Fix times on TomTom GPS II Bluetooth

ItsMikeE

I bought a Palm TX, TomTom Navigator 5 and bluetooth GPS about a week ago.
TomTom website states
"The first time you use the TomTom Wireless GPS receiver can take up to 45 minutes to get a GPS 'fix'. Once the receiver has got a 'fix' it will remember where in the world it is located and subsequent 'fixes' will take less than 1 minute."
I have only used it 3 times, but already twice I have got a fix at home in a minute or so, driven to my destination and switched off the Palm and GPS.
After 3 hours or so got back in the car (same car so the issue is not a windscreen blocking reception) switched back on and the GPS has taken about 15 minutes to get a fix.
It is definitely the receiver, not the Palm or software (the green light stays fixed on which the manual states is searching for signal).
In both cases I drove out in daylight, and returned after dark. Is there any difference in reception after dark (can't see why but I am looking for a pattern).
Is this "normal" for the TomTom? How about other bluetooth GPSs?
Anything I can do about this, other than switch on the receiver 15 minutes earlier?

eillo7 · Regular Visitor Joined: Aug 19, 2005 Posts: 199

My old tomtom MkI (silver) GPS receiver had almost exactly the same reception quality you describe - 15 minutes was often the 'norm'.

I assume you have the MkII (black) type? This is a SiRFstar III chipset and so should be better. However, in practice maybe it suffers similar flaws to the old receiver?

Day/night didn't make any difference, and I never figured out a solution until I bought a Holux GPSlim 236.

This never takes more than a minute or so (and usually much less) to get a fix, regardless of recent use or where it is when it is switched on.

ItsMikeE · Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 9:50 am Post subject:

Yes, its a mark II.
I spoke to TomTom support yesterday, and they said it should not happen.
As it is only a week old they said to take it back to the vendor.
I spoke to the vendors, and am going to take it in to them after work on Monday and should get a replacement.
If that is no better, then I will look at the Holux or similar as a replacement.

ItsMikeE · Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 3:18 pm Post subject:

GPS now replaced by vendor even though they thought all the TomTomw would have the same kind of performance (full marks to Rankhour).

I will give this a try and then decide whether to go for the Holux.

mikealder · Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 3:57 pm Post subject:

Just a small thought are you driving off first before letting the unit acquire the sat lock it needs, if you turn the unit on when you go out of the house, put it in the car, by the time you have the engine running, seat belt secured etc. the unit should be OK, if you switch it on then drive it will take ages to work out where it is - Mike

ItsMikeE · Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 4:07 pm Post subject:

I probably switched it on a minute or so before driving off.
I will try to switch it on a little earlier in future.

Since having problems I have tried it several times in my house.
About 4 times out of 5 it gets a lock within a minute. The other time takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Thanks for the suggestion.

ItsMikeE · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 11:00 am Post subject:

Have tried the new BT GPS a few times now, and it has never failed to get a lock within a minute or so.
On one occasion however, TomTom reported no connection to GPS. After rebooting the Palm the two connected immediately.
Any ideas why this happened?

eillo7 · Regular Visitor Joined: Aug 19, 2005 Posts: 199

ItsMikeE · Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 2:52 pm Post subject:

The GPS is better than the first one, but still a little inconsistent in its fix times.
I looked at reviews of Globalsat 338 and it specifically mentioned sub 10 second fix times.
Holux 236 review got a slightly higher score (99% as opposed to 98%) but does not mention fix times.

10 second fix times is not a big issue for me, but getting sub 1 minute consistently is.

Anyone care to add their experience of other bluetooth GPS?

eillo7 · Regular Visitor Joined: Aug 19, 2005 Posts: 199

Personally I wouldn't rely too much on the 'official' figures for fix times. Based on my own [limited] experience they aren't particularly accurate.

As I've said before, my old MkI Tomtom was inconsistent and not entirely reliable. Sounds like the Mk II is much the same - good when it works, but cannot be relied upon for a consistent fix every time.

My Holux GPSlim 236 is superb and has never let me down...yet.

Since it takes more than 10 seconds to set up my palm in its mount, launch tomtom, set my destination, buckle up and start the engine I see little value in a sub-10 second fix...under a minute is fine by me and my Holux delivers virtually every time.

The Globalsat 338 does seem to get equally good reviews, but I have never experienced it personally so I can't compare...

ItsMikeE · Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:43 am Post subject:

Thanks for your help on this.
I am definitely going to buy another bluetooth GPS, not sure yet which one.
I am surprised and disappointed by the unreliablity of the TomTom.
Having previously used the built-in GPS of the Mio 168 I was expecting the Sirf III to be noticably better, and it is actually worse.

Now over to the Globalsat and Holux forums to decide what to buy.

ItsMikeE · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 12:30 pm Post subject:

Well I went for the Holux 236.
I have used it a few times now, and would say it is slightly better than the Tomtom.
The option to plug in an external antenna will probably help, although I haven't tried it yet.

I'll guess I'll just have to get used to switching it on before I go to the car.

Last night I went back to the same place where I initially had problems with the Tomtom. Like the tomtom the Holux lost and gained the signal several times. This is in a farm area, not too far from Stansted.
No tall buildings at all, although there were some trees overhead.

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