TomTom - GPS lock problem

[BliarOut]

Anyone had any trouble with these?

I've just set one up on an IPaq with Tomtom5 and the Tomtom supplied GPS thingy. SW all loads, but the GPS won't get a sattelite lock. The IPaq says "waiting for satellite lock" or similar.

It has a light on the side that turns green when it's switched on and flashes when it acquires three satellites. It's never flashed, so I suspect it's the GPS unit. I've taken it in a filed in the middle of nowhere and it's been for an eighty mile drive, still with no luck.

Anyone know how to test these or got a support number for Tomtom? They are not replying very quickly to tech suport e-mails (Over 24 hours now!)

[Podie]

TomTom support...

Oh wait, you were serious... let me laugh harder...





TT aren't good at support... you're best bet is to try on of the specialist forums... http://pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums

[anniesdad]

Have you selected the correct GPS hardware in the system settings?

I'd select Tom Tom Navigator GPS on Serial cable on Com 1.

But then.....I am a luddite.

>> Edited by anniesdad on Friday 23 September 13:39

[BliarOut]

Podie.

Yup, I selected the correct thingy, it even had a picture of it to help me

Does anyone know if the GPS reciever will get a lock if it's powered up but not connected to anything? All I want to do is a simple "does the light flash" test to see if it will acquire a sattelite.

[anniesdad]

BliarOut said:

Yup, I selected the correct thingy, it even had a picture of it to help me

That's when you install Tom Tom right?

Have you checked what port it's looking for it on?

I'm assuming the Tom Tom GPS unit is brand new?

[bigdods]

Is it a wired or a bluetooth gps ? I use the old model tomtom bluetooth GPS and from cold start you should get a lock in a few minutes. It will lock on when switched on wether the tomtom (or ipaq) is on or off. If it is the bluetooth version you can tell if you are getting a clean connection between the ipaq and the device when the blue light on the GPS unit goes solid. If its flashing then its not attached to the Ipaq and you need to check the serial port settings.

[anniesdad]

He's gone all quiet on this hasn't he?

I wonder is it fixed or not?

I'm waiting here in suspenders....I mean suspense.

[Stamp]

Sometimes, when you fire up a new GPS device, if it was made in the Far East, it will take upwards of 45mins to find the first sat. After that, it should be fine.

I am playing with an ipac with a sysonchip gps finder at the mo, but not that happy with the performance.

[obi]

i know it sounds daft but try configuring as a "wired device" in the Tom Tom GPS device configuration on the iPaq..i had something similar with a friends bluetooth gps rx'er. It wouldn't work with bluetooth etc but as soon as we tried "Wired", Tom Tom started seeing it !!! beats me but worth a try !!!

>> Edited by obi on Wednesday 28th September 23:42

[BliarOut]

Bit easy to forget this forum is here

Still not fixed to the best of my knowledge, but the thing I was concerned about was the green light. never mind getting into the complexities of the SW for a minute, that should flash when it acquires a lock. It stays solid green. To me, it's a HW fault. Should it acquire a lock with nothing plugged into it?

[Alex]

BliarOut said:

Bit easy to forget this forum is here Still not fixed to the best of my knowledge, but the thing I was concerned about was the green light. never mind getting into the complexities of the SW for a minute, that should flash when it acquires a lock. It stays solid green. To me, it's a HW fault. Should it acquire a lock with nothing plugged into it?

Yes it should. Turn on, wait, greenlight flashes when it has a lock.

This is completely independent of any software or any other device. If the light doesn't flash, the unit is not getting a lock.

If you are stationary, it should start to flash within a minute in good weather and an open space. If not, it would seem like the hardware is at fault.

[bigdods]

On my TomTOm Bluethooth GPS unit the green light stays off while syncing (I can see the GPS gradually locking onto sats using GPS status in tomtom). When it gets a decent lock the green light begins to flash about once a second. It doesnt come on solid at any time.

Have you checked that the GPS unit is fully charged ? when mine gets low on charge it does some weird and wonderful things.



>> Edited by bigdods on Saturday 1st October 17:29