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jckraa
4 Posts |
 Posted - 06 févr. 2006 : 07:58:16
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Added by GpsPasSion:
  
Hi,
two weeks ago I bought this device. I noticed the GPS-reception is very bad:
* it sometimes takes more than 15 minutes before I have a fix
* in the city it's very easy to loose my fix
* as soon as I go indoors, I loose my fix.
Sirftech gives me 'GSW3.1.1HTC_3.1.00.07-C23P1.00' as identification string.
Has anybody heard of this device? It isn't even listed on Imate's website.
Could the bad GPS-reception be ascribed to
* the (modified) Sirf chip? I thought the Sirf-III was very good at getting / keeping a fix with (even indoors) a low signal-strength
* the fact that the GPS-chip is built in in a PDA (but then again, how does it differ from a GPS-mouse?)
* or could it be that my PDA is somewhat broken?
I also seem to have a very good signal; the GPSInfo-tool sees 7 sats with a signal-strength of at least '30' for several minutes, but no fix.
Jan-Kees |
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gpspassion
93389 Posts |
Posted - 06 févr. 2006 : 11:46:14
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Welcome to the forums, I believe you are referring to the HTC Galaxy, aka Qtek G100, essentially a "Magician" without the GSM module but with wifi and GPS built-in. We saw it at the CES show as Pharos are selling it in the US and it's a very sleek device - http://nblogps.textamerica.com/?r=4004250 that's the one, right ?
As for your problems, well they are likely due to the tiny antenna used in the unit making it difficult for the GPS
1. To download the required ephemeris data, you need a minimum level of 28dB-Hz, you can use CE Monitor to monitor the level.
2. That's more surprising, SiRFIII can track very low so once it has a good fix you won't lose the fix easily, it might not be accurate, but you won't lose it
3. Yes that's normal, GPS signals quickly fall below 160dBm indoors and no GPS can track below that.
Other things to check for is not having a car with a coated windshield http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/articles.asp?id=143&page=4
I'm currently trying to purchase a unit from Germany so will update if/when I get it. The Loox N520 is close in design and has problem #1 too, but remains quite usable.
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Eifezeit
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 07 févr. 2006 : 01:39:10
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| Damn, I was thinking about getting one of these and you are the first "end user" with an opinion that I have found with specific issues. |
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Dan725
USA
60 Posts |
Posted - 07 févr. 2006 : 03:01:44
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Hi jckraa,
I have one of these also (Pharos 525), but I have to say I have not had those problems. The longest I've had to get a GPS fix outdoors is around 2 minutes off a completely cold start. Once it is acquired, the thing hangs onto it for grim death and I've never had a loss, even when sitting under flyovers etc. The only time it drops out is when you go into an underground or in towards the center of a concrete multistorey parking lot. It even maintains lock in my house - I am sitting here typing this on my PC and the device is sitting next to me and has lock now - there is only one 4x2 foot window in here, and the blinds are drawn - amazing, I can only deduce its coming in from the windows in the other room behind me.Outside, mine usually views 11 or 12 satellites and picks up on most of them, and gives an enhanced 3D fix most of the time.
But the point is you should not be having trouble, so it sounds like maybe its faulty, or maybe wrongly setup (and GPS Passion or someone more knowlegable than me here might be able to tell you how to put the gps receiver back to default settings, or "factory reset" it using these tweak utilities - well worth a try).
The only problem I had was that my device appeared to be stuck in SiRF mode, and I wanted to run Mapopolis(because the supplied Ostia software is absolutely terrible), so needed to get it back into NMEA - CE monitor works great for this. . Got it sorted, some other comments are over here:
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=47533
While I was at it, I enabled WAAS through GPS tweak (seemed to be off by default, although apparently it doesnt help much), and I also enabled the static navigation (off by default, obviously geared for vehicles).
