TTNav2 - app dies on it’s own ...

[khyasad]

Hello,



I recently wanted a GPS solution and decided on the following :



Hardware : Dell Axim X5 400Mhz, Haicom 303 Multimode Foldable CF receiver



Software : TomTom Navigator 2



I have been repeatedly installing TTN2 to resolve an ongoing issue, that of TTN2 automatically closing after using it for a few minutes or if I try to do anything on it and then when I restart the app (from file explorer mind you, it disappears from the start menu), it starts up as if starting up for the very first time (all my preferences are lost) ...



Please help ... I am in desperate need of help here and hope someone here can recommend a positive course of action that will allow me to get this working like others have mentioned here ... When it works, it's a fantastic piece of software ...



I've resolved the other issue of maps on the SD card ... I bought TTN2 due to the fact you can have the whole UK map, but it never worked with that, so I was forced to only use the South England map (64mb). I can live with that, but I can't live with the frustrations on having to go and set the whole thing up everytime I turn my Axim on ..



I've spent too much money now that I can't go back now ... (bought a car cardle, the necessary car charger and screen protectors plus hi-capcity battery) so I have to get this setup working so please help

[khyasad]

incidently, I have also installed the v2.05 update ... No help :<



If anyone can restore my sanity, I would be immensely grateful !!!

[DavidW]

Losing your preferences implies that somehow the NavigatorSettings.cfg file in your map folder is being damaged somehow - or, possibly, it's marked as Read Only (you haven't restored a copy from CD-R, have you?)





Firstly, if you haven't got the application, GPS driver and sound files in main memory, uninstall them and reinstall them in main memory.





You talked about maps and the SD card. There is a huge long thread in the Dell Forums about Axims and SD card compatibility. If your maps are on SD card, what brand of card, and what are the markings on it?



If, alternatively, you've put your map in main memory, how much program memory remains? Insufficient program memory can play havoc with programs, particularly big ones like Navigator. It could be that some background process is firing up, and there's insufficient memory so Pocket PC closes Navigator to reclaim memory.









David

[nicknick]

I have an Axim and Pretec CF and TTN2 with the maps on a Pretec 128M MMC card and this works perfectly OK.



The first thing I would have thought of was David's suggestion of installing the main program in main memory, but your comment about the SD card implies you are just using main memory.



This would then definitely lead to David's last suggestion.



Easy enough to check this. Uninstall the 64M map and load a 32M (or even 16M) map and then see if the problem recurs



I would also suggest getting an SD card (or even an MMC if you want). Pretec is a good make, but the Expansys own brand seem to be good too.



There are also discussions on the best SD card over at aximsite.com



Nick

[khyasad]

Hi,



Thank you both for taking the time to answer.



Here is my setup precisely ...





1. I have installed TTN2 in Main memory on the Dell Axim.



2. I have installed the 64mb South of England map on my SD card (as the 92mb UK map has never worked for me).



3. I use the Haicom CF in the CF slot.



I have thought about the SD card being the issue, so I ordered today a cable to connect the CF Haicom as a mouse and then use a CF memory card to hold the maps. If that fails, I might just buy a 128mb MMC card seeing that it works ... Can you advise your brand please and where you got it NickNick ...



I *really* need this to work. Spent so much money on this and I can't go back now ... Any other hints, tips ?



I've formatted the SD card in various ways with various cluster sizes ... I've hard-resetted the Dell Axim before each install ... Hopefully hear from you soon if you have any other good news :o}

[khyasad]

sorry, you've mentioned that it's a pretec mmc card ... will look around on where I can buy them

[DavidW]

Khyasad,



Your configuration sounds correct - assuming you have the GPS driver and voice files in main memory as well. All those hard resets must have been a right nuisance, and I feel for you.





I would expect your issue to go away when you receive your PDA cable for your Haicom HI-303MMF (I've got one of those too - they seem a fantastic GPS, not least because the same GPS can be a mouse or a CF card) and you use CF memory for your maps. If you ordered from globalpositioningsystems.co.uk, my experience with them indicates that you'll have your cable very soon.



I appreciate, though, that you really want your original setup to work - not least because using the Haicom in CF mode mounts it neatly.





Particularly if your setup works with the maps on CF memory, SD card issues seem likely in this case - the Axim X5 seems to have the fussiest SD slot of all the Pocket PCs, though there are SD compatibility issues with other Pocket PCs. Myself and another English guy have been part of a group batting around the SD issue on the Dell forums - he goes by the name there of Happycheesecake, and I'm david.j.wood.



