Hi
I'm having problems with my XDAII and TomTom Navigator 2. I'm using a Leadtek GPS receiver but it's taking ages to fix a position - if at all. The GPS monitor displays the time (in little writing) within seconds, which tells me that it's made contact (I reckon!) but sometimes a fix can take 30 minutes. Am I missing something? Another problem is that I'm getting the sound that is played when you disconnect from Active Sync when I load up TomTom. I don't know if this is because there is no GPS connected at the time or some other reason.
Thanks for reading this!
It looks to me that you only have one problem, and that problem is slow fix. (TomTom plays a short sound normally when it RECEIVES the fix. Or finds that the fix was already obtained.)
Normally it's unlucky receiver position that is guilty of your slow fix. Or there is not enough sensitivity in your unit.
Open locations like big car parks, with clear sky & no trees or leaves overhead, normally guarantee a fix within 1 minute (in fact my current unit fixes sometimes in 10 seconds on these locations). Once the fix has been obtained the first time, subsequent fixing is way faster (I think it happens because the GPS receiver roughly knows where to start searching for satellites and so it takes less time). It makes sense to wait a bit before starting moving (1 minute or so) so the fix is more stable.
Your GPS receiver might also support an add-on antenna, which with my old Compact Flash format receiver looked like a rhombic piece about ¾ x ¾" with a lead, - you plug it into your receiver and it dramatically improves the reception quality and therefore shortens the fix time.
When I sit in my car, I just put the unit on the dashboard, while I'm buckling the seatbelts and preparing to move it usually gets the fix. I wait for some time if it wasn't quick enough, letting it "remember" where the satellites are, and then drop it down into cup holder where it fits snuggly and continues the reception during the trip.
Thanks
Thanks for your reply. I'm new to GPS! This morning it took 25 minutes to get a fix. I was on the M6, in the open country, and my receiver is positioned right at the front of my car at the bottom of my sloping windscreen. I don't understand why it takes so long. DOes it take longer if you're on the move, as opposed to stationary?
Do you think the 'disconnecting' sound is normal? Does your setup do the same?
Cheers.
Couple of quick things spring to mind.
Check your car hasn't got a reflective windscreen. some of the newer cars do have, if yours does you'll have to get an external antenna or pop the receiver on the roof.
Also check in TomTom GPS that you have the right kkind of recever selected?
The way to find out if your screen is blocking signal is to put the gps outside the car then see if the signal is required quicker, some gps can take an inordinately long time for first fix but then retains the data to enable quick fix next time, if the windscreen isnt the problem it maybe that your gps has a problem with retaining this info.
just wondering if anyone has used the assisted gps functionality,.
3 UK have this functionality with some of their Motorola phones and I have to say it's a little rubbish. Time to Lock seems slow compared to a standalone GPS reciever despite the assisted part and when it does lock the possitioning is very vague and puts you in a general area rather than your exact location to within 10 meters.
Updating was also very slow and it would nowhere near be usable for car satellite navigation. (You would probably get away with walking, if it wasn't for the dodgy possitioning).
However 3 uk use it for finding local services, so in terms of a where's my local post office, cinema etc it works ok and will provide a map of the local area, so you could work out how to walk there.
I only tried this on a moto a835 and a925 so these may have been rather early models and GPS reciever quality may improve, but I wasn't impressed. I get much better functionality using a standalone bluetooth GPS reciever and 3rd party sat nav apps.
Many people are having problems with GPS. This thread is intended to discuss the different possibilities using an external bluetooth GPS.
I have just bought a Copilot GlobalSat BT359. I have tested it with Bluetooth GPS Provider V1.2.5 from the market.
I am very please to report this works very well. Got a fix in seconds and is very accurate. Need to test it on a long run.
Can people please post any info on bluetooth GPS's and any results they get.
The Copilot GlobalSat BT359 cost just £14 from eBay.
cool downloaded the program works fine with my bluetooth gps(holux) thnx very much! nice to have a backup! my internal gps works fine too!
Try oruxmap from the market. It supports external bluetooth gps. And working great.
I use a Nokia LD-3W bluetooth GPS module. It's nice and small and it works an absolute treat and locks on to satellites instantly. The battery lasts for ever and it also has the in car charger just in case lol. I use the copilot sat nav app as it has built in maps so I don't need to worry about data useage and it is available to buy from the market.
