Wherigo and Bluetooth GPS

[+Jaz666]

This is a repost of something I posted last night, which fell into a black hole

 

My setup.....

Standard WM2003 PPC, SirfIII BT GPS which communicates through COM5.

 

Now, every GPS application (Tom Tom, Memory Map, Cachemate, GPXSonar etc) I've tried has worked fine with my setup, they all give you options to setup the COM port that my Bluetooth receiver uses.

 

Currently Wherigo tries to autodetect the GPS which is connected, which is understandable when you are trying to develop a "staight out of the box" product.

If my BT Receiver is switched off, the program exits with an error message.

After switching it on, pairing it up and getting a full signal lock, the application still doesn't startup, rather the hourglass endlessly spins (I gave up at half an hour).

 

Has anyone had any success playing with Wherigo with a Bluetooth setup yet?

 

Groundspeak... would it be possible to add an "advanced startup" option, where the user can specify the COM port and baud rate so the application doesn't have to try to autodetect it?

I remember the first version of the beta would startup fine, and then had the options for you to setup your GPS communication.

[+Bringer]

I was thinking about the same...

 

I should be possible to manually configure the GPS receiver to avoid some complications.

[+NevadaWolf]

I had the error of no GPS when I first started the player. I turned mine on and let it connect via bluetooth (bt-20 to XV6700 w/ WM5). It never gained signal as I was in a building, but the player started up fine after that.

 

Since then, I can launch the player without having the gps on. I just see the red satellite signal icon in the top corner, and the program won't let me progress beyond putting my spacesuit on.

[+Nuwati]

Make sure that you exit the Wherigo player completely. Establish your blutetooth connection, cut on the GPS, and then start Wherigo player.

 

Nuwati

[+Jaz666]

Still no success today.

I've even gone as far as disabling all but the bluetooth COM Ports, but still no joy.

 

Fingers crossed the developers consider giving us control over the comms setup.

[+venca68]

Hi, I have the same problem as is written on the top. The Wherigo Player wants to connect to GPS only thru BT. But I have PDA with built-in GPS module (Asus A369) It communicate thru COM5 not thru BT.

Is there any solving or any hint for this? Thanx.

[+coreynjoey]

This is a repost of something I posted last night, which fell into a black hole

 

My setup.....

Standard WM2003 PPC, SirfIII BT GPS which communicates through COM5.

 

Now, every GPS application (Tom Tom, Memory Map, Cachemate, GPXSonar etc) I've tried has worked fine with my setup, they all give you options to setup the COM port that my Bluetooth receiver uses.

 

Currently Wherigo tries to autodetect the GPS which is connected, which is understandable when you are trying to develop a "staight out of the box" product.

If my BT Receiver is switched off, the program exits with an error message.

After switching it on, pairing it up and getting a full signal lock, the application still doesn't startup, rather the hourglass endlessly spins (I gave up at half an hour).

 

Has anyone had any success playing with Wherigo with a Bluetooth setup yet?

 

Groundspeak... would it be possible to add an "advanced startup" option, where the user can specify the COM port and baud rate so the application doesn't have to try to autodetect it?

I remember the first version of the beta would startup fine, and then had the options for you to setup your GPS communication.

 

 

I have a Mobile Crossing ppc running WM2003 with BT GPS. When I first started, it hung up and I got the same error message you did. After exiting out of everything and making sure there weren't any running programs, I started the GPS through the BT Manager first, then I started Wherigo, and it worked like a charm!

[+venca68]

New experience today My hw: Asus A639 PPC + internal SirfIII GPS which communicates through COM5.

I borrowed an external BT GPS module today. All with it was ok. When I was in the exterier I tested communication with the internal module (thru COM5) once more. And surprise - all was ok as well. I mean - internal GPS module send no signal/information to the system without satelites. Or - Wherigo Player don't recognize between no-signal state and no-gps state.

[+Amberel]

I've had to uninstall it from my XDA Orbit for the time being because it locks up the machine every time and requires a reset. At the start it should ask if you want to select a GPS port or autodetect. Even if you autodetect it should time out after a few seconds. No way should it require a reset if it can't find the GPS.

