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it's been saying 'No valid GPS signal' and 'waiting for a valid GPS signal' in spite of having been taken outside with no obstacles to find a satellite in the Tom Tom configure mode
the little circular blue/yellow dial spins...
the clock shows how long it's been searching...
after 2 hours of this I want to smash it to bits
---------------------------------------------------------------
what if anything can I do to establish whether or not the GPS functionality is still working ?
Joined: Jan 04, 2007 Posts: 2789 Location: Hampshire, UK
Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:31 pm Post subject:
Moved to a more appropriate forum, in the hope that it might receive a fuller reply _________________ Andy
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Have a look at previous discussions arounf this kind of problem. Using Tomtom (or any other navigation product) to diagnose a problem with the GPS is like driving blind - most of the important stuff just isn't displayed.
I expect what has happened is the battery in teh GPS module (which is usually seperate from the PDA battery) has gone flat, and the GPS module (A SiRF II based thing) has reset to factory defaults.
The first thening you need to do is get that battery charged - put the PDA on charge for 2 to 3 days.
Next - Install Winfast navigator. (Search the web) - it's free and provides all sorts of usefull features to drive the GPS - it's like turning on the lights. You can now see things that are important.
The Mio168 (from memory) has the GPS on Comm2, NMEA, 4800 standard. However, it may be different as my memory is not always what it should be.... Soft reset the PDA, and run Winfast - DO NOT start Tomtom until after Winfast has got a GPS fix.
Open Com2 , and look for lines such as $G????,..,..,..,...
where ???? is letters and ... are numbers
If that does not work, perform a Factory reset and try again.
- You may also need to play with switching to SiRF mode.
I know the instructions are a bit vague, lets know how you get on.
If you make it idiot proof they will just make a better idiot....
Given you understand Com2, 4800, NEMA, I doubt very much you will have a problem.
Winfast has the ability to change the comms from NEMA to SiRF binary and back. Can be useful, but can also create a degree of confusion if you forget what state you left it in. You won't need to do that, so it won't be a problem. I use it all the time on my Navman PIN (A re branded 168), and have never had a problem.
The reason I recommend Winfast it it's an easy way to see the raw NMEA, and it has a button to do a Cold Reset on teh GPS. Most consumer level stuff hides the detail behind a "Number of satilites". When things are working, the detail is where the answer is.
Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 2543 Location: Rainham, Kent. England.
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:20 pm Post subject:
Check your regional settings are correct and the date and time. In Settings GPS make sure Program Port is COM4, Hardware COM2 and Access - Manage GPS automatically is unticked.
Other NMEA - Baud 4800 - SP2.
Winfast is good but you can mess things up if you're not sure what to do, especially changing to SiRF, where you may find it sticks there and it's difficult to get back to NMEA. (Been there, done that ).
I'll try to find some of the previous posts, or point you to them, where you will be able to see what I and another member named Neil did to fully understand Winfast and what to change to improve things a bit. _________________ Formerly known as Lost_Property
And NO that's NOT me in the Avatar.
You'll find your default NMEA settings on the Mio P350, when checked with WinfastCE, are GGA 1, GLL 0, GSA 5, GSV 5, VTG 1, MSS 0, User 0, User 0, User 0.
Start WinfastNavigatorCE, before you do anything else tap on Tools - Port Setting and select NMEA - GPS_HWCOM COM2 - Baud rate 4800, then OK. This will start Winfast running.
Tap on Tools - Command - NMEA and change the settings to: -
After many hours experimenting with WinfastCE on my Mio P350, I've come to the conclusion that GGA 1, GLL 1, GSA 1, GSV 5, VTG 1, MSS 0, User 0, User 1, User 0. appear to be best.
Tap on OK. Now go outside under a clear view of the sky. You should start getting locks quite soon.
Tap on View - Signal Level where you will see details of Sats and their position, and whether locked or not.
Tap on View - Development and you'll see the data being received. (Which you can save with Winfast 1.3 by tapping on the 5th icon, floppy disc. I save to SD Card.
To stop the program. make sure you go to Tools - Disconnect, then Tools - Exit. DON'T use the 'X' top right or Winfast will not release the port and TT won't work.
If, as Skippy says, you have an athermic windscreen, Peugeot, Citroen, Renault will have, then it's best to get a lock outside the car, once done you can set up inside and everything should run fine.
You may find or may not find the following interesting but make sure you at least skip towards the end, 'Programs running in the background.
