maemo.org - Talk - GPS - Can't get a fix

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- Nokia N810 (https://talk.maemo.org/forumdisplay.php?f=28)

- - GPS - Can't get a fix (https://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=23605)

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunanson (Post 240643)

Very frustrated with the GPS on the N810. Cannot get a fix no matter what, sticked out to the window, rebooted, turn on a-gps, turn off a-gps, follow the sun, sticked into my mouth, pointed to south,........... fiddling for over 30 minutes, finally we got to the destination, well, one has to stop a car to get out, right? Once the car stopped, it fixed.

I have many BT GPS, 4 of them. I also have many N800, 2 in my possession in the house. I also has a dedicated standalone GPS and a cellphone with google map installed. "Dont bother, honey, I will just take the N810 and save a lot of trouble in carrying all those gadgets.............." That was what I thought. We got lost in a new city for 30 min till we got to where we want to go!

The bottomline, an unreliable instrument is more damaging then NO instrument.

I carefully put my N810 into my drawer, gave it one last glance, albeit a sad one............and now I resume carrying my N800 around.
Dont know whether I should put the N810 to ebay or wait for a fix.

A very upset former N810 user,

bun

So why not use you bt gps with your 810? I use maemo-mapper, its never more than a two minutes to get a signal. I don't use wayfinder though. I am very happy with my 810 and its gps abilities.

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

I did not bring any of my BT gps. Anyhow, if your N810 works, always get a fix in 2 min, I am going to try to return mine. Mine never ever work good, despite all the upgrade and praying.

bun

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

Bluetooth GPS receivers are mentioned a lot but never any specific models. Would anyone care to share the model they had success with?

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

I bought this one from Geeks.com 1 yrs ago for $45 shipped, I did not buy it from this vendor, I just want to show the pic, http://www.gopass.com.tw/Product/GPT...S_receiver.htm. Sizewise, 4 of this equal to 1 N800.

And it just works. From what gathered in this forum, anything with SiRF Star III is good.

bun

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

MTK is good too (even better) but also more expensive.

Just use a _good_ price compare website.

IMO it should allow you to compare which chipset the GPS device uses (in this specific case) as well as the cheapest price available, the S&H costs.

For example, for Netherlands I suggest
http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/cat/6...rderSpecId=454

Normally I like this website for Germany/Austria/EU but in this case it wasn't useful
http://geizhals.at

eBay works also. YMMV! :)

With BT GPS, I get a fix in approx 30 seconds to 2 minutes (Carman, Navicore, and I suppose Maemo Mapper as well). The N810 is a nice device, I like it, but like I said, for me the GPS isn't of much use. A-GPS has little to no influence on my internal GPS performance although I haven't tested how long it takes to get a lock on the BT GPS without A-GPS.

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

Without A-GPS valid data, the n810 reads each satellite ephemeris in secuence, and since the satellite transmits its ephemeris in 30 s, and it looks like n810 won't fix unless it has at least 6 satellites, then the n810 won't fix in less than 3 minutes in the best case.
Most usually, it seems it needs the entire almanac, and that is 12,5 minutes to download in the best case.

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunanson (Post 241190)

I just checked it, yes the N810, a-gps info, cache refreshed: Nov 11...2008. Cached data is valid

OK

well, no cigar :(

bun

Definitely it seems your gps is defective. Send it back to warranty repair, they can repair it or even give you a new n810.

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

Quote:

Bluetooth GPS receivers are mentioned a lot but never any specific models. Would anyone care to share the model they had success with?

Good question. Would someone like to start a wiki page on maemo.org to list such things?

I have a BlueNext BN909GR (SirfStar III) which is quick and works well.
I also have one of the Nokia BlueTooth GPSes, though I've not tried it yet
And I have another older one (whose name escapes me, I'll dig it out), which I bought to use with the N800.

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

Wiki page is a good idea. I've spent a lot of time researching the N810's internal GPS operation and continue to update my Maemo Mapper howto with info on getting the internal GPS to work. I'd volunteer to do the Wiki but I'd want to have some practcal experience with a BT GPS receiver before I did that. If somebody has an older functioning device they'd like to sell at a reasonable price that would help me get started. I'm retired and carefully watch what I spend on new toys.

Re: GPS - Can't get a fix

All Sirf Star III and MTK work well. If you search through forum you'll see. MTK is better, but also more expensive. If you just verify that the chipset is either one, you can look at the other aspects of each GPS device, and compare the price/performance on different levels (for example, battery life).