What is a good program that works with the TP so that I can test to see if my built in gps is working correctly?
I have TOMTOM7 installed and the application works but I can never see any satellites.
I tried mapopolis but i can't seem to establish a connection to the gps.
I updated the gps info using quick gps.
What com port and baud rate does the unit use?
What settings should I have in the "external gps" settings?
Thanks for your help!
Use the attached program to test the GPS.
It will search COM ports automatically
But I guess you can know the port from the settings tabs "External GPS" icon if it's like Kaiser
Anyway, I will be of further use in like 4 days
pjmiebach said:
What is a good program that works with the TP so that I can test to see if my built in gps is working correctly?
I have TOMTOM7 installed and the application works but I can never see any satellites.
I tried mapopolis but i can't seem to establish a connection to the gps.
I updated the gps info using quick gps.
What com port and baud rate does the unit use?
What settings should I have in the "external gps" settings?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok it seems its on com 4 with baud rate of 9600.
ill put it by the window and see if any satellites come up.
The screen just right now says: GPS starting up
Edit: ok great I just got 3 satellites. I guess it works!
Great that it works
You need at least 4 though to get a fix
Kindly, post your radio info and your location and let me know how many satellites did you view (press up on dpad as the 1st screen shows only upto 8 and it can see more, hopefully)
pjmiebach said:
ok it seems its on com 4 with baud rate of 9600.
ill put it by the window and see if any satellites come up.
The screen just right now says: GPS starting up
Edit: ok great I just got 3 satellites. I guess it works!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
posting the number of satelites you receive is a bit pointless.
This will depend on many factors such as
1) The number of sats viewable at any given time in your area (the sats are not geostationary and therefore move around)
2) The location of the sats during the test - some could be close to the horizon and therefore have a week signal
3) Weather conditions, cloud rain etc,
4) Terrain
etc
etc
Basically, you are right.
But if you are fast enough, you can test several radios in the same 10 mins.
And you can judge by testing in the same place which radio is better for GPS (Fix & View).
A mention of your location will be a referrence for others.
There's a thread with more radio fuss to hold such info to be useful in the future.
Hi pjmiebach - thanks for the hint and the software - I get 4 satellits (yellow beamer) but when I tryit again with Google Maps it finds no Satellite ???
Any explanation from yur side ?
as a matter of fact, on-board GPS works with just about any baud rate you select - so choose the fastest
peter7 said:
Hi pjmiebach - thanks for the hint and the software - I get 4 satellits (yellow beamer) but when I tryit again with Google Maps it finds no Satellite ???
Any explanation from yur side ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
errr It worked find with TOMTOM7 after taking like 15 min to find it's first fix. Never tried Google maps yet cause my data plan doesn't start until the 8th of Sept.
you can start google maps and check in the right menu for gps and tap that one so it uses the internal gps instead of internetconnection.
it is also a good idea to goto connectionsettings and wipe all existing connections as activesync wont require these and you can download them later from the provider website or by running the carriersetup
ok. ive broken something on my raph. gps was working fine when i flew up to sydneyim guessing ive fiddled with something (external gps setings) and now no worky. tom tom7 is set to internal. if i disable external gps gpstest pauses on com 3 but nothing. if i turn windows on. it stops on com 4 shows some progress bars but they are all at 0 ive soft reset. taken the battery out canter figure out whatsoever wrong. any ideas would be awesome
TT7 and google maps
My tt7 takes 2 - 3 minutes to get a fix.
Google maps takes about 10 secs.
If i start tt7 right after i used gm it takes about 20 secs to get a fix.
I'm gonna try gpsgate and changing the baudrate a bit, see if it helps.
I'll let you know.
** Edit **
GPSGate does the trick for me.
Buy it at your fav appstore and create a new virtual com port for all NMEA progs, go to tt7 gps settings select other nmea device, select the com you just created, at max speed.
com port problem
atreidae said:
ok. ive broken something on my raph. gps was working fine when i flew up to sydneyim guessing ive fiddled with something (external gps setings) and now no worky. tom tom7 is set to internal. if i disable external gps gpstest pauses on com 3 but nothing. if i turn windows on. it stops on com 4 shows some progress bars but they are all at 0 ive soft reset. taken the battery out canter figure out whatsoever wrong. any ideas would be awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Raphael do the same but after hard reset will be work again.
mzperxfl said:
My Raphael do the same but after hard reset will be work again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too! :-( No, I really do not enjoy hard resets...
