Inaccuracy of GPS - Touch Diamond2, Pure Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Well i have a question.
When i use TomTom or IGO the position on the screen is always about 50 meters off to where I actually am.
So since IGO & TomTom Both have the same behaviour i guess i should look at the GPS module.
My old S730 was always spot on... when i looked at the screen and saw a turn on the left, there actually was a turn to the left.
Anybody knows how this can be solved ?

My TD2 does not have this problem, perhaps there is an issue with your particular phone?

I thoght about it before and found out that it was not inaccuracy but the delay GPS chip needs to calculate your position. Do one test. Some time when you stop at a red light and you know you've waited for about 5 secs, check your position then. I believe it will be accurate then.
I noticed that some GPS's try to calculate your current position based on direction and speed you had few seconds ago. I found out about it one time when I waited at the red light in a long tunnel. Obviously there was no signal there, but when I stopped, GPS kept on showing that I was moving about 40MPH for several seconds before it finally showed lost signal message.
Some GPS's do calculate your position ahead of time and some don't.

Maybe it was because i had assisted GPS turned on...
If you do a search on AGPS LAG (ANY HTCPRODUCT WITH AGPS) then you will see enough posts that speciffically deals with this problem...
My old phone is SPOT ON with TT and my new 2 times faster phone is less accurate, and in a street with lots of turns, take a-lefts etc it's quite important to rely on the machine. And when the machine says turn left on the next corner, is that left the one i am currently at or the one 20 meters ahead from where i am now....
It should be just as with my old phone spot on

Well disabeling AGPS definitely works...
I am now about 20 meters behind all the time. This seems acceptable although I keep finding it strange that my older phone was way more accurate.....

you mean disable QuickGPS or disable AGPS in Advanced Config??

It is definitely a lag issue, not a precision issue: my TD2 internal GPS is at least as accurate as my Qstarz bluetooth GPS logger, and this one has a dedicated large antenna and good GPS chipset. TD2 sensitivity is also comparable, maybe even better inside building, and the time before locking a signal from coldstart is also comparable or better...
BUT there is a lag of maybe 30 m around 50 km/h in my car, and it is is indeed quite noticeable for driving directions...No big deal for me, as I do not rely on voice instruction but always have a quick peak at the screen (I was bitten by ambiguous instruction often enough in the past with other GPS system to have developped this quick peak habit ;-) )..but this lag is indeed anoying...
I'd like to try the TD2 using the external GPS through bluetooth, if I find time to do it this WE I will post my conclusions...

well0549 said:
Well i have a question.
When i use TomTom or IGO the position on the screen is always about 50 meters off to where I actually am.
So since IGO & TomTom Both have the same behaviour i guess i should look at the GPS module.
My old S730 was always spot on... when i looked at the screen and saw a turn on the left, there actually was a turn to the left.
Anybody knows how this can be solved ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use to have the same problem as you, so, I've tried the tweak referred in this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=514912 and it did the trick for me.
I use iGo8 and NDrive and the accuracy improved a lot, it's almost spot on, no matter what speed I'm driving.
Regards,

I was in my mates Audi TT the other day. He has the built in GPS in the dash board. I noticed there was as much lag as you see on an HTC device.
Also was in a car a few months asgo with someone who had a stand alone TomTom device and that too had lag.
Unless you're paying thousands of Dollars for millitary grade navigation equipment, i wouldn't spare the lag issue another thought.

Not long now ...
There's a bigger lag comming if the media are to be believed (and based on everything that comes from the tele, radio and newspapers these days - there're probably not - they can't even get the weather right)
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Technology/GPS-Network-Could-Fail-Next-Year-Leaving-Sat-Nav-Useless-US-Government-Accountability-Office-Warns/Article/200905315284843?lpos=Technology_Carousel_Region_4&lid=ARTICLE_15284843_GPS_Network_Could_Fail_Next_Year_Leaving_Sat_Nav_Useless%2C_US_Government_Accountability_Office_Warns

"
Unless you're paying thousands of Dollars for millitary grade navigation equipment, i wouldn't spare the lag issue another thought."
Diamond1 paid £150 was spot on. No Lag. The speed indicator on tomtom was very accurate, not like on the diamond2 where it takes over 2 seconds to show a speed change. I am surprised that not many people have noticed the slow and inaccurate GPS performance of the D2.

