Holux GPSlim236 - £50 from Nav4all

Skippy

Just brought a Holux GPSlim236 to replace my GR230 which has become very unreliable.

It was £50 (69 Euros) including postage from Nav4all and arrived in about 8 days. The package was a small envelope with the GPS in an antistatic bubble wrap bag, cigarette to USB adaptor, a USB cable and warranty card.

There is no power brick or software CD but I already have two USB power bricks for my phone which I rarely use because I usually recharge the unit off the PC or in the car and I have downloaded the latest PC software from Holux.

The unit serial number is 236-5xxxxxxx and SiRF Demo reports the software as 3.1.1 which is the latest so a firmware upgrade was not required.

I did a bit of tweaking of it's settings using SiRF Demo (not recommended unless you have the Holux data cable) and switched on WAAS. Very pleased with it so far.
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johnk · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 17, 2004 Posts: 17

Skippy, Reading through the posts here, I am under the impression that Nav4All's 236 has an out of date firmware 3.0.0. What firmware is your new 236? Do you experience the slow fix poblem?

Also, I heard that even though it is not supplied with the main charger, you can actually use a Nokia phone charger to charge it. Is that true?

Thanks.
JohnK.

Skippy

Hi,

My firmware is definately 3.1.1 which is the latest that Holux have released. I'm not sure if Nav4all upgraded the firmware or if it left the factory that way. It didn't look like the bag had been opened.

I timed it with my watch and it gets a fix from cold (switched off for 2 days) in about 40 seconds which is as expected.

The charger needs to be a Mini USB "B" type connector. I'm pretty sure you CAN'T use a Nokia charger, certainly none of my old Nokia chargers would work. I don't know if the new Nokias have a different charger - mine are all several years old.

Maybe you can get a Nokia to Mini USB adaptor or just charge it from the car or a PC.

Good luck!
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johnk · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 17, 2004 Posts: 17

Many thanks, Skippy.

In another thread your said "As for the lack of mains charger, my phone uses this same connector so I already have 2 mains chargers that will fit my Holux". What phones are yours? I have Mot V3 and SPV C500 both have miniUSB connectors. Do you happen to know if they work?

Skippy · Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:28 pm Post subject:

I have a C500 and a T-Mobile MDA Compact II (both HTC phones) and the Mini-USB mains charger works for the Holux GPS.
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johnk · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 17, 2004 Posts: 17

Skippy, Many thanks for the advice.

I've got hold of a 236. However, I cannot get my TTM5 on C500 to talk to it: 236 blinks yellow and blue (So fixed as I understand it). I paired my C500 to 236 and was told connected. But when I run TTM5 (and select "Other GPS"), it always says "No GPS Device". The GPS status in TTM5 does not show anything. Apparently you have a C500, how do you make it to talk to 236?

Also I installed SirfDemo on my PC (which has a BT dongle plugged) - I tried "Init GPS" button but it does not respond at all. How do I get it to talk to 236?

Thanks again - JohnK.

Skippy · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:44 am Post subject:

You have to bond your phone (or PC) with the bluetooth GPS first and enter the passcode 0000 (4 zeros). This should be done through the Control Panel on your PC or through the Bluetooth settings on your phone.

Once this is done, the Holux should appear as a device connected to a virtual COM port and your program can communicate with it as if it was a normal serial port device.

BE CAREFUL with Sirf Demo, you can easily change the baud rate of your GPS such that it may not work! I wouldn't recommend tinkering with it unless you the the special Holux GPS to PC cable (not a standard USB cable, a special one with a USB to serial dongle in it).

Good luck!
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imroberts · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 02, 2005 Posts: 16

Does this not come boxed from Nav4all?

MarkHewitt · Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:33 pm Post subject:

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has this GPS working with TomTom Mobile 5.

Skippy · Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:36 pm Post subject:

frustin · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 04, 2006 Posts: 6

Hello for a first post:

I got one on your advice, hope its better than what i have currently.

I have a problem with mine where i have to remove the device from BT and then re-add it everytime i want to use satnav. I have a SPV M3100 (TyTN).

frustin · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 04, 2006 Posts: 6

the GPSslim has been discontinued according to this site: http://www.handnav.co.uk/quick_search.php?brand=Holux

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