Another nice GPS testing software is VisualGPSce. Be sure to get that.
I wonder if the problem was with QuickGPS. VisualGPSce was telling me that it "saw" 11 satellites, but wasn't able to lock onto any of them. I know that it had worked previously, but then I had a couple of days break and QuickGPS had updated it's data during that time. After the Hard Reset, I haven't used QuickGPS.
About the performance... seems to get fix quite fast, but looses them very easily too. I tracked today a half hour buss ride and I frequently lost the connection. (Sure it was not the most optimal situation...). Also the accuracy wasn't that good - well, either the GPS or Google Maps. actually VisualGPS showed that the GPS wasn't very accurate in following what was happening. The velocity would go to 0 only about 10 seconds after the buss had stopped at trafic lights or buss stop. Actually the buss frequently took of before the GPS showed us stopped. And then it was extremely slow on catching up. On Google Maps you could see the dot still advancing when the buss had stopped for that 10 seconds. Completely off the road - but that might as well be Googles error.
I do not have TomTom on this, but certainly the speed accuracy from VisualGPSce is not nearly as accurate as my TomTom 720.
Check also that the assisted GPS is not active.
If this option is actived, you lose the signal each x seconds.
To check this option I use Advanced config.
Note : I've a Diamond and one Raphael, same configuration, the Diamond find a fix into 40sec and the Raphael takes sometimes 5min!!!.
NLS said:
as a matter of fact, on-board GPS works with just about any baud rate you select - so choose the fastest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i find this to be true as well but the kaiser gps radio worked far better than this touch pro in every app I tried. I can put the TP in my car window and get a signal with random disconnects but if i put it in my lap i cant get anything. I could put the kaiser in my trun and be fine lol. Hopefully some upgrades to the radio software will be coming soon. Same result with me with .19 and .31
Hello,
I tested GPSTuner 5.4, VisualGPS, GoogleMaps and TomTom 7 and I have a strange problem... I installed thos programs after hard reset to be sure...
In the GPS information window the GPS position changes but the speed is always 0km/h and in TomTom or GoogleMaps my position on the map don't move...
Have you seens this problem ?
Any kind of solution ?
PLZ....
PS :
Where can I find rom &Radio version ?
What is your TomTom 7 version ?
Hello All..
this is my first post. I just received my TP today via Vodafone. I havwe sucessfully loaded on TomTom 6 and I have it working with the TT external GPS receiver.
can someone advise me whether the Touch Pro's internal GPS will work and if so, how do I go about setting it up.
PS, I only see 4 options in TT6, and none say internal.
Thanks in advance for any assistance
what to do about navigator 7 ( tomtom ) with gps 1.20 when i start tomtom the first time , it can take up to 1/2 hour to get gps signal whit the internal gps.
when i use my external globalsat gps i have signal in less then 30 secconds.
anyone has anny ideas????
Did you already use the program called "quick GPS" on »Programs?
Normally fisrt time you tried to get signal take a long time, after shoud be less time. My pro is slow, sometimes take up 2 minutes, not more.
Try to use "Quick Gps", this program can "say to GPS" your position trough GSM signal I think...
Robert
Yeah, my Pro normally takes about 2 mins, using Quick GPS. However, that's a lot slower than my Kaiser used to connect - even from cold it would often get a lock within 30s.
What I have noticed with the Pro is that although it takes a long time to get a lock, when it does it is always on 4 bars or more. Makes me wonder if there is a setting somewhere (in the registry maybe?) which tells it not to report it's connected until it has a lock on several satelites?
Is there perhaps a way to get it to connect faster, but with fewer sattelites so perhaps slightly less accurate?
Rowan
I did all what you say and still no gps fix :S
can somebody please help ???
I'm the same. I managed to get a fix using Google Maps when on the road 3 days ago, but I can no longer get a fix with the same program. I've installed TT6 and cannot get a fix - just says "No valid GPS signal". With my Nokia E90, I get a fix sitting indoors on the sofa!!
Any help anyone?
AMoosa said:
I'm the same. I managed to get a fix using Google Maps when on the road 3 days ago, but I can no longer get a fix with the same program. I've installed TT6 and cannot get a fix - just says "No valid GPS signal". With my Nokia E90, I get a fix sitting indoors on the sofa!!