 

It's also a shame it needs .NET. Trouble with .NET is that it's so bloated and so slow - I've stopped using it and converted my .NET apps to use the Win32 API. I can understand the decision, because it's so much easier doing development in .NET, just a shame the runtime is so poor.

 

Rgds, Andy

[+scobey]

My IPAQ connected right away to my external bluetooth GPS. Better than other programs I use!

[+WalruZ]

FWIW, I have the new player running on a waypoint 200 using BT GPS. The GPS has to be on before starting the player (it would be nice if the player failed that test more gracefully) and it does seem to want a chunk of memory, something that is tight in this model. But the play-anywhere cartridge worked, up until it asked me to go outside. It's raining now, so screw that...

[+Fier]

I am rather excited about this concept of Wherigo, and I spent this weekend trying to get a Nokia 6110 Navigator to transmit the GPS signal via Blue tooth to Wherigo on my Pocket PC.

 

I was really excited when I found a simple java application that reads the internal GPS feed on the Nokia and transmits it via BT to my paired device (I tested this using the Cachemate NMEA plugin.) Then I started Wherigo and it crashed because there was no GPS. I tried again with success and loaded the tutorial, only to receive a message that the GPS signal is not strong enough when I try the first 'task.'

 

The problem I have is that I believe that Wherigo is fixed as to where it gets it's input. My PPC only allows BT on Com6 or Com7 and I think that this may be related to the problem (it appears that some people who use Com5 have less problems with Wherigo.)

 

In the end, I think the developers have done a great job making the application work on a very large number of devices already (really, well done), but I think that it's important to allow for a more complex set-up when a device is attached to an external GPS without any GPS software installed.

I agree with what Bringer and others say - give functionality to the end user to configure the port!

[+davidloew]

I am rather excited about this concept of Wherigo, and I spent this weekend trying to get a Nokia 6110 Navigator to transmit the GPS signal via Blue tooth to Wherigo on my Pocket PC.

 

I was really excited when I found a simple java application that reads the internal GPS feed on the Nokia and transmits it via BT to my paired device (I tested this using the Cachemate NMEA plugin.) Then I started Wherigo and it crashed because there was no GPS. I tried again with success and loaded the tutorial, only to receive a message that the GPS signal is not strong enough when I try the first 'task.'

 

The problem I have is that I believe that Wherigo is fixed as to where it gets it's input. My PPC only allows BT on Com6 or Com7 and I think that this may be related to the problem (it appears that some people who use Com5 have less problems with Wherigo.)

 

In the end, I think the developers have done a great job making the application work on a very large number of devices already (really, well done), but I think that it's important to allow for a more complex set-up when a device is attached to an external GPS without any GPS software installed.

I agree with what Bringer and others say - give functionality to the end user to configure the port!

Hello, I've put in some code in the Wherigo Player for Pocket PC that better detects the GPS device. If no device is detected a nicer error message will display and you can still run the app. (Instead of it just blowing up). We're discussing ways to allow manual setting of which port to use, there are some gotchas with that in terms of stopping and start the gps etc.

 

David.

[+Jaz666]

Hi David.

 

I'm sorry to report that the new version still locks up my O2 XDA II ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O2_Xda )

[+davidloew]

Hi David.

 

I'm sorry to report that the new version still locks up my O2 XDA II ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O2_Xda )

Sorry to hear that. I assume you are using the bluetooth for GPS? Have you paired the bluetooth gps with the device and after that, have you assigned the new bluetooth device to a comm port? The gps software within Wherigo searches for all comm ports that may be valid serial ports and then if valid, have valid NMEA data. The first one to be found will be used for the GPS. The latest version of the player will show that it is Searching for valid devices and after a while, should timeout if none are found.

 

I did some searching on our GPS provider's web site and there is a post from last year talking about the lock up after finding a device. There is no answer to that post. I will contact the provider and see if there is any more information on this.

 

David.

Edited January 15, 2008 by davidloew

[+Jaz666]

Sorry to hear that. I assume you are using the bluetooth for GPS? Have you paired the bluetooth gps with the device and after that, have you assigned the new bluetooth device to a comm port? The gps software within Wherigo searches for all comm ports that may be valid serial ports and then if valid, have valid NMEA data. The first one to be found will be used for the GPS. The latest version of the player will show that it is Searching for valid devices and after a while, should timeout if none are found.