Related

what is the reasonable time for gps fix?

as per subject what is the reasonable time for gps fix? can installed applications effect gps fix? what about clouds? could it be hard to get fix in cloudy whether?
Don't know whats normal but sitting in my house with TT I get 3-4 bars in about 5 seconds once I open TT. This is on the kaiser not the fugly
d
goto www.gpspassion.com and you'll find a wealth of gps info. Reasonable time with quick gps is about 5-20 seconds with a good signal (outside) on the kaiser. Clouds can affect things but I've never seen it hamper anything.
I wonder if there is a difference in aquiring signal between the Kaiser and tilt? I have not seen much issue on the kaiser but there are alot on the tilt on several boards?
d
my kaiser takes very long at the moment
It can take up to a minute or so if you haven't used it in a while. Sometimes it pretty quick (like <15 seconds, esp when it has been used in past hour or so).
I used the GPS today for a road trip. . . fired up QuickGPS and then launched my mapping software. It only took about 10 seconds for the software to "find" the onboard GPS -- and this was the first time I had used it in the 24 hours I've had it.
You need to use QuickGPS first.

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?
Click to expand...
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.

GPS - slow refresh

I tried my Tilt with iGuidance and got very disappointed. The GPS has an issue following my position. It updates the position on average every 30 sec and by the next update I can really get off the quided track.
Other people tell me that something is wrong, as the arrow on the screen should be following me smoothly in real time, not jumping city blocks. The only configurable setting for the GPS is baude rate, but I tried all values and still the same. What could be the problem?
juliank said:
I tried my Tilt with iGuidance and got very disappointed. The GPS has an issue following my position. It updates the position on average every 30 sec and by the next update I can really get off the quided track.
Other people tell me that something is wrong, as the arrow on the screen should be following me smoothly in real time, not jumping city blocks. The only configurable setting for the GPS is baude rate, but I tried all values and still the same. What could be the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you in the city with a bunch of tall buildings??
also d/l htc gps and see how many sats your locked on.
I was mostly in the city, but no tall buildings. The GPS can lock me really good and fast, the reception is good, it finds like 8 sattelites. The only problem is it does not stay continuously locked on position, but lockes every 30 sec or so..
I installed the logging tool and will give it a try. Thanks!
What ROM and Radio do you use? stock?
I am using The NoThrills ROM (CE OS 5.2.19170 (Build 19170.1.0.0)), which comes with R 1.58.26.20.
Just tried the HTC GPS tool - not sure what exactly to look for, but it keeps logging very fast, the lines in the logger change at a rate e few per seccond, it always showed 7-8 satellites locked and yet did not update my position in real time, but probably every 30 sec.
juliank said:
I tried my Tilt with iGuidance and got very disappointed. The GPS has an issue following my position. It updates the position on average every 30 sec and by the next update I can really get off the quided track.
Other people tell me that something is wrong, as the arrow on the screen should be following me smoothly in real time, not jumping city blocks. The only configurable setting for the GPS is baude rate, but I tried all values and still the same. What could be the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are using Iguidance 4 then this is a know issues with the GPS chip in the tilt. It will not work right, the only work around is to use a separate bluetooth GPS reciever and not the internal gps. The other way is to use a different GPS software as Iguidannce 4 is the only one that I'm aware of that has this issue....
Yes, I am using iGuidance 4. Where did you see about the issue it has with the Tilt? Can you post some link? I can see only positive feedback. Would be good to know that it is a software issue and not my Tilt.....
Hi, I use miomap. My GPS is not smooth too. I don't need to wait 30 seconds to update the position, but it may need 3 to 4 seconds to update the position. It is not as smooth as tomtom.
Check out a program called GPS Gate. This issue typically has to do with WM6.1 and iGuidance 4.0 not playing well together on the Tilt. GPS Gate reports the GPS feed into something that iGuidance 4.0 can be happy with. Here's another thread for more details...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=368373&page=2