Any help anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here and I have done everything in all of these and other posts. TO me it jeust seems the internal gps is just not as good as th kaiser was
work around
hi,
i was bothered by the same issue.
i found that googlemaps gets a fix within 10 secs.
tt7 takes 2 to 3 mins. if i start gm first and get a fix, close gm and then start tt7 i have a fix in 20 secs.
gpsgate has the same effect. i created a virtual com port with gpsgate, and selected that port in tt7.
i prefer the gm workaround because gpsgate is not free and has to be terminated every time after use, or it`ll drain the battery.
please post your results if you try this yourself.
start quickgps and download the new file.
start tt7 and choose built in gps.
exit tt7
turn device off (long press on powerbutton)
turn it on
wait for it to boot and start tt7 and wait till it has found the gps.
walk to an open area and keep walking. it will find a fix faster that way.
Delete the Logs
This has worked for me...
Was having loads of problems with TT7 and googlemaps (altho that performed better than TT7)
Spotted elsewhere on this site (sorry, dont remember where exactly, was for a different phone tho...)
DELETE THE GPS LOGS!
Power down the phone, once its restarted, in file explorer, delete the GPS logfiles from the windows directory. (sorry, cant remember their exact names, but they're pretty obvious).
Now TT7 works reliably.
philg2000 said:
This has worked for me...
Was having loads of problems with TT7 and googlemaps (altho that performed better than TT7)
Spotted elsewhere on this site (sorry, dont remember where exactly, was for a different phone tho...)
DELETE THE GPS LOGS!
Power down the phone, once its restarted, in file explorer, delete the GPS logfiles from the windows directory. (sorry, cant remember their exact names, but they're pretty obvious).
Now TT7 works reliably.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPSLogFile
GPSLogFileBack
deleted these and it seems to make tomtom find the gps faster and work better .. but still the reception is not that great..
Since yesterday, I am unable to connect to internal GPS on Touch Pro.
TomTom, iGo, google maps say "No GPS Device found".
It has happen after upgrading ROMeOS to 1.21 and restoring with SPB Backup using "Rom upgrade mode".
Other side effect is that QuickGPS update goes to 70-80% and then says "Unable to connect". It happens either by GPRS, WiFi or ActiveSync connection.
Do someone have an idea what happen?
Thanks!
I had a similar problem after I tried to upgrade TomTom on my Touch Pro...no GPS found...After I restored a back up fromSprite back up (latest version), the problem was the same! I did a hard reset and started over.
I'm currently looking for back up software that will allow you to back up the registry to a file that can be applied after a restore. I'm not fully convinced that this is the problem but I'd like the option anyway.
If your phone has Google Maps installed, try uninstalling it.
I was having the same problem with Destinator 7, but it was solved by doing that. I found this solution in some thread here, but can't remember exactly which.
You don't have to uninstall google maps. Simply go to GPS settings and from automatic, set the GPS port to 4.
Also check your external GPS port is Settings--System. I set mine to 5 and the GPS wouldn't work. I set it back to 4 and it was ok again
jradev said:
Since yesterday, I am unable to connect to internal GPS on Touch Pro.
TomTom, iGo, google maps say "No GPS Device found".
It has happen after upgrading ROMeOS to 1.21 and restoring with SPB Backup using "Rom upgrade mode".
Other side effect is that QuickGPS update goes to 70-80% and then says "Unable to connect". It happens either by GPRS, WiFi or ActiveSync connection.
Do someone have an idea what happen?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For TomTom configure your GPS reciever to "other NMEA" COM4 and 4800 Baud.
Works great for me.
XL3N7 said:
You don't have to uninstall google maps. Simply go to GPS settings and from automatic, set the GPS port to 4.
Also check your external GPS port is Settings--System. I set mine to 5 and the GPS wouldn't work. I set it back to 4 and it was ok again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it, com5, com6...no positive result.
It was working fine before ROM upgrade and no changes were made to GPS settings, it just stopped working.
It seems that hard reset is needed unless no other possibility with changing config, registry etc.
Hi everyone
I have a P3470+ (HTC clone from China) Phone (Hisilicon K3, 460MHZ, WM 6.1) and my problem is that whatever navigation software (or Google Maps) I use, the phone doesn't find any satellites anymore :-( It USED to work but now it doesn't?!?
Anybody know how to fix that problem?
Also, can I update the ROM? Where do I find an ENGLISH ROM (WM 6.1 or even 6.5?). I know how to set this phone into an "update mode", I also have a software called "IDT" from Hisilicon, the only thing I am missing is a ROM. Maybe this is the only chance to get the GPS working again?
