+Dangermouse 1968 Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Having chosen my new smartphone (see thread below) I've decided upon an O2 XDA Orbit II. I'll want to use this to run Memory Map (mainly) and Co-pilot (occassionally) as well as use it as a phone and mp3 player and access the web. Anybody got one?? What's the pro's and con's. Thanks, David Quote Link to comment
+Dangermouse 1968 Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 ....and how accurate is the GPS?? Good enough for caching?? DM Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 You will find everything you need to know about it in this forum..... http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=397 The XDA Orbit 2 is also known as the HTC Touch Cruise. The HTC project name for it was Polaris, so you will also see it called that. All are the same device. Quote Link to comment
+Dangermouse 1968 Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 ....and I'm assuming when I'm out in the field I can just go on the geocaching website to check the listing / clues / reports etc, type the coords into the MM system and it will take me there. Is it really this simple?? Thanks, David Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 (edited) Pretty much yeah. I use PQs and cachemate though, rather than mess around opening web pages. There is a mobile version of GC.com if you need quick low bandwidth access. http://wap.geocaching.com/ Edited May 5, 2008 by melmur Quote Link to comment
+Dangermouse 1968 Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 Pretty much yeah. I use PQs and cachemate though, rather than mess around opening web pages. There is a mobile version of GC.com if you need quick low bandwidth access. http://wap.geocaching.com/ Many thanks Melmur for your help on this and my other thread. David Quote Link to comment
+Dark_Faerie Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 If it's the same GPS as the Vario III it's very accurate. You might also want to check out beeline gps, I've just discovered that if you download waypoints as a gpx file most of the information from the web page is there. It's free for a 30 day trial and still works at the end, just has a lot of reminders. Quote Link to comment
+housefamily Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I've got the XDA Stellar, and if the Orbit is anything like it, the battery life is really poor when you're using the GPS. Mine has lasted about 2 hours at best. Make sure you invest in a handy 12v car charger! Quote Link to comment
+Dangermouse 1968 Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 ordered it now, here on Weds. went for the few extra quid to get unlimited web access - hope it's caching heaven!!! I'll let you know in a couple of weeks. David Quote Link to comment
+Dangermouse 1968 Posted May 19, 2008 Author Share Posted May 19, 2008 Had this for a couple of weeks now. Got a 4 Gb card to put a load of songs on, used it as phone, camera, sync'd it with outlook at work so I've always got my calendar with me and used co-pilot to get from A to B. Today did my first couple of caches with it. Using MM to guide the GPS and then just going directly onto the web-site to get the cache info. So convenient. Have to say it's a great gadget and I'm really loving it. on holiday this week so out again tomorrow. Go get one !!! David Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Had this for a couple of weeks now. Got a 4 Gb card to put a load of songs on, used it as phone, camera, sync'd it with outlook at work so I've always got my calendar with me and used co-pilot to get from A to B. Today did my first couple of caches with it. Using MM to guide the GPS and then just going directly onto the web-site to get the cache info. So convenient. Have to say it's a great gadget and I'm really loving it. on holiday this week so out again tomorrow. Go get one !!! David Only just spotted this. Can you tell me if the Orbit 2 has a static navigation filter enabled on the GPS? I have both an XDA Orbit 1 and an XDA Stellar, and in both cases the filter is enabled, making it more or less useless for geocaching. Unfortunately it is not possible to disable the filter on these units (though I'd love to be proved wrong). If you haven't come across the term before, a static navigation filter is a part of the software that prevents updating of your position while you are stationary or moving very slowly. It was used in the early days of GPS because the deliberate errors introduced by the system caused your position to wander about when you were stationary, which was considered undesirable. It has no real place under modern conditions, but the XDA implementors obviously didn't realise this . It's not a problem when you're using it for satnav, but it stops you slowly homing in to a precise location when caching. You can test it by marking a waypoint (or just going to an existing one) and moving slowly away for about 15 feet. Ideally you should see the distance change a foot at a time, if it doesn't change until you are some way away, then does one big jump, the filter is enabled. If the Orbit 2 does not have the filter enabled I'll get one like a shot. Rgds, Andy Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Had this for a couple of weeks now. Got a 4 Gb card to put a load of songs on, used it as phone, camera, sync'd it with outlook at work so I've always got my calendar with me and used co-pilot to get from A to B. Today did my first couple of caches with it. Using MM to guide the GPS and then just going directly onto the web-site to get the cache info. So convenient. Have to say it's a great gadget and I'm really loving it. on holiday this week