BTech GMRS-PRO: GPS (mis)information

[Jig]

EDIT: Awaiting response from BTECH Support for more clarification
EDIT2: Response from BTech explains they were initially mistaken and were able to get my unit working

I got the GMRS-Pro from BTech and one of the listed features is a built-in GPS antenna (manual page 37, screenshot attached). My assumption was this feature would be able to receive GPS signal and display it in a meaningful way (gps cooridinates or position overlaid on a downloaded map image). Mine seemed not to work as I could not get a valid GPS fix without connecting it to my cell phone. I opened a support ticket, described my issue and was asked to open an RMA request and then paid to ship off my radio.  After they received my radio they contacted me to help correct a misunderstanding that the GPS feature is not built into the radio but rather piggybacks off the cell phones GPS.

This is a slight difference in the documented feature, but since some (like me) might make assumptions about the radios capabilities I wanted to share my experience. 

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Jig
Added response from BTech. Radio is able to get a GPS Fix.

[OffRoaderX]

Did they say how its able to determine (very accurate) speed and altitude without a 'real' GPS antenna when not connected to any phone?

[wayoverthere]

Misunderstanding? That seems more like false advertising, imo. The implication of that page of the manual is that the radio can receive gps on it's own, which per their information, isnt true.

You wouldn't use a gps antenna to get the coordinates from the phone, that's just Bluetooth.

[Jig]

2 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

Did they say how its able to determine (very accurate) speed and altitude without a 'real' GPS antenna when not connected to any phone?

Hey there! They actually have not. This was the reason for the original support request, to determine if my radio was bad because I was not getting altitude or speed data without the Bluetooth connection. Their response indicates that there is no built-in GPS antenna and that data is solely provided to the radio via the cell phone's built-in GPS sensors.  I've requested a response from them and will update the thread once one is received. 

1 hour ago, wayoverthere said:

Misunderstanding? That seems more like false advertising, imo. The implication of that page of the manual is that the radio can receive gps on it's own, which per their information, isnt true.

You wouldn't use a gps antenna to get the coordinates from the phone, that's just Bluetooth.

I was actually quite more forward with them in my response that I did not include here - but your understanding matches mine, and that was conveyed.  Brass tacks - the manual is wrong and describes a feature that some may trust in a SHTF scenario.  

 

[WRTU454]

Mine is able to get a GPS fix when my phone is powered off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Jig]

11 minutes ago, WRTU454 said:

Mine is able to get a GPS fix when my phone is powered off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My gmrs-pro kept last fix data for at least 20 minutes after my phone was turned off.  It wasn't able to refresh that data until the phone was turned back on (can't recall if I had to launch the app to resync GPS data)

[wayoverthere]

15 minutes ago, WRTU454 said:

Mine is able to get a GPS fix when my phone is powered off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I mean...it's not out of the realm of possibility that they were from 2 separate batches, one set had the gps antennas, and the other didn't (due to shortages) and btech just didn't bother mentioning it till being called on it.

[OffRoaderX]

Confirmed (again): mine gets a GPS fix (altitude & speed) with the phone UNpaired from the radio AND turned off.. Took almost 10 minutes in the house but almost immediate outside.

[Jig]

44 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

Confirmed (agin): mine gets a GPS fix (altitude & speed) with the phone UNpaired from the radio AND turned off.. Took almost 10 minutes in the house but almost immediate outside.

Thank you for checking, that's interesting.  I have to wonder if I got a misinformed rep and my radio is defective, or if there was different production runs/versions of this radio. It stands to reason that with the GMRS-Pro being a new radio and the surge of people ordering it there could have been QA inconsistencies... FWIW, during my original support request with btech we went through the process of trying to gain a signal. I spent 10 minutes outside with a clear view of the sky trying to get a fix to no avail.

Once I get a more concrete response I'll update the original post so as I'm not the one misinforming people.