Anybody know how to do a hard reset on this baby?
Thanks for your help and greetings from Germany
ColonelZap said:
Hi everyone
I have a P3470+ (HTC clone from China) Phone (Hisilicon K3, 460MHZ, WM 6.1) and my problem is that whatever navigation software (or Google Maps) I use, the phone doesn't find any satellites anymore :-( It USED to work but now it doesn't?!?
Anybody know how to fix that problem?
Also, can I update the ROM? Where do I find an ENGLISH ROM (WM 6.1 or even 6.5?). I know how to set this phone into an "update mode", I also have a software called "IDT" from Hisilicon, the only thing I am missing is a ROM. Maybe this is the only chance to get the GPS working again?
Anybody know how to do a hard reset on this baby?
Thanks for your help and greetings from Germany
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download GPSToggle CAB from this link http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7VRBH5RS . It is called GPSToggle and is a Today screen app. It works best when installed to main memory.
Once installed, you will need to add it to your Today screen. From your Today screen go to Settings, then choose Today settings. Go to the Items tab and you should see BAF GPS Toggle at the bottom of the list. Click the box to have it added to your Today Screen. Close the Settings screen and go back to your Today screen.
Now, a little bit of info about your GPS. It will work best when it has an unobstructed view of the sky overhead. It should stationery (not moving) and uninterrupted from the time you turn on the application.
Some people can get satellite signals inside a building. I can because I live in a one-story condo. If you can sit outside with your phone for about 30 minutes, GPSToggle should do the trick.
On your Today screen you will now see an item called GPS with the word OFF next to it. Click the word GPS and the word next to it will change to On indicating that the app has turned on your GPS.
Now sit back, be patient and wait. If you're lucky and outside, the SIRF III chip in your phone should lock on within as little as 42 seconds (doubtful in your case) and as long as five minutes.
Attached to this message are four screens showing what your screen will look like:
GPSToggle 01 - Initial turn on. GPS is in search mode (no satellites detected).
GPSToggle 02 - GPS on. Communication beginning. 12 satellites possible.
GPSToggle 03 - GPS on. Four satellite bars displayed. Satnav not possible yet.
GPSToggle 04 - GPS on. Four satellites locked on. 3D satnav possible.
Note 1: I had not turned on my GPS today which meant it took about 2.5 minutes to lock on. This is not bad considering I am sitting in my front room. Normally, it takes about 60 seconds when I have turned on the GPS previously in the day and eperemis data which is satellite position and timing information is available from a previous session.
Note 2: According to most SIRF manufacturers, it takes three satellites for 2D satnav to occur. Most GPS programs can operate with that mode. Four satellites provide 3D satnav which is preferred.
See if this works for you. If it does, whenever you need to use your GPS, go to the Today screen and use GPSToggle to turn on the GPS for you which will quote warm it up for your GPS program. Once you see four green bars, you can turn on your GPS program and navigate like a champ!
You can read further about GPSToggle at this URL and thank the developer: http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-gps-toggle.html
Good luck!
Thank you so much for this detailed instruction, I really appreciate it!
I tried it, unfortunately it didn't work for me
After + 1 hour it still says: GPS on Seek: 0
I'm starting to believe that this phones actually has a hardware defect?!? Whatever navigation software or GPS tools I use, GPS is ALWAYS found, Comport is open and it looks like data is flowing but never does this phone find any satellites
Anything else I might try?
Thanks
There are two more things you can try (actually three but I will save the worst for last):
#1 - To help your GPS, it is best for WM to manage it (a recommended feature from Microsoft). Go to the Settings tab, External GPS (why it is called that on my Settings tab is beyond me). Then click through the screens to have WM manage the GPS. On one tab you will asked to choose a Port from which all your programs will access data. You need to use an unused Port. I recommend Port 8 but that is up to you. Previously Ports 1 - 4 have been used by other programs. 5 - 8 are free and supposedly TMS uses Port 9.
The reason for doing this is if WM manages the data, it will keep the GPS on and provide the resolved info to all applications. If the programs managed the GPS, they could selectively turn on and off the GPS and also block each other from using the GPS. You don't want that to happen. That is why MS recommends WM manage the data.
#2 - While I have never used this option, Assisted GPS (AGPS) is the second option. You activate Assisted GPS by going from the Today screen to Settings and then System. AGPS is one of choices on this tab. Once selected, AGPS settings page will offer the chance to Enable this utility. Click the circle next to Enable to activate this feature.
