new haicom cf 303 vs socket bt

[DavidW]

I received my Haicom HI-303MMF on Thursday from globalpositioningsystems.co.uk.



I'm very impressed with it - it seems to get a fix quickly, and, so far as I can tell, has very recent SiRF firmware. It returns 231.000.000ES to the firmware version command in SiRF binary mode.



After sending a couple of commands to it in SiRF binary mode, it's now often managing to get differential fixes out of it using ESTB (the test EGNOS signal). [Yes - I know ESTB can lead to worse DOP figures, particularly as ESA are not transmitting differential corrections for all the SVs yet, but I can play if I want - I can always switch off the WAAS/EGNOS flag now I've proved it will work].





Connectivity options for the Haicom MMF are great - you can get serial cables for many PDAs, also a USB cable and a 9 pin serial cable (which has a PS/2 connector you have to plug into a spare PS/2 socket to power the GPS). I found the latter unexpectedly in my box - I didn't think it was supposed to be included. All I thought you got was the 4 pin mini connector to 6 pin mini-DIN cable (the latter connector is used to connect the same serial cable options that are used by the Haicom HI-203E).



The serial cable works fine with my desktop, the USB cable I ordered works fine with the laptop I tried it on (you use the USB drivers for the HI-202E - that wasn't clear from any documentation or the enclosed CD, but I soon got there with a little trial and error), and the CompactFlash connectivity works fine in my iPAQ PC Card Expansion Pack Plus (using a Pretec PC Card / CompactFlash adapter).





The hinge allows you to choose the angle of the antenna relative to the sky. Supposedly this means you shouldn't need an external antenna in most cases - I'll reserve judgment on that until I get my Brodit mount next week and set the system up properly in my Zafira. There is an antenna connector on the GPS anyway.



The GPS closes up neatly to go into the supplied pouch (which is a bit tacky and, as it doesn't have any cushioning, I decided it was pretty worthless and put it back on the box) and it will sit neatly folded up in the Pretec CompactFlash adapter.







I guess that's the best mini-review I can write in a few minutes. I think I've covered the unique and unusual features of this GPS.



It'll probably perform pretty much the same as the Socket/Emtac Bluetooth GPS. Both are SiRFstar IIe/LP chipset based, after all.





Really, your decision comes down to budget and what kind of system you're thinking of. The Bluetooth GPS will cost more than the Haicom (even if you include a cable or two). It also has its own separate power needs.



My main GPS application is vehicle navigation (TomTom Navigator 2.05 on an iPAQ 3970). It seemed the neatest setup for me was a GPS that plugged into my iPAQ's expansion pack - that seemed the easiest way to get a tidy installation. However, if I want a GPS mouse (for example, if I want a GPS connected without using the expansion pack slot - though I'm not a fan of Netstumbling which is, I guess, the main reason for wanting that setup temporarily), all I have to do is buy the necessary Haicom PDA Y-cable.



As I'd have to provide in vehicle power for a Bluetooth GPS had I chosen that route, also found somewhere for the unit to sit, there didn't seem much point going for the Emtac/Socket Bluetooth GPS over a GPS mouse. A GPS mouse is a lot cheaper than a Bluetooth GPS.





The Haicom MMF is a unique product - it's both a mouse and a CompactFlash GPS. My first impression of it is very positive.











David

[DavidW]

If you are showing satellite acquisition but not a valid position - just leave the device with an open view of the sky and wait (making sure that things aren't going to switch off through non-use!). It should lock in time.



I left my HI-303MMF near a window powered by a PC for a couple of hours before first trying to get any data out of it. By the time I tried to use it, there was some charge in the battery and it was ready to use.



If the internal battery was completely flat to start with and you're performing a factory start, it could take some minutes to get going properly.





You're recommended to keep the GPS powered up for several hours when you first use it to charge the internal battery.







For TomTom Navigator 2, try "Haicom GPS" . That's certainly an option in the 2.05 GPS driver.









David

[Dave]

Alan, an easy way of telling what settings (eg COM port) the CF GPS uses is to install WinFast Navigator which is on our downloads page. If you run this up without the CF GPS inserted, then insert it, you should get a dialog box pop up telling you which COM port it's using.



Baud rate for NMEA usually is 4800, but this can change per manufacturer.



Once you know the COM port and baud rate, you can select this under PORT settings and then connect. If you've got it right, by tapping on VIEW | DEVELOPMENT you will see a lot of data flowing through.

[DavidW]

If the Haicom test is working, then the GPS is working.



In the TomTom GPS driver, make sure you open any TomTom software with the card already inserted (just in case it matters). In the GPS (second) tab of the GPS driver, you may need to uncheck the big tick box at the top left of the screen - then you should be able to configure "CF_CARD GENERIC" (or, if not, whatever COM port you discovered with the Haicom test utility) and "Haicom GPS".





How many satellites? I can't remember how good the Haicom utility is at showing this - but if it doesn't show a clear 'circle' with satellites marked green (signal and being used in the positioning solution), blue (signal and not being used in the positioning solution) and red (no signal), download WinFast Navigator. The download link on the PocketGPS download page is broken - but ftp://ftp1.leadtek.com/gps/Tools/WinFast%20GPS-Install.zip should work.



The number of Navstar satellites overhead changes from time to time. In clear sky, you should be picking up signal from those towards the centre of the diagram, though there's more chance of the signal being obstructed by something the lower that satellite is to the horizon (the El - elevation - value will tell you this, and those satellites are further away from the centre of the diagram).





