DR970X Plus 2CH - GPS issues

[Tricolor]

Mine should be getting delivered in the next few days (Wed/Thurs I suspect) and I will let you know how I get on.

 

[Tricolor]

So quick question, should the GPS light be lit when its searching or only when locked on?
Also Blackvue's website implies GPS/EU GPS equiv are built in which should negate the need for the module.

 

[danlat1415]

If you have LEDs turned on in the settings, then the blue GPS light (middle light) should be on when it's connected.

You can test that it's working correctly by going for a drive for 10 minutes or so, then looking back at the footage to see if the mileage is displayed in the bottom right corner of the videos.
If it's not connected it will just say "---" next to the speed.

 

[Tricolor]

If you have LEDs turned on in the settings, then the blue GPS light (middle light) should be on when it's connected.

Ahh so when its not on/connected the led is just off, I wondered if it would flash if scanning but not locked.

 

[danlat1415]

If it's not connected the light is off.
I can't recall if it flashes when attempting to connect - I don't think so.
I just think all 3 of them flash when the dashcam is powering up/down, updating etc.

 

[rcg530]

VIOFO dash cameras will have the GPS LED blink while trying to establish a connection, but BlackVue dash cameras will leave the blue LED off until a connection is established.

 

[USDashCamera]

Has anyone outside of the US got any of the newer DR970 Plus variants and got working GPS?

The DR970 Plus is currently not yet available in UK retailers so I bought from Blackvue direct.

I am concerned that they've changed the GPS set up in the camera which is having issues that they're not yet fully aware of as it's currently only got a small release reach.
I know people in the US are having minor GPS issues (time out of sync and taking considerable time for the GPS to connect)
But I'm concerned that those in Europe or UK may have a bigger issue that's not yet aware of.

I've had 2 DR970X Plus from Blackvue, and so far neither of them connect to GPS at all, even after a long drive.


The US uses the GPS system, whereas the EU and UK use GNSS system.

The term 'GPS' is widely regarded to mean the same thing, but in reality is actually a US owned system.



I've flagged it with Pittasoft and will await to see their response.

I am testing the box version and GPS was working until the moment I upgraded to a new firmware version 1.002 I think. I installed it very clean in my truck but I've been driving my car all week so I haven't tested it since last weekend.

So did yours just finally start working suddenly by itself?

 

[Tricolor]

The US uses the GPS system, whereas the EU and UK use GNSS system.

Just to say GPS works fine in the UK, I have used hand held GPS receivers for years without issue.
The EU launched Galileo if I recall which improves on most of the GPS (US Mill Standard) limitations but both run at the same time.

 

[danlat1415]

I am testing the box version and GPS was working until the moment I upgraded to a new firmware version 1.002 I think. I installed it very clean in my truck but I've been driving my car all week so I haven't tested it since last weekend.

So did yours just finally start working suddenly by itself?

Mine has been very intermittent.
It had no GPS connection at all for the first 3 days of driving, then it randomly started by itself.
I was then able to swap out the SD card with a spare blank one so that the time sync issue would resolved and sync with GPS time.

However, since the initial GPS connection it has still been very intermittent.
The GPS now knows the LAST location of the car which is displayed on the map - but most of the time it doesn't connect and the car can be driving 20 miles away from where it's located on the map.
If I remotely reboot the camera, sometimes that helps it pick up on its current location - but it rarely actually follows the vehicle, instead shows a stationary location (even when the car is moving).

I'm going to try and spend some time this weekend stripping out the entire dashcam set up and trying it in another vehicle to see if it's the dashcam or an interference issue.

I must note that my front dashcam is mounted upside down due to positioning, and video feed rotated 180'.

There is a 'black box' insurance tracker module in the vehicle located in a far corner of the front screen. I have an electromagnetic signal tester but that doesn't show any interference from just a few inch away from it.

It's strange that the DR900X Plus and DR900S didn't have any issues in the exact same position, they has GPS connections almost instantly.

