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Tom Tom and Sirf Star III
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satjohn
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Joined: Oct 27, 2006
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

lbendlin wrote:
I find it hard to believe that the TTFF should be linked to the protocol output.

You can try to use APLSiRF to switch it back to SiRF protocol. As you know TomTom doesn't speak SiRF so you will need to switch back and forth all the time.


It is odd, yes.

I did try APLSiRF without success I'm afraid.

It will indeed be painful, as switching seems very difficult to achieve.
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satjohn
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lost_Property wrote:
Quote:
Don't get too hung up between the hardware and software, the GPS unit within your device is equipped with a SiRF-III chipset (Hardware), the TomTom application requires NMEA data for it to work (Software) - its a regular question that easily confuses people; the HardWare is SiRF-III but the data format transmitted by the GPS can be SiRF or NMEA, some applications support SiRF but TomTom requires NMEA - Mike


Not having Memory Map I don't know whether you should set your device to NMEA or SiRF. But if it is SiRF, start Winfast then Tools - Command and select SiRF then OK. But DON'T change it if you are not sure.


Useful info again, thanks.

The 550 came setup to output SiRF, not NMEA. Using Winfast etc. took some trial & error just to do that switch! But TomTom still wouldn't work until I changed those parameters to what you published.

Since I get a faster TTFF with SiRF enabled, & I'll use Memory Map more, I was concerned that it was so difficult to switch, & you implied from your post that you also had trouble, but did fix it.

I'll try again, & let you know how I get on.

thanks.
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mikealder
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

John, I am not to sure what is "difficult" when switching to/ from SiRF mode on your GPS? I use the following method:

Download TTN GPS driver 2,06 from HERE

Once you have the download on the PC simply unzip it, the single file you are looking for is ttgps206_arm.CAB copy this CAB file to your PDA.
Use File Explorer on the PDA to locate the CAB file and tap it, this will start the installer, just answer Yes to the annoying prompts windows asks.

The application will now be on your PDA, the icon looks like a satellite dish and can be found in the programs section on the PDA.

Start the application and go to the GPS tab (located at the bottom of the screen). Use the Top dropdown box to select the mode you want the GPS to be using, this could be SiRF or NMEA depending upon what you want to switch the data output mode to, make sure you select the correct Baud rate at the same time as the data type.



Make sure the second drop down box is selected to your GPS device, you might find this changes when you select the first dropdown box, so always re-check this.
Click the grey box (Top Left) then go to the Status tab to check you have data.

This method makes it very easy to switch between the two modes, it takes seconds, and better still it costs nothing. Once you have finished the switch make sure you terminate the GPS program before running any other GPS related application. You can use the application to datalog, it cannot alter the SiRF parameters, to alter these will require use of another application.
One final point this GPS application is a standalone application in its own right, it does not alter your existing TTN5 or 6 GPS related driver, I have seen questions before wondering why this doesn't "upgrade" the version 5 GPS driver - the simple answer is that it has nothing to do with TTN5 - Mike
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satjohn
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 10:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mikealder wrote:
John, I am not to sure what is "difficult" when switching to/ from SiRF mode on your GPS? I use the following method:

Download TTN GPS driver 2,06 from HERE

Once you have the download on the PC simply unzip it, the single file you are looking for is ttgps206_arm.CAB copy this CAB file to your PDA.
Use File Explorer on the PDA to locate the CAB file and tap it, this will start the installer, just answer Yes to the annoying prompts windows asks.

The application will now be on your PDA, the icon looks like a satellite dish and can be found in the programs section on the PDA.

Start the application and go to the GPS tab (located at the bottom of the screen). Use the Top dropdown box to select the mode you want the GPS to be using, this could be SiRF or NMEA depending upon what you want to switch the data output mode to, make sure you select the correct Baud rate at the same time as the data type.



Make sure the second drop down box is selected to your GPS device, you might find this changes when you select the first dropdown box, so always re-check this.
Click the grey box (Top Left) then go to the Status tab to check you have data.

