GPS and Geocaching Questions

35mm · #1 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008, 01:20 PM

I currently use my Mogul for geocaching and it works pretty well. I do have a few concerns about using a TP for the same thing and was wondering if someone can answer some questions for me.

The biggest problem I have with the Mogul is it needs a cellular connection to initiate a GPS lock. Once GPS is found you can turn off the cellular radio and it will continue to work fine. This can be a major problem when you are in the boonies and can not get a cell signal.

Question #1.
Can you soft reset a TP, turn off the cell radio, then connect to GPS?

The GPS in the Mogul works very well at walking speeds, this is important when your goal is 50 feet away and you take a few steps, you have to see if the distance gets smaller or bigger. I think the Touch had a problem with this because the refresh rate of the GPS was way too slow making it unusable while walking.

Question #2.
Is the TP GPS accurate when walking? A good way to check this is to install BeeLine GPS http://www.visualgps.net/BeeLineGPS/ and see if it can track you while walking.

Thanks in advance.

**Baffles** · #2 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008, 02:08 PM

You don't need a cell connection to get a lock on the mogul, just disable AGPS.

35mm · #3 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baffles

You don't need a cell connection to get a lock on the mogul, just disable AGPS.

How do I do this? I know for a long time this was a problem. This also caused the GPS to not work in Europe because you could not get a cell signal. Does this also fix this problem?

matthew23 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008, 02:15 PM

i would be interested to know as well if this works while walking. I really wanted to use my touch to geocache but it froze up at slow speeds....

**ScrapMaker** · #5 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthew23

i would be interested to know as well if this works while walking. I really wanted to use my touch to geocache but it froze up at slow speeds....

Weird, I used my Touch all the time on foot... I used it to navigate around the downtown area just the other day when I was reporting for jury duty.

Maybe it depends on what ROM you were running, and what GPS/power-saving options they had set in the registry.

**Baffles** · #6 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 35mm

How do I do this? I know for a long time this was a problem. This also caused the GPS to not work in Europe because you could not get a cell signal. Does this also fix this problem?

WAAAAAAY off topic here, but IIRC, it is hklm\software\htc\supl agps, set enableagps to 0, enablegpssmartmode to 0, and gpsmode to 1. This is all from memory, mind you, so you may want to google "HTC SUPL AGPS" to double check on me.

ls3mach · #7 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008, 06:35 PM

I never did a registry edit and I have used my Mogul's GPS with the cellular radio off.

**ScrapMaker** · #8 (**permalink**) 10-28-2008, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls3mach

I never did a registry edit and I have used my Mogul's GPS with the cellular radio off.

The stock setting was NOT to use A-GPS.

With that said, I never really noticed a difference with all the registry hacks, (on my Touch,) and I was able to get GPS to work with the radio off in a consistant manner. The only time A-GPS worked was in Sprint Navigation, where I obviously needed a cellular connection...

staubio · #9 (**permalink**) 11-11-2008, 07:02 PM

I installed GeoScout and tried to use it for geocaching on a recent trip. It really doesn't work well for that purpose as you have to be moving in a sustained direction at a decent clip for it to register your movement walking. Most of the time, it would be pointing in some nonsense direction since, without recognizing movement, it didn't know my direction. I ended up orienting the compass to the north and trying to use that but I didn't have great success. I went 0/3 on the trip.

I read about a setting on sirf chipsets where small movements are ignored to eliminate calibration travel, i.e. your location moving around with changes in GPS accuracy. Unfortunately the Touch Pro doesn't have a sirf chipset so there is no ap I know of to disable this feature.

I've read other reports of GPS lag in navigation and have seen some suggested fixes out there, though I haven't tried them. In terms of tracking movement, it recorded my track just fine while walking (as this is just logging coordinates at set intervals) but didn't register my movement.

If anyone has found a winning way to geocache with a GPS hack/fix, I'd love to hear about it. I suspect this is related to the GPS lag issue.