Sky RC GPS or Good News Super Sensor?

Introduction

You have the car, you did the upgrades, and now you want to know if your car is fast. I mean, really fast. Sure, you can run it against your buddy’s car, but is his car fast? This is an important point. It is fine to win a race, but what is your goal? It is one thing to have a plan, but it is another thing to implement it. Racing your buddy might be fun, but it does not measure true progress. This is why I wanted to measure speed in a more objective way.

The Sky RC GNSS (Amazon Link) is the speed tracker for the RC cars that is dead simple to use, but it does not let you export the files. You might think that this is just for planes, but it is not. It works for cars as well. How cool is that?

The one thing you have to get past is the name. The SkyRC GnSS? Is this a band from the 80s? Is this a mysterious song by Phil Collins where he might be confronting a guy at a concert? Or is this the Good News Super Sensor?

If you Google the answer, you will see that it is the Global Navigation Satellite System. That is only one of the many.

This GNSS stands for:

• Global Positioning Service

• GLONASS (Same thing, but in Russian, which I cannot speak)

• Galileo (European Union)

• Bei Dou (No idea….)

The point is, this tiny black box will get a GPS signal anywhere you are in the world.

Why would you want this?

This is a GPS device that you can place on an RC car or an airplane to gather some speed data. Unfortunately, you will not be able to offload a file from the device. This is a big disappointment for me, but we will cover that in the negatives.

I bought this because sometime back, I had an idea. My idea was, “Can you take a brushed truck and actually race it anymore?” My standard is that you want the truck to hit 40 mph in a straight line. That seems to be what needs to be done to be competitive in a short-course race, provided that it is really a short course. So, I have been doing some tests with the Arrma Fury to see what I can do. This experiment is still in process.

Initially, I did speed runs using a GoPro and snagging the GPS data that was stuck to the truck. The problem is that the GoPro is going to slow down the top seed. I need a simpler solution.

So, I got the Good News Super Sensor or the GNSS by Sky RC to measure the speed. This is a much simpler solution to find the top speed.

Is the Unit Any Good?

It is nicely packed. In the box you have the unit, instructions, and a USB-C cable. I just plugged the unit in to give it a full charge.

The unit took about an hour to charge. The manual says that the battery will last for six hours. You can download the manual here.

The pictures below will show you the dimensions.

I am not sure if you can see the weight, but it will add 37 grams to your vehicle.

I noted the manual and said, “Instructions? We don’t need no instructions!” (I find it is best to say that with a cold or early in the morning. The raspy voice just adds credibility).

Sorry to disappoint, but I am not that much of a maverick. There is a QR code on a paper to download the SkyRC app. So you really don’t need the paper instructions, even though they are included. I simply scanned the QR code and downloaded the Sky RC app. I opened the app, the unit turned on, and within moments, they paired. They were brothers from the same mother. It is a touching reunion.

The unit worked. It has lights to indicate that the signal is connecting. It is super easy. There is literally no programming. You should be ready to go in a matter of minutes after your initial charge. Pretty slick.

What about the speed tests?

I wanted to mount the unit in both trucks in a consistent way. I printed out a model from Bambu Labs. I used the Mount for SkyRC from CKRC. The modeler is on Bambulabs. I have not figured out how to link to him on BambuLabs, which is very unfortunate that Bambu does not make the process simpler. If you search for " Mount for SkyRC GNSS GPS GS Mount by CKRC,” you should find it.

I liked this model because he made a simple bar that locks the GPS unit in the cradle. You slide the bar through the cable, and then put a body clip through the hole.

I added some foam to the bottom of the cradle so that the unit does not rattle around. Overall, it is nice because you just lock the unit in the cradle with the printed arm and then put a body clip through the end of it. No velcro, no extra things to bring, and so the stuff you already have in your bag is enough. Nicely done! We couldn’t have done it better ourselves.

I managed to get the mounts mounted in both Furiess or is that Furys…. using servo tape. Then I discovered the brushes were bad in the red truck. Fortunately, my son mounted a GPS unit to his M05 so we were able to test the unit with his car.

What did I not like: (Vegetables before dessert)

You cannot pull the log files off the device. It is locked down. You use the App and only the APP. I thought about sending it back, but I got it for under 70 smackers. It is a good price for what you get. I just want people to know this so they are not disappointed if they receive the unit.

You can read the data, but you only get screenshots. The unit will automatically delete the old files. I have no idea how many files it will hold; it is a LOT, but for the price, I would love to pull the log files.

There is no G Force measurement that I could find. I will keep messing with it, but my GoPros give me that data. So, I am a little disappointed with that.

The pros (Now the dessert)

It is brain-dead simple to set up. You download the app, open the app, select your device, and it is working.

You can name the log files from your phone so you know which car gave you the data after a run. This is nice when you go back to look at the data.

You can mount it and then turn it on with your phone. You do not need to hit a power button or anything. So, if you put this under a body, you don’t have to take off the body. Simply open the app, and you will get an indication in the app that the unit is communicating. Nothing passive/aggressive about this guy.

It feels tough. I am pretty sure that I could throw the thing off a building and it would measure the speed on the way down. Then you could find it on the ground and do the test all over again! I don’t recommend doing this, but the device seems like it is up to the challenge. Honestly, I would send this up with a plane and not stress about breaking it in a crash.

You can name it. If you have a couple of these, then you can keep them separate if you are testing different cars. So that is a plus.

What would I like? 


I want access to the log files! This is seriously annoying to me that I cannot pull the data off the unit. I paid for the unit, and I should be able to get the log files to back up the data.

I would like to get more metrics like G-Force. The GoPros give me that. I am going to mess with some different settings so maybe I can get this working.

Whatcha Learn?

Metrics are important. We might think that this is just a hobby. Yes, it is, but it is also a personal challenge. Can I really hit 40 mph on a brushed motor? If I have no objective way to measure thise then I have no way of telling if I am getting closer to my goal or further away.

Choose a better name. What is the GNSS? I know that it has to do with GPS. However, if I saw the product, I would have no idea if I wanted it or the use for the product. In fact, this is the main reason it took me so long to pull the trigger on this thing. I think even the RC Speedometer is a good start because this unit only measures speed.

Proprietary vendor lock is terrible. Why lock the files? I bought the unit. I almost returned it because I could not grab the files. I just want to back up the log files and potentially use third-party software to analyze the GPS data. Sky RC left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, and I am going to do more research before buying any other products from them.

Conclusion

This is a sturdy little unit. It should last a long time. I checked iFixit to see if they have any battery replacement guides because the battery is sealed in the unit. Sadly, they do not. I am pretty sure that if you store this thing properly, you should get years of use out of it. If the price stays around 70 bucks, that is a good price point.

If you are thinking about picking one up, then I would say get it. The device is pretty handy. If there is a new device for around the same price point that will allow you to pull the log files, please let me know in the comments. What do you use to track your RC speeds? Drop your setup in the comments!

Thank you for reading! Use social media to be social! And get outside to do something fun!

(Updated 1/22/2026)