When i turn on GPS and pull up the map, theres just the blank map and coordinates are all zeros. whats the point of having a GPS that won’t tell you where you are?
1 Like
Hi Allen, welcome to the forum!
To answer your question, there may be a slight misunderstanding as to what the GPS feature does on the KG-Q10 Series radio. You didn’t mention whether you have the GMRS or ham version, but it works the same for both.
The GPS function isn’t a full featured GPS navigation device. It doesn’t map your location like a Garmin for purposes of navigation. It uses GPS technology to locate other KG-Q10 series radios within transmit range of you so you can find their positions relative to your radio.
From the manual:
The KG-Q10G has a location function that utilizes GPS technology. It allows you to send, receive and map geo-location data between two or more Q-Series radios.
The GPS feature must be set up and configured on all of the radios in order for this to work. A radio that is not transmitting GPS coordinates will not be picked up by the other radios.
Also, the GPS feature cannot be used through repeaters. It only functions radio-to radio directly.
i understand that it sends gps data over rf to other q series. It still stands to reason that if the radio can send my location to another kg q, then it knows my location…so why cant i access that info?
I think it assumes you know where you are and is reporting it to others - like your iphone. It tells others where you are. The snag with the other brand radios I have that have GPS is that all they tell you in lat/long and don’t have any mapping software. In big systems, they have that in the control room.
phones show you your coordinates
the idea that a device with GPS assumes i know where i am, so it doesn’t tell me? everyone is correct that it doesn’t show you your location, i just think it should and i don’t think, “you should already know where you are” is a fair response. you can use your lat/long to see where you are on a paper map. no compass or landmark triangulation needed. this is a software oversight in very capable hardware and I’m sorry if anyone thinks I’m mad at them. I’m only mad at the radio
I see your point, but what you want is not really what the radio users normally do. Use for example marine radios with GPS, the only common use is the emergency button - sending your lat/long to the coastguard. The usual GPS requirement is for the controllers to know where people are - that is the design consideration. There really is no requirement for the user to know where they are on a radio. They probably have a phone that does that better with google maps. Your radio design criteria are very different. That’s why you cannot find one that does what you want. Most don’t have an operating system that does that kind of thing. With great respect, your “I think” is a faint voice in the wilderness - the manufacturer’s research says the controller needs to know where you are, so that is what they implement. A ship plotter where there is a moving map, with you in the centre is a totally different product to a hand-held radio, for different things, yet both have GPS?
From what i understand from my experience using a totally different radio, UV-17R gps, its my impression that these radios need to be paired with another and you can see the two dots on the screen.
Kinda like playing hide and seek.
Sadly only 1 of my 2 radios gps functions work so i cant confirm this.
Yes - I think basically the display just gives a representation of range and bearing. I sell quite a lot of the military looking PRC-152 look-a-likes to airsoft folk mainly, and these now have GPS. Just not sure what they use it for?