Design Poles With an External GPS

You want to place poles right on top of their real-world location while you are out in the field, using your own high-accuracy GPS instead of relying on aerial imagery alone. This article walks you through connecting an external GPS to your Android device so Katapult Pro reads that position when you place a pole.

Before you start: This workflow is Android only, and it relies on hardware and an app that are not part of Katapult Pro. You will need an Android device, an external GPS unit with Bluetooth connectivity and high accuracy, and a GPS reader app that can act as a mock location provider.

What is this?

Katapult Pro places poles at the location your device reports. On Android, you can feed a high-accuracy external GPS into the device through Android's built-in mock location feature, so Katapult Pro uses the reading from your GPS unit instead of the phone's hardwired AGPS. Once it is set up, you simply walk to the pole you want to place and drop it at the position your GPS reports.

When would I use it?

Most of the time, some combination of aerial imagery and street view is enough to place poles and no external GPS is needed. Reach for this workflow in situations like these:

Your contract calls for sub-meter accuracy that aerial placement cannot guarantee.
Aerial photography in the area is outdated.
Foliage or tree cover obscures the poles in the imagery.
You would otherwise be triangulating a pole's location by hand from the field, and a direct GPS reading is faster and more reliable.

How do I use it?

Enable Developer options on your Android device

Open the Settings app and then open System.

Next, tap About phone.

Scroll to Build number and tap it several times.

The screen counts down with a message that reads You are now # steps away from being a developer, so keep tapping until you see You are now a developer!

Set your GPS reader app as the mock location app

Go back into System and open Advanced.

You will now see Developer options.

Open it, and under the Debugging section choose Select mock location app.

Pick the app that reads your GPS data. This tells Android to substitute your external GPS reading for the phone's built-in AGPS.

Connect your GPS unit to the reader app

Open your GPS reader app and connect your external GPS unit to it over Bluetooth. Your device now reports the position from your GPS unit rather than its own.

Place your poles in the field

Walk to the pole you want to place and use Katapult Pro as you normally would. Because your device is now reporting the external GPS position, the pole lands at your high-accuracy location.

Tips and troubleshooting

Menu paths differ across Android versions and manufacturers. If you do not see Developer options under System > Advanced, look for it directly under Settings > System, or search your settings for Developer options or mock location.
The number of taps on Build number varies by device. Just keep tapping until the You are now a developer! message appears.
If Katapult Pro is still showing your phone's location instead of the GPS reading, confirm two things: your GPS reader app is the one chosen under Select mock location app, and your GPS unit is connected to that app over Bluetooth.
This workflow is Android only. The mock location approach it depends on is not available on iOS devices.