Database Develop

TILT Geocaching

I havent had my tilt very long, but I have noticed that with Tom Tom 6 using thr built in GPS it doesnt trak unless im moving faster than 5mph. Has this issue been addressed? (the search tool isnt working for me) I have a bluetooth GPS and it so far is way more acurate than the built in GPS. I would like not to have to carry the bluetooth GPS for Geocaching.

I use my Tilt for geocaching all the time. I use visual GPS Beeline software. it shows me moving at walking speeds. I think Tom Tom being designed for use while driving filters the movement so that the display is stable.
http://visualgps.net/BeeLineGPS/default.htm

I think you'll really want to stick with the bluetooth GPS for geocaching. I use a GlobalSat BT-338, which in itself seems to be more accurate than the built-in GPS on the tilt, which would be better for caching. Also, there is no way (as far as I know) to turn static navigation on and off on the built-in receiver, which is going to contribute to your unit not tracking when going less than a certain speed. Thirdly, when the phone goes into standby, the GPS receiver shuts off, so you would need to keep the phone active, and just turn the screen backlight off to save battery life. There are programs to do this, but the battery is going to drain pretty quickly regardless. With an external receiver this isn't an issue, as it isn't affected by whether the phone is in standby or not, and it has it's own battery so the amount of time you can use both obviously increases.

static navigation
I have tried both a Gtop gps and the built in gps for geocaching on my tilt and neither are really good. Both seem to be affected by static navigation and/or are just very slow to reflect my position. I have tried beeline gps and others and they are afflicted by the same problem. Has anyone found a good way to turn off the static navigation on the tilt or some way to geocache effectively with it?

birdheh said:
I have tried both a Gtop gps and the built in gps for geocaching on my tilt and neither are really good. Both seem to be affected by static navigation and/or are just very slow to reflect my position. I have tried beeline gps and others and they are afflicted by the same problem. Has anyone found a good way to turn off the static navigation on the tilt or some way to geocache effectively with it?
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Click to collapse
As said here, and many threads. Do not use the built-in GPS. There are several reasons:
It's very slow to power up
In some apps it dumps a bunch of data every 3-4 seconds, making things very jumpy
It sometimes doesn't power off and continues to use power
It uses lots of power running (100ma+, combined with the screen, that's just 3-4 hours of power)
It wanders all over the place at walking speeds, or doesn't 'move' at all.
It'll zero out in a huge radius in real use (100 feet away from the cache for me once)
I'm sure there are more, but I was getting bored listing them.... buy a bluetooth GPS. You can get 'em for $60. The built-in GPS is okay for car navigation, and nice to have built-in, but IMO is not usable for geocaching. I've tried several times. When I first got the Tilt I hunted one cache in a huge radius and it kept going 150 feet one direction, then zeroing out, then 100 feet the other direction. Plus the data stream seems to dump every 2-3 seconds, making it very annoying to track with.
A bluetooth GPS uses no phone power, so you'd easily be able to geocache for 10+ hours in a day if you needed to. I carry mine in my pocket, it just disappears into my cargo pants.
If you're curious about software, I've tried several but I thought they all stunk, PARTICULARLY BeeLine. The interface is god awful. I never found one that I liked at all, and wound up buying StyleTap and using GeoNiche like I did on my previous Palm Treo. Works great.

static navigation
for those with static navigation problems try this. I have a PPC with Igo and same issue when you don't walk fast enough it does not register. If you use this it will fix your problem while goecaching as it has for me.
Install MMSirfSetup, available free, direct from Memory Map :
http://www.memory-map.com/MMSirfSetup.exe
Obviously you will need to install it on your PC then whap it over to your PDA.
On your PDA, run MMSirfSetup before you run your mapping software, and turn Static Navigation off.
If you use TomTom, or go above a certain speed, your unit will default to turn Static Navigation back on again.

Sorry, that won't work. the Tilt does not use a SIRF GPS chip.

[Q] Compass Calibration

I've read complaints of GPS and G-Sensors being out of whack, but didn't see anything on forum about compass calibration.
I noticed on my i9000 yesterday that while tracking myself on Google maps, that the compass should me pointing about 20 degrees to the right of the direction I was actually driving. In aviation, we call that crabbing, and it's normal based on wind, but not in a car.
I turned the direction my phone was pointing and the heading on the vehicle in the map started tracking properly. I guess my phone needs a little compass calibration.
Any idea where to this from? I'll dig around in the debug settings when I get some time, but hoping others might have found it already.
Thanks.

there are some free compass apps on android market that will display an actuall compass on your screen - and those will have a calibration tool you use when setting the compass up

No need for a special command.
Just turn the device 180 degrees and backwards two or three times in any program which uses the compass and it will be calibrated.