 

Yes, the bluetooth is all setup, and works fine with all other applications using nmea, I've made sure no other programs are running. The hourglass runs very slowly and the pda won't respond to any screen clicks outside of the application (start menu etc), suggesting something is hogging all the resources, and after half an hour, no timeout message appeared.

I still suspect the mobile phone side of the PDA might be thowing off the detection routine. Jeremy's mentioned you've an XDA unit on order to test with.

 

This is the list of the active comm ports.

 

COM1 Serial on COM1

COM2

COM3 Infrared Port

COM4

COM5 Bluetooth In - this is what all my gps applications (memory map, tom tom, cachemate) connect to

COM6 BT on COM6 (I assume this is the outgoing port)

COM8 Serial on USB

COM9

 

I've tried disabling all but the two Bluetooth ports, but that didn't improve matters.

 

Hope this is of help.

[Jeremy]

Jeremy's mentioned you've an XDA unit on order to test with.

 

 

I ordered one. It hasn't arrived yet.

[+Fier]

I've sorted it out - how exciting!

I had tried starting different apps in different orders, but this time I restarted my PPC and set up the BT signal before starting Wherigo. I think my PPC's memory is pushed to it's limit resulting in the BT port getting a back seat. Restating the device sorts all this out. Thanks David for your hard work.

 

The tutorial cartridge was fun

[+WalruZ]

Update: I played the tutorial cartridge at lunch today on a waypoint 200 with bluetooth 'mobile crossing' gps, no problems. Very good.

 

I do suggest going to "Settings / Memory / Running applications" and stopping everything else on the device before starting Wherigo. Many PPC applications don't actually terminate, so you have to do this to free program memory. Also, if you're tight on memory, look for large unneeded files to delete and then tweak the memory allocation such that there is more program memory allocated.

 

I could see a new user being confused by the cartridge. I was. Once I received a task in a zone (name the alien) I wandered away from the zone and could no longer see the alien. A line in the task like "make certain you're in the alien landscape zone!" would have helped there. After all, it is a tutorial.

[+Wachusett Wolverines]

To add another data point to this discussion:

 

AT&T 8525 Pocket PC Phone (aka HTC Hermes) running WM5

GlobalSat BT-338 SiRFstar III GPS

 

WM5 manages the GPS connection, with GPS program port set to COM1 and GPS hardware port COM5, baud rate 115200. Every other GPS-enabled app works great, and I've used pretty much all of them. Right now I regularly use Google Maps, Microsoft Live Search, and iGuidance. All work without a hitch. iGuidance is the only one which requires manual GPS config. The other two don't let you or need you to manually configure.

 

When I launch Wherigo Player, it flashes briefly (< 1 second) "GPS Device Detection in Process..." and then brings me to the Cartridge Menu. The satellite and bars icon remains red. In the tutorial, it tells me my satellite signal is too weak to put on the space suit. Meanwhile I can launch any of the other GPS apps and get 5 or 6 satellite locks.

 

I tried rebooting, I verified that I have no other apps running, and I think I've run out of debugging ideas... Guess I'll wait and try the next version when it drops. Let me know if I can help debug this or serve as a guinea pig. Can't wait to take Wherigo for a spin!

[+Mathlener]

I have a T-Mobile Vario (HTC Wizard) with a Fortuna ClipOn bluetooth GPS device. I paired the GPS and assigned outgoing COM port 6 to the ClipOn-BTGPS. With Vito Navigator, the GPS is found correctly and I can even see the NMEA data, but the Wherigo player fails to connect to the GPS.

 

Is there anyway to set the COM port correctly in the Wherigo player or can I do something else to use this device?

[Ranger Fox]

Is there anyway to set the COM port correctly in the Wherigo player or can I do something else to use this device?

Another thread solved a connectivity problem by disabling the shared BTGPS feature. Have you tried that?