gps

i got a question on gps. HOw fast does your tytn ii gps find signal? mine takes forever like 3-4 min? is there a way to increase the signal search? thanks
Which radio are you using?
Mine takes couple of seconds max.
pinx said:
Which radio are you using?
Mine takes couple of seconds max.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it depends upon the radio a lot. Some radios are very quick (I am currently using NIKI XX.17 as I need quick GPS locks - now takes seconds not minutes), others are not.
When I first got my kaiser, T-mobile vario III the GPS was very quick to get a fix taking less than one minute to get the first fix after boot up and subsequently a matter of a few seconds.
Unfortunately this was about the only thing that was quick though, so I installed one of Dutty's ROMs which vastly improved the overall performance of the device for most tasks, except getting a GPS fix which all of a sudden was intolerably slow, sometimes almost impossible.
I experimented flashing various radios but nothing seemed to make much difference so I kind of gave up. The other day I upgraded again, to Dutty's latest ROM and all of a sudden my GPS performance is back to how it was when I first got the kaiser, despite the fact the radio version included in the rom is the same as the one I had before. So I'm very pleased about this, but also perplexed. I don't know what factors influence the speed of getting a GPS fix but for me Dutty's latest ROM is good so maybe you should try that.
One thing that I did notice is that getting a GPS fix was always quicker when travelling in the car not standing still.
look9001 said:
One thing that I did notice is that getting a GPS fix was always quicker when travelling in the car not standing still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is strange... Normally GPS's are quicker to fix when stationary rather than moving...
I'll be getting mine soon, so once I have it, I will test with the T-Mobile standard and - if I get it installed, being a WinMob n00b myself that is by no means certain! - with Dutty's latest...
CescoAiel said:
Which is strange... Normally GPS's are quicker to fix when stationary rather than moving...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is strange isn't it? But I'm sure it was true in my case. For example I once walked to work with the GPS switched on as a test, I was holding it in my hand so it had a direct line to the sky at all times. When I got there about fifteen minutes later it still hadn't got a fix. The next day I drove somewhere and after about two minutes it had a fix.
As long as I'm outside (or in the car) under clear sky, I get a lock in Google Maps or Telenav in only a few seconds. Inside my apartment, but near a window, Google Maps will eventually get a lock, but it can take it 3-5 minutes to do so. In my office, which also has a window but which faces out to a courtyard surrounded by brick walls (and up 5 stories above my floor), I just cannot seem to get a fix at all.
Outside with clear sky above though, moving or stable, it is very quick - never more then 10s and usually far less.
What kind of buildings and other obstructions were around you? In order to get enough fixes to pinpoint your location it will often have to see sats out to some pretty steep angles. One guy we met who does commercial GPS systems showed us where the birds were from out on a beach. The 4th one was only something like 20 degrees above the horizon out over the ocean.

How bad is the GPS?

