GPS performance? - Tilt, TyTN II, MDA Vario III General

How is Kaiser GPS performance in comparison to a "normal" SiRF Star 3 GPS?

I've heard different opinions on this, some say it has weaker reception, some say its equally good.
Personally after few days of using it looks alright to me + you get the a-gps for quicker fix.

Is it possible to show a screen grab AND/OR a photo of the actual device running a map application?
I use a VGA device and find it very hard to part with it...

let me know what exactly do you want to see and i'll give you the screens.
Tomtom? googlemaps? map? 3D navigation? you must be more specific

Here is iGo in cockpit mode. I'm in the house, so no GPS here but it should give you an idea

I'm working on a full comparison, but yes the good news compared to the HTC Trinity (see http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/articles.asp?id=175&page=6) is that A-GPS really helps shorten the time to fix in the morning and accuracy has improved as well. It still does not handle difficult urban canyon situations as well and tends to "lose it", but that would only happen in extreme conditions.

GPS lock times are amazingly fast for me compared to my HW6945. Started just now in my room and took about 3 seconds for a lock. Love it
Tomtom 6.032
iGo
Google Maps

im in the states and tomtom, live search, and googlemaps works flawless w/o having to install a "jumpstart" app. I prefer tomtom since the maps are preloaded so it doesnt have to use your data connection and also the buttons/screen are finger appropriate. When i load tomtom it finds satellites within 30 seconds and it will even work indoors most of the time.

Related

GPS Navigation Geocaching Trails

So I've been playing around with the GPS features with BeeLineGPS and GPS Tuner. I'm more interested in gathering data for import into Google Earth or other programs to show where I've been and stats like altitude, speed, distance for biking, running, snowboarding, etc.
I haven't used these programs with any other WM device, but the data from the TyTN looks suspect. The altitude and speed readings are way off, a recent mountain bike ride has me topping out at +250 mph.
So anybody else tried out the GPS for these purposes? BeeLineGPS seems the best so far as it exports .gpx, .kml and .csv files. GPS Tuner has a nice interface but without data export it's kinda useless.
Attached is a file of a data sample from BeeLine, you can import the file at http://utrack.crempa.net/ and see the map on Google and stats (bad stats).
thats probably your the software your using not being compatible with wm6. ive found the TYTN II's gps to be very accurate
dolbe said:
thats probably your the software your using not being compatible with wm6. ive found the TYTN II's gps to be very accurate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What software are you using? For the record Google Maps pinpoints the location exactly. I haven't tried TomTom, but I'm not really interested in street navigation.
im using tomtom right now, i plan on testing other gps programs aslo, ive got igo, destinator, route66. ive got to see if i can transfer my gps tuner over to ths mobile so i can test that aslo.
i do try to test as many apps as i can on a new device to see just what i can and cannot use
I'm a software developer and I have written a VB.NET application that runs on WM6 that sucks the raw data from COM4 (the GPS port) and I can also confirm that it is very accurate. (OK, within 2 metres if you want to be precise).
It pumps out a lot of data but the interesting one is the $GPRMC line which shows you mainly your position and speed.
The only gripe I had was when I had the phone brand new it took over 15 minutes to lock and from then onwards about 8 seconds
The 15 min is about the norm, it has to download the entire atlas. It's only once in the device's lifetime, and for some devices it's already done by somebody else trying the device or by manufacturer.