I'm a pilot too and I actually purchased a magnetic compass for my car and noticed the same thing. Haven't tested the phone's compass in my car though.
Are you forgetting some planes have Compass Deviation Cards to compensate for errors caused by the aircraft itself perhaps? Remember, cars have a significant amount of electronics, and a magnet in the alternator that can affect the direction of the compass (the magnetic flux created by the car is actually what triggers traffic light changes, so it probably isn't miniscule).
Btw, not sure crabbing is the correct term here (normally crabbing is isolated to wind I think). Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still PPL).
Not sure about google maps, but I have noticed my hardware GPS (Navman's and that other rubbish which will be collectors items soon) actually use track, rather than heading.
distortedloop said:
I've read complaints of GPS and G-Sensors being out of whack, but didn't see anything on forum about compass calibration.
I noticed on my i9000 yesterday that while tracking myself on Google maps, that the compass should me pointing about 20 degrees to the right of the direction I was actually driving. In aviation, we call that crabbing, and it's normal based on wind, but not in a car.
I turned the direction my phone was pointing and the heading on the vehicle in the map started tracking properly. I guess my phone needs a little compass calibration.
Any idea where to this from? I'll dig around in the debug settings when I get some time, but hoping others might have found it already.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

compass
I have a galaxy s and so does my daughter we both have a compass app from android market installed on our phones , both phones will not display the correct direction i have also tried a friends galaxy and his is exactly the same .
I have a xperia X10 and that displays correct directions with the same compass installed so i can only assume it is the phone at fault , i love the phone but this is annoying and i wonder if it is related to the gps problems this phone appears to have ?.

good old fashioned magnetic compasses don't work in my car, regardless of where i install them
it will always point EAST, very annoying, good thing it doesn't affect my GPS or my SGS i've yet to test the compass mode inside the car.
As i've taken it for granted no compass will work inside my car, as it has speakers every where and metals all around.
before there was such thing as a GPS, i used to be a good old scout and used maps + compasses to find my ways when driving in unknown streets
andrewluecke said:
I'm a pilot too and I actually purchased a magnetic compass for my car and noticed the same thing. Haven't tested the phone's compass in my car though.
Are you forgetting some planes have Compass Deviation Cards to compensate for errors caused by the aircraft itself perhaps? Remember, cars have a significant amount of electronics, and a magnet in the alternator that can affect the direction of the compass (the magnetic flux created by the car is actually what triggers traffic light changes, so it probably isn't miniscule).
Btw, not sure crabbing is the correct term here (normally crabbing is isolated to wind I think). Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still PPL).
Not sure about google maps, but I have noticed my hardware GPS (Navman's and that other rubbish which will be collectors items soon) actually use track, rather than heading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

andrewluecke said:
).
Btw, not sure crabbing is the correct term here (normally crabbing is isolated to wind I think). Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still PPL)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you're correct about crabbing...it's the term I learned for landing with a cross-wind and yawing into the wind to maintain your track to the runway. It's just what came to mind looking at the vehicle indicator and the roadway, it looked like a plane landing on a runway and that's what popped to mind.
Thanks to everyone else about the compass app in the market, I'll check it out.

Probably best to grab a real compass and compare to your phones one.. Then you'll know for sure.
But for GPS apps, track makes more sense because especially whilst driving, the phone has no way of knowing if it is pointed towards the front of your car.
(Btw, for non-pilots, when I say track, I refer to the direction you are actually going, rather than where you are pointed towards).

I'm a electronic engineer, A compass actually show where the magnetic field is more effective as North (and South) but what does make the differ is electronic compasses are more sensetive and may effected by a little change in magnetic field (for example holding a little ironic screw around it) so it may show wrong direction based on your country (and sometimes region). so the manufactors calibrate it on an avarage in order to make it working all around the world. but if it is not satisfying go to a service center they calibrate it for you!
(if you're geeky one you can do it on service menu yourself but it takes time to do a good calibration!)

mdh_heydari said:
I'm a electronic engineer, A compass actually show where the magnetic field is more effective as North (and South) but what does make the differ is electronic compasses are more sensetive and may effected by a little change in magnetic field (for example holding a little ironic screw around it) so it may show wrong direction based on your country (and sometimes region). so the manufactors calibrate it on an avarage in order to make it working all around the world. but if it is not satisfying go to a service center they calibrate it for you!
(if you're geeky one you can do it on service menu yourself but it takes time to do a good calibration!)
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Click to collapse
HI, mdh_heydari
ok, but how to calibrate? even if it is time consuming and difficult. What is the procedure in SGS I9000?

sircm4x said:
HI, mdh_heydari
ok, but how to calibrate? even if it is time consuming and difficult. What is the procedure in SGS I9000?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 2 ways, the best one is some little fixes in android kernel and the other one is making mods for famous navigation softwares like Google Maps.