so out again tomorrow. Go get one !!! David Only just spotted this. Can you tell me if the Orbit 2 has a static navigation filter enabled on the GPS? I have both an XDA Orbit 1 and an XDA Stellar, and in both cases the filter is enabled, making it more or less useless for geocaching. Unfortunately it is not possible to disable the filter on these units (though I'd love to be proved wrong). If you haven't come across the term before, a static navigation filter is a part of the software that prevents updating of your position while you are stationary or moving very slowly. It was used in the early days of GPS because the deliberate errors introduced by the system caused your position to wander about when you were stationary, which was considered undesirable. It has no real place under modern conditions, but the XDA implementors obviously didn't realise this . It's not a problem when you're using it for satnav, but it stops you slowly homing in to a precise location when caching. You can test it by marking a waypoint (or just going to an existing one) and moving slowly away for about 15 feet. Ideally you should see the distance change a foot at a time, if it doesn't change until you are some way away, then does one big jump, the filter is enabled. If the Orbit 2 does not have the filter enabled I'll get one like a shot. Rgds, Andy Quote Link to comment
The Royles Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 ............. Unfortunately it is not possible to disable the filter on these units (though I'd love to be proved wrong).............. As far as I know, THIS software can turn it off. Some people have reported problems with it, so be careful (google sirftech and check out the forum threads). Andy Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) ............. Unfortunately it is not possible to disable the filter on these units (though I'd love to be proved wrong).............. As far as I know, THIS software can turn it off. Some people have reported problems with it, so be careful (google sirftech and check out the forum threads). Andy Regrettably it can't, nor can any of the numerous similar programs. I don't mean it doesn't work on any GPS units, just that it doesn't work on XDA Orbit 1 and XDA Stellar, and it's likely that it also doesn't work on the Orbit 2. One of the problems is that we can't get access to the GPS port. It's no use trying to talk back to the Windows Intermediate Driver on COM4, and there is no way we can get COM3 (which we think is the "real" GPS port) to open. I can't even open it in my own programs. The suspicion is that the WID is holding the port open, even if the WID is disabled in the setup. A second possible problem is that, while the Orbit 1 used a sirf chipset, it is by no means clear if the same applies to the Stellar or the Orbit 2. I'm a professional programmer and I've spent a LOT of time on this . Rgds, Andy Edited May 20, 2008 by Amberel Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Sirftech can't turn off the Static Nav because it's not a Sirf chipset, it's a Qualcomm. Anyway, have a read through this thread. It worked for me on the Kaiser, so maybe it will help you too? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=388576 More waffle about it here.... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2115761 For problems with any HTC derived devices, XDA-developers is the best place to get the answer. Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Sirftech can't turn off the Static Nav because it's not a Sirf chipset, it's a Qualcomm. Anyway, have a read through this thread. It worked for me on the Kaiser, so maybe it will help you too? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=388576 More waffle about it here.... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2115761 For problems with any HTC derived devices, XDA-developers is the best place to get the answer. I use xda-developers quite a bit, but you have to be very careful to filter out the good material from the rubbish. At least 75% of it is people talking complete nonsense but with great confidence The suggested fix makes no difference to my system (even after a soft reset), nor from the name of the registry entry would I have expected it to. I suspect the symptoms may also be affected by the QoS settings, making it difficult to work out exatly what is going on. I wonder if I can get a chip datasheet from Qualcomm. Rgds, Andy Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Well it certainly works on the Kaiser, so maybe it's time you upgraded Quote Link to comment
+Dangermouse 1968 Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 Been out again today and found two more - no probs. It does seem as though the distance to the cache goes down continuously but slowly as you walk towards it. David Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 It will do, but it won't keep updating when you stand still or walk very slowly. Try placing a cache with it and getting accurate coords. Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Well it certainly works on the Kaiser, so maybe it's time you upgraded The Stellar is a Kaiser. I'm still investigating this, as it may not be a SN issue but something else altogether. On my unit it sometimes does change slowly as I walk slowly, and sometimes it doesn't. This is unaffected by the registry change. The GPS performance of the unit is so poor (compared the the other half a dozen GPS receivers I have) that I wonder if it is a QoS issue and it simply doesn't update when it has a less than perfect signal. I'm fairly sure it's not just a problem with a single unit because I have two XDA Stellars and they are the same. BTW, In case you wonder why I have so many GPS receivers, I'm a professional programmer and have been writing GPS programs for 20 years. I want to understand this issue for professional reasons as well as to turn it into a more usable caching device. Rgds, Andy Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Maybe it's a problem introduced by O2's branded ROM? I assume you've tried different ROMs? Mine has a Windows 6.1 ROM on it if that's any help to you? I have tested it throughly and I can assure you that the registry fix I posted absolutely makes the difference. The GPS on mine is very good, it will keep a fix even in the car glovebox. I tested this because my Mio a701 would do it and I wanted to see if the Qualcomm chipset was as good as the Sirf III on the Mio. The hardware is the same on all of these, so the only difference can be the ROMs or the software we are using. Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 > Maybe it's a problem introduced by O2's branded ROM? That's not impossible, but I would have thought unlikely - I can't see why they would want to bother to change that. And some of the things I observe, such as low signal levels, are not likely to be due to misconfiguration. > I assume you've tried different ROMs? No. If I knew it would make a dramatic improvement I might consider that, otherwise not. I've got loads of other GPSrs that work just fine, the only imperative for getting this to work better is being able to take one less piece of kit out with me when caching. > The GPS on mine is very good, it will keep a fix even in the car glovebox. I've not tried it in the car glovebox, it's not really a sufficiently rigorous test. I've put mine back to back with other receivers and observed the signal strengths, DoPs, and accuracy against surveyed points, in good reception conditions. I've taken several units into more difficult conditions - woods/urban canyon - and observed the relative performance. Rgds, Andy Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I would have thought that if you had already spent "a LOT of time on this", then an extra 20 mins to rule out the ROM wouldn't matter that much. It's up to you. I just wanted you to know that the GPS works fine, with good fix & reception & without static nav issues on my identical (apart from ROM & software config) device, so it can't be a hardware issue unless you have 2 units with the same fault. Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 ... an extra 20 mins to rule out the ROM wouldn't matter that much. 20 minutes! You're joking? I'm not at all in to the business of trying different ROMs and would have to start from scratch working out which one to try (or were you meaning that the ROM in your phone is freely available from somewhere?). I would have to find out how to go about it. I would have to spend time satisfying myself that I had a guaranteed means to safely revert to the original. Then the time to actually do it, the time to try it out, the time to reinstate the original, and then a few more hours to reinstall and reconfigure all my software. And if it didn't work I still wouldn't know if it was just because of the alternative ROM I chose. Rgds, Andy Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 You can create a complete backup of your device with SPB backup or similar. You can then flash the ROM & install whatever app you want to use to try the GPS. If it's no different, then reflash your device with the original ROM and restore the backup. Like I said, 20 mins tops. There are plenty of ROMs freely available from XDA Dev, with Dutty's being the best in my opinion. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=388947 Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 You can create a complete backup of your device with SPB backup or similar. You can then flash the ROM & install whatever app you want to use to try the GPS. If it's no different, then reflash your device with the original ROM and restore the backup. Like I said, 20 mins tops. There are plenty of ROMs freely available from XDA Dev, with Dutty's being the best in my opinion. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=388947 It would take more than 20 minutes to purchase SPB Backup, install it and do the backup. And I have insufficient personal experience of it to know whether I could trust it. One of my previous PDAs came with it installed, but it was too cumbersome for normal use so after an initial trial I didn't use it. That was some years ago, maybe it's better now, but it would take a long time to find out. And then I would have to find somewhere to get hold of my original ROM, and be able to assure myself that it was indeed exactly the original and not a hacked version. I'm afraid I think 20 minutes is absurd to the point of being ridiculous. If you already have the knowledge and all the data and tools to hand, and everything goes according to plan, it may be possible, otherwise it could easily be more than an order of magnitude wrong. I have neither the knowledge or the tools, nor the time or inclination to aquire them for what I fear is likely to be a fruitless exercise. Rgds, Andy Quote Link to comment
+melmur Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Whatever. You seem to know best, so I will leave you to it. Quote Link to comment
+Amberel Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Whatever. You seem to know best, so I will leave you to it. I think the problem is you have all the tools, data and knowledge for flashing ROMs and either did not realise or have forgotten how long it took you to aquire them. Rgds, Andy Quote Link to comment
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