Kaiser GPS Problem workaround

Some people might experience with certain GPS software.
If you look at the log of the NMEA log, you might realize that it burst out every 6-10 seconds. After that you might wait for another 6-10 sec, which is unusable for real-time navigation. If you happen to meet this trouble.
I have a way which could allow normal update intervals.
Install GPSGATE, it create virtual GPS COM PORT and re-route the NMEA data.
Install GPSGATE, just use the default settings, it create the virtual GPS port as COM 1.
Just use GPS software on COM 1 .
software url: http://franson.com/gpsgate/
Can anyone confirm this works? Ive noticed my GPS works the same way. Im using the Kaiser / TyTn II with Mapking and i notice that i also get my signbal ins bursts and NOT a smooth stream. Anyone know if this will resolve the problem?
What is the update intervals with GPSGATE ?
Do you mean GPSGATE must be run concurrently with the other software TomTom 6 for example ?
It would be a good workaround for people who encounter this GPS issue.
could this be some delicious spam?
How exactly does the OP propose that a user space application can make the hardware produce data in a smoother stream?
I call BS.
seems like BS to me too...Probably some spam Can anyone who has tried it out verify if it really works or not?..
THKS
You don't need to use other GPS software concurrently,
just use the GPSGATE and mapking will do.
Remember you have to modify the settings in mapking to use the virtual com port ( com1 default)
Not SPAM
I am not sure, this is BS.
If I am not mistaken the GPSGATE will act like a "router" (middle man) between the GPS hardware (Internal GPS of Kaiser) and the application (TomTom).
If the GPS hardware is faulty (having problem) with bursting data every 10 seconds, then the GPSGATE will also receive bursting data every 10 seconds.
So, that's useless as long as the problem is in the GPS hardware.
Gpsproxy should be able to do the same thing and its free.
GPSGate is a splitter, allowing using more than one application with the same NMEA stream. It creates another virtual GPS COM port, that's it.
GPS on the Kaiser works great and I'm on SatNav business. Aquisition time is fast, reception is great and update ratio is every 1 sec, just like any other civilian GPS receiver. GPS is NOT evaluated by the refresh rate you see on the screen, other software will give you other rate, try OZI Explorer for instance. I used Kaiser with TomTom, Destinator & Ozi, all works really great even comparing to Sirf III GPS chipset embedded devices such as Eten X500, HTC Artemis and Asus 535.
Last, Microsoft has included the same functionality of GPS Gate in WM5 and WM6 under settings. You do not need to install any additional SW, you can send "trueman 12345" (the guy who opened this thread with 2 posts history) your money directly.
Thanks RonenB for this very usefull precision !
Thanks as well RonenB, However, it does not solve the odd occasional pause in the data that we're seeing. Is this hardware or software that needs help in the Kaiser?
Actually I'm not so sure we have defined the problem accurately here.
Examining the signal from the GPS shows some interesting info.
1
A satellite is locked onto for perhaps only one or two seconds at a time.
2
Several satellites can achieve a lock but out of these a few will be lost every few seconds
3
New satellites are also acquired every few seconds.
The Result
If you are in the presence of many satellites then there is a constant dropping of some and locking onto others. This leads to no problems as there are always a few satellites locked on and data flow is smooth.
BUT
If you are in the presence of only say 2 or 3 satellites it is possible to drop these two or three (as indicated above), but no new ones are acquired. In this situation there will be a few seconds before the first 2 or 3 lock in again. Result a gap in data flow to your GPS software.
Meaning
The Internal GPS is not polling data in bursts. In other words you cannot turn up the frequency of data polling (possible baud rate adjustment maybe). The data is continuous but if there are too few satellites then there can be gaps where it drops some satellites and does not lock others.
There are various applications that can show this behaviour graphically but tomtom shows it well on the satellite view screen.
Compared to external GPS satellite locks this works in a strangely different way. You will see the bars jumping around from a lock on this one to that one continuously. Only a problem as I say when there are only a few satellites in sight.
Mike
PS - I cannot see the advantage of GPSGate in this particular situation as it is due to momentary periods when no satellite is detected.
Having said all of the above, I find the GPS perfectly adequate for general use. Perhaps if I need spot on plotting data then it might be weak. However if I need that unusual level of accuracy I would not use my phone to do it. I regularly use mine in place of my car's tomtom and the results are on a par with the full tomtom device.
mikechannon said:
Actually I'm not so sure we have defined the problem accurately here.
Examining the signal from the GPS shows some interesting info.
1
A satellite is locked onto for perhaps only one or two seconds at a time.
2
Several satellites can achieve a lock but out of these a few will be lost every few seconds
3
New satellites are also acquired every few seconds.
The Result
If you are in the presence of many satellites then there is a constant dropping of some and locking onto others. This leads to no problems as there are always a few satellites locked on and data flow is smooth.
BUT
If you are in the presence of only say 2 or 3 satellites it is possible to drop these two or three (as indicated above), but no new ones are acquired. In this situation there will be a few seconds before the first 2 or 3 lock in again. Result a gap in data flow to your GPS software.
Meaning
The Internal GPS is not polling data in bursts. In other words you cannot turn up the frequency of data polling (possible baud rate adjustment maybe). The data is continuous but if there are too few satellites then there can be gaps where it drops some satellites and does not lock others.
