BU-353 not detected & gibberish

**roflcopter** · 05-13-2009, 09:24 PM

Hi all...

My bu-353 used to detect when i used it on my desktop computer, then at some point it stopped. now when trying it on my carputer and my laptop, GPSinfo cannot detect it.
ive got it set to 4800, 8,n,1,n

it just says 'com4: no gps receiver'

this is the output i get:
Ó¦:3S›d.t"|zÑ2¼Ê3
r32`>I

just gibberish... i dunno whats wrong!!!
i've tried updating the prolific drivers, and nothing seems to help. different usb ports, no hub, etc.

there isnt a light on, but the computer itself detects it and installs the prolific driver and its assigned to com4. i vaguely remember this happening to me before, but it was some time ago.

i'm in my garage, do i need to try it outside maybe? i did for a minute or so and nothing, but should i give it more time?

sirfdemo also didnt work. any advice would be great!! thanks all.

**2k1Toaster** · 05-13-2009, 10:01 PM

Well I had one do that, and I thought it died. It didnt work for weeks. So I bought another one, plugged it in, and it worked. I kept the old one, and a year later I plugged it in to my laptop to take in a second car and it worked just fine. So I am not sure.

It died for a few weeks, but a year later it was working again. If you can wait it out maybe it will come back to life just leave it unplugged for a while. Or buy a new one. No light = no good.

**Sonicxtacy02** · 05-13-2009, 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

Well I had one do that, and I thought it died. It didnt work for weeks. So I bought another one, plugged it in, and it worked. I kept the old one, and a year later I plugged it in to my laptop to take in a second car and it worked just fine. So I am not sure.

It died for a few weeks, but a year later it was working again. If you can wait it out maybe it will come back to life just leave it unplugged for a while. Or buy a new one. No light = no good.

your battery is dying.. basically its spitting data in a corrupted state. you can remove it from the car for a few weeks OR crack it open and remove the battery. If you choose the latter prepare to have it take 30-45 seconds for your gps to establish a sat link.

**roflcopter** · 05-13-2009, 11:48 PM

Originally Posted by Sonicxtacy02

your battery is dying.. basically its spitting data in a corrupted state. you can remove it from the car for a few weeks OR crack it open and remove the battery. If you choose the latter prepare to have it take 30-45 seconds for your gps to establish a sat link.

Thanks guys. I'll give the battery a shot after LOST tonight. or maybe tomorrow if i'm too distraught

**roflcopter** · 05-14-2009, 04:29 PM

@Sonic

Just to clarify... Should I take that battery out and plug it in? Or take it out, put it back in, plug it in. Take it out let it sit for a while, then back in? Replace it?

I plan on playing with it when i get off work later.

**Sonicxtacy02** · 05-14-2009, 04:34 PM

i just removed the battery altogether then plugged the gps back in. The battery only helps retain the data... if its weak it will exhibit the same symptoms you are describing. If you want to replace the battery with a new one its just a matter of soldering a new one in. I never do this though because my hands are sturdy enough to solder anything lol

**roflcopter** · 05-14-2009, 07:43 PM

so the battery is soldered in? i'll have to desolder it? i'm not so confident in my soldering skills myself, but i suppose i can give it a shot.

**roflcopter** · 05-14-2009, 11:06 PM

FIXED!!!

I couldn't get it open to fix the battery, but I was able to user SirfDemo to reset it and it worked like a charm! Here's what I did:

I set the com port settings to the standard 4800,8,n,1,n
I loaded SirfDemo and picked the right com port.
I then hit connect, but it kept giving me errors.
So I clicked Action -> Synchronize Protocol and Baud Rate
AND IT FOUND IT!!!
then I went to Action -> Switch to NMEA Protocol.

I found that it only connected when I used the 9600 baud rate in my GPS programs though.

AND BAM!!! Working!!!

Thanks for the ideas guys. I really appreciate it.

**Sonicxtacy02** · 05-15-2009, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by roflcopter

FIXED!!!

I couldn't get it open to fix the battery, but I was able to user SirfDemo to reset it and it worked like a charm! Here's what I did:

I set the com port settings to the standard 4800,8,n,1,n
I loaded SirfDemo and picked the right com port.
I then hit connect, but it kept giving me errors.
So I clicked Action -> Synchronize Protocol and Baud Rate
AND IT FOUND IT!!!
then I went to Action -> Switch to NMEA Protocol.

I found that it only connected when I used the 9600 baud rate in my GPS programs though.

AND BAM!!! Working!!!

Thanks for the ideas guys. I really appreciate it.

I didnt suggest sirfdemo because i bricked my first bu-353 using it. Couldnt get it out of SIRF mode. Glad to hear its working though

**roflcopter** · 05-15-2009, 11:20 AM

Yeah, I had heard it could do that, but i figured i really didnt have too much to lose. I didnt have a screwdriver small enough to open it up :P.

After I hit synchronize, it found about 8 satellites in a matter of seconds.