I'm in the thread on the Dell forums because, amongst other things, one of my cards is unreliable in one of my readers - I'm using an iPAQ 3970 (which has its own SD issues with the 2.10 ROM - I think that problem may be card dependent because my cards are fine on 2.10 ROM). My presence there appears to help by providing a different perspective for all the Dell users. It's also the case that if I convert my mother to using a Pocket PC, we'll almost certainly go for an Axim X5 for her.





I think HappyCC's latest conclusion is the most interesting - which you'll find at the bottom of this page. That may be all you need to read of what is now a very lengthy thread.





The problem is that with Lexar SD cards, it's a gamble as to what you get. Many Sandisk SD cards seem bad.



SimpleTech seem to be the brand that reliably comes up with a Made in Japan SD card with the type of serial number Jon specifies (they're believed to be Panasonic controller cards). My Lexar 256MB is also that type, but they seem in the minority (in that Lexar don't seem able to find one for Jon as a replacement!).





MMC is an option - but MMC is slower than SD on a Pocket PC with a decent SD interface. That might hurt TomTom Navigator 2, though it might make no difference.





SimpleTech SD cards are available at reasonable prices from clove.co.uk.





My personal inclination is for 256MB SD cards (512MB are still very pricey) - that way you have room left over for a couple of backups of your system (I use Sprite's excellent Pocket Backup Plus), and some MP3s or other data. If you install the full UK map, you don't have much space left over on a 128MB card. However, it is a personal thing.





I hope this represents an accurate precis of what is an exceptionally long thread on the Dell forums. I wish I could provide a guarantee that this solution would work, but I can't. I've no experience of ordering from clove.co.uk, but they seem well regarded. Also, to date, no reports of a SimpleTech SD card failing to work in an Axim X5, though there may be a first time.









David

[nicknick]

I think David gives you good advice regarding the SD card.



I have two 128M MMC cards (bought because I had a HP568 before the Axim), if you really want to buy one the Pretec one was bought from Jactron.co.uk - about £3 more than elsewhere - but I trust them and have got good CF cards from them as well.



But a good SD card as per David's advice seems to work if you check the link to Aximsite



Nick

[khyasad]

David and Nick ... I'm finally up and running ... !



Okay, this is what happened ...



For some reason, the cable hung the Axim -- I think I've set the wrong baud rate, but I'll try that another time. For now, I use the cable to power up my Axim and the GPS second cable is stowed away.



So, how did I get it to work ? MMC came to the rescue. I bought a 128mb MMC card, formatted it to FAT32 and then proceeded to re-install TTN2 incl. the full UK map.



Everything worked first time !!! Phew !!



I did find that TTN2 was a little slow in MAP mode, but Navigator mode works just fine.



One day, I'll try the cable again to connect to the GPS as a mouse so that I can make use of the CF slot. Until then, I want to express my immense gratitude for your time to respond and thanks for sharing your experiences.



Thanks again ... !

[DavidW]

Khyasad,



Thanks for the update - it's good to know when your advice has helped to get someone going.





As we expected, the storage card was the main problem. Dell Axim X5s are a bit fussy about which memory cards they'll work with.





The cable situation is a little confusing - though I have a thought about that. It appears from my testing, that the HI-303MMF can only receive serial input when it's used in a CompactFlash socket and not with a cable. There's only four pins on the cable as it enters the GPS (not the six in the mini-DIN connector) - which are probably 5V power, power ground, serial data out and serial ground in some order. In other words, I don't think there's a pin left for serial data in.



Certainly my HI-303MMF won't accept serial input either with a Haicom 9 pin serial cable or a Haicom USB cable.





Meanwhile, I am pretty sure that the TomTom GPS driver sends at least one initialisation string to the GPS if you use it with the "Haicom GPS" setting, as it appears to reconfigure the NMEA sentences output by the GPS. For some reason it turns on GLL sentences, which seem superfluous as the other sentences it configures contain all that data. You can see the incoming data if you record a GPS log.





If you set everything up again with the cable and select the NMEA0183v2 4800 driver (which shouldn't try to send anything to the GPS), does that get things working? I'm genuinely interested in case I decide to use a PDA cable with my setup one day. Unfortunately I don't have one for my iPAQ 3970 to hand - I decided to save the 15 pounds one would cost at this stage.









David

[khyasad]

Hello David,





Sure no problem. Your advice couldn't have come a better time as I'm planning a number of customer site visits over the next few weeks. As soon as I return, I will try it out and let you know !



Many thanks again for your help ... You too Nick

[nicknick]

Glad to help (and that is thanks to the help I have had on this site too)



Nick

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