im considering buying this phone,but i hear there's problems with the GPS. my current phone has a great GPS receiver and i use it a lot for day to day navigation.How much will i be disappointed if i were to expect the same from the galaxy s?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=42858169
Here in holland I have no problems with the GPS reception...
Personally, I found that straight out of the box the gps was dreadful, but an hour later after I did the simple gps fix, it navigated me on a hundred and fifty mile round trip with no problems at all.
The fix is simple and easy and takes literally no skill. When you take your sgs out of the box, see if the gps works for you, then try the fix. If there is still no joy then take it back and say the navigation is busted and you want a different handset.
I'd certainly say its worth trying at least. Chances are can get it working and everything else that you like about droid is better on the galaxy .
It's worth remembering that the gps is not battery friendly and you'll need a potent (2A output)car charger to keep you running on the move.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Basically, in summary:
1) In late firmware, the lock is quite quick, especially compared to car GPS units. Maybe not as fast as some other phones, but fast enough. Certainly faster than my Garmin Forerunner
2) The accuracy boundaries on this phone are wrong sometimes (at least in XXJM5), but this may be a bug in that specific pre-release.
3) With JM5, the unit seems to only lock onto 8 satellites max, but, some people are saying apparently newer firmware's are locking onto more
4) People are complaining of issues getting locks when moving with the unit. However, I've experienced this on ALL GPS units I've owned. AGPS should help with this though (but I've never tested initial lock whilst moving except in a firmware where GPS was 100% broken for me).
5) In some cases, the GPS goes skitzo, this might be fixed in later firmwares
6) Finally, sometimes the track is a bit off to the side, and doesn't handle cornering well.. This is likely related to (2). But this makes it useless for fitness at the moment
Anyway, the GPS is usable, but there are serious accuracy problems with it still. Samsung has said that they are working on optimising GPS for a September update. My best advice is wait until then, because if it isn't fixed in September, the possibility that it is due to poor hardware design seems to grow significantly..
thank you for your valuable input,this forum really is the best on the internet.I'm gunna be buying it next month anyway,so lets see if the update fixes the GPS or not.To be honest,theres no other phone that can match it,so theres no alternative to this phone even if the GPS IS dodgy
The GPS sucks so hard that I'd rather use a regular map for navigation.
My Galaxy S has no gps problems. The first time i went out from house to check GPS accuracy I got GPS signal after 3 seconds. It's stable in 100% cases.
Acquiring signal is not the issue. I don't understand why people keep comparing signal to accuracy. it's not the same thing.
Exactly, there are people in other topics that are just inflating the whole issue, their claims are way exaggerated, and the original issues has already been fixed on newer firmwares, yet they refuse to accept it.
AllGamer said:
Exactly, there are people in other topics that are just inflating the whole issue, their claims are way exaggerated, and the original issues has already been fixed on newer firmwares, yet they refuse to accept it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for a 20min jog then and show a track of your perfect GPS. I have a lower standard than many of them, but all tracks I saw lost lock excessively at some point or another..
I haven't tried it myself, but can on tuesday.
damn,so many different opinions on this issue.also not being able to track my runs is a BIG minus but still not a deal breaker.day-to-day city navigation is a must though.
It's just as simple as that - you don't check gps functionality just by its fix time. you put it in your car, and start driving - if it's accurate (highly unlikely), gewd. if not - go back here and whine.
kingofkings2603 said:
damn,so many different opinions on this issue.also not being able to track my runs is a BIG minus but still not a deal breaker.day-to-day city navigation is a must though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The big problem is that many of them seem to be testing quickly from their chair.. There is overwhelming evidence that the GPS doesn't work accurately, but barely any showing it does.. In fact, in one case, I saw someone claim the unit was working perfectly, but the track they showed was on a straight highway, and was fluctuating excessively between both sides of the highway. And the most vocal of those who claims it works perfectly don't seem to be posting logs..
There is also some confusion between whether it is "fitness grade" or "car grade". Car navigation GPS can snap to tracks, and has more room for accuracy errors, because it can assume you always exist on the closest road, and if you use directions, it can assume you took the correct turns when it told you to do so (and correct itself a bit later). That's what most car units seem to do, and it helps compensate for most inaccuracies. It can lead to a bit of pain though if you make lots of turns, some of which aren't correct. Some people are possibly happy because they have used dedicated car units before which suck (some navman's take at least 5 mins to get a basic lock, negating any benefits of having them), but, since some phones offer better directions apparently, people are complaining it should be better.
Fitness grade requires MUCH higher resolution to be usable, because the distance is shorter (generally), and if your GPS veers off course, it gives you a false indication of jogging distance. Garmin forerunners feel generally like they are within 1 or 2 meters a of the time (but occasionally veers off 3), but from what I've observed standing still, the flaws may be less visible when moving, but simply appear as slightly off course.