 

It's hard to find that thread unless you're looking for it: link

[+Whip & Irish]

It took me a little bit but I got my Bluetooth GPS to work on my Sprint Mogul. Here is what I did and maybe it will work for other pocket PC devises

 

1 st I pared the GPS and checked the box for “Serial Port”

2 nd I went into GPS settings and assigned the Program port to COM 8

3 rd I unchecked the box for manage GPS automatically

 

I did a soft reset and checked all the settings were still as I set them up, then I opened the Wherigo program and all was good and I played the Wherigo Player Tutorial very interesting concept, I hope there will be new games in my area soon I may even try and create one if I can figure it out.

[+Mathlener]

Another thread solved a connectivity problem by disabling the shared BTGPS feature. Have you tried that?

 

It's hard to find that thread unless you're looking for it: link

 

Thanks! That post directed me to the solution.

 

My Phone didn't have the GPS settings in the control panel, so I had to enable it first.

 

I used the registry editor of resco explorer, goto key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ControlPanel\GPS Settings, delete the DWORD REDIRECT and add DWORD Group with value 2. After that, I had to soft-reboot the device.

 

The Wherigo player now detects the GPS correctly.

Edited February 17, 2008 by Mathlener

[+SUp3rFM & Cruella]

Tried every workaround suggested and still no success.

 

Guess we're not going anywhere, except geocaching and Waymarking.

[+astra-nomical]

I have a similar set-up to Jaz666, using a PPC running WM2005 and a bluetooth GlobalSat BT-308 which works fine with Memory Map and Cache Mate, but refuses to work with Wherigo.

 

I connected the PPC to the GPS then I ran Wherigo and I get an error message "GPS Detection Error - There was an error detecting a GPS Device NullReferenceException" and the bluetooth link drops.

 

It seems to be a problem with the autodetection for bluetooth GPS's. If there was some way of configuring them manually then I might be able to get it to work.

Edited February 22, 2008 by astra-nomical

[+Dark_Faerie]

Another thread solved a connectivity problem by disabling the shared BTGPS feature. Have you tried that?

 

It's hard to find that thread unless you're looking for it: link

 

Thanks! That post directed me to the solution.

 

My Phone didn't have the GPS settings in the control panel, so I had to enable it first.

 

I used the registry editor of resco explorer, goto key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ControlPanel\GPS Settings, delete the DWORD REDIRECT and add DWORD Group with value 2. After that, I had to soft-reboot the device.

 

The Wherigo player now detects the GPS correctly.

 

Tried this, no DWORD REDIRECT in GPS Settings, added DWORD Group with value 2. Still no luck.

I'm using a HTC TYNTN (t-mobile uk version) with generic BTGPS which works fine with google maps and bee line.

[+London Rain]

Thanks! That post directed me to the solution.

 

My Phone didn't have the GPS settings in the control panel, so I had to enable it first.

 

I used the registry editor of resco explorer, goto key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ControlPanel\GPS Settings, delete the DWORD REDIRECT and add DWORD Group with value 2. After that, I had to soft-reboot the device.

 

The Wherigo player now detects the GPS correctly.

 

Thanks! This seemed to work for me too! I use an O2 XDA Mini S (which is a rebranded HTC Wizard) with SysOnChip Smart Blue SIRF III bluetooth GPS mouse. Before enabling the GPS settings menu via the registry and then disabling "Manage GPS automatically (recommended)" it didn't connect but now everything seems to be fine. Tomtom is still working and ActiveSync via BT too. Great.

 

Does disabling "Manage GPS automatically (recommended)" have any possible downsides?

Edited February 23, 2008 by London Rain

[Ranger Fox]

Does disabling "Manage GPS automatically (recommended)" have any possible downsides?

 

I'm not certain, but I would imagine only one program at a time would be able to access the GPSr. That might be it.

[+Whip & Irish]

Does disabling "Manage GPS automatically (recommended)" have any possible downsides?

 

I'm not certain, but I would imagine only one program at a time would be able to access the GPSr. That might be it.

 

This is the only way I was able to get Wherigo to run on my phone.

[bradvoy]

Does disabling "Manage GPS automatically (recommended)" have any possible downsides?

 

I'm not certain, but I would imagine only one program at a time would be able to access the GPSr. That might be it.

 

This is the only way I was able to get Wherigo to run on my phone.