This method makes it very easy to switch between the two modes, it takes seconds, and better still it costs nothing. Once you have finished the switch make sure you terminate the GPS program before running any other GPS related application. You can use the application to datalog, it cannot alter the SiRF parameters, to alter these will require use of another application.
One final point this GPS application is a standalone application in its own right, it does not alter your existing TTN5 or 6 GPS related driver, I have seen questions before wondering why this doesn't "upgrade" the version 5 GPS driver - the simple answer is that it has nothing to do with TTN5 - Mike


Mike,
thank you very much for taking the time to post that!

By "difficult" I mean that whenever I pushed the button in the protocol selection dialogue box in Winfast Navigator, the bottom status line did indeed toggle from what it was set to previously, but simply "hung" there for awhile, eventually "springing" back to the NMEA setting! It just would not return to SiRF & get signals. I also tried a couple of other app's which have port & protocol changing menus, with the same result! Even before I changed from the supplied SiRF setting over to NMEA, I nearly gave up, because when trying to change the port (as these programs never seem to find the actual GPS port) I got a port error box. Pressing ok simply redisplayed it! I must have been thinking whilst absent mindedly tapping the screen, & fortuitously in the "ok" area, as eventually the error box went away allowing me to continue. It seems a bizarre programming technique!

The 2.06 app' however works a treat :-) I've now tried it several times successfully, so I wonder why the other app's fail? They seem to be recommended in several forums. The WM5 nags are very annoying indeed. Almost every "suggestion" is the opposite of what I'd like to be the default!

I'm surprised that these devices use a COMn: model, but I suppose it's just inherited? I'm also unclear on the baud rate, since in Winfast I set the rate to 4800, but when the status line appeared the rate started incrementing at 1 or 2 second intervals, stopping at 57600. This was with NMEA & several good satellite signals. So why is there an option to *change* the baud rate - isn't that preset for the internal satellite receiver hardware output, or am I really modifying that when I set it?
I'd have thought in that case the fastest would be the optimum.

This 2.06 app' seems happy with only 4800, but I've seen several forum "tutorials" advocating 57600. Mio's page seems silent on this.

When I return to NMEA after using an app' with SiRF, running TomTom gets the "no GPS device" error message, but that's easy to fix via configure in TomTom. I suppose the app's which understand SiRF are smart enough to get the port details without operator intervention.

BTW, under the same conditions, ie, swapping protocols fairly quickly & no dramatic weather changes, static PDA, SiRF seems to show more "green" sat's than NMEA did a few minutes earlier.

Thanks again for those very clear instructions. Now I need to go & read up on SiRF, & why I might want "virtual" ports :-)

john
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philpugh
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

satjohn wrote:

Thanks again for those very clear instructions. Now I need to go & read up on SiRF, & why I might want "virtual" ports :-)

john


They are indeed very good instructions. Just a reminder - SiRF describes both the hardware chip set used in your GPS and the protocol that they can "talk" to external devices. SiRF h/w devices do seem to be more sensitive and get better satellite signals. Applications that can use the SiRF protocol are getting more common - they tend to be the newer applications / versions. NMEA is the older standard for GPS to other device communications. For NMEA, 4800bps is more than fast enough for the data being transmitted from the GPS to the other devices. NMEA won't be going away in a hurry as there are a lot of marine devices (plotters, depth sounders etc) that are designed around NMEA at 4800bps.

"Virtual ports" are what you tend to use with BT GPS units anyway. It's just a way of allocating a device name to an application and the actual port number used is generally irrelevant. Under WM5 on some(?) (definitely DELL AXIM) it is possible to run a utility that handles the actual GPS COM port and create another virtual port which allows multiple applications to access the GPS device at the same time. I have never had much luck with using this facility and as I tend to use only one GPS app at a time (from a choice of 3) I don't really miss this facility.
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rhayader_wanderer
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Location: Mid Wales

PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Word of warning to those using the TTN GPS driver 2,06.

