your Android Device in Settings > Developer Options > Allow Mock Locations. The location of this setting may vary for your particular mobile device.

    2. Note: Some devices may first require you enable developer mode by going to Settings > About and tapping the Version several times. Refer to your device's manual for details.

  2. Ensure the GPS device is on and in bluetooth pairing mode.
  3. On your Andriod device, Settings > Bluetooth and find your device listed under Available Devices.
  4. Download the companion app appropriate for your GPS device. Refer to the device's manual to determine the specific app to download. Once installed, use the app to connect to the device prior to opening Global Mapper Mobile®.

Note: Global Mapper Mobile® for Android has been tested with the following GPS vendors: Bad Elf, Dual, EOS, Juniper, Geneq. Please contact mobilehelp@bluemarblegeo.com with any questions.

Connect to Device

Open the GPS companion app and confirm your GPS device is connected prior to opening Global Mapper Mobile®.

Note: Some Android devices require the GPS companion app to be closed to stream and record data. Please refer to the GPS device manual and companion app for the settings specific to your GPS setup.

From the Main Menu in Global Mapper Mobile®, tap Advanced GPS > Connect to Device.

Location Info

View advanced location and accuracy information gathered from the external GPS. If RTK corrections are being used this information will be reported in the Location Info. To record this information as attributes for points created with a GPS Tap point create mode, enable the Configuration option to Add GPS Point Attributes.

Not all fields will be populated with every device. Global Mapper Mobile® displays the information is available.

Location - Reports the coordinate location from the internal or external GPS device being used.

Fix - This indicates the fix, if any, being applied from the GPS or RTK correction source. RTK Float and RTK Fix types indicate the correction is being applied from the connected NTRIP caster.

Confidence - Reports the quality of the horizontal and vertical positions being reported when provided from the external GNSS device.

Accuracy - The horizontal, vertical, and 3D accuracy as reported from the GPS device.

Course - The heading and speed of movement reported from the device.

Status - The connection status, satellite connectivity, RTK connection, and NMEA stream recording status are all listed.

Satellites

View the satellites being used by the external GPS to determine location.

The satellite map will display satellites within range based on their location, with those to the north at the top of the screen. Those closer to the center of the map have a higher altitude on the horizon. Satellites not being used for location (that have a low signal to noise ratio) will appear as hollow circles.

Below the satellite map the number of satellites are displayed for each constellation. Tap on a name here to filter the display of satellites and information from each of these groups.

Expand a section for each constellation to see the signal to noise ratio for each satellite in range, represented as a bar and a number. Each list shows a count of how many satellites are in range for that constellation.

NMEA Stream

Shows the NMEA Stream as it comes from the external GPS. On this screen you can Record the NMEA stream to a text file, Pause the data stream, and Clear the data stream shown.

Tapping to Record in the bottom right of the NMEA Stream screen will begin recording the data. Once the recording has started the Record button will change to Stop Recording.

Tapping to navigate away from the NMEA Stream screen will prompt the user to stop recording, save or share the recording, or continue recording the NMEA stream in the background. Tap the Stop Recording option at the bottom of the screen to stop the recording and save or share it.

From the Save NMEA Log options, select to either Email, Upload to File Location, or Save to Map Folder.

  • Email - This option requires configuration of the default mail application on the device in order to generate the email. The NMEA Stream text file will be attached to the generated email.
  • Upload to a File Location - This option will save the NMEA Stream text file to a selected file location. The locations available will be the file sharing methods you have set up on the device.
  • Copy to Map Folder - This option will save the NMEA Stream text file to the folder location of the open Global Mapper Mobile Package file (*.GMMP) map file.