There are various applications that can show this behaviour graphically but tomtom shows it well on the satellite view screen.
Compared to external GPS satellite locks this works in a strangely different way. You will see the bars jumping around from a lock on this one to that one continuously. Only a problem as I say when there are only a few satellites in sight.
Mike
PS - I cannot see the advantage of GPSGate in this particular situation as it is due to momentary periods when no satellite is detected.
Having said all of the above, I find the GPS perfectly adequate for general use. Perhaps if I need spot on plotting data then it might be weak. However if I need that unusual level of accuracy I would not use my phone to do it. I regularly use mine in place of my car's tomtom and the results are on a par with the full tomtom device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I believe that it is time to explain a little bit how GPS works.
The GPS satellites are transmitting their position rapidly. However, due to homeland security issues (US did not want to allow anyone to place a receiver in a jet fighter or a missile) civilian GPS receivers are limited to aquire position every 1 second only. This is not a problem for a normal user even for civilian aviation. Thus, when you look at the NMEA stream, you will see it coming in bursts and not as rapid as normal data. Since GPS strings are quite short, it is good enough for any navigation system.
Number of satellites aquired is not an indicator to anything. Like any RF system, the engineers can tweak the noise level so that it will look to you that you are receiving X amount of satellites, the signal is on the air anyway.
What is important though is the position of the satellites. the closer to the horizon, the less useable that satellite is to calulate the position. Therefore receivers are taking the best located satellites into account and ignoring others even of they are recieved. Valid fix (position) is aquired by at least 3 satellites for 2D (X,Y) and 4 or more for 3D (with elevation).
Result is that as a user, you should not bother too much looking into the stream or number of sattelite in use as long as you can get a valid fix. The important and effective elements are hidden from the user: number of transsistors in the GPS chipset, quality of antenna etc. User can just evaluate the overall preformance.
As I wrote above, the Kaiser integrated GPS surprised me for superb preformance. I just arrived this week from Israel to Germany and could get a fix as soon as I left the underground garage. I did not loose GPS signal even once since I started using the device. That includes forests and dence city centers. Real good job by HTC here.
This is the problem i am facing:
Im using MapKing with Hong Kong 2007 maps. Getting a fix is no problem. I can normally get a fix in about 10-15 secs. When i check the status page I will normally have a connection to 5-7 satelites.
The problem is that the icon does not move smoothly when i travel. In map king your position on the map is represented by a small car icon. It jumps from location to location every 3-5 secs but does not smoothly move along. Can someone please tell me if this is the case with tomtom as well? Maybe it a problem with mapking?
phame said:
This is the problem i am facing:
Im using MapKing with Hong Kong 2007 maps. Getting a fix is no problem. I can normally get a fix in about 10-15 secs. When i check the status page I will normally have a connection to 5-7 satelites.
The problem is that the icon does not move smoothly when i travel. In map king your position on the map is represented by a small car icon. It jumps from location to location every 3-5 secs but does not smoothly move along. Can someone please tell me if this is the case with tomtom as well? Maybe it a problem with mapking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a Mapking problem and you should contact their support. Does not happen to me with Destinator, TomTOm and Ozi.
Ok, there is no point to argue, if you really find yourself having problem with GPS update lag, then give it a try. No harm indeed...
In HK, there are people the validity of the work around. GPS proxy might also work as well( i think it is the same principal) just i wasn't aware of this good free software before hand..
http://www11.discuss.com.hk/viewthread.php?tid=5329804&extra=page=2
(u need an account and some chinese word knowledge)
trueman12345 said:
Ok, there is no point to argue, if you really find yourself having problem with GPS update lag, then give it a try. No harm indeed...
In HK, there are people the validity of the work around. GPS proxy might also work as well( i think it is the same principal) just i wasn't aware of this good free software before hand..
http://www11.discuss.com.hk/viewthread.php?tid=5329804&extra=page=2
(u need an account and some chinese word knowledge)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite agree it's worth trying, and the application has other uses too.
Mike
FYI: I got GPS to work easily by installing GPSViewer, opening COM4/4800baud and getting located. After that, using Google Maps was a breeze; total "trick" took me about 1 minute to figure out which is way quicker than some other workarounds on the internet.
I was driving with iGuidance for about 1 hour this morning and I'm seeing different behavoir for this bug. iGuidance also has an excellent GPS signal viewer, mine was showing 8 out of 8 sattellites, all green, all the time (they turn red when not receiving signal from a sat). My map was moving about once per second or slightly faster. The program only paused once after about 30 minutes into the trip, for about 20-30 seconds. The iGuidance program's moving arrow's color also changes color based on signal quality of the combined sattelite lock, Green for good 3D mapping, Yellow for 2D when there are minimal sats for navigating, and Red for no signal data. During this pause the arrow went Red to indicate no data.
This seems like a bug to me.

