Globalsat BT359

atlantis · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 01, 2006 Posts: 10

I purchased a Globalsat BT359 and what arrived is a unit that is badged COPILOT in red print on the top.

There is no user manual or CD so I do not really know if what I have is genuine or not.

The battery is only 1100ma instead of 1300ma.
Under the battery it says BT-359 5542A-BT359.

I can only get it to work on the PPC when Franson gate is installed otherwise no application knows it's there. Although it's possible to pair with it..I'm wondering if this is a Chinese fake..

Could any of you Globalsat users give me some advice please. Especially what the Bluetooth says about the pairing type.

Thanks...

mikealder · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 1:52 pm Post subject:

What PDA are you using it with, and which software other than Fransons are you trying to use - Mike

atlantis · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 01, 2006 Posts: 10

My PDA is a IPAQ HX4700 using with Tomtom, Memory Map and other Geocaching applications.

All of these work fine with my Holox Bluetooth.

I wanted a Globalsat BT359 with the SIRF3 chipset for better sensitivity in woodland.
The Bluetooth icon shows BT-GPS-35DC7.
The serial shows inbound COM5 and outbound as COM8.
These ports are not recognised by any application but are the same as for the Holox which does work.

With Franson all applications work.

The question is whether the COPILOT is a Globalsat copy.

mikealder · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:20 pm Post subject:

When we purchased five 4700 PDA's a few years ago three worked fine but two had issues with the BT connection to some GPS receivers, in the end I located a CAB file that fixed the issue with the rouge devices. We could use all five units with my Holux derivative Altina GPS but it couldn't find the more modern units, the CAB file sorted this out - I still have the file on the PC and will e-mail it over once I get home later today, it might help you out

Are you 100% sure that no GPS related softwae is running on the PDA, as some software can hog the GPS port meaning no other GPS application will see the device. Also when you are setting up the unit in Memory Map try using the SiRF mode to see if that works as it could be the device is transmitting SiRF protocol rather than the NMEA standard required by the TomTom application (and most others), it is easy to switch the unit back to NMEA but we need to know if this is the problem and Memory Map will/ would support SiRF mode until very recent releases.

As for the GPS having a Co-Pilot badge on it, I really have no idea, but is there any information about the device on the ALK web site (ALK are the owners of the Co-Pilot range) - Mike

atlantis · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 01, 2006 Posts: 10

Mike,
I have come to the conclusion that there is something wrong/missing in the IPAQ Bluetooth stack.

As the device came loose in box, no packing or manual or CD I do not know how to or if the device will support SIRF mode.

I do know that no applications including Memory Map and Tomtom support SIRF, at least there is no option in the GPS setup to let you do so.

This is annoying as the Holox works ok but suffers from the known problem to not updating under trees etc.

I have tried GPSinfo and SirfTech and neither will find a port when Franson is not installed.
This must indicate there is something wrong with the operating system.
I look forward to receiving the file and see if that sovles the problem

Regards Bob.

mikealder · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:21 pm Post subject:

Bob, you should have an e-mail to the address listed on this web site - I have sent a couple of ideas over one of which details how to switch from SiRF to NMEA mode which is possibly what is wrong - Mike

atlantis · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 01, 2006 Posts: 10

Mike,
Thank you for sending the files by email, as you said the problem was the wrong mode. It appears that some Globalsat devices are sold set to SIRF mode.
Of course I purchased mine from Ebay and it appears to be a Co-badged device. It sys BT-359 inside the battery cover but that really means nothing, could be a Far East fake for all I know.
No CD or manual so no way to switch modes.
I am in the process of dispute to get my money returned and I will buy a genuine Globalsat BT-368.
I also switched my PDA to the official Windows Mobile 5 as well.

Thanks again Mike, you saved the day.
Regards....

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