This is also the only way I can get Wherigo to talk to my Bluetooth GPSr on my AT&T 8525 with Windows Mobile 6.

[+Happy Humphrey]

I had exactly the same problem as the OP, with a very similar configuration. Every time I opened Wherigo, despite starting up the bluetooth GPSr before starting Wherigo, I just had an endless delay while the software attempted to locate the GPSr.

 

I'm not sure exactly how I fixed it (!), except that along the way I re-installed the bluetooth GPS and soon after that it began working.

 

There now appears to be no problem: the GPSr is detected very quickly (it's on COM8). I'm sure that the "old" (Beta) Wherigo software did have a manual setup facility, even though I used to have trouble with Wherigo closing the GPS after startup.

[+FMercier]

sorry for my bad english, im from germany...

 

im using a ASUS A626 with WM& and a BT GPS blumax

 

i couldnt switch a com port, and it seemed that only one programm can get a connection to the BTGPS

if have tryed with some shareware, alone both can connect to BTGPS

so i couldnt make a connection and then starting Wherigo and end the programm witch gets the connection at first killed also the connection to the BTGPS

 

Wherigo couldnt find my BTGPS...

 

mist!

 

Frank

[+Dark_Faerie]

Does disabling "Manage GPS automatically (recommended)" have any possible downsides?

 

I'm not certain, but I would imagine only one program at a time would be able to access the GPSr. That might be it.

 

This is the only way I was able to get Wherigo to run on my phone.

This is also the only way I can get Wherigo to talk to my Bluetooth GPSr on my AT&T 8525 with Windows Mobile 6.

 

I've now upgraded to WM6 so that I can stop the Hermes managing the BTGPS automatically. Now nothing will communicate with the BTGPS, not even beeline

Tried the settings recommended in another thread, no luck.

[+FMercier]

now with the new version from 7.3.2008 with the manuel BT settings it works!

warum nicht gleich so?

 

greets

 

Frank

Edited March 8, 2008 by FMercier

[bradvoy]

This is also the only way I can get Wherigo to talk to my Bluetooth GPSr on my AT&T 8525 with Windows Mobile 6.

 

I've now upgraded to WM6 so that I can stop the Hermes managing the BTGPS automatically. Now nothing will communicate with the BTGPS, not even beeline

Tried the settings recommended in another thread, no luck.

Here are the settings I'm using on my Hermes / 8525:

GPS program port: COM7

GPS hardware port: COM0

Baud rate: 115200

Manage GPS automatically: disabled for Wherigo, enabled for Google Maps

[+Dark_Faerie]

This is also the only way I can get Wherigo to talk to my Bluetooth GPSr on my AT&T 8525 with Windows Mobile 6.

 

I've now upgraded to WM6 so that I can stop the Hermes managing the BTGPS automatically. Now nothing will communicate with the BTGPS, not even beeline

Tried the settings recommended in another thread, no luck.

Here are the settings I'm using on my Hermes / 8525:

GPS program port: COM7

GPS hardware port: COM0

Baud rate: 115200

Manage GPS automatically: disabled for Wherigo, enabled for Google Maps

 

OMG it's working!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the help.

 

My settings are

GPS program port: COM1

GPS hardware port: COM2

Baud rate: 9600 (BTGPS manufacturer recomended)

Manage GPS automatically: disabled for Wherigo, enabled for Beeline

 

Selected manage GPS automatically, started beeline, got settings (sure I had different program port set this morning). Deselected and got Wherigo working

 

Unfortunately it's now 21:45 and I live in an area where it's not a good idea to wander around with a PDA. Got my space suit on and will go to the park tomorrow after work.

[+thsalbert]

I was using Garmin 10x GPSr, Dopod 818pro WM5

Used PHM RegEdit goto key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ControlPanel\GPS Settings, delete the DWORD REDIRECT. Reboot the PDA phone.

My setup:

Paired BT and set outgoing comm port to Com6.

GPS manager:

GPS Programme port: Com7

GPS Hardware Port: Com6 Baud rate 9600.

Enable manage GPS automatically

 

For terting purposes I can run Cachemate, beeline and Wherigo concurently without any problem.

Cheer!

