For some reason our reviews of GPS receivers seem to be the more popular of our write-ups.
The very first GPS Bluetooth receiver we ever reviewed was the daddy of them all: the venerable Emtac Crux (reviewed here on our sister site nearly two years ago). Now, the new Emtac S3 Bluetooth GPS receiver from Transplant with the incredible SiRFstarIII chip set makes for interesting comparison with the original trend setter. Let's have a look at how far we have come in the past two years with this technology.
 

Outwardly, the Emtac S3 looks very similar to the first edition of this Bluetooth GPS. That familiarity can be reassuring and I've always liked the small footprint compared to some real hefty receivers that we have had on this show. What is radically different is the new SiRFstarIII chip set. You will notice the superior sensitivity which even allows some indoor navigating but will be of much more use in the heavily built-up downtown areas. It also helps that the SiRF Star III has a lower power consumption and is generally a better performer than previous chipsets. All this comes at a price, a much lower price than what you paid for the first Bluetooth GPS receiver...
Technology, how I love thy ever decreasing prices!

We mentioned the lower power consumption and that translates directly to a somewhat improved battery life. With my old receiver, which still accompanies me on all my flights, I get a good four hours out of it. The S3 gives me six, which is a full-day’s work when you fly. I often have my iPAQ 4700 with me as well which also maxes out at four hours but they both can share the same mobile charger. The included charger will rejuvenate the battery in just under an hour.

When you review so many GPS receivers as we do, you notice that there is no consistency in displaying whether the unit is still acquiring satellites or has acquired enough satellites already for a fix. The Emtac S3 Bluetooth GPS receiver blinks when links have been established whereas the LED lights are steady when the unit is still searching. This is counterintuitive. The same inconsistency applies to Bluetooth connections but here it gets even worse: if the blue light blinks once a second, it is waiting to pair or connect. Blinking once every two seconds means you have established a connection. Can you readily tell the difference between the two? And, of course, if the red light is constantly on it means time to recharge...
Blinking lights are asking for attention, and is typically used to warn you of a situation where you cannot trust the navigation display because of a lack of good fixes. It is also annoying at night when you have a couple of blinking lights on top of your dashboard. And, mind you, the lights are bright because they have to be visible in daylight as well.

The S3 has an integrated 1.5GHz GPS antenna on the top surface of the unit and a 2.4GHz Bluetooth radio.
This model is also equipped with an RF connector port (MCX type) which uses GPA-18 external antennas.
We all know of course that Li-On batteries do not like temperature extremes. In fact, the manual warns that exposure to a temperature greater than 60°C (140°F) will damage the battery and poses a risk of explosion.
I know for a fact that the upper surface of the dashboard in my plane gets so hot on sunny days that it can temporarily disable the electronics of anything placed on top of it. I haven’t had any problems with GPS receivers exploding on me but I would certainly not leave the units out in the sun when parked.

Normally, you’ll find the following items in the box when you buy an Emtac S3 (our review sample just came with the mobile charger):
· Emtac S3 GPS receiver
· pouch
· mobile charger
· extra cable to recharge an iPAQ or other PDA at the same time
· CD with CruxView software to check satellite reception

Note that the passkey or pin code for the S3 paring with your PDA is 0183.
If you look at the various acquisition rates as given in the table below, you’ll be forgiven if you would wonder whether your device is coming out of a hot start, a warm start or a cold start – or is just re-acquiring the fix…
What is important to you is, when you lose the fix, like in a tunnel, it reacquires it very fast. The new chipset also lets you continue your navigation in very marginal situations without losing the fix.

The sample Emtac S3 Bluetooth GPS receiver was provided to us by TravRoute, who bundles the CoPilot Live navigation software with it.
We looked at CoPilot Live a few years back and, whilst it was excellent in the metropolitan areas, navigation out in the boondocks became even riskier than it normally is! That is because a lot of the roads were missing and the software would give you a bum steer in the general direction of your goal but you just could not get there unless you’d do what the crow does…
We had a quick look at the new version which includes the now ubiquitous 3-D map displays with better turn instructions. We may do a more exhaustive review in the near future as CoPilot Live has become the software of choice for partners like Asus here in Australia. Some of the core functions include new Step-by-Step address entry and RV-friendly routing so that you won’t find yourself between a rock and a hard cliff face with your rig when you try to negotiate mountain roads or want to avoid U-turns.

The new SiRF Star III chipset makes this Emtac S3 model one of the best GPS receivers on the market. Sure, the battery life is somewhat limited at 6 hours and the battery is not replaceable but there are many other options to recharge the unit including mains charging through the iPAQ mains adapter.
I believe the Emtac is also one of the first Bluetooth receivers with that very efficient SiRF 3 chip, if not the very first and with their track record (no pun necessarily intended) the Emtac S3 is highly recommended.
Just don’t be distracted by the two flashing LEDs that tell you all is well….
With the decent price of around 150 US buckaroos you’ll get yourself a quality GPS receiver.
We are giving it a 9 out of 10.

Review by: Martin Regtien

Chipset:

Frequency:

C/A:

Channels:

Programmable:

System Back Up:

Antenna Type:

Accuracy:

Position:

Velocity:

Time:

Datum:

Acquisition Rate:

Reacquisition:

Cold Start:

Warm Start:

Hot Start:

Dynamic Conditions:

Altitude:

Velocity:

Acceleration:

Interface:

Connection:

Protocol:

Powered by:

Operation time:

Size and Weight:

Operating Temp:

Relative Humidity:

SiRF Star III

L1, 1575.42 MHz

1.023 MHz chip rate

20 Channel all-in-view tracking

WAAS/EGNOS

Built-in Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery

Built-in Antenna (external antenna optional)

10 meters RMS without SA

0.1 meters/second, without SA

1 microsecond synchronized to GPS time

WGS-84 (or by demand)

Open Sky and Stationary

0.1 sec., average

< 42 sec., average

< 38sec., average

< 1 sec., average

<18,000 meter

< 515 meter/second

< 4g

Communicates with Host Platform via Bluetooth (Class2) Serial Profile

Default: NMEA-0183 (V2.20)- GGA(1), GSA(1), GSV(5), RMC(1)

650mAh Lithium-ion rechargeable battery, 5V DC power, AC power

Default: 6hr. (min.) after fully charged, in continuous mode

50(W) x 90(L) x 17(H) mm         60 g

-20°C to + 60°C

5% to 95%, non-condensing