The upgrade from TT5 to TT6 on my pda overwrote some of the files and left the system inoperable. Sad

Thankfully I found out on a day trip when I knew my way home from where I was walking :D
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mikealder
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Simply re-install the 2,06 driver if you still need it for switching the GPS output type.
I keep useful CAB installer files on the device setting them as Read Only so you can re-install the application on the fly when really needed, they don't take up much space and can be simply placed in a single folder on your memory card.
Note the GPS Driver 2,06 was used with earlier versions of TomTom and IS NOTHING to do with TTN6, it is NOT an upgrade of any sorts (this has been suggested before) - the only reason I still use it is for switching SiRF to NMEA and back when required - Mike
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rhayader_wanderer
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ironically that was the position I found myself in when I got home,

I dug out this thread downloaded the file put my memory card in the pc only to find it sitting on the card already.

Good point worth remembering though.
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mikealder
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Treat the CAB files like Gold, store them in the memory AND a specific folder on the memory card but make sure they are set to read only or they will disapear each time you need to re-load requiring a trip back to the PC - not easy when out on a long trip, but at least if stored twice you get two bites at the cherry, or use one and copy the second before using it again! - Mike
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AllyCat
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PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Mike,

Also, thanks for those very clear instructions. However, two ancillary questions (maybe the second for Lutz):

1) The application has a "Log" facility, but is there any practical way to use these log files?

2) Because I have rather a lot of GPS Apps installed on my PPC, I moved the shortcut into a GPS subfolder within Windows\Start Menu\Programs , to keep the Programs menu page tidy. However, I was surprised that the same "GPS" icon had also been installed in the Settings : System menu. Is it possible to get rid of it? (I guess it needs a registry edit).

Cheers, Alan.
_________________
Garmin GPS72H/76/60/45, Etrex H, Mapsource v6.5.
Acer N50,HP114,Loox N560,Dell x50,CF/SD cards to 4/32GB.
RoyalTek,Holux236,Navman B10 & Copilot(Globalsat) BT GPS,TomTom5/6.
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lbendlin
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PostPosted: Sat May 19, 2007 12:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

AllyCat wrote:


2) Because I have rather a lot of GPS Apps installed on my PPC, I moved the shortcut into a GPS subfolder within Windows\Start Menu\Programs , to keep the Programs menu page tidy. However, I was surprised that the same "GPS" icon had also been installed in the Settings : System menu. Is it possible to get rid of it? (I guess it needs a registry edit).


(only on WM5 devices)
HKLM\Control Panel\GPS Settings
Hide=1
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Report Map Errors here:
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AllyCat
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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2007 9:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

Thanks Lutz, but unfortunately I'm still using WM3/SE.

Anyone know if (and how) it's possible to use the recorded .pgl track log files?

Cheers, Alan.
_________________
Garmin GPS72H/76/60/45, Etrex H, Mapsource v6.5.
Acer N50,HP114,Loox N560,Dell x50,CF/SD cards to 4/32GB.
RoyalTek,Holux236,Navman B10 & Copilot(Globalsat) BT GPS,TomTom5/6.
Memory Map (v5.4.2 & v5.1.3 OS & Euro), GPS gate,OSGPSconverter.
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vprem
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 12:25 pm    Post subject: mio p350, no satellite lock Reply with quote

Hi,
I have been using mio p350 with tom tom 5, for over 18 months now without much problems. last week on a trip to Scotland, the unit would not detect any satellites. the yellow disc on the gps status keeps spinning, and there are numbers on the status bar but no signal or sats on the map as such. have tried rebooting , re formatting , downloaded ttn gps driver, changed from sirf to nmea, still no luck . Woud appreciate any suggestions.( could not find a site to download winfast as suggested elsewhere in the forum)
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mikealder
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have you tried the method detailed earlier in this thread to switch nmea/ sirf and if so what happens? - Mike
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vprem
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Mike,
i did use the the method that you had mentioned ( Sirf-nmea), still no luck, it keeps saying searching for valid gps signal!!!!!!
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