The Great Kaiser GPS Comparo

A lot of folks (myself included) have been wondering how good the GPS in the Kaiser is. Since I own something like 7 GPS units at last count, I decided to grab all the handheld ones and do a comparison
In the best highly subjective and unscientific manner, I let each GPS lock in my window where easily 12 satellites are visible, then after it had stabilized brought them in another 5-6 feet to where my oldest GPS had always been borderline. I used Mapopolis and TomTom on the PocketPCs to display how many satellites (birds) and what signal strength each of the connected GPS's was locking. The standalone units I put on their satellite display to get the same info.
I watched them all for close to an hour, fiddling with positioning, orientation, etc and derived a completely unscientific rating for each. Keeping and holding more satellites with higher signal strength yielded more points, and I arbitrarily set the best one at 10 points, then tried to rate the others relative to that. Note that this is only signal holding ability, not lock time or ease of lock, and it isn't tested MOVING where a GPS can really show (or show up) it's signal holding ability. With all that said, hopefully these are better than nothing and will give folks some idea of where the Kaiser falls in the spectrum of GPS performance.
In order from "worst" to "best", 'Unit - My Rating':
Garmin eTrex Vista - 3
Holux GM270 CompactFlash Card - 4
Garmin eTrex VistaC - 7
AT&T Tilt (Kaiser) - 8
GlobalSat BT-338 BlueTooth - 10
The SirfStarIII in the BT-338 blows away all the other GPS units - it consistently held no less than 9 of the 12 birds, and typically 11 or 12 - and all with fantastic signal strength. Based on my past experience, I can say this is an awesome unit for lock time, lock durability, etc, etc, etc so I was unsurprised that it was the best performer here.
The Tilt/Kaiser actually did surprisingly well, typically 1-3 birds less than the BT-338, noticeably weaker signal strength and a lot more hopping around - i.e. holding 9 birds, but a different 9 from moment to moment. Test was done with QuickGPS data having been downloaded a few days ago, but QuickGPS executable not running.
The VistaC was another surprise - I've owned the original Vista since not long after it came out, and recently got a used VistaC. A lot more hopping than the Kaiser, but consistently holding 6-8 birds for a good solid fix. I had always assumed the GPS circuitry was common across the eTrex line, but the newer VistaC was a LOT better than my old Vista.
I don't recall which chipset is in the Holux - I think it was SirfStarII. I was never thrilled with this GPS and often had to use an external antenna in the car to get decent lock durability, so I was not shocked to find it near the bottom of the list.
I loved my Vista so I didn't really realize how much GPS technology has improved - it'd be tough sell to recommend one of these to anyone today. Wonderful device, but the new Vista HCx is likely to blow it away.
Well, it was a fun little project and I hope someone evaluating the Kaiser will find their existing GPS on my list and get an idea of how the Kaiser may perform in comparison.
Richard
Nice review.
It would be nice to see a similar review of the devices while you are moving.
At this moment, Tilt's GPS is completely useless for geocaching and walking because there is not way of disabling static navigation as you can do with SirfStarIII's gps. Even if you got information from 8 satellites there are moments where you position will freeze and it won't update even if you are walking.
Tilt's GPS only really works when you are driving.
I did a similar test back when I got my Kaiser about 6 weeks ago, running it and my BT-338. Results were pretty much the same.
However, more recently, it's been harder for my Kaiser to get an initial fix indoors, even with fresh QuickGPS data. When the Kaiser was new, it would get a fix within 30 seconds running in my living room -- now it can take up to 30 minutes if it gets a fix at all. Outdoors, it still gets quick fixes -- 10 to 30 seconds.
Have a Eten M700 and Kaiser and have some comparison. For GPS reception, I would rate M700 with full mark 10 and kaiser 7. The GPS signal is unbelievably strong on M700 as it gets a patch antenna inside.
I modify my kaiser a little so that the screen can be tilt up to almost 90 degree, I can just leave it on the dashboard when using tomtom.
staryon said:
Nice review.
It would be nice to see a similar review of the devices while you are moving.
At this moment, Tilt's GPS is completely useless for geocaching and walking because there is not way of disabling static navigation as you can do with SirfStarIII's gps. Even if you got information from 8 satellites there are moments where you position will freeze and it won't update even if you are walking.
Tilt's GPS only really works when you are driving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used kaiser's GPS for cycling and it has worked fine with "compegps" application!
pepeto2001 said:
I've used kaiser's GPS for cycling and it has worked fine with "compegps" application!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For that it should be fine. Usually you got this problem is your speed is below 1.2 m/s (3.2 miles per hour)
Modify Kaiser?
Tonychen,
How did you modify the Kaiser to tilt almost 90 degrees? This would be awesome as the 'tilt" is not enough for me to use it on the dashboard of either of my cars.
Can you provide any pics of the mod you did and explain how you did it?
Thanks.
This would void your warranty, unless you really want it. I can write a small guide here if you are still interested.
Check the photo attached.
tonychen said:
This would void your warranty, unless you really want it. I can write a small guide here if you are still interested.
Check the photo attached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't mind a tuturial would be great.
tonychen said:
This would void your warranty, unless you really want it. I can write a small guide here if you are still interested.
Check the photo attached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Come on with this small guide we are (at least me) interested...
BUMP.
Guide please.
juiceppc said:
BUMP.
Guide please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I really care, but you might do better PM'ing the guy who said he modded his rather than bumping a GPS thread and hoping he responds
Just my $0.02,
Richard
I would just like to comment that I have not experienced this lockup of the GPS while moving at slow speeds. I've played around with TomTom while walking down a city street and it seemed to track speed and direction just fine, not that it was particularly useful in this manner. It consistently tracked my speed at 1-2mph and has never had this locking up or pausing that I've read about in other threads. I've tested with the original AT&T rom and one of the Big Storage AT&T modified roms with no issues.
-James
Compared with a Garmin Vista Cx, it seems more sensitive - it can lock onto three or four birds in the centre of the ground floor of my house while the Garmin is hard pressed to get a full lock even on the top floor.
Looking at the pattern of locks on a GPS monitor program, I get the impression that it is a lot less than 12 channel - anyone seen a specification? My overall impression is that it's a useful feature for non-critical navigation, but I still carry my Garmin for the serious stuff. The combination of GPS and 3g is wonderful - open up Live Search and look for Fast Food near "Here" - yes, Garmins have a POI database built in, but it is very limited compared with the combined contents of MSN and Google!
Martin
Follow up : I am really beginning to be quite impressed by the sensitivity of this GPS. I went into London by train yesterday and switched the GPS on sitting in the middle of a crowded carriage. I got a five bird lock within a minute and retained it for the entire journey (apart from long tunnels, of course). On several occasions it was reporting locks on as many as ten satellites. Accuracy was also pretty good - assessed by comparing position reported through Google Maps with observation through the window - certainly, when we stopped in stations, the position in Google matched well. I've tried the same with a Garmin Vista Cx - on the same route - and you are lucky to get any kind of fix without sitting at a window seat, with the GPS held close to the window.

