kokroo
January 4, 2022, 11:24pm
5
@mc-hamster @geeksville
These are the cases which motivated me to file a very important feature request: the ability for the phone’s location to be supplied to the board and used if available, even if there’s on-board GPS.
Phone location should be given first priority.
I’ve explained the reasons in my feature request.
opened 07:59PM - 04 Jan 22 UTC
A lot of the Meshtastic boards have GPS antennas which aren't the best. In addit… ion to that, a lot of times the GPS chip only detects one constellation. All of these lead to initial GPS locks which require 10-20 minutes.
I propose this: if a smartphone is connected to the board, and has an accurate position available, then the board should use and broadcast this location.
It is entirely possible that some hiker might get injured away from their group and their board might keep failing to get a GPS lock by itself but their phone might be able to get a lock. That way, even if the hiker is unconscious, the others will be able to find the injured person.
Modern smartphones almost always have multi-constellation detection including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, NaVIC, QZSS, and have really amazing reception too.
I think it's a no-brainer to prioritize the phone's location if available, and if not, only then resort to the board's GPS.