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I have had GPS receivers previously as well as used some, both normal consumer as well as aviation grade GPS systems. Now I have the Kaiser/TyTN II and I am impressed with how sensitive it is! For not losing signal or dropping position I am amazed, good stuff!
BUT ... since it uses so much battery when the GPS is running, I sometimes turn it of for a while, then on later on again. Especially when moving a lot while being turned off (flying or driving), turning it back on can sometimes give problems getting a new fix! Sometimes it gets a fix quickly, but it is hundreds or thousands of miles off. I know it is complicated 3D math for a GPS to aquire its position, and I know it is possible to get a false lock, but the GPS receivers I have tried and had previously never accepted a bad fix.
The unit knows where the satellites are supposed to be, given the time and approximate position, so that is what it assumes. But when it has been off, and then on again and only moved some hundred miles, it can get this false position fix that it cannot get out of easily. If I turn it off again and wait until none of the previous satellites are in view (flying for another hour for instance), it finally realizes it has to start over with a new fix. Older GPS units I used/had often had an option of making a cold start fix (search the sky, autosearch or other names for basically the same thing). It is also sometimes possible to specify or change the last "known" position of the GPS to make it easier for it to get a new fix again. The latter requires that you either can find your rough position in a map or you know a rough lat/lon position.
So, two questions:
1) How do I break a bad fix, tell the unit it is on a wrong path - do a renewed search the sky?
2) How can I change the "previous GPS position" so the GPS unit is forced to assume another position?
I have some GPS applications where you can change the last know position, but it only seems to stay in the program, it is not fed back into the GPS receiver.
No comments here? Must be others with the same problem. Even the oldest, most basic GPS units had an option to enter position manually, or to enforce a new search from scratch. There must at least be some kind of reset function! (NOT hard reset, thanks!)
LGB said:
No comments here? Must be others with the same problem. Even the oldest, most basic GPS units had an option to enter position manually, or to enforce a new search from scratch. There must at least be some kind of reset function! (NOT hard reset, thanks!)
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I tried google maps and discovered that my actual position was off by some 50 meters from where I actually was. Then I also discovered that in the area I was, if you superimposed the roads on top of the satellite image in Google maps, it was also set off, by about 10 meters only.
Ever since I tried Google maps, my GPS fixes correctly and updates data all the time, but with some programs speed remains 0 and direction remains north even if I move around. After re-flashing the original rom everything is back to normal. Do you know why this happened?
I have got the same problem.
Once after using TrackMe and once after getting my position in Virtual Earth Mobile.
Both times i have used the gps only for a short while and then closed it. On the next start the position has been several hundreds of kilometers off and the speed shows several hundreds kph although I stand still.
Both times the gps has not been ok until the next day.
I have tried to soft reset and also updated the Quick GPS with no result.
I found this thread Kaiser GPS positioning problems which looks a lot like the same.
I have been using the GPS a lot more frequently recently and at first I thought it was these two apps, but now it seem more general. Before I used TomTom on a few occasions with no problem, but then the GPS was on for a longer period.
Anyone else?
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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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.
Hello,
is there a way to use the diamond as simple GPS Tracker. Nothing fancy
I mean a program that uses GPS to save waypoints even if (and that is the real trick) the screen is disabled. I want a solution that saves as much energy as possible to be able to track data for a long time.
I now there are tools as Glopus and so on, but they stop logging when the screen turns of.
Thanks for your time and help.
Br Sledge
this would be intresting, currently i use my GPS to get elevation and tracking data to see where ive been, but the screen is a huge hog, sadly all my GPS programs seem stop working once the screen is off, and since its in my pocket the phone registers the slightest touch which wacks up the brightness , the only work around for that is to turn the back light off but this can make the screen almost useless in good lighting conditions.
Pretty sure TrackMe will do this. Search for it here, there is a thread on it somewhere
I could not find an application I like, so wrote my own. It still works with the screen off, and also can be set to start/stop GPS at required intervals. Here is my post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=424423
Will check both
Hy,
today I have checked TrackMe, and that one looks good.
I have just had a quick look on the GpsCycleComputer, and it looks a little bit more like my tool. Not so much overhead I suppose
Thanks Martin
what about GPS TUner - I use it, and it continue logging even if the screen is black
hankeys said:
what about GPS TUner - I use it, and it continue logging even if the screen is black
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I really like freeware stuff. Maybe I can learn something from Andie's Sources. That would be fun.
I think Glopus will do the job for the other tasks.
Br Martin
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.
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.
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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
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... 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.