Below par GPS performance of Diamond

Hi everyone,
Have anyone noticed the slow calculation/refresh rate of GPS once it's active and navigating? Hold it in your hand and walk, there will be no refresh rate at all ! Your speed will be at 0 km/hr and the co-ordinates will not change at all. If you are in a car and it's stand still or on a traffic signal, or if there's a traffic jam and you are standstill and very immediately you have to turn right/left, you are sure to lose your way since it takes some time after the vehicle is in motion already to calculate and refresh your actual position and speed. Even when you are driving, there's a constant slow refresh rate of around 4 seconds. i.e. say you are accelerating the speed of your car, notice the speed being shown on the GPS software, it'll show your actual speed at a delay of 4/5 seconds. Same goes when you apply brakes, your speed suddenly goes down but the GPS will take it's time to reflect the correct speed.
I must say I am very disappointed with the GPS performace since my last phone was Trinity, it's GPS chip is just normal/ no agps but it's performance is much better than diamond's GPS. Trinity's GPS is immediate refresh rate with no such delays at all.
Test your diamond GPS observing what I said in this post and please post results here.
Are u sure it`s GPS issue not an software one ? Which software do you use for navigation ?
It's not a software issue since I've used TomTom and Garmin MobileXT with same results.
Same issue here!
Plus, the serial port keeps disconnecting of the internal GPS receiver keeps on disconnecting...
Which radio version have you on your device? This for sure software related (firmware, GPS navigation software or drivers)...
HastaSSSS
Have you enabled the AGPS on tweak? I found with this on the port would consistently connect and disconnect. Plus the refresh rate on TomTom was very very slow either driving or walking.
Today I turned AGPS off as where I travel it's not really needed anyway and bam!
Refresh rate both driving and walking is as good as my TomTom unit.
Today I drove with them both on and they were virtually in sync on the maps and spoken directions all the way. Very pleased.
Oh and ensuring "Receive all beams" is off in connections can help with TomTom too.
My details in case this has anything to do with it...
ROM : 1.37.405.1
Date: 10/06/2008
Radio: 1.00.25.03
Protocol: 52.26a.25.09H
And can you change the gpx settings under WM settings?
Even if I try to change the baud rate, when I go inside the configuration file, it's back to 4800 again...
HastaSSSS
This is a common problem with modern GPS chipsets - the way that they reduce multipath interference (from tall buildings, etc.) means that they often ignore movements below a certain speed (which can be often higher than walking pace).
Assuming that the HTC Touch Diamond uses the SirfStar 3 chipset (does anyone know for sure), this problem could theoretically be reduced by altering the 'static navigation' setting (see point 4 in this post for more details on static navigation and why it results in poor low-speed accuracy). However, how you'd actually tell the chipset to disable this feature, I don't know...
On an unrelated note, I have to say I'm extremely impressed with the sensitivity of the GPS chipset in the Diamond - it's managed to get lock in the middle of the my house, which is an amazing feat, and not one I've seen either my MTK or SirfStar standalone receivers achieve.
I am also pretty satisfied with the GPS performance. Can't complain on that!
snoopstah said:
This is a common problem with modern GPS chipsets - the way that they reduce multipath interference (from tall buildings, etc.) means that they often ignore movements below a certain speed (which can be often higher than walking pace).
Assuming that the HTC Touch Diamond uses the SirfStar 3 chipset (does anyone know for sure), this problem could theoretically be reduced by altering the 'static navigation' setting (see point 4 in this post for more details on static navigation and why it results in poor low-speed accuracy). However, how you'd actually tell the chipset to disable this feature, I don't know...
On an unrelated note, I have to say I'm extremely impressed with the sensitivity of the GPS chipset in the Diamond - it's managed to get lock in the middle of the my house, which is an amazing feat, and not one I've seen either my MTK or SirfStar standalone receivers achieve.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a good theory, no doubt about that, but I think it's more a lag in the communication between the receiver and the phone, or a lag on the rendering of the map.