I just popped my HI-303MMF into a PC Card adapter and into a laptop so that I could run SiRFdemo on it. From the factory, the elevation filter is 7.5 degrees for acquisition (which can't be changed) and 7.5 degrees for use in a navigation solution (which can be changed - 7.5 degrees is the minimum).



In other words, the GPS will try for any satellite with an elevation of more than 7.5 degrees (assuming it has spare channels), and, if it gets a signal, it'll try to use it in its navigation solution.



I have had nine satellites picked up on the internal antenna of my HI-303MMF. (In fact, 9 plus, as I've enabled it, differential information from PRN 120, which is AOR-E, one of the satellites transmitting the test EGNOS signal - that is only truly visible in SiRF mode, though the NMEA GGA sentence has the differential flag is set to 2 and the age of differential data also appears if WAAS/EGNOS is enabled and the GPS is picking up differential corrections).





Incidentally, it seems you can only send commands to a HI-303MMF via its CompactFlash port. It appears there's no serial data in connection on the serial port. I've tried with both a serial cable and a USB cable, and neither work.









David

[Dave]

I would suggest using the NMEA driver at 4800. Unless you are east of Meridian (aka Greenwich). TomTom products will not accurately support West of Meridian at the moment.

[DavidW]

The "Haicom GPS" setting uses NMEA anyway. It seems to know that Haicoms are SiRF based, in that it reconfigures the NMEA sentences output to suit its needs (I configured them myself, the TomTom GPS driver changed them!).



I am West of the Greenwich Meridian and, as Dave says, the TomTom driver fouls up in SiRF mode.









David

[DavidW]

What kind of environment are you running the tests in? Try stood outside with a clear view of the sky (on the pavement?) first. Make sure the antenna is horizontal, too.



If the number in the satellite status display of TomTom Navigator 2 is only 2 or 3 you have a problem. You need four satellites for a 3D fix, three for a 2D fix. SiRF based receivers have degraded modes where they'll keep working for a few seconds with information from less than 3 satellites available, but this is done with questionable accuracy and it won't stay working for long!



TomTom Navigator is fine with a 2D fix, but if you're only picking up 3 satellites, you will almost certainly have a high Dilution Of Precision value (the most relevant one to street navigation is HDOP), and therefore a relatively inaccurate position.





If the number of satellites being tracked drops when you take your GPS from outside into the car, you have a problem with your windscreen - you're probably going to land up needing either a re-radiating antenna or an external antenna for your 303MMF.











David

[DavidW]

The Socket uses the same GPS chipset as the Haicom HI-303MMF, so whilst the antennas may be slightly different, I suspect they'll perform pretty similarly.





It seems best to test your current GPS. Leave your Haicom HI-303MMF outside and still with a clear view of the sky (so that means, as far as practicable, getting away from tall buildings and trees into open space). Make sure you leave things running for at least five minutes with the slightly domed part of the antenna should be horizontal. You need to leave a GPS application running and connected - WinFast Navigator is recommended here.





You'll see more information if you switch the GPS to SiRF mode using WinFast Navigator for your tests (download link earlier in the thread) - though make sure you switch it back to NMEA mode at 4800 bps before trying to use TomTom Navigator again (there's a bug in the TomTom GPS driver in SiRF mode that makes it unreliable when you are in the western hemisphere). Switching modes and speeds is done using the "Command" option on the "Tools" menu.



If you can't get WinFast Navigator to install, open the Zip file you get from that download link and copy Navigator.ARM.CAB to your Pocket PC, then run the .CAB file using File Explorer on the Pocket PC. If you install it that way, you can still remove it using "Remove Programs" in your Pocket PC's Settings screen.





If, after leaving the GPS at least five and preferably ten minutes, you've only got a handful of satellites that are green or blue in the "Singal level" (sic) screen, issue a factory reset and leave the GPS outside with a clear view of the sky for a further five to ten minutes.





It's possible if you have WAAS/EGNOS mode enabled to have several satellites tracked but not used in a navigation solution (in other words, blue), because you're not picking up differential corrections for those satellites. If that is your problem, try turning off WAAS/EGNOS (there's other software if the Haicom software won't do it).



It will be clear whether or not WAAS/EGNOS is switched on if you run your tests in SiRF mode. If WAAS/EGNOS is on, in SiRF mode you'll see a satellite with a number of 120 or over being sought and possibly tracked in the last channel slot.





Here's an example in NMEA mode:





and an example in SiRF mode:







These were done by an upstairs window, hence a couple of satellites being out of view. The SiRF mode shows 120 (AOR-E, one of the satellites being used for the EGNOS tests) being picked up - the chances are that I was getting a differential position at the time. At the moment, it seems that the differential satellite is always blue (with a status of 3F) - it's not used for positioning.





It's possible that PRN 10 wasn't being used for positioning as there were no differential corrections available - though it could be being excluded for other reasons, such as poor geometry. Anyway, it was blue - signal, but not being used.



The signal from PRN 8 was weak in the NMEA mode example - it had gone to no signal in the SiRF mode example. This is probably to do with me being indoors!







By running these tests we can hopefully work out whether your GPS is faulty or not. The Haicom is a good GPS in my view, worth persevering with. In any case, if you're thinking of returning it, you'll need to know if it's faulty!









David

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