For Eifezeit, got to say apart from Ostia, I'm chuffed with this thing - the small 2.8" diagonal screen but same 320x240 resolution means that text is smaller than usual, but sharper - was worried it might be too small but its nice and clear - the tradeoff is its a good bit lighter and smaller than your regualr size pda, and even with the protective case on you can get it in a front pocket, and you are more likely to take it everywhere with you. I was forever leaving my Garmin Ique in the car, at home etc - not so with the "Pharos" 525, I take it everywhere. Some of this might be to do with the fact that it has the built in wifi too, which works well and increases usefulness a lot (surfing the web, checking email etc). I had waited some time for one of these with wifi, gps and bluetooth all built in one. Incidentally, the fact that the gps receiver does not have a "flip out" arrangement means you can keep it in its (p)leather case nearly all the time and use the gps - very convenient. Battery life is brilliant - you can run it with gps active for around 8 hours straight with backlight off, left it on by mistake in the office once!
I'd have liked to maybe have tried this side by side with the new asus 636, which is a regular sized pda with a bit bigger processor and seen how that compared, but didn't see that till I'd got this - no matter, I'm happy enough to be honest, I think once the novelty value wears off and I stop playing with the thing for hours on end, I think the small form factor and subsequent carriability will win out over physical screen size.
Hope you get yours sorted out jckraa - to reiterate, the GPS part locks and locks more solid than the other gps's I've used to date (Garmin Ique 3200 and an early Magellan) - cold starts under clear sky, no more than 2 minutes, and hot starts, well, they usually lock up in under a second. Its a good piece of hardware I reckon - if yours constantly plays up after various resets etc, I'd suspect maybe its faulty.
Pharos Traveller 525, WM5, built in SiRF Star III GPS, Wifi, BT. Mapopolis 4.64 |
Edited by - Dan725 on 07 févr. 2006 03:05:19 |
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gpspassion
93389 Posts |
Posted - 07 févr. 2006 : 11:45:07
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Great comments again. Good news, it looks like I've been able to "score one" (it won't be coming to Europe in large numbers) and will compare it to the Asus 636, Mio 201, Loox N520, etc...I am currently comparing. It won't be difficult to beat the Asus 636 with it's flip-flopping (desgin problem with the hinge it seems) antenna I suspect !
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Dan725
USA
60 Posts |
Posted - 07 févr. 2006 : 14:52:25
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Great, I look forward to reading that!
Pharos Traveller 525, WM5, built in SiRF Star III GPS, Wifi, BT. Mapopolis 4.64 |
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jckraa
4 Posts |
Posted - 07 févr. 2006 : 16:41:23
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quote:
Welcome to the forums, I believe you are referring to the HTC Galaxy, aka Qtek G100, essentially a "Magician" without the GSM module but with wifi and GPS built-in. We saw it at the CES show as Pharos are selling it in the US and it's a very sleek device - http://nblogps.textamerica.com/?r=4004250 that's the one, right ?
Thanks! and yup, that's the one. I went back to the shop yesterday to get a replacement; the one I've got now seems to be working a lot better: I had a fix within two minutes, and didn't loose it too soon (except when under a bridge).
Will test it some more the following days.
I even had a fix at home for a few seconds, but then it lost it and wouldn't get it again.
quote:
Yes that's normal, GPS signals quickly fall below 160dBm indoors and no GPS can track below that.
In Dutch forums I see comments from people with the same device; they claim to be able to get a fix indoors without any problem. Don't know what to make of that.
Jan-Kees Kraa |
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Dan725
USA
60 Posts |
Posted - 07 févr. 2006 : 19:46:14
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I think it depends on a number of factors to be honest. As explained above, I can usually get a fix in my house - but the position is prone to "jumping" a bit more due to the degraded signal and trying to find exactly where you are. And on some days, it is more difficult than others to get one in the exact same spot inside - could be due to weather, atmsopherics, time of day/sats in view, and a whole host of other factors I imagine. Fact is though, I think the SiRF III reciever does work as advertised in that its a big improvement on previous technology.