Your explanation doesn't foresee as well the reason why the connection keeps falling...
But I've learned already something with your post. Didn't knew about that "feature" or "characteristic" of the SIRF III receivers.
HastaSSSS
My experience with the Diamonds GPS is 100% better than on my HTC P3600.
I primarly use the GPS with google maps in Canada, and Jamaica and it gives me accurcy to about 15 feet.. where with the 3600 it was accurate to about 30-40 feet. Normally have about 7 to 8 stats connected. Didn't touch any of the default settings on the phone.
I also tested with Live Search and GPS tuner v5 and works perfectly. Fast lock times (5-10seconds)....
Chris
snoopstah said:
This is a common problem with modern GPS chipsets - the way that they reduce multipath interference (from tall buildings, etc.) means that they often ignore movements below a certain speed (which can be often higher than walking pace).
Assuming that the HTC Touch Diamond uses the SirfStar 3 chipset (does anyone know for sure), this problem could theoretically be reduced by altering the 'static navigation' setting (see point 4 in this post for more details on static navigation and why it results in poor low-speed accuracy). However, how you'd actually tell the chipset to disable this feature, I don't know...
On an unrelated note, I have to say I'm extremely impressed with the sensitivity of the GPS chipset in the Diamond - it's managed to get lock in the middle of the my house, which is an amazing feat, and not one I've seen either my MTK or SirfStar standalone receivers achieve.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that's true according to the static navigation thing? how can we disable it on our diamond? Can somebody throw a clue?
About AGPS, I haven't enabled it, or it's enabled by default in the new rom? 1.37 one?
It's like this with even AGSP disabled so it's certainly not the AGPS which is causing this delay in reception.
After googling and studying, i've found out that it's indeed the STATIC NAVIGATION which has been enabled by default on the diamond chip. Somone have any idea how to disable it? Please share
nice to see that I m not the only one with that problem, I was asking myself if it was my device who was deffective. On my cruise there was no lag at all.
I took mine out walking today and noticed it was telling me I was stood still for about 30 yds.
So I took it and my standalone out and the Diamond is rubbish but my big tomtom unit is great!
What's the point of GPS in a handheld device if you can't use it walking?
I hope this is easy to remedy.
I'm pretty sure that they don't use SirfStar III which would present much better GPS performance. Most probably they just incorporated the GPS section in the Qualcomm processor. Of course you can buy a SirfStar III Bluetooth receiver, but it doesn't make sense if you already got GPS built-in the device. I can only say that I was using HTC Hermes with SS III BT receiver a lot (more than 8 hours daily) and when I heard that HTC Kaiser had GPS build-in I was very happy untill almost immediately after trying TomTom on my new device I noticed worse performance. With Diamond it's the same story. Unfortunately...
A-GPS.
When I got the phone I installed the advanced config tool to adjust soms settings.
I also noticed A-GPS was off.
So I was thinking that turning it on might be a smart move.
Which it wasn't. TomTom reception was bad, waiting minutes would give maybe 4 sattelites en losing them constantly.
After turning of A-GPS again.. Whitin secconds .. I got 8 sattelites with a steady signal.
TomTom works fine for me now.
Excuses for my bad english...
for "foot" navigation the igo8 has a special setup along with "car", "bicycle"' "public transportation" and so on...why blame the diamond? blame yr navigation software! how many ppl said their navigation is the best? best, my ass the best.
be cool, soon igo8 is going to be avaible for diamond also
as for the diamond's gps...it works inside my house, first floor !!!
I really feel for you guys. GPS is one thing I definitely want to be working perfectly, and I can say with the diamond so far that has been the case. I'm getting a lock in about 15-20 seconds with about 12 satellites. I'm also using QuickGPS with no problems. I have been using the new TomTom 7 and it is absolutely fantastic!!!!!! Best handheld GPS solution I've ever owned, and I don't see why it would not be identical to a TomTom PNA!
My GPS is also not accurate, I'm using Tomtom7 and its telling me my home address is atleast 30 metres away when I'm at my home address. What the hell!!!!
I have tried enabling and disabling the A-GPS option and still its the same result.