Edit: loads for sale on ebay HERE
symanuk said:
Many people are having problems with GPS. This thread is intended to discuss the different possibilities using an external bluetooth GPS.
I have just bought a Copilot GlobalSat BT359. I have tested it with Bluetooth GPS Provider V1.2.5 from the market.
I am very please to report this works very well. Got a fix in seconds and is very accurate. Need to test it on a long run.
Can people please post any info on bluetooth GPS's and any results they get.
The Copilot GlobalSat BT359 cost just £14 from eBay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tested Copilot GlobalSat BT359 and it works great. Did have some phone crash problems. Fixed it i hope...
I've ordered a keyring gps:
http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.ph...gps-receiver/63a0c4b6f743d7f3f396c7497be2aa58
Testing with my Nokia phone as the gps device I found making the bluetooth connection was difficult. Once connected it worked great. Hopefully the Nokia was at fault there and not Android and the keyring device will connect every time.
snaff said:
I've ordered a keyring gps:
http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.ph...gps-receiver/63a0c4b6f743d7f3f396c7497be2aa58
Testing with my Nokia phone as the gps device I found making the bluetooth connection was difficult. Once connected it worked great. Hopefully the Nokia was at fault there and not Android and the keyring device will connect every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a neat little device and handy it can clip on to your trouser belt or jacket etc. I notice that the website has some mark up on the Copilot UK maps! Its only about £27 from the Market!
Got the BlueNEXT BN-902MM today and took it for a short walk with My Tracks. All seems good. Look forward to running with it on Monday.
Importantly, the routine each time I want to use it is no more than 10 seconds:
* switch on the keyring
on the sgs:
* disable internal gps from the icon on the dropdown menu
* tap the Bluetooth GPS widget
and it's ready to go within a few seconds with no more fuss. Same in reverse to disconnect and go back to using the internal GPS.
I wanted to clarify that as if the connection is more like 30 seconds+ or is unreliable then you don't want to be doing that every day.
Does this work with all aplications, like Google Maps, trapster or Sportypal or only specific apps?
Thanks
t1mman said:
Does this work with all aplications, like Google Maps, trapster or Sportypal or only specific apps?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In theory with all apps. The data is passed to the Android OS so any apps using the standard Android interface for reading positional data will get that which comes through the bluetooth link.
The only difference I've seen is in the GPS Status app which gets the positional data but not the debug data with regard to each satellite and its signal level, etc. I don't think any normal apps would need that sort of detail.
Here is my modded armband. It's an iphone band so I'd already butchered it to fit the SGS in and felt I had nothing to lose. First I made a hole to attach the keychain to, then unpicked the thread on part of the velcro strap so the GPS could slot behind that. Then I did a bit of sewing (no homo) to tidy it up.
snaff said:
In theory with all apps. The data is passed to the Android OS so any apps using the standard Android interface for reading positional data will get that which comes through the bluetooth link.
The only difference I've seen is in the GPS Status app which gets the positional data but not the debug data with regard to each satellite and its signal level, etc. I don't think any normal apps would need that sort of detail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good! So it's definitively my planB if it's not fix by next spring (I probably won't run outside that much in winter in Canada eh!)
Here is the Nokia LD 3W in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM2gm5DAOjM
But since I started working with the "gps status"app., the internal
gps is doing quite well as well....but I dont know if it's related,
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I'm overall happy with the external Bluetooth GPS.
I've used this app with many other gps apps. Like Google earth, maps, Cell mapper 2, c:geo, DRoute, G-Mon, GeoRecorder, GPS Status,Maps(-), My Tracks, Speedview and more. Only one states that gps is turned off but works anyway which is Waze and iGo won't start because it can't find a GPS-signal.
Accuracy with internal varies between 100m and 10m and external GPS between 10m and 1m.
For navigation in cities I use the external GPS and for rural navigation I use the internal GPS receiver.
Does this prove that the internal gps on the sgs has a hardware issue? Or there other factors involved?
I am just wondering if the issues can really be solved, by software updates?
householddog said:
Does this prove that the internal gps on the sgs has a hardware issue? Or there other factors involved?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't, because the drivers may be buggy, and external receivers do most the processing, so it isn't a timesensitive operation really.
householddog said:
Does this prove that the internal gps on the sgs has a hardware issue? Or there other factors involved?