[Izzy and the Lizard King]

Having just completed our first Wherigo cache (Whitchurch Wherigo) I thought I'd post our experience/problems encountered.

Hardware: Dell Axim 51v running WM5 and TomTom wireless GPS MkII.

Firstly we downloaded the updated player yesterday then the cartridge. Switched on GPS receiver and everything seemed fine when I booted up the game.

 

Today we arrived at the starting point having used TomTom on the PPC to guide us there. Exited TomTom and started up the player with the GPS auto detect switched on. The player identified the receiver but no satellites. Tried to establish link by trying all Comm ports without success. Switched auto detect back on. Switched off PPC and did a cold start and then straight into the Wherigo player. Everything booted up nicely, loaded cartridge which started fine and remained very stable throughout the whole game. Looking forward to doing more now that I know how to get up and running.

 

Paul

[+thsalbert]

WM5 PPC to properly connect to BT GPSr.

 

A) Pairing of BT.

1) Established the partnership.

2) comm port: New outgoing port. This will be your hardware port between PPC and BT GPSr.

 

GPS Manager wm5 it work something like gpsgate, by using one GPSr, It can run various programme concurrently.

1) Manage GPS automatically when enabled, Then all the programmes will used this programme port for communications. That mean the BT GPSr will connected to hardware port, GPS signal passed to programme port and send the data to various programmes like Tom Tom, cachemate etc.

2) Programme port, this is comm port for programmes like Wherigo, cachemate, beelineGPS etc to connect.

3) Hardware port is the comm port which was done on 'A' above.

 

C) My setting:

1) Hardware port to Com6, Baud rate to 9600.

2) Programme Port to Com7.

3) Enabled manage GPS automatically.

 

D) Software configuation:

1) Latest version of Wherigo will automatically connected to com7.

2) BeelineGPS to com7 baud rate 9600.

3) Cachemate plugin:

CacheNav and GPS location Query selected the wm5 GPS driver.

4) VisualGPS Com7,9600 baud rate.

5) Just downloaded Google Map and Installed,

Manual configured Comm Poar to com7 baud rate 9600

First time I run google map it was wonderful.

I test run the above programms concurrently without any issue.

 

Today enjoying of completion of the first tutorial.

Cheer!

Edited March 11, 2008 by thsalbert

[+SUp3rFM & Cruella]

Finally, I got it working. It was difficult.

 

Here's my hardware:

HP IPAQ 3850 (it has NO GPSr built-in)

Operating System: Microsoft Pocket PC Windows Mobile 2003 (NOT SE)

Processor: 206 MHz Intel Strong ARM 32-bit RISC Processor

Resolution: 240 x 320

RAM: 64 MB

ROM: 32 MB

 

For running Wherigo, I managed to set free 20mb. It seems to consume nearly 15mb.

 

GPS Bluetooth Holux 236

An external and regular Sirf III chipset GPS unit. I used it on NMEA mode.

 

I've run those two with all sorts of software, from TomTom to Oziexplorer, from BeelineGPS to VitoNavigator, etc. I've tweaked the GPS BT to shut down the Static Navigation effect. Since day 1, the GPS BT was working on COM port 5 at the speed of 9600bps, on NMEA. I had no problems whatsoever with those apps.

 

Oddly enough, I couldn't get Wherigo running. I noticed that this last releases let you choose manual settings, so I tested them today. I tried detecting the GPS automatically, but didn't work. Tried manually on port 5 and 9600 and nothing. I even ran Tomtom first. It ran flawless, as usual. Then turned it off, tried Wherigo with the correct settings and nothing. This was a no-brainer.

 

So, I ran a tweak application for SirfIII GPSrs, named Sirftech. I changed from NMEA to SIRF then to NMEA again, at the speed of 9600bps. Closed it and ran Wherigo and...

 

 

SUCESS!

 

I haven't switched things off since I had sucess. I'll try that, as soon as I run the Tutorial.

[+SUp3rFM & Cruella]

After a few bumps, think I got it running whenever I want to. The manual GPS settings were pretty good for the GPS detecting, but I really need to set free at least 22mb for program memory. That's the trick.

 

I even manage to get Wherigo started withouth the GPSr having a good satellite fix. It was hard. Let's hope it worthy! :-)