[Q/REQ] TomTom Navigator 7 & 'Lag'

Hi,
Like most people here, I've experience TomTom's lag. From my stock Touch Pro, I notice a 3-4 second lag whilst driving around 60km/h. I read the previously mentioned GPS tweaks for the Touch Pro and initially applied the tweaks, but only dividing the original values by 4 (eg. PollInterval went from 1024 to 256, etc.). This reduced the lag to 1-2 seconds whilst driving. After applying the tweaks by dividing by 8 (eg. PollInterval to 128) resulted in the same 1-2 second lag in TomTom whilst driving. Clearly, the GPS is no longer the bottleneck now.
Next, I planned a route and watched the Demo at 200% speed to see how fast I can expect TomTom to appear. The display refreshed every 1-2 seconds! Coincidence?! I was in Harvey Norman (huge electronics retailer with lots of demo units) and watched a route Demo on a TomTom standalone device at 200% speed. The display refreshed 2-3 times per second.
Hence, is it possible to increase TomTom Navigator's refresh rate on the Touch Pro? For example, by applying some kind of graphics configuration changes or something? Perhaps tweaking the graphics driver somehow? Or is it that the standalone TomTom devices have much better hardware and the performance we are seeing on the Touch Pro is about as good as we can expect it?
Any help appreciated!
Cheers,
Ledg3.
Any ideas? Anyone?
Just wondering. have you tried one of the newer roms that have the gps driver cooked in? i am using provens 1.06 and it seems to not lag as much (only tried it for about 15 minutes earlier today)
Hi ajmoncrief,
Thank you for your reply.
I haven't tried any ROMs at this stage as I received my Touch Pro just recently.
Is it possible to load the new GPS driver without replacing the ROM?
Also, does your new GPS driver lag less than 1-2 seconds whilst driving?
At the moment, I would be surprised as TomTom only updates my display every 1-2 seconds, even just by running a demo (and not relying on the GPS for input).
I'm not sure about a driver cab...I would assume that theres one floating around. Check out Da G's rom thread and qsqa's PROven's thread. I tested tomtom again this morning and I'm getting much better results now. I'm not exactly sure how fast/slow the screen refreshes, but it does do so in a timely manner. Im confident that it does do better than once every 1-2 seconds. (I only live 3-6 miles from everywhere I need to go and I dont have any out of town trips within the next couple of days) Maybe someone else can chip in on their thoughts here.
TomTom 7.9 slow refresh
I am having the same problem on the AMEO (X7500) and TomTom 7.9 - screen refresh is quite slow, every 2 seconds. Version 6 was running realy smoothly. Any ideas? Soft reset, restart, speed camera warning on-off does not change the refresh rate.....
Luk
Your position on the map is always going to be a second or two behind your actual position. There is no bottleneck or slowdown even if you set the GPS at 4800 baud. The GPS only sends out a position update once a second. This will also make the screen a little jerky. Most programs smooth out the jerkiness by assuming there will not be a huge change in speed and smoothly move you to where they estimate the next GPS position will be.
Some programs also cheat and estimate your actual position on the map, so it is very close to your actual position. You can tell, because in the city you will be shown going through the intersection when you make a turn. It will then jump backwards and then show you making the turn. One of the GPS programs I use to have did this, but I do not remember which one.
TT7 on my Kaiser (ATT Tilt) moves smoothly along, and is near dead on for location. There's no refresh problems.
TT7 on my Raphael (ATT Fuze) repaints the screen every 1 - 4 seconds, and my position is off by at least 100 feet. Even with tweaks, it functions pitifully compared to the Kaiser.
is everyone here using the VGA version of TT7 or the QVGA version meant for the Tilt?
there are different versions (vga and qvga)??????????
Have you tried Franson GPS gate? DOwnload the trial and create a virtual com port 2 and map the Com4 GPS multiplexer to virtual com 2 and then have tom tom look to com 2 for the GPS. I bet the lag goes away. I was told that the commercial GPS softwares look for standardized GPS info in which the HTC phones' GPS use a variation which causes lag problems.
tomtom 7.910 screen redraw problem
Yes there are different versions of 7.910.9185 blue, black qvga and there is VGA version. I have the problem with the screen redraw, not the general speed, which is better than 7450 for example for route calculation. Screen redraw on 7.450 version was running smoothly, so it is not the question of the GPS, but the maps form 7.910 are not compatible with the 7.450. Screen redraw problem is visible even in demo mode, at 200% of speed instead of the smooth ride you have a "slideshow" in 7.910 version