I'm going to have a good few hours play this weekend to see if I can get to the bottom of it, but unless the GPS works a lot better than it currently is, I'll have to return it again.


(Blackvue support seems to have gone very quiet the last week and half. They're either very busy causing delays or having holidays)

 

[Tricolor]

So I stuck it loosely in my car (its not getting installed in my current car, waiting on a new one) and went out, this was only the main 970X Plus and rear. GPS light came on for the first time after about 5 minutes, went to the shop and it powered down, when I came out the GPS locked on after about 3 minutes or so.
This has never had the 4G module connected yet nor the battery and its running 1.02.
The time was off on the first connect but I went into system, changed the region then it wiped and rebooted then I changed back to UK, causing wipe/reboot and the time was correct (although I need to turn on DST even though its BST)

 

[danlat1415]

Update;

I fully removed the dashcam and hardwire kit, then reinstalled it the next day, trying to route cables away from anything that may cause interference. I also removed the LTE module and repositioned and removed an insurance tracker. Insurance tracker moved to rear window (it's a Bluetooth tracker only, paired to phone when driving. It's not an internal GPS or signal)

It has improved the GPS signal on the camera but it it still very poor in comparison to previous models, so I don't know if they've changed the GPS module to a poorer quality one, or positioned it too close the the camera on the circuit board which is causing internal interference.


I have noticed strange GPS positioning issues when watching live view.

When the car is driving along a straight road for example, the blue direction indicator moves to different directions whilst moving alone the map, as though the car is doing a 360' spin whilst driving.
Also when the car is then parked and left unattended, live view shows it to be moving around slightly at 1-3mph and the position bouncing around by a few meters (nothing major). But looking at the video files the MPH speed at the bottom of the screen shows zero, so the camera recording doesn't think it's moving, but the live view thinks it's moving around slightly. It will do that for 5-10 minutes before the camera goes into parking mode after about 10-15 minutes.

Obviously these are all GPS locking issues and an indication that it's not getting a good look/strong signal.
The first few miles of a journey also doesn't get and GPS or speed lock, and it varies from a few minutes to a few miles before it gets a lock.
My camera is positioned upside down, with the video flipped 180 in the settings.
So I don't know if my issue appears worse the others because the GPS module is positioned on the top of the camera near the internal parts that are causing a slight interference and having it upside down is making it even worse.
Blackvue have completely stopped responding for the last 2 weeks now, so I don't know what's going on there - they're usually reasonably helpful, albeit take a day or 2 to respond normally.

 

[danlat1415]

I've been running some tests and have found an interesting conclusion.

I've been running the dashcam the correct way up, as well as upside down.

When correct way up, the GPS works fine.
When upside down, the GPS is very poor, meaning that there is internal interference with the hardware when upside down


In the US it's left hand drive, so having the dashcam the correct way up is fine - the cables are furthest away from the driver and out of sight. It's rare that you'd want to use it upside down
In 'foreign countries' that have right hand drive cars, some people use the camera upside down, so the cables are far away from the driver's view and it looks tidy.
I am one of those.

I've run the tests over a few days and correct way up has no issues with live view and GPS positioning.
Upside down, the GPS signal is very poor and either drops out occasionally or takes a long time to connect and is intermittent.

I've relayed this feedback to Pittasoft.
I never had the standard (non-Plus) DR970X so I can't say whether that issue was present in that model, but can confirm it's not and issue in the previous DR900X Plus.

 

[Tricolor]

Thats pretty interesting!
GPS is inherently a very weak signal as a standard.

 

[USDashCamera]

Mine still hasn't once worked since that last firmware update. I keep thinking maybe it's the LTE module or the connection but the cloud works just fine.

 

[danlat1415]

Mine still hasn't once worked since that last firmware update. I keep thinking maybe it's the LTE module or the connection but the cloud works just fine.

Make sure you're using the newer CM100GLTE (includes GPS module) and not an older CM100LTE (notice the missing 'G' in the model number - doesn't include GPS module) which is needed if you're using an LTE module with the box version as you disconnect the separate GPS receiver when using LTE.