I have always used the GUI to start the app, both on the N900 and on the PC. So I don't know what those command-line arguments mean. Neither am I very versed in Python. So what I say may be a complete bull****. But the code in your post #1177 looks to me like getting the GPS coordinates failed because GPSD, whatever that is (a GPS deamon?) isn't connected. As a wild guess, couldn't your problem be caused by having Network positioning enabled in global Location settings?

Let me run a quick test... exit modRana; go to System->Settings->Location; enable Network positioning; switch to offline mode; start modRana... Hmm, inconclusive. I got "Failed to download" tiles for a second, but very quickly replaced with stored tiles. I also got a GPS fix around the same time, quite likely because I haven't moved. Perhaps worth trying driving a few km before the last step.

When you are connected, do you get a map right away or do you get green tiles with "Downloading..." printed across them for a while?

EDIT:
Please disregard my rant above. MartinK posted the correct answer in post #1190. I would delete this post if there was such an option.