lukasz said:
Yes there are different versions of 7.910.9185 blue, black qvga and there is VGA version. I have the problem with the screen redraw, not the general speed, which is better than 7450 for example for route calculation. Screen redraw on 7.450 version was running smoothly, so it is not the question of the GPS, but the maps form 7.910 are not compatible with the 7.450. Screen redraw problem is visible even in demo mode, at 200% of speed instead of the smooth ride you have a "slideshow" in 7.910 version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was using 7.450 but i read that version was for qvga devices so i upgraded to 7.451 i know it seems stupid for a .001 update but that is vga not sure about 7.910 as i read that it was vga to and for the diamond if im not mistaken but you can try 7.451 if you want. look around for it also if the map works for 7.450 i don't think it will work for 7.451 or at least it did not work for me. so look for the files if you can't find them drop me a pm and i can tell you where to "BUY" them also i tried the gps reg tweaks and it did not seem to make it any better but i did not have a problem with the gps in the first place. hope this info helps
I've also experienced lag like what you guys are talking about... what I did was I disable all POI in preference so that nothing will show up and it seemed to be a lot faster... still has that choppyness... but much better than before... i hope this helps...
Anyone has this 7.450 Tom Tom VGA Cab? Thnx in advance
bruceo said:
Have you tried Franson GPS gate? DOwnload the trial and create a virtual com port 2 and map the Com4 GPS multiplexer to virtual com 2 and then have tom tom look to com 2 for the GPS. I bet the lag goes away. I was told that the commercial GPS softwares look for standardized GPS info in which the HTC phones' GPS use a variation which causes lag problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How sure are you about this solution? Have u tried?
If it works, it means TomTom is at fault here, and not HTC
But it also lags in Google maps....how would you explain that?
I am very curious if anyone has really tried this and can confirm the lag going away (and most important; make pedestrian mode usable)
Moaske said:
How sure are you about this solution? Have u tried?
If it works, it means TomTom is at fault here, and not HTC
But it also lags in Google maps....how would you explain that?
I am very curious if anyone has really tried this and can confirm the lag going away (and most important; make pedestrian mode usable)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly the HTC really is fault here, not TomTom. I have a external SirfIII GPS module, and while TOmTOm still appears to redraw 2-3times a second, the lag goes away. And TomTom is very very accurate then. The Franson GPS gate doesnt solve anything with the lag. It might make GPS lokc quicker, but tbh it didnt help me much (using QuickGPS data). I get fast locks with both the built-in and the external GPS. The problem is between the data output and the chipset. Drivers should / or could solve it.
Problem solved!
Hello,
Yes I have been experimenting A LOT with TomTom. I have found out that what really slowes down the map redraw is the RADARS if they are inserted into the map directory as a POI. Without radars it runs very nice both in version 7.45 and 7.9.
TT redraws screen very slow even if you switch off the warning for getting close to the radars as POI categories, I think that it is much too many of them for the whole Europe and POI mechanism is not the proper one for radars. Changing the radars into the official "with serial" solved the situation. I hope it helps to the others!
Tom Tom Lag
Aside from the initial startup (I wait about 30 sec) everything seems to work well. Refreshes good, etc.
I use the following settings:
Ver: TTN_7.450.9028
Map Pack: USA_and_Canada_v.675.1409
Other NMEA Device
Baud 19200
COM 4
HTC Radio: Raphael Radio 1.08.25.20M1
I have the AGPS UN-Checked
pabent said:
Aside from the initial startup (I wait about 30 sec) everything seems to work well. Refreshes good, etc.
I use the following settings:
Ver: TTN_7.450.9028
Map Pack: USA_and_Canada_v.675.1409
Other NMEA Device
Baud 19200
COM 4
HTC Radio: Raphael Radio 1.08.25.20M1
I have the AGPS UN-Checked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip, I just updated to this radio from 1.02.25.28 and my GPS seems to be working much much better!

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