[ms001]

hey guys can you suggest a decent pnd i can get from singapore which will work with MMI or satguide?

eBay.com.sg: new 4.3"GPS Navigation system 2GB FM mp3 mp4 multimedia (item 250508923159 end time Nov 04, 2009 10:52:28 SGT)

something like this or any other brand

[akshay_b]

Originally Posted by genesis

There is a whole slew of WINDOWS CE 6.0 PNDs which seem more advanced than the dealextreme ones (also from Hongkong but with shipping to US)

They have updated chipsets and seem more advanced.

4.8?NEW GPS NAVI+SIRF IV+FM transmitter+WINCE6.0+4G MAP - eBay (item 180421740427 end time Oct-28-09 20:08:51 PDT)


Any idea of the suitability of these to load MapMyIndia Maps. Theoretically the ones for HTC should work?

That's awesome, The member ships to india for 9$

[ms001]

Originally Posted by ms001

hey guys can you suggest a decent pnd i can get from singapore which will work with MMI or satguide?

eBay.com.sg: new 4.3"GPS Navigation system 2GB FM mp3 mp4 multimedia (item 250508923159 end time Nov 04, 2009 10:52:28 SGT)

something like this or any other brand

guys please suggest any brands around 100$ which can be bought form here and are reliable

[ampere]

Not sure of the ebay availability. Garmin 205W. Will cost about $130 at Amazon. Has all the basic functions and works well.

[the_maassk]

The DX GPS unit I have received seems to be slow in getting a GPS fix. It takes anywhere between 10-15 minutes for it to get a lock on 3 satellites. I can 'see' upto 24 satellites, but takes ages to start 'using' 3 of them in order to be usable. Also, the signal strengths I get are fairly low. All experiments were done outdoors and even outside city limits! Is it normal for these units to perform this way? Would there be a firmware update that can help me with this? Do I have a lemon???

[phamilyman]

What chipset does it have? My holux M 1000 B has no issues. <1min for full 3D fix!

[tsk1979]

Try this, turn off unit, keep it indoors for a day.
Then take it outside, and switch it on outside the car with clear view of sky.
See how long it takes for the fix. This is absolute cold fix.
If it takes <5min things are okay, and you may have a windscreen with metal(or sunfilm on the windscreen).
These anti IR windscreens/sunfilms also kill some GPS signal.
Only way out is to get an active antenna which boosts the signal.

[the_maassk]

This has the Centrality Atlas-III (SOC). This is the device I have:

https://www2.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.23569

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by the_maassk

The DX GPS unit I have received seems to be slow in getting a GPS fix. It takes anywhere between 10-15 minutes for it to get a lock on 3 satellites. I can 'see' upto 24 satellites, but takes ages to start 'using' 3 of them in order to be usable. Also, the signal strengths I get are fairly low. All experiments were done outdoors and even outside city limits! Is it normal for these units to perform this way? Would there be a firmware update that can help me with this? Do I have a lemon???

Sorry to hear that. You can update the firmware and see. Mine does it at around 1 minute

[the_maassk]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Try this, turn off unit, keep it indoors for a day.
Then take it outside, and switch it on outside the car with clear view of sky.
See how long it takes for the fix. This is absolute cold fix.
If it takes <5min things are okay, and you may have a windscreen with metal(or sunfilm on the windscreen).
These anti IR windscreens/sunfilms also kill some GPS signal.
Only way out is to get an active antenna which boosts the signal.

I do have Llumar sunfilm on the windscreen. I've also tried a firmware flash and things do not seem to have improved. Let me try alternative locations for mounting.

[tsk1979]

These sunfilms have metal in them., It prevent IR from coming in and keep car cool But they also are responsible for low signal strength.
In the west, cars with windscreens with this IR thingy have something called a "Transparent zone".
This is a small box area where there is no coating. It is recommended to keep the GPS near that area in such cars

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by the_maassk

I do have Llumar sunfilm on the windscreen. I've also tried a firmware flash and things do not seem to have improved. Let me try alternative locations for mounting.

Can you take it out of car and see how much time it takes to locate satellites ?

[the_maassk]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Can you take it out of car and see how much time it takes to locate satellites ?

Am back with my findings.

1. If I have the unit outside the car and in a fairly open area with ample view of the sky, I can get a fix in 30-60 seconds (after resume from sleep).

2. If I do a cold start in the same conditions as above, I get a fix in 3-5 minutes.

3. Outside the car but near big buildings, it takes around 3 minutes to get a fix.

4. Within the car, near buildings, I have a tough time getting a fix.

5. Within the car, in open spaces, I get a fix in around 3 minutes.

6. If I mount it in the car and start driving before it can get a fix, it takes its own sweet time getting a fix! (around 15-20 minutes).

I think there are two things I'll have to do -

1. Find the best mounting location in the car so that it gets good signals.

2. Wait a while for it to get a fix before driving off.

Another option is finding an active antenna for the device. Although antennae should be available, the device does not have a visible port for connection on the outside. I will have to hunt for the device specs and see if there is a port somewhere on the board inside.

OT - I just noticed that my post count on the forums has not be incrementing since a while even though I have been posting! Mods - can you look at this? Might be a bug somewhere!

[tsk1979]

Spot on. Most GPS PNDs(reputed or otherwise) take extra long to get cold fix if you are constantly moving(changing direction also).
Normally your unit sees the satellites through the windscreen, and roof is opaque to it.
So lets say you start moving, and your unit sees satellites 4,7,18,22
ITs trying to get positon fix using them.

Then you take a turn, and satellites 6,11,8,15 come into view, again its trying to get position fix.
This is a problem which does not have any solution except
1. External active antenna - Boosts signal, and gives you a fix quick. Heck I get 10 satellites even with high rises
2. Software solution - The software downloads Ephemeris data from internet for a week or so. this is called a-GPS
3. GPS software solution - The sirf instafix thingy, where it gets data for next few days, and "knows" which satellite is where.

For A-GPS you need to have a mobile GPS solution.
So if you have such a PND, the only solution is external antenna. Infact I did not buy ebay ones because of this one reason. I bought myself a Mio C320
I got a Glisson active antenna for 16$ after I got this problem in San Francisco(tall buildings etc.,)

You can probably try opening up the unit to see if there is an antenna port on the board

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by the_maassk

Am back with my findings.

1. If I have the unit outside the car and in a fairly open area with ample view of the sky, I can get a fix in 30-60 seconds (after resume from sleep).

2. If I do a cold start in the same conditions as above, I get a fix in 3-5 minutes.

3. Outside the car but near big buildings, it takes around 3 minutes to get a fix.

I think sunfilm on windscreen is spoiling the signals. As tsk mentioned, external antenna is most obvious option.

Given that this unit does not have a port for antenna, you can try finding some spot in car that has better signal reception.

But overall it should not be a problem. If you are out of city keep the unit outside car for 5 mins so that it gets the fix. Once it locks on satellites it should work.