Then there are those people who stare at the SNR/locked satelites for hours at end without checking whether the long/lat is actually correct, or the accuracy boundary (they see 5m accuracy, but don't actually check if it is accurate within 5 meters). I was one of these, until I realised that the accuracy boundary was wrong..
Part of the issue also comes down to firmware though. People are using pre-release/leaked firmware (which might not even be complete) and are judging the GPS quality based on that. No comment needed except, don't assume that Samsung aren't working on fixes because there is no fix in pre-release firmware.
I haven't properly tested either though personally because I use a forerunner for jogging (waterproof), and since I fly, I prefer to use maps to understand locations better. I did notice though that leaving my phone on my desk for a long period of time sometimes allowed the signal accuracy boundary to not include me (ie, allow a position of 20m away from me, but show 5m accuracy) intermittently. And this might explain the fluctuations in position many others have gotten..
Either way, it is debatable. The biggest issue is that the assumption so far is that everyone got exactly the same hardware, and exactly the same revisions. But the other problem, is that GPS quality is open to opinion, because in some areas, roads are so far spread out that even inaccurate GPS works fine for driving. It really depends on your needs. But the facts are, the accuracy of the GPS isn't worth debating anyway currently, because Samsung have already told us they are "optimising" the GPS in Sept, which may make this unit as good as a garmin forerunner anyway. All any of us can tell you as that we'll know the TRUE potential of the unit after the september patch.
But for me anyway, I think the GPS is fine (I don't need perfect accuracy, even if I needed this as a fallback in a plane)
The GPS is bad to the point of being unusable for car navigation or fitness tracking. Yes you may get a lock in GGps test but when moving the reported location is all ov
er the place.
andrewluecke said:
Then there are those people who stare at the SNR/locked satelites for hours at end without checking whether the long/lat is actually correct, or the accuracy boundary (they see 5m accuracy, but don't actually check if it is accurate within 5 meters). I was one of these, until I realised that the accuracy boundary was wrong..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Case in point to illustrate what andrewluecke is trying to explain here about the accuracy not being exactly...well, accurate. Take a look at the attached screenshot. My GPS had a great fix with accuracy of 5m (the best it's able to report), stable for a few minutes, everything was working perfectly. Or so it seems. Except for the slight problem that I was actually standing where the red dot is... There's no scale on the screenshot, but it's a good 30-40 meters off. And that's quite common for me.
Case_ said:
Case in point to illustrate what andrewluecke is trying to explain here about the accuracy not being exactly...well, accurate. Take a look at the attached screenshot. My GPS had a great fix with accuracy of 5m (the best it's able to report), stable for a few minutes, everything was working perfectly. Or so it seems. Except for the slight problem that I was actually standing where the red dot is... There's no scale on the screenshot, but it's a good 30-40 meters off. And that's quite common for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly Case_. The point of the accuracy measurement is to say "you are somewhere within this range". But, with the Galaxy S, it isn't, and that shouldn't happen, at least not as often as it does (except maybe at the beginning whilst obtaining a lock"). Professional systems have something known as RAIM and FDE which detect when the accuracy may be incorrect due to external factors (such as shonky satelite, or serious atmospheric interference). But this happens a LOT, and I would have thought it affects GPS units equally (unless the Garmin forerunners in fact DO ship with fault detection, which could explain it, in which case, Samsung should implement fault detection and exclusion too, to make it usable).
Anyway.. What I am trying to say is summed up easiest with Case's post.
Fatherboard said:
Acquiring signal is not the issue. I don't understand why people keep comparing signal to accuracy. it's not the same thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It most certainly is an issue. It takes a minute or longer to acquire a lock in some cases despite stationary and clear line of sight.
The people who stomp their feet with "The GPS is fine" are no different than the iPhone4 users who claim there is no attenuation in their phones.
In my case with the DDJG4 update, I see some minor issues.
Once in a while when I am at home (indoors with no visible satelites) my location shifts from bangalore to toronto. All my stuff changes to that. It looks like AGPS is not turned on or buggy becuase 80% of the times it works well. Does anybody else face the same problem ?
So when my phone takes me to toronto, i restart the phone and everythng is back to normal
SOmetimes, the location service fails to find where I am and shows Toronto in Google website. Is there anyway to avoid this.
It's just like what most people say, you can get a fix, and GPS seems fine. Try to use it, and it's a whole different story.
Somebody on the forum posted a link of a run, where the SGS GPS went everywere but on the straight line, it even made a hilarious loop. Too bad i can't find it.
People need to stop saying "Firmware updates fixed it already" as that's just not true.
Hah, there it is, posted by sjdean.
Desire, and SGS GPS.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...52.48542,-1.742063&spn=0.014138,0.045319&z=15
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...=52.48082,-1.761761&spn=0.01414,0.045319&z=15

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