Assisted GPS will use an internet or cell tower connections to download Epheremis data to aid your GPS to determine what satellites are available to you during a given time period which is why charging is recommended. Be advised that AGPS can your data plan to access the internet and could cost you some money. Supposedly AGPS should be able to download epheremis data within a short period. The file is a small text file. But I don't do it this way and can't really advise on this although I do know theoretically how AGPS works.
#3 - While this is not the worst of options, you can plug in your phone nearest a wall that is not obstructed by being in the middle of your house or apartment and turn on the GPS. If there is a room with a window where you can leave the charging phone, that would be a preferred location. In some cases, it can take hours for a phone GPS to be found. You could do this overnight if not having use to your phone is a pain for you. Yes, you might to leave it unattended for a long time.
There is one more option but that involves downloading another program which hopefully will not be necessary. Please try the options one by one and see what happens.
Good luck!
Correct time set and its importance to GPS position resolution
Pardon me for what I now say but, I made an assumption and would like to cover that base. Is your time and time zone correctly set?
Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) use the time set by a GPS receiver as the entering argument to determine where your GPS is. When your time and its time zone settings are received, the overhead GPS will transmit to your receiver the epheremis data which is the location and times satellites will be overhead where your time is set.
Being off one minute, a couple or even an hour *might* not be too bad. But three hours (a time zone) or using AM versus PM will seriously affect what epheremis data is transmitted and used by your receiver.
Time zone is also a similar error. Off one or two zones and the wrong epheremis data will be transmitted and used.
To use an example, this would be like telling a friend you will be in Paris at 10 AM sharp when you actually are in Milan and it's 8 PM. If your friend were to look for you at the Eiffel Tower at 10 AM, do you think they would ever find you if you actually were in Milan?
GPS receivers suffer too when incorrect time or time zones are set by the user. Granted, the user should sync the time with their computer but even some users have incorrect time set on their computers.
Hopefully this is not one of your problems.
Thanks again for putting so much time into my problem!
I just checked the time, date and time zone, it's all correct.
I tried it with and without having WM manage the GPS, right now I have this function ON in the external GPS settings. Program port 5, Hardware port 6, Baud Rate 4800. I KNOW these settings are supposed to work because they did when I first received that phone. Igo8 worked perfectly with these settings
about #2: This phone does NOT have any A-GPS settings. I'm SURE I looked into the right place, I have another phone (a T5355+ Touch Diamond2 clone), that phone does have A-GPS settings and they are found right where you wrote they should be. So, nothing I can do about A-GPS settings on my P3470+ phone with the problem :-(
about #3: I have my phone in a room right under my roof right now, underneath a huge window, charger connected, hoping for a positv result. In that spot I was always able to find some satellites
What else have I tried before:
I tried using Quick GPS, I downloaded the data, no result. I also deleted the Quick GPS data, just in case, but it also didn't do the trick.
Anyway, I'll leave my phone under that roof window for the night, I'll post the result tomorrow
Thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it
You're welcome, Colonel. Every time I see a post like this, I thank my stars that I have not had this problem. I was a Mod on another GPS forum and saw this frequently but half the time it was what we called in the military "operator error" or self-inflicted.
I wonder if you have installed other GPS apps and removed them? Reason I ask is that I've noticed with WM6.1 and above, that WM seems buggy when apps are installed and removed. I don't think it's MS's fault but what I call "crippled ROMs" that we are seeing. Not all ROMs are created equal if you get my drift. If you have a backup program like SpriteBackup or SPB Backup, you might want to do a backup and then a master reset or Mass Clear to bring your phone back to an initial state where the GPS drivers should all be present. I would save that for tomorrow if I were you.
I know it's probably about beddy bye time if you're in Germany. There is two more utilities I can recommend. The first I have a doc file on which I will paste here.
Winfast Navigator (WN) is the easiest to use in my humble opinion (IMHO). I have a Holux GR-271 that connects to my PDA as a NMEA receiver on Port 4 at a baud rate of 4800. Once installed, you can use your values to test your receiver from the first page displayed.
I have attached the zip file to this message. I think you can install the CAB file to your storage card. Once you do, you can use the settings you quoted in the first window.
