Anyone used the GPS in Europe yet?

[jgirvine]

Going to Europe in a month. Has anyone been since they got GPS on their Mogul? Thanks.

[bedoig]

Just make sure you have maps of the area on your phone and you'll be good to go. I wouldn't count on having WiFi access anywhere.

If you're just looking for stories/experiences I can't help you though. Haven't been to Europe for a couple years. Last time I went I did make a couple Skype VOIP calls on my Apache though. That was nice. Might want to put 10 bucks on a Skype account before you go. Or just pick up a really cheap phone and a prepaid SIM.

[jgirvine]

Originally Posted by bedoig

Just make sure you have maps of the area on your phone and you'll be good to go. I wouldn't count on having WiFi access anywhere.

If you're just looking for stories/experiences I can't help you though. Haven't been to Europe for a couple years. Last time I went I did make a couple Skype VOIP calls on my Apache though. That was nice. Might want to put 10 bucks on a Skype account before you go. Or just pick up a really cheap phone and a prepaid SIM.

I have the TomTom maps already ready to go on a data card. Was just wondering if I can use the GPS with the phone turned off so that it helps reduce the battery drain. I have read different points on this forum as to if it will work or not.

Anyone?

Thanks

[BP-isMe]

There is a reg tweak in another thread that is supposed to enable standalone mode for the gps. This would let your gps work when there is no cell coverage (in Europe) or your in flight mode.

Sorry, I don't have the direct link. It is in one of the GPS threads on this forum.

Good Luck...Brad

[Lsme420]

Originally Posted by jgirvine

I have the TomTom maps already ready to go on a data card. Was just wondering if I can use the GPS with the phone turned off so that it helps reduce the battery drain. I have read different points on this forum as to if it will work or not.

Anyone?

Thanks

You don't need a reg hack to run your GPS stand alone it will already. I use Garmin Mobile xt and it rocks.I load the maps on my card and yes it works while in a call or with the radio off (flight mode). I would say you'd have to DL the map of the area your going to.

Originally Posted by BP-isMe

There is a reg tweak in another thread that is supposed to enable standalone mode for the gps. This would let your gps work when there is no cell coverage (in Europe) or your in flight mode.

Sorry, I don't have the direct link. It is in one of the GPS threads on this forum.

Good Luck...Brad

Sorry this is not needed. GPS has worked stand alone since the leaked rom. The difference now is you don't have to use Google maps or Live search to launch your GPS Garmin/tomtom will do it for you ,But I must say I also do the A-GPS edit but its not necessary for GPS.

[bedoig]

Ya, there is no need to do the registry edit. It will work fine in stand alone mode without it. All the reg edit does is (supposedly) allow varying modes of assisted gps to be used as well. The stand alone satellite based GPS is never disabled.

No need to take our word for it though. Just put your phone in flight mode and walk outside

[DogPack6]

I had a heck of a time getting a GPS lock in Europe. Sometimes 5 minutes, but other times taking a day or more or even never making it rather useless. As soon as I returned back to the states, my GPS lock was extremely quick. I also tried to get a lock on an airplane flying over the pacific this past week, with no luck after 45 minutes. I'm using the no2chem rom, which has a registry tweak included for GPS, but it does appear that the GPS relies on AGPS to get a lock...maybe there is a registry setting to prevent it from relying on AGPS.

Please post your experience.

[Lsme420]

Originally Posted by DogPack6

but it does appear that the GPS relies on AGPS to get a lock...maybe there is a registry setting to prevent it from relying on AGPS.

Please post your experience.

If this was the case GPS would not work in flight mode because A-GPS works off of cell phone towers but it will. Undo the reg edit and your GPS will still lock on a sat. On your GPS app can you switch from WGS 84 to Zanderij? Maybe that will make a difference. Look HERE for the difference between the two. GPS App is "Garmin Mobile XT"

[timewaster]

Originally Posted by DogPack6

I had a heck of a time getting a GPS lock in Europe. Sometimes 5 minutes, but other times taking a day or more or even never making it rather useless. As soon as I returned back to the states, my GPS lock was extremely quick. I also tried to get a lock on an airplane flying over the pacific this past week, with no luck after 45 minutes. I'm using the no2chem rom, which has a registry tweak included for GPS, but it does appear that the GPS relies on AGPS to get a lock...maybe there is a registry setting to prevent it from relying on AGPS.

Please post your experience.

dogpack, which mode were you using?
Did you try editing your registry to standalone mode to see if it improved your GPS lock?

[DogPack6]

My GPSmode=2. APGS set to enabled.

I had similar issues with the default settings of the leaked ROM. I have another transpack flight on Sat night and I can do some testing by tweaking some of the GPS settings to see if I can get a consistent lock.

I currently use BeelineGPS, by VisualGPS. I do notice that it periodically can't connect with the GPS. I had to turn on the option "Enable Auto Reconnect", to force it to acquire a lock in most cases or it would lose the GPS connection during acquiring and time out, even when CDMA was available in the US. I don't know losing GPS connection is a software bug or a hardware bug as I believe most navigation software automatically reconnects by default, so I would have never noticed this using Tomtom or iGuidance. This is my second mogul (as I left one on a plane) and I've had the GPS issues with both, so I don't think the results are specific to my phone.