Stream Mobile Phone GPS to Raspberry Pi

[@divye.ruhela]

Thank you! This simple method helped me avoid the USB Dongle completely, which kept having USB 3.0 interferences & other troubles. While the Dongle would take maybe 15-20 mins to see 10-12 satellites, the phone finds 36 satellites within 5 seconds. 🙏 You've made life soo much simpler for me!

[@KM4ACK]

You're welcome! I use the cell phone GPS as my primary but keep one of the cheap GPS dongles with me as a backup.

[@JoshHoffman]

Great work Jason, I really appreciate all you do for the ham community. You have done a great job at removing a lot of pain points and answering questions when it comes to the RPI and radio.

[@COUREURSdesBOIS88]

This is outstanding! Performs flawlessly! Really appreciate all this legwork you do to make this as easy as possible!

[@jaws3810]

So I just got my Raspberry Pi and installed Build A Pi last evening. Wanting to add GPS to the system I followed along in this video and got GPS data streaming from my iPhone to Conky after a few minutes. Awesome! So I paid for the full version of the app and was quite happy until I had to reboot the Pi. Conky lost the GPS stream, and running CGPS confirmed no data coming in from the iPhone. And yes, I had edited the GPSD config file, in fact I watched that section of the video several time to make sure I didn’t make a typo, but no luck. I began reading thru the comments, looking for someone mentioning a similar problem and I came across Jim Sheafer’s comment about using an asterisk when assigning the UDP address in the config file. Figured why not give it a try, and for whatever reason I can now reboot the Pi and as long as I have the app running on the iPhone Conky regains it’s GPS data stream from the phone. Just thought I would throw that out in case someone runs into a similar problem. Thank you Jason for your work on Build A Pi, and all the other scripts you’ve developed!

[@ClarksvilleTN]

One thing you might want to add is how to get GPSd on your PI if it didnt' come with it loaded (as the Raspian BUSTER might not). Just use the command sudo apt-get install gpsd gpsd-clients and it will go out and retrieve it. Otherwise, great video. Very helpful video as I didn't know about that app. Cheers

[@lasantiagoa]

Boom! Truly exciting work. Loved even more the GPS tool! Jason you are amazing, many thanks!

[@ct7aus]

this is really great! one extra USB free on the Pi! thank you so much for your work Jason. cheers! p.s. anxiously waiting for the update tool :)

[@JnJTrueOutdoorAdventures]

This is great Jason. You always have your cell phone with you, and the GPS in the phone seems to work even if you have no cell service available. I have a couple mapping apps on my phone and when I am hunting at our camp, which has no cell service, my mapping app still works and I can see my tracking on a USGS topographic map. This is really nice, and since I do have an Iphone I am going to get the app. Thanks for the video. Juddie - WD8WV

[@DonzLockz]

Brilliant, I was actually wondering this the other day! I downloaded that Android app. Do you happen to know of any newer Android app that may be better with options like the Mac version? Thnx Jason. :)

[@cowboy898]

Great video. I'm just getting into it and this really helps. But the Gpsd client will not load on my phone. it says it was made for an older version of my phone. An A11. Have you tried anything else? Also can that data be streamed to APRS?

[@KM4ACK]

I haven't tied anything else. I am running an 11 pro max with the latest iOS and it still works on mine. Can't remember which processor the 11 pro has though.

[@kb9mtd-aaronwebb]

Phone aside. Its possible to also serve the gps data over udp from a Pi to other devices on the network? For example if you have a pi with a dongle upstairs in your home providing time and gps data you could pass this gps data via udp. If another pc say in your basement can retrieve needed gps data via the network. This would not put a constant drain on your phone I suppose. Great info and tutorial Jason! Thank you!

[@yv6eda]

Amazing! I'll be waiting for the GPS Help cause I have a bluetooth one (Holux GPSlim 236). Thanks Jason!

[@Capitaine.Albator]

Wow nicely explained!!!

[@tga094]

Thank you so much for your video, I used it to setup the App on the Iphone side, and used my own C based program to catch the GSP datagram, I use the light (free version) of GPS2IP which seem a bit limited. Is there a way to have the full version i trial mode? Taoufik

[@KM4ACK]

Don't think they offer a trial version.

[@arniep740]

Very interesting. How would you use this to accurately set the time clock on the Pi in the field?

[@andrewhamop6665]

It's still GPS information, just coming from a different receiver. I would assume it would update just like a regular hardware GPS would.

[@biringen]

will it be able to use it for a Clock for FT8 and js8call, when offgrid and out of cell service?

[@KM4ACK]

Yes. GPS works on most phones even when cell service is unavailable.

[@donod2]

Thanks, works great here.

[@kc3kop915]

I got the GPS from my phone to work with the Pi... now out in the field is it possible to share internet from the phone to the Pi while sharing the GPS data? 73 Ian

[@bishalhazarika135]

I need a android tutorial for the same thing. Its an emergency..please help me or share me some details how to do so?

[@RTSRetroTechShed]

Thanks Jason, great tip! :)

[@phillipkf4raf]

Once again another great video Jason! I have a slightly off topic question, but since you mention a Build a Pi 3 in the works is there any chance we might see D-RATS integrated in the new version or if at all possible? Thanks

[@KM4ACK]

Maybe. I need to learn a bit about DRATS first and give it a trial run so I can answer at least basic questions that I may be asked.