Here's how another member reset his GPS using WinFastNavigator and how to set your values on the first page:
http://tjworld.net/wiki/Howto/ResetGPSReceiverToNMEAMode
While I would not recommend setting your SIRF chip to NMEA, one of WN's utilities will reset your SIRF chip if you want to go that route. I would have reinstall it to my phone as I did not need it for my phone.
Not sure why but xda could not attach the file. Here is a link to it:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VTSNORVT WinFastNavigator.zip
Good luck!
same problem
ColonelZap said:
Hi everyone
I have a P3470+ (HTC clone from China) Phone (Hisilicon K3, 460MHZ, WM 6.1) and my problem is that whatever navigation software (or Google Maps) I use, the phone doesn't find any satellites anymore :-( It USED to work but now it doesn't?!?
Anybody know how to fix that problem?
Also, can I update the ROM? Where do I find an ENGLISH ROM (WM 6.1 or even 6.5?). I know how to set this phone into an "update mode", I also have a software called "IDT" from Hisilicon, the only thing I am missing is a ROM. Maybe this is the only chance to get the GPS working again?
Anybody know how to do a hard reset on this baby?
Thanks for your help and greetings from Germany
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem with a phone like, ask the chinese rom, but not how to install on the phone , because apparently I need the driver (my pc does not recognize the pharos downloading clone mode), you use if you send the original ROM?
Hi everyone and especially Ronp76
The night under ste stars didn't do the trick
I was suspecting I might have a "crippled ROM", so I did a Clean Boot a "long" time ago, with no success.
O.k., I just installed WN, clicked on Port Setting, selected SiRF and tried to set it to Port 6, Baudrate 4800. I got an error message:
"Couldn't open the Serial_AGPS COM6 port!"
Same error message on COM1 and COM3, the only port I don't get that message is "Serial_BT COM2"
Bluetooth????
When I select that Port, WN tries to connect but nothing happens :-(
EDIT: I still had BAF GPS Toggle runnning, after turning it off, I didn't get the error message on COM6 anymore. But still WN is trying to connect to COM6 and is getting nothing :-(
EDIT2: I tried a tool called "GPS Port Scan" http://www.51spsoft.com/DownInfo/info30767.html, it searches for GPS, finds it on port 5 AND (?) port 6, when I open Port 6, I can see "data flowing" (see attached picture). But that's it, when I check the GPS status with this tool, it shows no longitude, latitude or anything :-(
While I would not recommend setting your SIRF chip to NMEA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't, should I try this anyway???
@ssccll
I know what you mean, when I put my phone into that "download mode", connect it with my laptop, Vista is trying to find a driver which I also don't have. Since I couldn't find an English ROM for that phone, I haven't really worried about that (yet)
SatCE rogram recommendaton
ColonelZap,
I am sorry to hear that Plans One and Two did not work. I think you're right that something drastic has happened to your GPS and now it is not being found. Hopefully you got a one year warranty with your phone and can return it if my next couple of plans do not work.
I have Plan Three ready now and will work on Plan Four later. Plan Four involves WinFastNavigator and resetting your GPS. I will have to reinstall it on my PDA as I took it off when I made it a dedicated iGO8 GPS with TTS support. iGO8 and TTS use just all available memory. Plan Three is a program called SatCE.
SatCE is a pretty smart program that usually finds a GPS regardless of whether or not the user knows how to find its settings. Download the CAB file and install it to SD card memory. Start up SatCE and you will see the Initial Screen. This screen has interesting information once the program is locked-on to satellites. Please note that since I launched my SatCE from a cold start with my Clone's GPS, it has no satellite information.
From the Edit menu on the taskbar, choose Location. The SatCE Location Screen will appear and you will see that SatCE is using the GPS location for its eperemis data. Change this Location to the city nearest you. Then tap the Calc button on the same screen and go back to the Initial Screen.
If your GPS works, the numbers should begin to change with the Sun and Moon information the easiest to verify. Based upon your time, you should be able to see that the Sun's azimuth and elevation are correct. By setting the Location, SatCE will force your GPS to use this Location as its present position in the epheremis data equation to locate satellites.
SatCE works really well and displays some pretty neat pictures if you click on the Icons next to the Edit menu.
Good luck and I will work on reinstalling WFN.
I am just about done setting up my PDA with WFN. In the meanwhile, I will post a more detailed URL for WFN as there may be more info there that I have glossed over:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/winfastnavigatorppc.php
To get back to one of your questions about changing from SIRF to NMEA, I am unsure because we are dealing with Clones and I yet do not know all the specs for SIRF III which is supposedly the chip used in our Clones.
