Ipaq h2210 TT5 and Bluetooth dropouts....is this the Problem

Drewzel

Hi everyone......

I dont know whether I have stumbled on a possible reason for the numerous reports of TT5 loosing connection with the GPS and locking up with the Blue/Grey screen of death showing no valid GPS!

Basically I have an Ipaq h2210 TT5 and Globalsat BT338. I have had it running perfectly set up as "other wired GPS", 4800 baud on BT com8 on the Ipaq. Following some of the threads on here I hacked the registry to give Dword Bluetooth Browser enabled value 0 (instead of 1). I then reconfigured the GPS as "other Bluetooth GPS, again on BT com8. The bluetooth autoconnection then worked perfectly without having to go through the Bluetooth connection console on the Ipaq and the satellite signal was consistently 4-5 bars.
Since then however, I have suffered inumerable bluetooth dropouts (even though the GPS receiver appeared to be still showing a connection). The 2 devices would connect OK and remain connected for hours on end sat on my desk at home....but as soon as I started driving it would work for a short while before dying...with the TT5 programme locking up and requiring a soft reset to continue. I suspected processor overload but when I placed the Ipaq on the car seat it worked perfectly!!

I use a Brodit wired amplified PDA mount in the car. I checked the terminals at the bottom....the PDA was charging OK so there was no problem with power to the device. If I put the PDA on the car seat everything has worked with no problem whatsoever...but as soon as I place it in the cradle after a few minutes it looses the connection.
I have tried all sorts of different orders of starting things up both in the cradle and out of it but the same phenomenon occurs. When on the mount it would refuse to reconnect to the GPs...take it off... and no problems!

I have read on a couple of threads about TT5 interfering with the charging of some Ipaqs and I am beginning to wonder whether there is some conflict occuring between the Bluetooth implementation through TT5 and the powered mount. Could the Ipaq, when on the mount be thinking that it is about to sync with the host PC??.....I dont know. I have deleted ALL my other bluetooth connections on the Ipaq so there is now just the GPS.

It really is a very strange phenomenon...but it really is doing my head in. I cannot believe there is a fault with the mount since all it does is provide 5v to the PDA....nothing else...but something strange appears to be going on.

Sorry about the really long post.....but does anyyone have any thoughts or ideas on this issue...the Bluetooth implentation within TT5 seems to me to be really flaky...is there anything anyone can suggest that i could try to elliminate any other possibilities.

Many Regards,

Andrew

semrots · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 9:16 pm Post subject:

I'm using a 2210 with a Haicom BT slipper, and a Brodit powered mount.

I got it to work using 'other wired' and having started at 4800 baud now have upped it to 34800, no problems.

When using TT3 I got tired of having to select the BT device on start up everytime so I use BTRegTweaker which is a little prog which I think effectively does the same as the Hack, but allows you to switch it on and off easily. That still works with the above TT5 set up, so at TT5 switch on it automatically connects to the BTSlipper. At TT switch off it does not kill the BT function on the 2210 though, in case that is of importance.

Been using it now for about 2 weeks, numerous journey's, usually around the 1 hour mark, with all the Speed camera POI's and 2 or 3 other types of POI running and all seems rock solid.

Not sure that this helps you any but....

Drewzel · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 9:39 pm Post subject:

semrots....

Many thanks for that quick response......i will try that ....I have already used BT tweak before but after installing it I kept getting "insufficient memory to start bluetooth radio" etc messages and ended up doing hard resets etc to try and cure it and have not reinstalled the application since. i must say that when I first started using TT5 i also set it up as "other wired device"...etc and I had no problems with loosing the connection to the GPS receiver....it was just a ball-ache going through the connection manager all the time. Anyway i will give it a try.

The problems I have described though do seem somewaht odd......why would the powered mount be interfering with the bluetooth connection.....wierd!

Regards,

Andrew

linknet · Frequent Visitor Joined: May 05, 2005 Posts: 872

I can remember reading somewhere that powered mounts can interfere with bluetooth. Also some mounts tend to shield the bluetooth signal.

Have you tried it with the PDA on the mount running on batteries only and with the power supply to the mount isolated?

Drewzel · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:47 pm Post subject:

linknet,

No I havent tried that......the mount is hard-wired into the car. What nI cant understand is it has been working perfectly.....I suppose I could try moving the GPS receiver to see if that makes any difference. When the bluetooth drops out and the Ipaq tries to reconnect I am getting the message "no bluetooth com ports found for GPS device". I wonder if this is consistent with the mount shielding the bluetooth radio signal etc etc.

I really am at a loss as to why this should have suddenly started happening when all was working correctly up to a few days ago. The problem did seem to be intermittent, last night everything worked ok for half an hour or so...yet today I seem only to be getting 30 seconds of life out of the connection.....maybe the shielding/interference issue might be the answer. I dont suppose you can remember where you read about this problem can you??

Regards,

Andrew

Drewzel · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:49 pm Post subject:

semrots,

I tried the BTtweak and still have the same problem....perhaps linknet has something.....more tearing out of hair etc etc!

regards,

Andrew

linknet · Frequent Visitor Joined: May 05, 2005 Posts: 872

I think I read it during my search for a powered amplified mount for my Loox 420.

It may have been in the "Other Hardware and Accessories" forum or it may have been somewhere else entirely.

Finished up with an Arkon mount but even that sometimes picks up and amplifies the bluetooth signal. Doesn't cause any problems though.

Sorry can't be more specific.

