GPS on iPAQ

[+Beds Clangers]

Simple question, on an iPAQ do you use SDIO GPS or a Bluetooth GPS??

 

I'm using a iPAQ 2200 with Bluetooth and use TomTom and Fugawi but the problem I have is the interface between the iPAQ and GPS device.

 

When I first went "paperless" I used a bluetooth GPS, about 18 months ago. I had all sorts of problems in getting this to work correctly and had to to "muck" around with the com ports on the iPAQ to get it to work every time I turned it on and got really fed up with it. Could take about 10mins just to get it working and every time you stopped had the same problems over again.

 

Totally fed up with this I got hold of a Globalsat SDIO card which worked great, well until a few days ago??

SDIO card works as a GPS but all the storage (512MB) has gone i.e. TomTom files etc.

 

What I would "like" is a Bluetooth GPS that I can simply turn on and not have to "fiddle" around with the

iPAQ to get it working every time, any comments??

 

Regards

 

Nick

[+keehotee]

Get hold of Franson GPSGate.

Once you've turned on your bluetooth and connected to the GPS, turn on GPSgate and everything else runs from there. (once you've initially configured it, obviously)

 

I've been using it for about 6 months, and haven't had any probs or glitches. Plus I get to run MM, BeeLine, and Destinator or TomTom - all at the same time

[+Archer4]

Get hold of Franson GPSGate.

Once you've turned on your bluetooth and connected to the GPS, turn on GPSgate and everything else runs from there. (once you've initially configured it, obviously)

 

I've been using it for about 6 months, and haven't had any probs or glitches. Plus I get to run MM, BeeLine, and Destinator or TomTom - all at the same time

 

What they said (and put GPSGate in Windows>StartUp so you don't even have to turn it on)

[+Sue and Bernie]

I bought GPS Gate so that I could use TomTom 5 and MemoryMap 2004 at the same time. I couldn't get on with it on my Ipaq 6340 PPC Phone - it kept "taking over" my Ipaq by running TomTom all the time. This "feature" was detailed in the instructions.

 

I now have 2 different BT GPS units paired to my Ipaq - both are painless in operation (one at a time of course). I don't even both to connect them when I want to use them, TomTom (with POI Warner) finds the unit if it is turned on and connects to it.

[+kbootb]

I've been using Smartnav by Navman (was better than TomTom at the time but I think TT is winning the race now) and Memory Map.

 

Both use the bluetooth GPSr that came with the Navman.

 

It took a bit of setting up the coms ports etc to get the GPS to work with MM. Until recently I used to go into bluetooth, into manager and there was a shortcut set up for the GPS. Click on that to connect and then fire up MM and it worked.

 

Recently I've been getting a lot of lock ups on SmartNav and although the bluetooth connection to the GPSr seems to be made, memory map doesn't seem to be getting the data.

 

Always happens when I'm out with someone else who is ... how shall I put it?... less tolerant of the technology. 'Come on let's just walk then'. So I haven't had a quite moment to work out what's going wrong.

 

I'm tempted to buy a compact flash GPSr with an SD slot and buy TomTom on SD. One less bit to carry around.

[+gingerbreadmen]

Wouldn't life be good if somebody had the idea to put an output on the gps device so that you could plug it directly into the pda and not have to bother with bluetooth? Would'nt that also save on battery power? Go on somebody, have that idea...

[Edgemaster]

Wouldn't life be good if somebody had the idea to put an output on the gps device so that you could plug it directly into the pda and not have to bother with bluetooth? Would'nt that also save on battery power? Go on somebody, have that idea...

There are devices like that. A bluetooth chip in a PDA draws less power than a plugged, unpowered GPS device for a PDA draws. (I'm not sure about power consumption of GPS chips for PDAs though)

[+Beds Clangers]

Well after a lot of crashing and bashing about, nothing to do with the iPAQ, trying to find the "old" BT77 BLuetooth GPS I use to use.

 

Downloaded this GPSGate Software, installed it, turned on Bluetooth GPS and BINGO, it worked!!!! Turned off iPAQ, turned off GPS switched it all back on again and &*&*%^$% me it WORKED!!!!

 

Tried a few more times and everything worked???

 

Have my bluetooth GPS now shared with my PDA and two laptops and another programme that I use (nothing to do with caching) and they have run with no problems since yesterday.

 

Spoke to guy I work with and he also has manged to share his Bluetooth GPS with a number of devices/applications with no problem.

 

Will be buying the full version og GPSGate, for PPC/Windozes, ASAP.

 

Regards for the pointer to this application

 

Cheers

 

Nick

[+keehotee]

Wouldn't life be good if somebody had the idea to put an output on the gps device so that you could plug it directly into the pda and not have to bother with bluetooth?

 

Almost on-topic - what I really want is a normal handheld GPS, with a bluetooth output as well..

[Sparticus]

The Ipaq 2200 series has a CF port (I think), as well as the SD port. I have been using a CF GPS reciever as well as my bluetooth for Tomtom. Running them together so that when I'm near a destination I turn of TT and go straight to Memmap for the final bit.

This may offer an alternative. Only problem is that the CF reciever is great until you get to thick trees. I think it's afraid of the DARK.

Hope this has been of use.

[oddsock]

Wouldn't life be good if somebody had the idea to put an output on the gps device so that you could plug it directly into the pda and not have to bother with bluetooth? Would'nt that also save on battery power? Go on somebody, have that idea...

 

I made a cable that connects an etrex to a 2210 so thats the same thing isn't it??

 

 

Dave