Galileo - Karoo 2?
Planned
Hi there. I preordered the Karoo 2. I haven't found any mention to K2 supporting Galileo.
Since Galileo is now fully functional it would be great to have it in the new K2.
Thanks in advance
-
Official comment
Hey Everyone.
Garmin and Wahoo have Galileo support in the EU which seems to be a standard requirement there, we are already looking into this. However, currently, we do see any major discrepancy in GPS accuracy without the availability of Galileo on the Karoo 2.
We cannot commit this to be implemented immediately. But, I can assure you that this is on our list and will be worked upon. I will forward this discussion to our product team.
Comment actions -
Hello Franklin,
I received my karoo 2 and i am afraid it does not support Galileo. I sideloaded gps test apk. Galileo sats don't show up. Being a user in Europe, Galileo provides better accuracy. Too bad. Is it a software bug or just the chip unable to connect to Galileo? I will give it a try but Galileo was one of the musts for this purchase.
Regards
-
Good question Tijmen,
Somewhere i read (i can't find the link) that the karoo 2 has a snapdragon 210 which does not support Galileo.
The truth is i have not found here in hammerhead.io what the chip is, the full specs are not that full, but if it is a snapdragon 210 then we're done, no software can bring Galilieo if the chip does not support it.
So, again, question for Franklin, what's the chip in the karoo 2? and if the chip is compatible with galileo why would it not show up with gps test?
See pic below
Gps > circles
Glonass > triangles
Beidou > stars
Qzss > squares NONE
Galileo > pentagons NONE
-
I am afraid you're right Steve. I did not know droid info but here it is:
Still in my 45 days trial and this makes me think if i wanna keep it...
So far accuracy was ok but i have to say i rode mostly in open areas and with good weather/satellite view.
Tracks seem okay when i double check them in google earth (i load the gpx file recorded) except in town. When i am riding among buildings then the track goes over the roofs, and believe me, buildings are not high here where i live. My concern is what will happen when i ride/hike narrow deep valleys with little satellite view. My experience with devices supporting Galileo was very good, that's why i do not want to rely on gps/glonass only.
pfff
-
tl;dr - real world usage data suggests that having access to Galileo satellites as well as GPS and GLONASS doesn't really make much difference in data accuracy.
Here's an interesting article on Galileo:
https://the5krunner.com/2018/06/29/galileo-is-it-rubbish/
I'm not sure Galileo is super critical to high accuracy. What seems to be more critical is the total number of satellites in view in addition to GPS. There may be benefits of using Galileo in urban areas with lots of high rise buildings but, thankfully, I never ride in those locations.
FWIW, real riding data with my Karoo 2 is also typically highly accurate and most of my rides follow the roads with little or no deviation. When the Rides app doesn't crash, that is. If you were to compare the Karoo 2 track with the route recorded by my Apple Watch Series 3, the Karoo 2 is way more accurate. The Apple Watch Series 3 has a tendency to show me riding through buildings and cutting corners all over the place although, remarkably, the total distance is generally identical. The Apple Watch Series 3 does support Galileo.
DC Rainmaker does a good comparison on his web site if you're interested.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/12/hammerhead-karoo-2-in-depth-review.html#gps-accuracy
Can't really fault the accuracy of the Karoo 2 route tracking here in the UK, Galileo or no Galileo.
-
Well, i would not compare a gps to a watch, despite the watch has a more modern chip, it's still a watch (i use a fenix 5 and do not expect the same accuracy from a fenix 5 than a garmin 1030)
Technology is clear, gps and glonass provide 5-7 meters accuracy while galileo provides 1 meter. The more satellites you see the better of course, regardless the gnss, but galileo is clearly more accurate.
I will try and test the k2 in "difficult" areas before taking a decision. This covid lockdown does not help much to go and ride too far from home... grrr
Regards
-
I think it's fair to pitch a watch against a cycle computer. Ultimately, you're just hiring a different product to do the same job.
In the example I gave above, Ray pitches a Wahoo RIVAL GPS watch and a Garmin Forerunner 745 watch against the Karoo 2. Yes, it would be interesting to compare the same data set from a Garmin Edge 530/830/1030 and a Wahoo Elemnt Roam (all with Galileo on) against a Karoo 2. I'm not sure if anybody has done this yet?
Yes, it's disappointing that the Karoo 2 doesn't support Galileo - and highlights the cheapness of the build ($50 USD each to manufacture?) - but it's the overall accuracy of the data that counts for me. Your average consumer will not care what's inside it if their data looks spot on (which mine invariably is).
The claimed accuracy of ~1m of Galileo may not be realised in the real world. Plus, I expect there will be a cost to the battery here as well. Battery life on the Karoo 2 is already significantly worse than a Garmin Edge 530.
-
You can also add the beeper to that list. Sounds like a cheap Chinese toy with low batteries. Turned mine off.
Difficult to hear at times. Lots of reports on here of it being difficult to hear by some of our more mature riders. No volume control (it doesn't sound like the sort of hardware that supports adjustable volume either). Seems like it was added as an afterthought.
I'm not expecting hi-fi quality sound, but when I consider the quality of sound I get from my iPhone, it doesn't even come close.
Back on topic: I'm kind of surprised by the official Hammerhead response to the lack of Galileo support; It's almost as if they were not anticipating selling many units in Europe and, as Perchera rightly points out, this is a limitation of the SoC hardware so not something we will ever see on the Karoo 2, unfortunately.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
19 comments