CF-30 GPS problem

Hi there- I am new to the forum and a new Toughbook owner. Purchased a CF-30 Mk3 (Windows 7) off ebay for an upcoming Sahara expedition. It did not have internal GPS, which I wanted, so I bought a Leadtek one off ebay that had been pulled from other unit. I installed it and downloaded MS Streets & Trips, and the software saw the GPS but could not find any satellites. After scanning this forum I found the registry drivers off Panasonic website and followed instructions to load. Voila! MS S&T was finding satellites, even in my apartment. But, that was with the original 160GB HD. After this, I replaced HD with 1TB Seagate hybrid and reinstalled Win7 from recovery DVD. I reinstalled MS S&T and found that GPS was not working. OK, I followed exact same process for registry driver update (disable GPS from setup, double click both files from download, restart with GPS enabled), but no luck. MS S&T sees the GPS unit on COM3, but cannot find any satellites. I have tried reseting setup to default, and redoing the whole procedure, still no luck.

HELP!

 

check the antenna connections. maybe one came off.

 

Check your antenna connection and make sure you have no COM Port conflicts. You may want to try a cold start of your GPS.

 

Thanks. So there is only the single antenna connection that I am aware of- from the antenna wire to the daughter card. Have to take keyboard off to check. I also noticed that the Bluetooth is not working- could there be any relation? Not sure if it was working before though- I never checked.

Excuse my ignorance, but what does a "cold start of GPS" mean?

Thanks!

 

In Bios did you check to make sure GPS is enabled and set to AUTO and that there are no conflicts with other ports.
Next go to device manager in windows and check to see if com3 is available

 

have the bluetooth and gps cables reversed???

 

ok- so checked connections, all seems good. Yes, GPS is set to auto, COM3 is available from Device Mgr. (noticed it is set to 9600). Ran the Diagnostics utility from setup, GPS tested GREEN. Wen back to MS S&T, it says GPS device is found on COM3, but is still not finding satellites.

I have read on a number of posts about some GPS utility software that can be used to troubleshoot, but have not been able to find anything. Can someone recommend something? How do I perform a "cold start"?

thanks

 

ok- so I found GPSMonitor and downloaded. getting a data stream from GPS, but location is being reported as 0,0. So, no satellite lock? It was working before the new HD and OS install. Any ideas?

thanks

 

Maybe you should try a battery pull re-set.
Disconnect external USB devices. (USB stick, Mouse, SD etc)
Pull all power. (battery and power supply)
Hold power switch on to drain residuals on the mother board. Cycle it several times or until your thumb gets tired.
Plug in power supply (no battery yet)
Boot the unit and F2 to bios F9 for defaults and F10 to save.
Some advocate, but I don't always do it to un-plug cmos battery.

Shawn may have hit it right re:antenna cable reversal.

 

OK- after a while, I started getting a bearing on GPSMonitor. Did the battery pull reset, and now getting a satellite lock again. However, reception seems to be poorer than before. Before I was able to get 4-5 sats in middle of apt. Now have to go to window to get 3-4. What is normal?

 

Try to change the com port setting into one port that is not in use. It may solve your problem.

ohlip

 

How do I reassign the COM port for the GPS?

I really don't get it... it was working fine with the original HD and win7 install. I am getting some satellite signal now, but VERY weak compared to what it was before. Any other ideas? Any other GPS software/utilities that may help?

thanks

 

going from bad to worse... tried resetting GPS (disabled/auto in setup), re-installed registry driver files, set COM3 baud rate to 4800 and now not getting any satellite locks at all...

 

How long has this problem persisted, since your first post? Have you been doing all the testing in the same location? Do you have a cell phone with a GPS and is it working?
CAP

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/606614-cf-29-factory-gps-not-working.html

Also, MS S&T uses 4800 baud rate.
While checking antenna connections check the daughter card connections too.
And please keep us informed of your progress !

 

Hi Cap- I just got the toughbook a week ago, installed the leadtek factory GPS (purchased separately off ebay). After following instructions to apply registry driver (run the 2 files from util2) it was working great. Same location, inside my apartment. It was resolving 4-5 sats inside. Installed 1TB HD, installed fresh win7 from restore DVD, and having problems since. MS S&T sees the GPS, but cannot seem to hold sats, even when right by front window.

It is on COM3, which I checked in dev mgr- it was set to 9600, changed to 4800. And yes, I am getting sat signals in apt. I have a garmin handheld and it works fine. I will take it outside and try again, but it was working great before HD swap.

I may try the COM reassignment. Thanks Shellback. One question regarding antenna connections. I connected the antenna wire from the corner antenna directly to the daughter card. I read some where that there is some other external antenna connection, but could not see how/where that would connect. The wire seemed to be the exact right length to route and connect to the gps daughter card.

rk

 

The other external antenna connection you mention is to a pass thru.
Your direct connection to the GPS module on the daughter board is correct.

 

Alright- so, I deleted and reinstalled COM3 as described. Problem seems to be solved. Picking up and resolving 4 sats.

Thanks!

So I realize this may not be the best place to pose this question, but what the hell - seems like with the advent of mobile phone and dedicated auto GPS that the laptop GPS software market/offerings has suffered, with DeLorme and Garmin dropping their products. The reason I bought the Toughbook is for an overland Sahara expedition that I am planning for later this year. Consumer GPS units (e.g. Garmin) do not have meaningful map coverage, but digital maps are available for download in some formats that are supposed to be supported by some PC programs.

The contenders seem to be Fugawi, OziExplorer, QuoVadis, and Memory-Map, with prices varying up to $150. All seem to allow upload of various maps/formats, and even scanning and calibration of paper maps. There do seem to be digital maps available for regions we will be travelling, including West Sahara, Mauritania and Mali. Does anyone have experience/opinions on any of these tools? Primary use will be for trip/route planning ahead, using waypoints provided by previous travelers (we will be travelling mostly off-piste/off-road), checking location and route while travelling (including the Toughbook, we will have 3 GPS units), tracking path (bread crumbs) in case we have to back track and for historical reference. and recovery if lost...

Thanks!

Rick

 

I'd go with Ozi. Calibrating maps is very straight forward and it supports lots of map formats. For data logging look into one of these: USGlobalsat Corporate
I like everything about this little beauty. Stand alone, runs for 30 hours on one charge, it just works! Track saving in most software programs tends to be a bit kludgy. And best of all it seems to use the same engine as the BU-353.
CAP