Supposedly with previous or older SIRF chips, you could change back and forth between NMEA and SIRF because that was built into most chips. I don't know if SIRF III has this capability.
One thing unknown to the average bear or GPS user is that programs can tweak your GPS chip. GPS chips have flash ROM memory like our Clones' memory. Instructions or new data can be written to flash ROM which can affect how your GPS chip operates. OR, instructions can be written and cause your chip not to work.
I hope that maybe one of your programs wrote some bad instructions which did not damage your GPS chip but reprogrammed it making it invalid. Since it worked previously with other programs that is the more likely scenario versus it failing but hey stuff happens!
I will leave you with these thoughts while I go "play" with WFN on my PDA. Colonel - this is going to cost you beer (just kidding)!
WinFast Navigator Reinitialization of GPS chip
ColonelZap,
I think you broke the code on using WinFast Navigator BUT just in case and to allow others to follow along, I will now detail how it can reset a GPS chip.
From the previous Initial Screen, a user selects Port Setting and inputs the appropriate values. If these values are unknown, they can be found by going from Today/Settings/System/External GPS. These values are set from the Initial Screen using the attached WFN Port Setting Screen. Select SIRF and your appropriate Port which can vary from Clone to Clone and HTC to HTC (this stuff does apply to HTC regular phones too).
At this point if you had a working GPS chip, you could click Connect from the Initial Screen and should get a message to the effect that your GPS was found. If not, then we will now get into some of the tweaking found from this URL:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/winfastnavigatorppc.php
Once you have set your GPS chip values AND know them to be correct, you will reinitialize your GPS chip using the WFN Reinitialize Screen Page. This page is found on the Initial Screen by going to Command.
Click Command and you will see the WFN Reinitialize Screen. You will select Factory from the Reset Modes available. Click OK and go back to the Port Settings page to see that the values are what you initially set.
Click Connect again and cross your fingers that your GPS chip was reset and it now back to a working Factory Mode.
BTW, WFN's Reinitialization page is good for other things too. If you ever travel more than than 10 miles with the GPS chip off, epheremis data will be written to your GPS track log with your last known position. This last known position is used to locate satellites.
Like the previous example of telling someone you're in Paris when you're actually in Milan - if your GPS thinks it's in one place when it's actually in another, this can delay the Time to First Fix (TtFF). Basically your GPS chip is going from a Cold Start with bad data.
You can force the GPS chip with WFN to first Connect using the Initial Screen page. WFN remembers the values you set. If by chance, the Connect is taking too long OR you have travelled a long distance say by plane, you can exit the program and start it again.
Then you will go to the Reinitialization page and do a Cold Start. This will clear the track log and force your GPS chip to use its time + time zone to communicate directly with overhead GPS satellites.
One more note and I found this by accident. In the same way GPS chips can be tweaked incorrectly, they can be tweaked in a positive manner. If you look at one of my PDA's WFN Initial Screen, I tweaked the GPS chip from a baud rate of 9600 to 57,600.
Older GPS chips were set at lower baud rates when they were fully capable of higher rates which is kind of like a modem that can use various baud rates. By using the WFN Reinitialization Screen page, I reset mine on the NMEA tab to 57600. I have not checked this with the SIRF chip on my clone but will do so later this afternoon.
Good luck again to you. Hope this works!
SatCE Mission failed
I followed your instructions, my city was even listed Clicked on calc and numbers started to change on the main screen. No satellites, though
I couldn't tell if the sun's position is right, it's pretty cloudy, I couldn't see the sun.
When I clicked on the sat-symbol in the taskbar it reads
"GPS not activated"
WN Mission:
Here's what I did:
Port Settings – SiRF – Com 6 – 4800 Baud – ok
Then I clicked on command, selected Factory, selected 4800 in the SiRF settings, pressed ok.
Now, here is the "funny" thing: As soon as I pressed the ok button, the main screen came back up and it reads NMEA in the bottom left corner? WHY NMEA????
Other than that, nothing happened
Man, I really owe you more than just one beer
ColonelZap said:
SatCE Mission failed
I followed your instructions, my city was even listed Clicked on calc and numbers started to change on the main screen. No satellites, though
I couldn't tell if the sun's position is right, it's pretty cloudy, I couldn't see the sun.
