More GPS observations

[dougm0]

Hey guys... still new here... but long time lurker waiting for hacked GPS Rev.A.

I have been experiencing the poor GPS performance many of you have been seeing. Google Maps seems to lock on right away to GPS after soft reset. However, if you try GPS later again in the day you may or may not get a lock.

I have also noticed VERY decreased battery life after using Google Maps with GPS.

What this is telling me is that the GPS is not being properly turned off on the OS side.

I have found a solution.

After using GPS, instead of doing a soft reset, go into comm manager and turn off the phone and then turn it back on. This seems to reset the GPS.

I have tried this multiple times and I get GPS every single time.

I am using the gps2.1test rom.

Hope this helps some of you....

[mindfrost82]

Originally Posted by dougm0

Hey guys... still new here... but long time lurker waiting for hacked GPS Rev.A.

I have been experiencing the poor GPS performance many of you have been seeing. Google Maps seems to lock on right away to GPS after soft reset. However, if you try GPS later again in the day you may or may not get a lock.

I have also noticed VERY decreased battery life after using Google Maps with GPS.

What this is telling me is that the GPS is not being properly turned off on the OS side.

I have found a solution.

After using GPS, instead of doing a soft reset, go into comm manager and turn off the phone and then turn it back on. This seems to reset the GPS.

I have tried this multiple times and I get GPS every single time.

I am using the gps2.1test rom.

Hope this helps some of you....

Thanks for that trick, I will have to try it out if I have the standby issue again.

You're basically turning off the radio and turning it back on...just like a soft reset would do...so I'm not sure if its an OS issue or a radio issue...or a combination of both (possibly drivers).

[VW]

I think I have had a breakthrough in getting my GPS to get a quick fix using the Alltel ROM. This is still a testing theory, but it just feels right. A lightbulb went off when I read a post that MSWLOGO had.

Initially I was testing the gps with google maps with great results. Then I tried other programs such as visualgpsce to prime the gps and started seeing lackluster results despite seeing plenty of satellites. It wouldnt lock for 5-6 mins at a time. Anyway after MSWLOGOs post about using the WM GPS internal driver I finally realized something, (sorry MSWlogo if you've been saying this all along).

What I figured out is this: if you prime the GPS by using holux and visualgpsce then you are priming it via comm port 4. You are *NOT* going to get the benefit of AGPS. So I downloaded GPSGate, set it to use input WM GPS and output COMM2. Then I set visualGPS to use comm 2. I was inside and ran visualgpsce. I instantly got a lock with !!0!! satellites. I kind of shook my head at this, and went outside and still got 0 satellites.. hmm weird. Then I realized, wait I still have to prime the GPS port using google maps, run gpsgate, then visualgpsce. *boom* had a lock in seconds.

The moral of the story is this... do not prime the gps with comm 4 as you wont get the benefits of AGPS. Instead use a util such as gpsgate that hits the WM GPSID, and hopefully this should decrease the time to lock dramatically. Ive only tested this once, but it appears to have fixed my problem. This may be self evident to others, but it flew over my head. Hopefully this may help others.

Please posts your results either positive or negative, Thanks

[Success100]

Originally Posted by VW

I think I have had a breakthrough in getting my GPS to get a quick fix using the Alltel ROM. This is still a testing theory, but it just feels right. A lightbulb went off when I read a post that MSWLOGO had.

Initially I was testing the gps with google maps with great results. Then I tried other programs such as visualgpsce to prime the gps and started seeing lackluster results despite seeing plenty of satellites. It wouldnt lock for 5-6 mins at a time. Anyway after MSWLOGOs post about using the WM GPS internal driver I finally realized something, (sorry MSWlogo if you've been saying this all along).

