Qstarz BT-Q810 GPS Receiver – Reviewed

 

 

Great Battery Life and Super Sensitive

 

 

 

The package came quite complete with a car charger, a very small wall charger with an adapter for Australia (are we the only country that has slanted prongs?) and the usual quick start guide. Both chargers have a mini USB plug.
After an initial three-hour charge the unit was ready to go.

 

When I let my iPAQ 4700 discover the Qstarz it comes up as an iBT-GPS.
I have also seen it being marketed as an iBlue 737 and it seems we are talking about one and the same unit.

 

 

 

 The Qstarz uses the MTK chipset which is possibly even more sensitive (rated at -158dBm) than the SiRFstarIII and in static tests around the office this was proven by excellent reception results, even metres from the nearest window.
Have a look at this screenshot which shows that we are still pulling in eight satellites while 5 m away from the nearest window.

 

 

 

There was only one dead spot without any reception in the middle of the office but the result was extremely pleasing and far better than any other GPS receiver we have tested. What this means is that in the urban canyons of the big cities right down to the deep recesses of the parking garages this little number should hold a fix far better than just about any other receiver on the market.
Of course, we also tested it out on the road with our favourite OziExplorerCE program.
Again, no surprises here.

 

 

Autonomy

 

Battery life from the 1000mAh Lithium battery is promised to be an astonishing 25 hours, which in my book is a full day’s work.
Hey, even I need a break after 25 hours!
Reality check: the most I could get out of it was 16 hours before the red LED began to flash (battery low). I could eke another couple of hours out of it before I was back on charts and compass for my navigation…
All in all, 18 hours is quite respectable!

Not only does the MTK chipset use very low power, but the on/off switch has some smarts about it as well: it can automatically enter into sleep mode after any Bluetooth connection is turned off. The blue LED will then blink every five seconds until a Bluetooth connection is re-established.

 

There is one gripe I have with most GPS receivers we’ve tested and that is the fact that the LEDs blink when they shouldn’t.
This is what I wrote when reviewing the Rikaline 6033:
“Here is happiness: the LEDs don’t blink when they’ve acquired satellites and established a Bluetooth connection! Why draw attention to the unit by blinking if everything is OK?”

That’s the way it should be, particularly if you fly or drive at night as these LEDs are quite powerful and distracting when you have them on your dash. An automatic light dimmer might be useful too for these night trips.

 

Conclusions

 

There’s a lot to like about the Qstarz BT-Q810 GPS Receiver.

• Great battery life — at least 16 hours
• Great sensitivity — on a par or better than the SiRFstarIII at -158dBm
• WAAS & Egnos
• Well priced at 89 US dollars

 

More info at www.qstarz.com

 

PS the next GPS receiver we will review from Qstarz is their solar panel equipped model. In fact, Qstarz has an interesting line-up of products for our digital lifestyle and I’m sure that we will review more than just their GPS receivers in future.

 

Specifications

 

General
GPS Chip	MTK GPS Module
GPS Protocol	NMEA-0183 (V3.01) – GGA, GSA,GSV, RMC(default),GLL, ZDA, VTG (optional), Band rate 38400 bps Data bit : 8, stop bit : 1(Default)
Frequency	L1, 1575.42MHz
C/A Code	1.023MHz chip rate
Channels	32 CH all in view tracking
Antenna (Intemal)	Built-in patch antenna with LNA, Support Extemal Active Antenna (MMCX port)
Sensitivity	Tracking -158 dBm
Certification	CE/FCC/BQB/RoHS
Acquisition Rate
Cold Start	39 sec, average
Warm Start	37 sec, average
Hot Start	< 3 sec, average
Reacquisition	< 1 sec
Power
Battery	Built-in rechargeable 1000mAh Li-ion battery
Consumption	Acquisition:55.1mA(only baseband +RF IC) Tracking:30.3mA Typical(only baseband +RF IC)
Operation Time	25hrs, after fully charged, in continuous
Charging time	3hrs. (Typical)
Environmental
Operating Temperature	-10°C ~ +60°C
Storage Temperature	-20°C ~ +60°C
Charging	0°C ~ +45°C
Accuracy (none DGPS)
Position	Without aid: 3.0m 2D-RMS <3m CEP(50%) without SA(horizontal) DGPS (WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, RTCM): 2.5m
Velocity	Without aid: 0.1m/s, DGPS(WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, RTCM): 0.05m/s
Time	50 ns RMS
Dynamic Conditions
Altitude	< 18,000 M
Velocity	< 515 m/sec
Acceleration	< 4G
Update	Up to 5Hz
Interface
Bluetooth	V1.2 compliant (SPP profile) Class 2 (15 meters in open space) Frequency: 2.4~2.4835 GHz
Power On/Off	Slide switch
Power Charge	Mini USB
LED function	Bluetooth connection, Navigation Status, and Battery/charger status
Device Size	72.2 (L) X 46.5 (W) X 20 (H) mm
Accessories
Power adaptor, Car Charger, Rechargeable Battery