When I clicked on the sat-symbol in the taskbar it reads
"GPS not activated"
WN Mission:
Here's what I did:
Port Settings – SiRF – Com 6 – 4800 Baud – ok
Then I clicked on command, selected Factory, selected 4800 in the SiRF settings, pressed ok.
Now, here is the "funny" thing: As soon as I pressed the ok button, the main screen came back up and it reads NMEA in the bottom left corner? WHY NMEA????
Other than that, nothing happened
Man, I really owe you more than just one beer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rule of thumb regarding Sun:
9 am - 090 degrees East
12 pm - 180 degrees South
4 pm - 270 degrees West
I think SatCE had the same problem as the other programs - your GPS has been reset.
I don't think I remember reading or seeing a WFN Factory Reset not bringing a GPS chip back to its original settings. On the WFN Reinitialize Screen page (attached), go from the Reset tab to SIRF tab. Insert your proper values and click OK.
You could go back to the Connect feature but if it was me, I'd do a soft reset after exitting the program. Do a soft reset and then run the program again. You may wish also to repeat setting up the SIRF values on that tab and then doing a Factory Reset to see if that helps. I seem to remember doing different combos but it has been a year or two since I did all this "black magic" but it was PFM when my GPS came back.
You might also want to look at the URL in my previous message to see if I missed something. I know that that URL reads like a doctoral dissertation but it saved my bacon when my PDA's GPS was reset by a program.
Then you can look at this page:
http://tjworld.net/wiki/Howto/ResetGPSReceiverToNMEAMode
That user wrote about how his GPS chip worked with both SIRF and NMEA. I would think our Clone's SIRF do the same. If nothing else works, you could set NMEA and use the values he suggests for making a SIRF act like NMEA with these values:
GGA 1
GLL 0
GSA 5
GSV 5
RMC 1
VTG 1
MSS 0
User 0
User 0
User 0
I have to run but will leave my computer how so I can tap into it and maybe respond on the fly! Good luck!!!
BTW, on one of your combos, please make sure you check the SIRF tab and then ACTUALLY do a Factory Reset by clicking the OK on that tab. I know you probably did this but just want to make sure you clicked OK on this tab.
You could also do a Factory Reset followed by a Cold Start immediately after that.
Gotta jam!!!
Hi again
I re-did everything, softreset and EVERYTHING.
The "bad news" is, when I use the Post Scan Utility (see my Post #9), NOTHING is found anymore
I also have the feeling, that WN is not really doing anything? Whenever I restart it, the baud rate is back to 38400, it doesn't take my 4800?!?
I'm also a little confused why I only get Port1, 2 ,3 and 6 offered when I go to the Port settings. The only port accepted is port 6 and this port is called "Serial AGPS" why "AGPS"?
I'll play around a little more, maybe I'm doing something terribly wrong?
UPDATE:
After I did the NMEA thing, I used the port scan tool again, this time it found GPS on Com5!!!! Too bad WN doesn't offer me that Comport
UPDATE 2: This port scanning tool always seems to find the GPS at the port I set under "Programs" in the external GPS settings, NOT the hardware port.
Looks like the Colonel is getting plenty of help!
Sorry about the problems though. But this has been a really interesting lesson in how GPS chips work. Bookmarking this thread right now so I can come back to it later (here's to hoping that doesn't need to happen! )
BTW Colonel.. I forgot to mention to you (and in my little video) that I am also using the Windows Mobile utility for managing my GPS connection. I think its called GPSID Settings (cab attached). I have the checkbox clicked to manage the connection automatically. After doing that, I open the GPS viewer to bring the GPS chip to life before launching iGo.
AGPS usually stands for Assisted GPS which means that your GPS is being "assisted" by your data plan and/or cell towers to get epheremis data. I did not think about that. You will find AGPS on Settings/System/AGPS. If it is on, I'd recommend turning it off as it should be "helping" you. You can about SIRF and AGPS here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SiRFstar_III
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
I noticed in your second picture that the GPS was found on Port 5 but you say that you have been using Port 6.
If and I do recommend WM6.5 being set up to have manage GPS data, WFN needs to know the real or actual Port when you do a Reset.
Serial GPS also means something but I have my mind on what I'd doing right. I've seen it some context and feel it may be a factor. . .
SIRF, Port 5 would be my bet if GPSViewer found it there.
Colonel,
When you go to Settings/System/External GPS, what Port does WM report your GPS as? That report or Port should be the one you focus on resetting or re-initializing.