Roger

Drewzel · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 11:37 pm Post subject:

linknet,

thats ok......i think i am gradually narrowing down the problem....I believe it might be interference of some description from the car. It only seems to happen when the car engine is running! I really cant believe that I should suddenly get this problem. Surely it should have been there from the beginning.

If anyone else has any ideas.................????

Regards,

Andrew

linknet · Frequent Visitor Joined: May 05, 2005 Posts: 872

So what switches the power to the hard wired mount? You said you couldn't isolate it, is it switched via the ignition? If so running the engine would also coincide with the mount being powered. Or have I understood wrongly.

Roger

Drewzel · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:07 am Post subject:

linknet,

Yes the ignition switches the power to the mount. I can have the mount charging the PDA without the engine on (power is on at the "accessories" position of the ignition switch)....and this SEEMS to be ok. TT5 and the GPS maintain a connection.....but with the engine on.......it looses it. On reconnection I get the "bluetooth no serial port found" error message...but that could be something to do with the TT5 exiting problem. Even if the engine is already on before inserting the Ipaq into the mount I get the same problem...signal goes down after a few seconds.

What I dont get is the incosistnecy of the problem.....this morning going to work it worked fine for half an hour or so......last night similarly.....yet tonight......no chance....drops every 30 seconds or so.

I have been some saddo during the last hour trying to consistently reproduce the problem......sat in the car on the drive turning the ignition on and off.....resetting the ipaq....etc...etc.

I just wish i could get to the bottom of it......but if its interference by some of the equpment in the car then its gonna render the whole set up next to useless!!

Regards,

Andrew

linknet · Frequent Visitor Joined: May 05, 2005 Posts: 872

Maybe you have always been having drop-outs but peviously the Ipaq automatically reconnected and therefore you didn't notice it?

How far away from the PDA is the GPS and is there a clear line of sight between them?

Bluetooth is just about the worst technology I have ever encountered, just look at it the wrong way and it stops working.

If I hold my PDA in my hand, with the hand completely covering the rear, the range decreases from around 10 metres to 2 metres, thats outdoors and with no obstructions.

Roger

HoudiniQ · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 12, 2005 Posts: 5

I'm new to posting in this forum, but I've been lurking quite a while trying to determine how I want to setup my system.

I noticed you have an Ipaq 2210. I have a 2215 (identical system) and have been pretty concerned about reported BT dropouts experienced by some of the folks here. The issue, as I understand it, concerns the amount of information TomTom and the Bluetooth are exchanging (if that's the correct terminology). Apparently, the ipaq 2210/2215 has trouble if the amount of data exceeds some undefined limit.

The forum mods here should be able to help you, but I'd do a forum search for 2210 and BT...and read the multitude of threads on this subject. I also did a google search, and this problem seems to be hit-or-miss across the board with ipaq 2210/15 users (though the predominance of faults appears to lie with the 2215)

Some things I've gleaned from reading these myself: (no words on the success of each item, however)

1) Make sure you've updated your ipaq 2210/15 with the latest firmware/ROM updates. HP had tackled a BT issue that may have been the cause of this problem.

2) Some people reported that switching from an SD card to a CF card did the trick. Apparently (again no expert here), the SD card operates pretty darn quick and could be causal in "overworking" the 2210/15...resulting in the bluetooth being shut out. Some folks had great success copying their TomTom files over to a CF (which operates slower, apparently). No one reported that TomTom suffered as a result of using the CF card...performance remained the same.

I know this is a wild departure from your suspected car interference troubles, but it may be worth looking into.

Good luck, and let us know if you've fixed it. I'm waiting for my Brodit mount and Holux GR-236 BT to arrive, and I'm trying to arm myself for the impending showdown.

linknet · Frequent Visitor Joined: May 05, 2005 Posts: 872

You could check the strength of the bluetooth signal without TomTom running.

Do something like this:

Turn on bluetooth.
Select bluetooth manager.
Tap and hold GPS icon - select Connect.
Once connected tap and hold GPS icon again - select Status.

You should now have a Bluetooth Connection Status screen with a Signal Strength display.

You can now orient the PDA and GPS to check signal, start engine and check effect, all without Tomtom interfering.

Roger

Drewzel · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:26 pm Post subject:

Linknet,

Thankyou for your replies.....I actually did exactly what you suggested on my way to work this morning and the Bluetooth signal strength and connection was rock-solid throughout. The distance between the GPS and PDA is about 18 inches at the most.

Following this then there seems to be something interfering with the operation of TT5 and the bluetooth connection when the PDA is on the cradle and charging. I am going to try and roll back my TT5 installation by removing all my extra POi's , camera database, pocket gps warning files etc etc and see if that makes a difference. The puzzle is that it is working OK when not on the cradle...yet i cannot see how a faulty cradle could affect the operation of the software...surely all it does is provide 5v to the Ipaq...so either that is what it is doing....or not.

HoudiniQ.....thanks for your reply also......I have the latest ROM update for the 2210 (ver1.10) and the updated Hp Bluetooth driver. I am running the TT5 software from a CF card as opposed to the original SD card due to the problems stated by people on this forum.

Maybe another install of the software might cure the problem....because clearly it has been working in the past.

The mystery deepens!!

Regards,

Andrew

Drewzel · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:44 pm Post subject:

Hi again.....

I have just had another thought.......would installing GPSGate make any difference to the stability of the Bluetooth connection.....I am reluctant to do this since it is adding yet another stage in the process which might ultimately go wrong. Also....the problem (whatever it is) might be occuring earlier in the chain thus rendering GPS Gate redundant in trying to prevent it.

Any ideas mods??

Regards,

Andrew

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