[WRTU454]

My gmrs-pro kept last fix data for at least 20 minutes after my phone was turned off.  It wasn't able to refresh that data until the phone was turned back on (can't recall if I had to launch the app to resync GPS data)

Not sure what to say. With my phone powered off, I can turn on the GMRS pro and it gets a GPS fix in less than a minute. you may have a dud.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[KAF6045]

13 hours ago, Jig said:

I spent 10 minutes outside with a clear view of the sky trying to get a fix to no avail.

With a completely fresh (or very stale) GPS receiver, it can take over seven minutes just to find a strong bird and download the constellation almanac/ephemeris. More time to obtain first position fix as it cycles through the constellation looking for signals (2D position requires a lock on 3 birds, 3D position needs 4 -- 3D position is lat/long/alt/time, 2D is just lat/long/time)

 

[Jig]

BTech Support reached back out to me and let me know that they were mistaken. They retested my radio and were able to get a fix on a GPS signal.  I'm not sure how long they waited for the unit to connect to GPS but I will be testing it again once they send it back to me.  

 

I'll update the OP with this information.

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, Jig said:

BTech Support reached back out to me and let me know that they were mistaken. They retested my radio and were able to get a fix on a GPS signal.  I'm not sure how long they waited for the unit to connect to GPS but I will be testing it again once they send it back to me.  

 

I'll update the OP with this information.

Sounds like BTech customer support needs a driver for their clown car. 

[BearFamily]

I don't even have mine linked to a phone and I can get just the coordinates (not a map) I can also get speed and altitude. You have to go in the menu and find gps status to get your coordinates. 

[WQAI363]

I am so glad that I own two GMRS PROs, because this Radio is simpler than programming any other transceiver, GMRS or Amateur Radio. I would like to see more manufacturers, such ICOM or KENWOOD come out with a line of radios for Analogue and Digital, such NXD or DMR. Unfortunately, just as there's too much competition with other manufacturers that producing GMRS radios for less.

However, you can't beat the ability to program on the fly using an Android device. The majority of radios, GMRS or Amateur Radio. You either have to program it by desktop pc or laptop pc or manually program it from the front panel.

[SteveShannon]

20 minutes ago, Adamdaj said:

I am so glad that I own two GMRS PROs, because this Radio is simpler than programming any other transceiver, GMRS or Amateur Radio. I would like to see more manufacturers, such ICOM or KENWOOD come out with a line of radios for Analogue and Digital, such NXD or DMR. Unfortunately, just as there's too much competition with other manufacturers that producing GMRS radios for less.

However, you can't beat the ability to program on the fly using an Android device. The majority of radios, GMRS or Amateur Radio. You either have to program it by desktop pc or laptop pc or manually program it from the front panel.

How can programming a GMRS radio using a phone be easier than pushing the up or down channel button and up or down tone button on the radio?

[SteveShannon]

7 hours ago, WRXE944 said:

Perhaps yours is a rhetorical question, but on some GMRS radios you cannot change the tone without using the CPS software; I believe the Baofeng UV-5G(X) is one example.

Having the option to do it with your phone via Bluetooth gives the advantage of it being able to be completed on the fly.

No, not rhetorical at all.  I have three different gmrs handheld radios (Motorola, Midland, and Garmin) that have separate  up and down buttons for channels and tone.  I don’t see how it could be easier. I don’t need my phone or a computer to program them. 

But we should really just be happy for Adamdaj that he found a radio that’s easy for him to use.  We all want that!

[WQAI363]

On 6/2/2023 at 9:56 PM, Sshannon said:

How can programming a GMRS radio using a phone be easier than pushing the up or down channel button and up or down tone button on the radio?

I sincerely apologize for how I said what I said. I just meant using those apps that run on Android or other OS devices has made programming radios a lot simple, whether in the Amateur Radio community or the GMRS community. I hope BTECH comes out with a Dual Band Handheld for Amateur Radio, maybe incorporate DMR / NXDN along with Analog. I would put my FT 60R and other radios for sale if BTECH comes out Amateur Radio version.

