Skip to content

ZeroTrace AirLeak Pro

GPS

AirLeak Pro's optional on-board GPS module, what it enables, and the phone-GPS alternative.

GPS

Location tagging on AirLeak Pro can come from two places: an optional on-board GPS module, or your phone's GPS through the ZeroTrace app. You do not need the module to tag captures — it exists for standalone, phone-free surveys.

The GPS is optional

AirLeak Pro has a footprint for an ATGM336H GPS module, but it is not fitted by default. Add the module if you want the device to record its own location without a phone. Otherwise the app tags your captures with the phone's GPS — no module required.

What the GPS enables

Location, from either source, is what turns a scan into a survey. Every access point and Bluetooth device AirLeak Pro hears can be stamped with where it was heard and an accurate timestamp. That makes three things possible:

  • Location-tagged surveys, so you know not just what is present but where.
  • Wardriving, walk or drive a route and map everything along it. See GPS & wardriving.
  • Mapping-ready logs, the saved file carries real coordinates, so it imports straight into survey and mapping tools. See Logging.

With the on-board module fitted, AirLeak Pro can do all of this standalone — no phone in range — and the module's precise time reference keeps log timestamps accurate offline. With the app instead, the phone supplies both the location and the time.

The GPS interface

The optional module connects through a small on-board interface (with its own antenna):

GPS interface (optional ATGM336H module)
Not fitted by default. Fit the module for standalone location-tagged wardriving, or use your phone's GPS in the app.
GND1TXD → MCU RX2RXD → MCU TX31PPS4VCC (3V3)5
GroundTX / outRX / inClockPower

Getting a fix

With the module fitted, a cold start can take a minute or two and needs a reasonably clear view of the sky; after that it stays locked as you move. When you rely on the phone instead, a fix follows your phone's own GPS. Either way, the app shows whether a location fix is currently available.

Altitude is not recorded

AirLeak Pro records latitude and longitude, plus an accuracy estimate, but does not record altitude — the altitude field in exported logs is left empty. This does not affect mapping, which uses latitude and longitude.

Command Palette

Search for a command to run...