[@tomtumino1664]

Thanks for the great video, a much better solution than getting GPS from the IC-705. Can we take it to the next level? How do we get that GPS data into WSJT-X's Autogrid option so that the WSJT-X maidenhead grid square can be updated from the phone GPS for portable ops? 73 & thanks again for the great video, Tom, N2YTF

[@KM4ACK]

Provided that autogrid can read from gpsd, it should work out of the box as the phone gps data is being served by gpsd. If instead autogrid is pulling direct from the gps, I don't have an answer.

[@lonewolfhamradio]

Tried this method out in the field today, gps working a charm and cgps displays location elevation and time. However the pi system time didn’t update and I couldn’t figure out why.

[@KarolKrasickiKK]

Is it possible to make it work over bluetooth?

[@KM4ACK]

Can't say for sure. Only tried it over WiFi.

[@dankissel6437]

This is a great little trick, have you tried to do this on a pi-star system? I'm trying to combine pi-star with an APRS tracker. It looks like pi-star has stripped something from the OS, but I can't figure out what. GPSD gives you an error that it can not open the IPv6 socket. Just curious if you've tried this.

[@KM4ACK]

I haven't play with pi-star. Sorry.

[@mikering5383]

Doesn’t the USB also provide accurate timekeeping?

[@KM4ACK]

Both should provide timekeeping.

[@n3vmt126]

can not get the gpsd android app to connect with pi. double checking the ip address is the pi or that or phone tried both ways , no joy

[@BadHorsie2]

What brand phone is this. I clicked the link and it brought up several different ones.

[@KM4ACK]

Mine is an LG but I couldn't find my specific model on Amazon. Any recent prepaid Android phones should work.

[@FreeStuffGuy916]

Bill-N6EF-Awesome, Jason. Thanks for sharing. I might be able to use an old phone I'm no longer using specifically for this use-case. I'll have to see if this works from the old Android table I use for logging since that's always powered up. If so, one freed up USB port.

[@catalinalb1722]

That is just great! 🙂 👍

[@W7LDT]

How did you come up with port 11123 as the one to use?

[@KM4ACK]

It was suggested in one of the apps. Think it was the iPhone app.

[@michaelnadlerki7qib728]

You can choose any number you want, but there are side effects of the choice. In general, choose a port number above 1024. Below 1024 are privileged ports requiring root access. If you happen to choose a port that is used by some application you are already using, you will have problems. List of assigned TCP/UDP ports can be found at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_TCP_and_UDP_port_numbers. 11123 turns out to be unassigned, hence it's probably safe.

[@jbird4h30]

This stopped working for me after the update to Build A Pi V3.0.8

[@KM4ACK]

Try using the GPS update tool to set it up again. I am still running it without issue. Also, be sure both the pi and the phone are on the same network.

[@jbird4h30]

@@KM4ACK Tried the update tool several times. I believe they were on the same network, but I’ll verify asap, thanks. If that doesn’t work: Next step I’ll try is running through this whole process again from scratch.

[@va7dgp]

In the GPsDD app it's asking for User Name or Device Name. I just loaded this on my Android phone while I was watching the video. Downloaded the wrong one. It's GPSd I needed

[@KM4ACK]

Links to the apps shown in the video are in the description :-)

[@lonewolfhamradio]

Nice, sometimes my usb gps takes its own sweet time updating, it will be good to have an alternative.

[@lonewolfhamradio]

I tested this today, it’s perfect and I can still VNC from my iPad when I’m streaming gps from my phone!

[@willdaniels8531]

I keep getting the error sudo: unable to resolve host WD1AJMPi: No address associated with hostname Any ideas?

[@KM4ACK]

use the ip address instead of the hostname.

[@timk7749]

Thanks for all the hard work on this. Absolute awesome. Anytime I can multipurpose an item in my radio kit is huge plus. Keep up the good work. 73 de KF7VUT

[@alantaylor2162]

Hello Jason, this is a great tool , thanks. I have followed the instructions 2 or 3 times at the end of the installation the stream of gps data works 100%. However if I reboot then it fails to get the data from the iPhone, I am using the paid version on an iPhone and cgps does not get data. Any ideas? 73 Alan G0SMD (Patreon)

[@KM4ACK]

Assuming you modded the gpsd file try running “sudo systemctl restart gpsd” and see if that helps. Also, reach out to me through Patreon. Curious to figure this one out.

[@jaysunkreuze1466]

GPS 2 IP no longer exists and google has updated their terms for apps restricting gps functionality in the background when the app is not running making the user keep their phone screen on with app open. This ties up the phone to only one purpose.

[@KM4ACK]

I am still showing both apps available using the links in the description. Once you have streamed the GPS data to the Pi for a few minutes, the time should be set. You can then turn off the GPS on the phone. The Pi will keep accurate time until it is shutdown or rebooted. The only reason you might want to keep streaming the GPS data is if your station is moving and you need constant grid square updates. In that case, a USB GPS dongle might be a better fit. Personally I use the stream method as my primary GPS and keep a USB GPS dongle in by bag as a backup.

[@leecwilkin]

all works until i reboot

[@InternetGoldMiner]

Its actually not true that your phone is superiors to the usb stick. In fact they are rather equal. The problem is you are using sub par linux type operating system. Its like using an atari.

[@BrantleySmithNC]

36+ million units sold. Linux is a bit clunky but Windows isn't perfect either.

[@robertocarloscaruso6840]

This video is gold. I bought the ublox6 gps i found many problems. i got to this video late. This has worked like magic and cost me nothing. KM4CK you have a new follower!