Mapopolis GPS for Smartphone on C500

[Guest arnespv]

Trying out the Mapopolis beta demo. Now i have to say i'm using the TomTom GPS Bluetooth antenna, i'm not sure it's 100% compatible. But the thing is: after installation it all worked fine. The COM7: port was opened, gps data came streaming in and within a second the app had a fix. Now, when i then quit the app and tried again i got: 'COM7 not available'. Over and over again, even after resetting, reconfigging and what have you more. It just won't open de com port anymore.

This clearly has nothing to do with the antenna used, because no matter if BT is on or off it keeps telling me the same error. Something is stuck in the software that tells the app the port is not available. Now, is this only on the E200, have i overlooked something or is the software just so unstable?

Thanks for any help

[Guest beersoft]

have you tried rebooting the gps and the phone?

that sometimes works for me

later

Owen

[Guest arnespv]

Yeah, sure thing. Tried both, no result.

[Guest arnespv]

I got it to run again by resetting the whole bt settings, but it's now VERY VERY slow. Maybe the software isn't meant for the C500 yet?

[Guest arnespv]

It seems that the program stops reacting as soon as it has a fix on the sats. A bit buggy, or maybe the antenna is sending out too much data or something... anyway, hope TomTom will come out soon with their version. Any news on that?

[Guest chucky.egg]

Have you tried setting the port speed in Mapo?

The default is 9.6 I think, but mine is wacked all the way up and it still works fine (I guess it negotiates down til it finds an acceptable speed).

I'm using an EMTAC though... FWIW

[Guest arnespv]

Default seems to be 4800. But i really think the low performance is due to the gps device. It's the TomTom bluetooth gps, and i don't think you can update it, i reckon it's just too old or it has another protocol in which it communicates. A pitty, because i always thought that all the GPS bluetooth devices should be compatible, guess not :)

[Guest arnespv]

Antenna specs for the tomtom:

http://www.tomtom.com/products/section.php...on=5&Language=1

As far as i can see it's pretty much the same as the ones EMTAC offers... maybe it's just programmed to only work with PocketPC and not the smartphone version. Any people around who know the details?

[Guest chucky.egg]

Your device talks in NMEA sentences just like mine, so as far as Mapo is concerned they could be the same device.

Once you've got an initial fix does Mapo stop responding altogether?

FWIW my Mapo settings are:

Port: COM7

Baud rate: 256000

Disbale auto power off: Tick

(all boxes ticked, except "alert speed above..." but they only affect it if it works!)

BT Settings:

Device name SPV_C500

Authentication required: Tick

BT Serial Port Setup:

Inbound com port: COM6

Outboind com port: COM7

[Guest chucky.egg]

BTW: "Outboind" is like "Outbound", I'm not some 20's Chicago ganster!

[Guest arnespv]

Yeah, it's all fine. The program runs smooth, i can browse trough the screens and see stuff like the sats it has in sight. But as soon as i move the antenna to a spot where it'll pick up the sats the program gives me a 'beep' and just stops responding. After a while it will show: running and all the data. But there's just no way this'll work. When i press a key, i have to wait about 30 secs before any action follows. Very, very strange. Maybe both devices aren't communicating the proper way and maybe this antenna NEEDS the TomTomGPS software that is installed on pocketpc's.

[Guest chucky.egg]

Come to think of it, this sounds a bit like what I had to start with, did you install Mapo to your mSD card?

I reinstalled to the phone and it fixed my problem (general slowness)

If your GPS gets a signal, and Mapo is showing it as Running, then that might fix it for you

[Guest arnespv]

Unfortunatly, i did install it to my phone. I normally install apps to my card, but since i'm only having the 16mb card at the moment i put the app on the phone and the map on the msd card. Should be no problem, i think. But especially the fact that it all comes to a halt as soon as there is a fix leads me to beleive there something wrong with the antenna (or rather: the data it's sending out).

[Guest chucky.egg]

My maps are in Storage CardResourcesMapopolis UK Maps{mapname}

If you've installed to the phone, and got maps on the card then your setup is the same as mine apart from the GPS unit

I can't think of anything else to try, and I don't have a TomTom GPS unit to test - I think Paul does, doesn't he?

[Guest arnespv]

Yeah, it would be great to see what other peoples experiences with the tomtom device will be. I've just finished my testing with some help from a Mapo staff member. But i came to the conclusion that my antenna really seems to be the bottleneck in the whole process, even after changing some settings in the antenna itself, the results were the same. Maybe it's for the best, but i thought i'd just give it a shot :)

So, if anyone would be so kind to check their tomtom gps device with the mapo software? I would be very interested in your findings.

[Guest A.Hughes]

your baud rate is too high, set to 3800, your only using a very small device in comparison to proper sat nav systems, set it yourself dont let the program try to set, it wont work, set your baud rate then go to your port settings and tick port 7, make sure 6 is unticked, when you press done, go back to mapo prgram and it should get a fix and start working with no faults,,

the 3800 might be wrong, think its 3880, either way this baud setting figure is what you want

Hope this helps

[Guest arnespv]

It's either 4800 or 2400. And when i select auto-detect it'll go to 4800. Don't think that's the problem. The streaming of data is fine, it's just that as soon as the device gets a fix and starts sending out the NMEA sentences it just freezes. I tried settng up the antenna to send less sentences, no results.

[Guest arnespv]

I'm now actually looking for an app that'll give me the raw data from the GPS. I know there is one available for regulare CE devices, but that doesn't work on the smartphone. Anybody around who knows that sort of app for the smartphone. What i'm interested in, is to see what the device actually receives from the antenna.

[Guest chucky.egg]

Don't know of one for phones (neither Symbian nor MS Smartphone)

But you can view the data on a PDA - I can find out what sw my colleague used, and suplpy some comparison data if you want?

[Guest arnespv]

I did it on the PDA and discussed this data with somebody over at Mapo. Nothing wierd, just regular data stream with all the necessary stuff. I'm interested in how my phone receives it.

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

There is a utility on this site for BT GPS's it just shows the raw data from the gps.

Cant find it at the moment, I will have a look when I get back.

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

Cant find the original post but this is the utility.

Once its running its practically impossible to stop but it does show the info one sentence at a time (sometimes looks like nothing happening)

Hope this helps.

BTGPS.zip

[Guest arnespv]

Is there some way to set the program up or should it auto find?

[Guest arnespv]

nevermind, got it going. Just regular looking gps data. I just CANNOT understand why the Mapo software doesn't work with it

[Guest arnespv]

It's only giving me two strings of data and then seems to stop although there still is a connection. Strange....

EDIT:

Oh hold on, just noticed you can scroll down and there is indeed a WHOLE lot of data. Why can't the software work it out...