Getting GPSGate to work with MDA Vario III and share your GPS!

[Guest tsutton]

Here's my writeup on getting GPSGate to work with MDA Vario III and sharing your GPS with other phone. With an very interesting outcome!

Phones and software used in this example may not apply to yours but I believe it should work with other phones as long as it has similar operating system:

Phones:

- MDA Vario III (WM6)

- SPV C500 (WM6 Smartphone)

Software:

- GPSGate - http://franson.com/gpsgate/

- GPSID - http://www.modaco.com/content/Smartphone-S...-on-Smartphone/

- Cameraware - http://www.cameraware.net

- GPS Test - http://chartcross.co.uk/products/WM00002_details.asp

Install GPSGate on MDA Vario III.

Ensure that Bluetooth is turned on.

Upon first loading of the GPSGate software, you will have a Wizard popping up.

Ensure that "Wired or built in GPS" is the only thing selected. All other checkboxes are unchecked. Click ">"

It will search for it and a prompt box will pop up saying that COM4 is found. Click Yes to use it.

Ensure that "Share over Bluetooth" is checked. All other checkboxes are unchecked. Click ">"

On the Summary page, you should have the following listed:

Click the Finish button.

On the "Input" tab, you should see the GPS status, saying that there is an GPS data and is running OK. The icon should turn green when there is a valid position.

On the "Output" tab, the "Active Output" should have the following listed:

When you've done with this, you need to ensure that this GPSGate software is STILL running in order for the other phone to see it and have "Serial Port" to work.

Now the software...

Make sure that both phones has Bluetooth turned on and is discoverable.

On the SPV C500, do a scan for a new device via Bluetooth manager. It should find your MDA Vario III phone - add it. It will ask for the passkey. Default passkey is 0000 but if you used another code, use it to set it up. Ensure that the Outgoing COM port is set to COM6 for the phone that you've just paired with.

On the MDA Vario III, it will alert you that another phone is trying to add you - accept it and enter the same passkey. Once done, turn off Dial Up Networking on this phone while on the other phone, turn on Serial Port.

Both phone are now linked to each other.

Install the Microsoft GPSID software to SPV C500 and set it up to:

Program Port: COM6

Hardware Port: None

Hardware Port Baud Rate: 9600

manage Automatically - checked

On the MDA Vario III, ensure that GPSGate is running OK and with the GPS locked in a valid position.

To test to see if GPS works, I am going to use GPS Test as an example on my SPV C500 phone.

Load up GPS Test and go to Menu -> GPS Settings. Ensure that the following settings are set:

Click the Save button to save the settings. Then close & open GPS Test.

It will then try to find the GPS Unit and when found, it will get a GPS fix, where it will get the GPS data from the MDA Vario III as seen on the screenshot below from my SPV C500 phone.

And for Cameraware:

Things to be aware of:

1) If the phone with the GPSGate running goes into "sleep" mode, i.e. screen turned off by itself, GPSGate WILL stop working. Easy fix: turn off sleep or increase the timeout.

2) A VERY weird issue I've noticed... when the 2nd phone (i.e my SPV C500) get rebooted, it will never make the GPS connection again. It's as if it has lost the Serial Port connection. I can't find a way round to this apart from a hard reset on the phone (yes, harsh!!). Even deleting and re-adding the pair, the Serial Port never comes up. GPS test just sits, saying "Looking for GPS unit".

This is confirmed when using Cameraware, it can not find anything at all.

The only way for this is when you firstly made the pairing, and by not rebooting the phone, it will see each other okay. GPS test works. Cameraware works ok. But after a reboot... pow! Gone.

I have no idea if it's to do with my SPV C500 phone or the operating system. Or a bug with GPSgate or something else? No idea. Any suggestions, anyone?

In the meanwhile, I will be trying with my other phone, MDA Vario I and see if the issue exists or just my SPV C500 phone that is having this issue.

Comments, feedback, suggestions, etc are always welcome!