I am just wondering if the issues can really be solved, by software updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bluetooth gps navigation works very well on the sgs as you can see on video.
It is a hardware issue in the sense that most standalone gps receivers or external bluetooth gps receivers got more capable gps chipsets (like sirfstar chipsets) than most smartphones nowadays, so it is not an exclusive sgs's problem
It could be an antenna issue as well so a less serious hardeware problem...
Anyway I dont think this thread is the right one for that kind of discussion.
This thread I think is to show if bluetooth gps is working on the sgs and how.
Or why it is an option for some users and for others not...
Bluetooth gps works on my sgs and that's a fact.
For the other gps issues there are already enough threads with speculations, assumptions and facts like:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=821863
And more:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732030
And so much more...
Let's keep this thread just to the point and that's bluetooth gps navigation.....
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sean2476 said:
I use a Nokia LD-3W bluetooth GPS module. It's nice and small and it works an absolute treat and locks on to satellites instantly. The battery lasts for ever and it also has the in car charger just in case lol. I use the copilot sat nav app as it has built in maps so I don't need to worry about data useage and it is available to buy from the market.
Edit: loads for sale on ebay HERE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's interesting how long that battery goes without recharging!! How is that possible?
The specs say 3 days stand-by and 4 hours active...well on stand-by it lasts forever and during navigation is so many hours I dont even know exactly!!!
If its a software issue, I guess 6 months is not even close enough to fix it. Im already convinced that this is a hardware issue since my 5800 seems to have a very accurate GPS
hmm i want free GPS(w/o trial).. and also i want cheap bluetooth GPS with good quality
..
just tell me if you know any product
Has anyone found an app that will enable an external GPS receiver engine (Delorme) BT-20 interface with my Samsung Captivate? The resident Captivate gps is not usuable.
The Captivate finds the BT-20 via BT bitstream ok. The BT-20 has a 12 channel receiver and meets NMEA 2.0 specs.
Can anyone point me to a gps application program (road map) (or any physical map ) that works in this manner? Note: The Delorme "Street Atlas" with pda/export is Windows based only.
TIA!
Schutzbugel said:
Has anyone found an app that will enable an external GPS receiver engine (Delorme) BT-20 interface with my Samsung Captivate? The resident Captivate gps is not usuable.
The Captivate finds the BT-20 via BT bitstream ok. The BT-20 has a 12 channel receiver and meets NMEA 2.0 specs.
Can anyone point me to a gps application program (road map) (or any physical map ) that works in this manner? Note: The Delorme "Street Atlas" with pda/export is Windows based only.
TIA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search on Market for "Bluetooth GPS Provider"
Thanks
MovieStar,
Using my 2 pieces of hardware (Delorme BT-20 BT receiver and i897 Captivate) I downloaded from Market, "Mobile-j.de". It paired quickly and placed a lat/long cursor at my house using Maps (google) or Latitude. No other features were evident but it worked.
I also tried "BlueTooth gps Mouse" which also worked. Maps, offers the various facility of different map structures ie terrain, contour and roadways, easy search for gas stations, coffee etc., etc. and it all integrates fairly well.
Using a separate gps receiver enables placing it where signal strength is better and BT-ing to the Captivate set where you can utilize its information without distraction. I live in an area where 2g/edge (ATT) is the norm so we'll see how it works away from WIFI broadband.
So thanks MovieStar!
Hello expert Androiders! I'm feeling my way around a the excellent Google find my phone functions - but wish to enhance performance and reliability. Can you help me understand how best to use a permanently installed/ powered Smartphone as a Car Tracker Device? I'm installing it as an always-on (hidden inside car with hard wired 12v - and with an Anker Powercore battery). I have a Moto G4 and have checked its GPS satellite performance (which is fine) but I am conscious it needs reasonable line of sight (though I've read there is some signal bounce). My questions are as follows: a) is the optimum location for the hidden Smartphone and battery inside under the boot floor/ outside on the underside arch/ chassis/ underneath the rear (plastic) bumper - or somewhere else...; b) is an external GPS of real net benefit eg Garmin GLO BT - and if so, would it be better sited above a parcel shelf for strong signal (and, is Glonass worthwhile - in this context); c) is there an APP/ method to track (independently of the GPS signal - ie by IMEI/ SIM number/ by Phone number/ Triangulate (if the GPS were lost/ blocked)? THANK YOU for your expertise and kind assistance!