What I figured out is this: if you prime the GPS by using holux and visualgpsce then you are priming it via comm port 4. You are *NOT* going to get the benefit of AGPS. So I downloaded GPSGate, set it to use input WM GPS and output COMM2. Then I set visualGPS to use comm 2. I was inside and ran visualgpsce. I instantly got a lock with !!0!! satellites. I kind of shook my head at this, and went outside and still got 0 satellites.. hmm weird. Then I realized, wait I still have to prime the GPS port using google maps, run gpsgate, then visualgpsce. *boom* had a lock in seconds.

The moral of the story is this... do not prime the gps with comm 4 as you wont get the benefits of AGPS. Instead use a util such as gpsgate that hits the WM GPSID, and hopefully this should decrease the time to lock dramatically. Ive only tested this once, but it appears to have fixed my problem. This may be self evident to others, but it flew over my head. Hopefully this may help others.

Please posts your results either positive or negative, Thanks

good write up!

[VW]

Originally Posted by Success100

good write up!

Thank you, hope it helps

[realmeister]

I read in several palces that AGPS is not enabled in these leaked files.... ????? ......

I've flashed OMJ's new ROM this morning and it's been easy cruising for me ever since. I've also made the following change in the registry and it sped up acquisition BIG time:

HKLM/Software/HTC/SUPLAGPS/GPSMode --> Change to 4 (original value of 2)

[mardukeme]

Originally Posted by realmeister

I read in several palces that AGPS is not enabled in these leaked files.... ????? ......

I've flashed OMJ's new ROM this morning and it's been easy cruising for me ever since. I've also made the following change in the registry and it sped up acquisition BIG time:

HKLM/Software/HTC/SUPLAGPS/GPSMode --> Change to 4 (original value of 2)

If anyone wants to see if agps works why don't you put your phone into flight mode. Which would shut off the phone radio, in turn not allowing the usage of agps, but do a soft reset first. Now see how long does it take you to get a signal. Then try the same procedure again eight hours later with the phone radio on, but first do a soft reset first. This would help determine if we are using agps or not.

[VW]

Originally Posted by mardukeme

If anyone wants to see if agps works why don't you put your phone into flight mode. Which would shut off the phone radio, in turn not allowing the usage of agps, but do a soft reset first. Now see how long does it take you to get a signal. Then try the same procedure again eight hours later with the phone radio on, but first do a soft reset first. This would help determine if we are using agps or not.

In my mind there is no doubt that we are using AGPS *if* we can get google maps to locate us while there is no way to get a true satellite lock. it clearly makes a difference in lock time.

I did find something new tonight. I did the USE GPS in google maps and the gps was obviously hung. I could not get any satellites Since I was going over to a friends house, I just kept driving, and since i wasnt plugged into dc oops....the phone went into standby, which is a no-no for gps. I killed everything and started again in google maps, and it actually reset the gps. I was able to get a true gps lock after the gps evidently died. I was also able to duplicate this twice. So if your gps isnt getting a signal, there MAY be no reason for a reset. Simply kill everything gps related, hit the power button to go into standby, hit it again and restart google maps. That MAY re-initialize the gps drivers. Its worked well for me multiple times. Keep in mind these are only observations.

[Red49er]

See, thats whats confusing to me. If AGPS isn't active, then changing the gpsmode key is just a sugar pill. I'd like to try what VW posted, though. Is gpsgate free software? If its not, is there a free app that will do what we need it to do to test this?

[VW]

Originally Posted by Red49er

See, thats whats confusing to me. If AGPS isn't active, then changing the gpsmode key is just a sugar pill. I'd like to try what VW posted, though. Is gpsgate free software? If its not, is there a free app that will do what we need it to do to test this?

GPSGate is trialware, you can download it and install it. I think only the latest version has the WM Driver input you need. I also used quickgps a couple of days ago to download almanac. All I know is that I get a satellite lock instantly inside using this method... even though sometimes I am -3000 ft below ground. Then I walk outside and get lock within a minute. Ive done this twice, so its not confirmed, but I feel really good about it.