Edited January 23, 2008 by tsutton

[Guest bribar]

Nice guide Tony!

I've been using GPS Gate too for a few days now with the following phones:

- O2 XDA Trion, aka. HTC Tytn, aka. HTC Hermes 100 (I've flashed the ROM with official HTC WM6 Pro)

+ Orange SPV C600 (WM5 Smartphone)

+ imate SP5, aka. HTC Tornado (WM5 SP)

Software:

- GPSGate - http://franson.com/gpsgate/

- GPSID - http://www.modaco.com/content/Smartphone-S...-on-Smartphone/

- Cameraware - http://www.cameraware.net

- Navizon - http://www.navizon.com

I just wondered if I could be of any help with your problem with losing the connection on your C500 - All your instructions look very similar to how I set mine up except for this bit:

Install the Microsoft GPSID software to SPV C500 and set it up to:

Program Port: COM6

Hardware Port: None

Hardware Port Baud Rate: 9600

manage Automatically - checked

I've set both my phones up to use:

The XDA Trion (GPS Gate "server") is paired, with COM Port ticked, in the two other phones' Comm Manager settings with COM7 setup to be the Outgoing COM Port (Secure Connection not ticked)

Therefore the GPSID settings are:

Hardware Port: COM7

Program Port: COM6

Baud Rate: 4800

Manage Automatically: Ticked

And then set CamerAware and/or Navizon both to use COM6 because that is the "virtual" port GPSID is providing for any PROGRAMS to use.

The other thing I do is setup the Trion's power settings: Under External Power - Untick the "Turn off device if not used for..." option so that it stays on permanently when plugged in. This is because it's so power hungry when it's running the apps and Bluetooth and WiFi that I leave it charging in the car at all times and therefore GPS Gate stays active too :)

I hope this helps (and makes sense!) :D

Brian.

[Guest Webreaper]

Possibly a stupid question, but what is the point of this? If you have two phones, one with GPS built in and the other without, and you want to run GPS apps, why not, erm, just run the GPS apps on the Kaiser?

[Guest nevawlkalone]

I was thinking the same, the only advantage i can see is that you can run say cameraware on one and copilot or tom tom on the other...??????

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Navizon one 2 devices, 2 different network SIMs, 1 GPS, twice the point earning potential? :)

P

[Guest nevawlkalone]

Navizon one 2 devices, 2 different network SIMs, 1 GPS, twice the point earning potential? :)

P

ooooo...

cunning plan, you has one lol

[Guest tsutton]

Possibly a stupid question, but what is the point of this? If you have two phones, one with GPS built in and the other without, and you want to run GPS apps, why not, erm, just run the GPS apps on the Kaiser?

What Paul said... different SIM card. :)

[Guest nevawlkalone]

money money money lol

[Guest tsutton]

Update info:

I downgraded my SPV C500 phone to Windows Mobile 2003 Second edition (the same version that Orange supplied) and after pairing the phone via Bluetooth, and ensuring that the COM ports are set up (incoming and outgoing). GPS works using GPS Test on the C500 and I was able to reboot the phone and it can see the GPS again, unlike on the WM6 on my C500.

[Guest jontelfer]

I use GPS2blue - does roughly the same thing (and free/donationware):

http://users.skynet.be/hofinger/GPS2Blue.html

[Guest tsutton]

I use GPS2blue - does roughly the same thing (and free/donationware):

http://users.skynet.be/hofinger/GPS2Blue.html

I've heard of it and that's my next-to-do of testing. :)

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

If you had a second device with WiFi, you could even upload via your main device running wmwifirouter :)

P

[Guest madferret]

I've been trying to set up GPS2blue between my S730 and the wife's Vario III but can't get a valid COM port.

The phones pair OK and will share files but when I select COM ports on the S730 the 'New Outgoing Port' option is greyed out. And on the Vario there are no incoming or outgoing port options either - they used to be there on my old Vario (Wizard) WM5.

Is this a 'feature' of WM6? What can I do?