[SteveShannon]

6 minutes ago, Adamdaj said:

I sincerely apologize for how I said what I said. I just meant using those apps that run on Android or other OS devices has made programming radios a lot simple, whether in the Amateur Radio community or the GMRS community. I hope BTECH comes out with a Dual Band Handheld for Amateur Radio, maybe incorporate DMR / NXDN along with Analog. I would put my FT 60R and other radios for sale if BTECH comes out Amateur Radio version.

I agree with you that programming Amateur Radio handhelds with a PC is much easier that most front panel programming. You sure don’t need to apologize though. I could  and should have said what I said nicer.

Btech sells the 1701 and 1801 Baofeng amateur DMR radios, don’t they?  If not, Radioddity does. 

[WSHC539]

Have a new GMRS Pro (fixed antenna) and it does have a working GPS chip in it that does not require connection to the cellphone through the app.  I have not figured out how the GPS is programmed to interface with the radio as it takes about 5 minutes to acquire a GPS position when first turned on with no connection to the cellphone app. Yes, I'm aware of the need for GPS units to download the almanac but for most GPS units the updated almanac is stored and only needs refreshing if one travels over 500 miles from the last acquisition and/or over 6 months since the last time it was used. 

Here's another weird part. It will immediately show a GPS location when it is connected to the phone app even if that occurs within the first 5 minutes including startup. What I still need to determine is if it updates itself within the first 5 minutes of use.  This was shown on the first Track I made on the maps page of the app. It showed the initial location (very accurate) and then didn't update for about 5 minutes.  After that it updated itself reliably and the recorded Track was right on.  It means you need to turn it on and wait for 5 minutes or so before using the GPS functions.  Not sure if the app also sends the cellphone's GPS information to the radio as they would both give you similar results.  BTech is obviously confused about how it works.

The frequency of updating is variable, sometime every second and sometimes it takes 30 secs or so (all of this implies that it is not using the cellphone's GPS, kexcept possibly a first initial value).  Not sure if it is looking for a certain amount of distance moved or what. If you want to see what is happening go to the GPS Status page and watch when the data changes and/or the time stamp for the Last Fix acquired.  

So, while the radio does have a working and accurate GPS chip, the software could definitely be improved.  

[TerriKennedy]

On 2/10/2025 at 9:23 PM, WSHC539 said:

Have a new GMRS Pro (fixed antenna) and it does have a working GPS chip in it that does not require connection to the cellphone through the app.  I have not figured out how the GPS is programmed to interface with the radio as it takes about 5 minutes to acquire a GPS position when first turned on with no connection to the cellphone app. Yes, I'm aware of the need for GPS units to download the almanac but for most GPS units the updated almanac is stored and only needs refreshing if one travels over 500 miles from the last acquisition and/or over 6 months since the last time it was used.

I'm not sure about the GMRS Pro as it's built for BTECH by a different manufacturer, but the BTECH  BF-F8HP Pro (and other Baofeng models with GPS) don't retain the almanac across power-off/power-on sessions. They're radios that have a GPS receiver inside, not full-fledged navigation devices. I agree that the documentation and on-screen reporting of a bunch of these radios could be improved, and that might happen in a future BF-F8HP Pro firmware update (as I mentioned, I just have a GMRS Pro and don't work on its software).

I'd also point out that my Garmin InReach Mini personal tracker / SOS beacon intentionally does not maintain any record of its position across power cycles (and my BF-F8HP Pro acquires faster when they're side-by-side).

[I'm not a BTECH employee, just a contractor, and nothing I say should be construed as an official position of BTECH.]

[73blazer]

On 10/6/2022 at 1:58 PM, Jig said:

BTech Support reached back out to me and let me know that they were mistaken. They retested my radio and were able to get a fix on a GPS signal.  I'm not sure how long they waited for the unit to connect to GPS but I will be testing it again once they send it back to me.  

 

I'll update the OP with this information.

I love this style of customer support. So the 1st response of you need a phone for GPS  was just a case of  "what can we say to close this ticket" instead of actually reading what the customer said or actually trying to fix the problem. Hilarious. Sadly I see this all the time in my line of work, I call it check box syndrome. Far too many people focused on just checking the box, closing the ticket or whatever.... and they actually get physically anxious over it if they can't.