GPS error caused by compass?

Hi! I hope to be usefull.
When I see the arrow in the google maps the position is always the same. Its possible that the compass can be the cause of gps error?? Its possible turn off the compass to try the gps alone??
Best regards and sorry my english.

ive also wondered about this. the arrow in mytracks spins around like crazy while moving. if gps programs use the compass to help tell the direction then thats gonna be a problem.

Does anyone know if we can test this in some way? I would gladly try any solution or help with alpha testing.

gps - compass or ...sensors?
hello I have noticed a strange behavior of the gps too..
I have done many tests with the program "GPS Test" (available free on Android Market) and I noticed that after the fix if the galaxy is moved, especially if changes from portrait to landscape ( or vice versa), the program loses the fix with the satellites (all indices of satellites in use turn gray), it never happens if i disables the landscape mode in the galaxy's settings or in the gps-test 's menu...
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the GPS is less sensitive for satellites but too sensitive to the position variations of the smartphone (horizontal / vertical during use) .. I do not know if it happens with all programs that use GPS, but I do not think this should happen.
Federico

charlicillo said:
Hi! I hope to be usefull.
When I see the arrow in the google maps the position is always the same. Its possible that the compass can be the cause of gps error?? Its possible turn off the compass to try the gps alone??
Best regards and sorry my english.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like earlier Garmin or Magellan gps, the compass should be used up to the point that the gps shows 5km/h (adjustable in some devices) because the signal of the gps is unstable and is not reliable for direction under that speed. Also...
reziel73 said:
hello I have noticed a strange behavior of the gps too..
I have done many tests with the program "GPS Test" (available free on Android Market) and I noticed that after the fix if the galaxy is moved, especially if changes from portrait to landscape ( or vice versa), the program loses the fix with the satellites (all indices of satellites in use turn gray), it never happens if i disables the landscape mode in the galaxy's settings or in the gps-test 's menu...
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the GPS is less sensitive for satellites but too sensitive to the position variations of the smartphone (horizontal / vertical during use) .. I do not know if it happens with all programs that use GPS, but I do not think this should happen.
Federico
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... like in some sirfstarIII gps, the receiver (gps) was adjusted so that it didn't show any movement (and speed) within a circle of 15m or 30m (also adjustable) to avoid showing movement (and direction) while you were stopped.
Another fact in this category of gps devices (single frequency, autonomous etc) is that they are much more accurate about speed (0.1km/h) than position (typically usually 5m, sometimes 2m-15m or more)
So if we don't know what the default settings for the SGS's gps are, we don't know what could really be the problem. Or do we?
Anyone who knows more about the gps hardware used in SGS could help...

It would indeed be interesting to try to disable the compass altogether and see what the effect on GPS is.
Perhaps I'll look at this. I'm not a big GPS user myself so proper testing would definitely not be me.

I am using "Maverick" from the market and it seems to be working properly....

thnks about all. Im sure that someday we'll have a operative gps. Keep investigating.
Regards.

[Q] Digital Compass

Hi,
It really seems that the G1 has a digital compass, but I couldn't see it documented and doesn't seem to be part of the specifications.
However I tested it a few times with GPS Toolbox and it seems to accurate to be based on GPS (also because I think GPS one would actually be "heading" and only generated if moving).
Anyone has any thought ?
Nick

Of course the G1 has a compass. Yeah GPS doesn't know anything about orientation, only 3d position. Along with the accelerometers the phone can know it's exact position and oriention.
Fire up google maps and look, your position marker is a compass arrow. All it's search results etc all show orientation arrow also. Plus if you tap the "my location" circle icon a second time, maps itself goes into compass mode (as can street view). The compass is a base standard of android, just don't trust it if you have a charge cable plugged in

Thank you.
I had a look again at gsmarena and it says that it has a digital compass, which at the time the phone came out was not yet a standard feature (even if GPS was present)
I was SO sure that I had researched it some time ago and it didn't say anything about it .. my bad.
Thanks !

[Q] Digital compass help?

I've only now discovered that the issues I've been having with certain apps are because the One has no magnetic compass sensor, only a digital compass. Is there any way to enhance the compass accuracy or otherwise calibrate it?
I ask, because when playing Ingress, my orientation is never even close to correct. I have to manually adjust the screen (while driving, ACK!??!) if I want to follow along with the route I'm driving, and of course the arrow is never pointed in the right direction which can make deploying resonators a little more confusing.
I'm also starting to get into geocaching, and without a working compass app, I have to carry another phone or an actual compass along with me. So spur of the moment geocaching can only happen if I happen to have one at the time.
And of course I'm sure everyone's heard about Sky Maps not working properly either, which is just a bummer.

Bumperoonie, Surely someone out there has similar problems or the knowledge to tackle this... anybody?