I'd be interested to hear how you are getting on with it after a few days/weeks.
Dan.
Pharos Traveller 525, WM5, built in SiRF Star III GPS, Wifi, BT. Mapopolis 4.64 |
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gpspassion
93389 Posts |
Posted - 08 févr. 2006 : 02:54:13
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Yes and you have to be careful with the feedback you will read here and there and "getting a fix" can mean different things to different people, getting a fix normally means getting a "cold fix" with nothing stored in the memory of the GPS and indoors with signal levels below -145dBm this is impossible, physical limitation, however you can track down to -159dBm with a SiRFstarIII GPS, more about this here http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/articles.asp?id=143&page=6 but will lose a lot of accuracy.
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jckraa
4 Posts |
Posted - 09 févr. 2006 : 13:09:38
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I'm never able to get a cold fix indoors, nor do I expect to. With my replacement pda, I'm usually able to get a cold fix in my car within a few minutes (less than 3).
walking into my house, I keep the fix for a few seconds, and then I loose it. Reading about the Sirf III, I actually expected to be able to keep the fix indoors, so that's a bit of a disappointment.
Jan-Kees Kraa |
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gpspassion
93389 Posts |
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jckraa
4 Posts |
Posted - 10 févr. 2006 : 16:44:59
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The shop I bought my pda from has stopped selling this PDA because of the numerous GPS-problems.
Jan-Kees Kraa |
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gpspassion
93389 Posts |
Posted - 11 févr. 2006 : 10:45:52
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Sounds like a drastic business decision, there may be more to it than GPS reception though.
Anyway, more to the point have you loaded CE Monitor to look at signal levels ?
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SEB152030
France
50 Posts |
Posted - 11 févr. 2006 : 13:26:58
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Hi , i have this pda-n from imate to from a fews days, the gps is not so quick for aquisition (in the center of paris with tomtom)
I found a bug, tel me if you have the same .... when I create an mail account in the mail application everythings ok but when i soft reset my account disapear ...
after a hard reset, nothing installed and it's the same ...
have you this trouble to ?
(sorry for my english, i'm french)
The support from i-mate :
Dear Customer,
Thank your for your email of February 10, 2006.Regarding your issue, I would suggest you to reload the Rom version operating system on your device. I would like to inform you that soon it’s going to be avialable under Udates/Downloads for PDA-N. Plese wait and keep a regular check untill it becomes avialable in our website www.clubimate.com.
If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Rikaline 6030 Tomtom go 500 |
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gpspassion
93389 Posts |
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gpspassion
93389 Posts |
Posted - 17 févr. 2006 : 00:17:01
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My Qtek G100, (aka I-mate PDA-N - HTC Galaxy, Pharos 525) just came in and it certainly is a very sleek unit. Nice black finish, light, bright screen, wifi, bluetooth, leather case (a bit large though, I'll use my spare S100 case) and what about GPS ?
Well I can certainly see why some are reporting problems here, very much like the Loox N520 (a close cousin designed by HTC as well, at least for the GPS part), it must be using a tiny antenna in the back and it is taking its toll in terms of sensitivity. So while SiRFstarIII can cope with very low signals for tracking purposes, the big problem for the initiatl fix is that you need to download the ephemeris data and that requires a minimum level of signal of 28dB-Hz and right now the G100 is tracking signals between 15 and 25db-hz in my office (top floor of a house), while the Globalsat BT-338 is tracking between 30 and 36db-hz, this is a huge difference, assuming an average of 22 and 32, that means the G100 is 10 times less sensitive than the BT-338...this is really where SiRFInstantFix http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/comments.asp?id=678 will do wonders - not sure there will be an upgrade for the G100 so that it can use it tough...
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Problems w/ I-mate PDA-N - HTC Galaxy, Pharos 525