The $trings are as follows GGA = (GPS fixed data)
GLL = (Position Lon/Lat)
GSA = (Active Satellites)
GSV = (Satellites in view)
RMC = (Minimum Data required)
VTG = (Course and ground speed)
MSS = (Beacons)
User
User (This user on mine results in a $GPZDA showing every second. ZDA = Time and Date). e.g. 15:09:09.000,25/09/2006
User
All the above $trings are transmitted every second except GSV which is every 5 seconds.
Notice the 3 GSV lines appear during the 5th second? e.g. the 3.1 is line 1 of 3
You'll see that GGA and RMC gives you Time and Latitude/Longitude.
GLL gives Lat/Long and Time. Therefore GLL is only duplicating GGA and RMC.
The middle User if set to 1 gives a ZDA $tring of time and date but you get the time and date in GGA and GLL and the date in RMC. So required strings appear to duplicate each other with some information, so maybe TomTom actually needs/uses the GLL data and maybe even the ZDA. By activating them it can do no harm, if the data isn't read, or needed TT will ignore it. With that in mind I chose the above settings.
Make sure you have no programmes running in the background. You will find ActiveSync keeps starting itself i.e running in the background, even when you haven't Sync'd up with your Desktop.
The way to overcome this is: - Start your P350. Go to Start – Programs – Activesync.
Tap on Menu then Add Server Source’ Enter 1, 1, 1, 1 as the server.
User a
Password b
Domain c
Next uncheck the boxes End.
Now go back to Menu – Schedule and use the two sliders to select each as Manual OK
Now go to Activesync - Options, where you can delete the Server you’ve just added. It will now keep the Manual settings.
You will still be able to use Activesync in the normal way but you’ll find it no longer auto-starts when it’s left alone, thereby saving some battery and CPU power.
_________________ Formerly known as Lost_Property
And NO that's NOT me in the Avatar.
Joined: Jun 14, 2006 Posts: 33 Location: Preston, Lancs
Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:29 pm Post subject:
Carefully unscrew and prise apart the two halves of the casing, and you will see that there is a fly-lead from the aerial (in the folding flap) to the main circuit board.
The connector snaps on, and it might be worth checking that it's firmly seated. If it isn't, then no signal will get from the aerial to the works.
Worth a look?
If i was you I would not use any software or strip it down, the settings in your first post are correct and with the indicator rotating it would suggest that it is looking for a signal although the breal is the likelest problem after arepair the siganl suggests it is not this, My old Mio 168 takes quite a while to gain a signal if not used for a long time and seems to be a problem with this unit, I spent quite a long time once trying to get a signal and even trying different settings for over a good hour finally struck up on the settings you have, then fine after that, I would stick with the settings you have and persist a little bit longer. _________________ Moto G5s Plus, Sygic 17.4.8
Just to add to my previous post, at the best of times on my Mio 168 if I dont get a signal before travelling it can take up to 1/2hr or more when moving to gain a signal fix, so as before i suggest it not a foult but more than likely a sympton of the unit, bearing in mind it is not the later faster sirf3 reciever. _________________ Moto G5s Plus, Sygic 17.4.8
Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 2543 Location: Rainham, Kent. England.
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:46 pm Post subject:
Quote:
also at the start it set for Port or port setting an error window saying it could not find a value
I understand later Mio 168's the Baud rate was changed to 9600. Although having said that, I seem to remeber setting the baud rate to 57600 and let Winfast find it. Thinking back I set it to COM2 - Baud 57600 and then clciked on the bottom left icon, looked to me like a couple of bee hives but on closer inspection realised it represented a male and female connector. Shortly after mine settled at 4800 and the satellites appeared within 5 or 10 minutes, cold start.
If you do a search for Mio AND Winfast you will find other posts with various ideas. I haven't got time this evening, up quite early in the morning, but if you have no luck searching I'll have a look tomorrow.
PS Which part of the country are you? _________________ Formerly known as Lost_Property
And NO that's NOT me in the Avatar.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:50 am Post subject:
I would think either the GPS chip or patch aerial has died or the connection to the PCB has become detached (as previously mentioned) - look at the $GPRMC data the first numeric value should be time, it should increment every second with a valid time stamp, what your unit is reporting is garbage, even the data is well out of true, 250104 isn't close (unless you are using it in a tardis).
Are you sure you haven't switched the GPS to SiRF mode by accident? as this could explain some of the missing data, although I doubt it is the case here.
The fact the yellow/ blue disk is spinning only really shows that the software can see some communication on the selected comm port, it doesn't mean the software can see or compute a position fix. - Mike
The date and time are wrong because the GPS has been cold started. It has no idea of these and needs to lock onto a satalite (just 1 needed) to get the date time.
Can you stick it outside for at least 30 minutes, and post the same logs, without doing a COLD reset?
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