Thread: Garmin 20x works on laptop not carputer...why?

first i would check if the carputer is using usb 2.0 and not just 1.1 in bios, then make sure i had latest drivers from web for chipset/usb ports if there are any. next i would make sure the port in control panel is set to 4800 thats all i got for now SNO

Thanks for the ideas.
I checked the USB ports and I believe they are all 2.0. I'm only using ports from the motherboard and they say "Enhanced" in the device list in XP.

I'll check again for updated drivers. I downloaded drivers when I loaded the system 2 months ago.

I'm not sure there is a place to set the port speed. The thing shows up as a USB device, and I don't see any software that's emulating a serial port.

Last night I checked the bios and USB legacy support was disabled. Which is correct I think. I unloaded the software and reloaded it and now it's working. Not as strong a signal as when on the laptop but it is working. As soon as I can get a backup of my song library I'm going to wipe the drive and start over. Getting the latest drivers and loading just what is needed. I did some experimenting with a few things so there's bound to be some unnecessary software on it now.

Thanks for your help.
davidk

sirfdemo is the ticket
I used it to change my settings and what not.
There was another software I used but ... it's on my XP machine.

From what I understand, the BU-353 pod takes forever to cold start. Something like the internal battery goes into hibernation or something strange like that. However, once you have it active every other day or so, it should pick up the circling spy bots within 60 seconds ... normally.

good luck!

David, are you using the same car now as before? Some cars use tinted windows with metallic content which unfortunately blocks signals from GPS satellites.

The successful tests with your laptop, were they done inside the same vehicle?

USB voltage could be an issue as you mentioned. Are you using a (very) long USB cable?

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Garmin Mobile PC

Thanks guys,

The SIRFDEMO software I don't think will work with the Garmin 20x antenna. I don't think it uses a com port. I'm not using a BU-353, it's the Garmin 20x that comes with the software.

All tests were carried out in the same '11 Outback. With the antenna sitting on the dash, the laptop was getting full bars for reception. Using the carputer I now get one less than full. Much better than the zero bars I was getting before reloading the software.

Thing is, nothing changed from working to not working. It was working on the way home...park the car in the garage...next day, no reception - nothing (even rebooted and removed the Garmin device and rediscovered it). Unless it was placed outside on the windscreen, and even then it was getting only one or two satellites. I'm not using any extensions to connect it. I believe it has a 1meter chord and it's plugged into a port on the system board.

I removed and reloaded the Garmin software last night and today it's functioning. We'll see how long that lasts.

I initially got a 353, and had good reception I think, using just the software that came with it. It just setup the com port and showed how many satellites you could see. I never had it working with any mapping software. I was trying to find an open source version but could not get them working or couldn't download open maps. I ended up buying Garmin Mobile PC with the 20x antenna. With how many times I envision changing the system, I figured it was best to get the version where the antenna was the key.

Thanks for the support guys,
I'm going to keep testing to see if I can get better reception.

davidk

Do you have any new electronic device inside your car which could cause RF interference to the GPS20x? If yes, try to keep them further apart from each other. Otherwise just try to optimize the location of the 20x by keeping it close to window, away from CarPC, etc.

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Garmin Mobile PC

Yeah, nothing new in the car. It's been working today but the signal strength has been steadily going down. Drove the car three times for 20miles each. On the last leg, it had lost signal completely by the end.

I'm going to test the laptop again and then just reload the carputer. Maybe make a header for the internal usb ports on the system board (need to do that anyway for the joycon and Boozbox coming in a few days).

I hope I can find a reason and not that it just magically works.

Thanks,
davidk

I don't think reinstalling of any software on your carputer will correct this issue. I still suspect some RF interference, or some hardware-related issue. Good luck, and do let us know when you solve it.

Originally Posted by Marvin Hlavac

I don't think reinstalling of any software on your carputer will correct this issue. I still suspect some RF interference, or some hardware-related issue. Good luck, and do let us know when you solve it.

I agree....

Try putting the GPS receiver out of the car, I put it away from my computer because of RF interference CarPC....