External GPS Settings

[Guest oldg1t]

I have bought a BlueNext BN909GR Bluetooth GPS Receiver + Sirf Star III with the intention of using it for TomTom. I am hoping I will get a stronger signal from a dedicated GPS receiver. Anyway the setup instructions say I should configure my Kaiser to use 9600 baud but when I change the External GPS settings to 9600 (hardware tab) and tap ok to leave the screen I find that it resets to 4800. Also it seems I need a COM Port number (programs tab) for the TomTom software to use and a port number for the Receiver to use (hardware tab) this resets too. The problem is that while it works with the default 4800 setting the GPS is not getting a strong connection and I dont know wether this is because I cant set the BAUD rate to the instructions correctly. I have tried my Kaiser with a friends external bluetooth GPS (not same make) and I gives top notch signal WITHOUT configuring for external GPS.

[Guest andrewkeith5]

are you usding the "external gps" settings in the settings on the phone or tomtom itself?

if you're simply going to setting>external gps, that won't do anything for you. that's the program that essentially sets up the intergal gps so that programs see it as an external one

you will need to first pair the reciever with the phone, then use the settings in tomtom to setup the program to look at COM9 instead of COM4 (which will be the internal reciever). If an orange light flashes on the right phone LED, then you've done it wrong, as that means the internal gps is working

quite why you want an external gps baffles me though...i've heard nobody complain about the internal one, and it works perfectly well for me

[Guest oldg1t]

are you usding the "external gps" settings in the settings on the phone or tomtom itself?

if you're simply going to setting>external gps, that won't do anything for you. that's the program that essentially sets up the intergal gps so that programs see it as an external one

you will need to first pair the reciever with the phone, then use the settings in tomtom to setup the program to look at COM9 instead of COM4 (which will be the internal reciever). If an orange light flashes on the right phone LED, then you've done it wrong, as that means the internal gps is working

quite why you want an external gps baffles me though...i've heard nobody complain about the internal one, and it works perfectly well for me

Thanks for explaining what the external GPS prog does (in settings/System). I completely misunderstood its function. The device paired ok and I am certain the bluetooth side of things is working fine. In my TomTom software when configuring GPS I only have COM4 & COM7 to choose from. Presumably the one I should select is COM7 ? I have always selected COM4 before but now I know that COM4 is the internal GPS I know better so thanks again for that.

The reasons I am trying an External receiver is because my phone is in a Bury cradle (very enclosed) not situated in the best place for getting a sat signal also I have Heat Relective car windows. Therefore I get frequent loss of signal using internal GPS (even on M25). I have tried a friends blue tooth external GPS and I get a consistent 4 to 5 bar signal with it sitting on my dash in prime position. My internal GPS in its less ideal position gives me a very variable 2 to 4 bars even in flat countryside.