Fatal Navigation Bug

Zuke · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:18 am Post subject: Fatal Navigation Bug

I had many instability problems with this product running on WinME, so I
rebuilt my Toshiba Portege 7140 with XP Pro SP1, fully patched, and
reinstalled Navigator and upgraded to the latest patch revision.

The result was much improved performance and stability, but I have still
have one fatal problem, associated with loss of satellite signals at the
attached GPS receiver, when navigation is in progress.

During GPS tracking only, the loss of satellites and signal is
recognised, and tracking automatically restarts when the signal is
re-established. However, when 'navigation' is in play, once the signal
is lost, the navigation screen correctly shows 'waiting for GPS' but
never re-acquires the signal when the GPS unit recovers. Once this has
happened, Navigator causes heavy disk activity and becomes unresponsive.

The application can be closed down (eventually) at this point, but any
other attempt at interaction will result in a permanent 'hourglass'
mouse pointer,and the Task Manager will need to be invoked to remove the unresponding application.

I've reported this to Directions, who refered it to their programmers, but no response resulted. Anyone else seen this problem?

Dave · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 11:51 am Post subject:

Which build are you running, and have you tried downloading the latest fix on their website ?

Zuke · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 5:25 pm Post subject:

I'm running the latest patch, 1.3.12 from the Directions website.

The tech support guy has been very responsive, but it's gone quiet since the problem was sent to the programmers a couple of weeks ago. I was just wondering if anyone else apart from me had seen the same problem.

I wondered if it might be GPSr specific - I'm using an etrex, although other software has no problems handling loss of signal reports from this source. I may try to borrow something else to try, but the root of the problem seems to be that if the navigation function tries to access GPS data for routing calculations while the signal status is NO, the program will fail fatally.

Dave · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 7:18 pm Post subject:

Were you talking via email with Jacob ?

I haven't tied 1.3.12, the review copy we received was 1.3.2 which worked okay. It sounds like it's probably a bug implemented post 1.3.2.

Zuke · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 11:10 am Post subject:

No, it's Tomas. He's been very good, but owes me a response to my latest reminder!

Zuke · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 11:14 am Post subject:

Apparently I can't edit the previous post!

Anyway, good idea, Dave. I'll drop back to an earlier version and see what happens!

Zuke · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 6:55 pm Post subject:

Well, dropping back to earlier version had no effect on this bug. Obviously not everybody sees it, as this response to the review indicates:

Zuke · Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2004 8:26 pm Post subject:

Well, there's an old saying 'buy cheap, buy twice'. Pity they couldn't respond. Gone in the bin now, off to buy TomTom tomorrow. It was an awkward product to use anyway, even without the bugs. Shame...

Phil14 · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 27, 2004 Posts: 2

Hi Zuke

Just read the thread and I confirm that I get exactly the same problem. I wrote to Tomas about it and he said that it was the first time he had heard about this.....strange!! I use an etrex and was wondering whether it was a function of the receiver, so I asked Tomas to check it out on his system. So far no reply. I'm reluctant to give up on it because it's not a bad system and very cheap. Perhaps Dave can exert a bit of pressure...

Zuke · Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 6:25 pm Post subject:

Well, I never got the feeling that Tomas was properly understanding the problem I was describing, despite mailing screenshots etc. He seemed to want to label it as an RS232 problem, which it certainly isn't.

I'd like to get mine fixed too, as I had to spend my TomTom money on a new LCD screen when the old one broke!

I'm sure it is specific to the etrex, and probably easily solved by the programmers. Please post any progress, I'll maybe e-mail them again too.

cybrey · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 27, 2004 Posts: 13

Have you seen theres an update out 1.2.13 which amongst other things fixes the GPS bug ...

cybrey · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 27, 2004 Posts: 13

Arrghh.. misread post.. Smile

I see your on 1.3.12 not 1.2.12 :P my mistake Embarassed

Phil14 · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 27, 2004 Posts: 2

Thanks for the thought.

Zuke I have just connected a Magellan SporTrack instead of the eTrex and the problem doesn't occcur. You just get a message suggesting that the GPS is disconnected. This is fine because when the signal returns you can continue navigating. As suspected, it's a problem with the e-Trex.

I have written to Directions with this information and some more information that I managed to find from the Garmin web site. Maybe something will happen, I'll keep you posted.

Zuke · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:55 pm Post subject:

The good news is that two independent tests with version 4 of Navigator have shown that the etrex problem has been fixed.

wildwildcamper · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 07, 2003 Posts: 32

I'm currently using pre Navigator 4 (Europe), though I am waiting for a copy of InfoMap Navigator Professional Europe - 16 countries when its released.

'm running the above on win98 1st edition, Dell latitude. The GPS mouse/receiver is a USB type, model BU-303 USB 1.1

I have encountered the loss of signal quite a bit and got the on screen warning of no data (or words to that effect).

Whilst travelling around London yesterday I had terrible problems. Sometimes the GPS mouse would be flashing to say it is seeing sats, but the software would say no signal, then quite often the mouse wouldn't be flashing, then getting the no signal message. All very frustrating. In the end due to lack of time, I had to dump the vehicle and get a taxi!. The mouse was on the outside of the vehicle, stuck on the door pillar so I could see the ‘flashing’ led.

Quite often I start up the laptop, get the GPS mouse flashing, then start up Navigator, but it says no signal. So de-activate the GPS mouse in Navigator, Then start up the small utility programme that comes with the GPS mouse to check a signal is coming through, then close the utility and re-activate the GPS mouse in Navigator which then seems to run okay. Though when testing via the utility I do sometimes have to unplug and replug the GPS mouse to get a signal.

Now….
I think I may have two problems, the first being the GPS mouse, the second being the Navigator software.

Regarding the mouse, some times I encounter the problem by tall buildings (10 floors or so), but quite often in wide open areas with no cloud cover, bright sunny day. Do I have a weak mouse receiver? Do I add something like a Re-Radiating Antenna (I assume one end goes on the roof, the other by the mouse?), or do I seek a better receiver, if so which one? (I’m fast running out of budget, due to upgrades and the previous GPS mouse failing on me).

Regarding the software and reading some of the other posts it looks like the new version has rectified some of the failures to acknowledge GPS signals.

Any help or comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Steve

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