jkpimp

Hi all,

As seen on the title. Just wondering if a USB GPS receiver can be used to replace the existing fragile external antenna because the connector came off and I cannot find any replacement anywhere. There is a USB hub to connect the GPS to a computer, will it work? Buy a new GPS is my last option...

Thanks

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Marvin Hlavac

What is the model of your existing GPS receiver?

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jkpimp

it doesnt indicates anything. the label just says anything except "GPS ANTENNA REV.2.00 MADE IN KOREA" definitely not helpful...thats probably why I cannot find any replacement online. The GPS is Maxtek MNT-7T...some random brand that I cannot find online either. so....a USB GPS receiver cannot be used as an antenna, huh?

christopherp552

Are you sure this is a USB receiver? It looks more like a PS2 connection. Do you still have the manual for this unit?





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jkpimp

ya...it does look like a standard 6 pin connector. im just wondering if there is no way to repair it, can i just buy one of those usb receivers (those they need to plugged into a laptop) and use it as my antenna instead of this fragile gps antenna shown in the picture, u know?

welo

Sorry, but may I ask what search engine did you use? Google has several hits on 'Maxtek MNT-7T'


This link seems to provide good information that might help you.

The GPS itself seems to have been discontinued back in 2007. It is Windows CE (4.2?) based, which means any standard USB GPS might be recognised by the system. Maybe you have to reconfigure the GPS software to connect at a different COM port. If the COM port is 'fixed' in the app this will be a no-go.

Another option is to 'unlock' the device and get access to Windows CE. Since the Navi software seems to be pretty bad anyway, that might be a good chance to install one of the more popular choices like Garmin, TomTom or iGo, which will also provide more up-to-date maps. Google for MioPocket and check out the forums at gpsunderground if you want to know more.

Back to the antenna port. There is one guy speculating that the 'antenna' is actually a standard PS2 connector (like christopher said too) and can be extended by a mouse/keyboard extension chord. It should not be too hard to fix a cable like that if the 'connector came off'. If you don't want to do it yourself maybe you find somebody who can have a look at it.

The 'antenna' also looks like it is actually a GPS mouse, maybe it uses a serial interface to connect to the computer and they just used a PS2 connector since it is smaller. Well, I certainly lack experience here, but I guess it might even be possible to get another serial GPS mouse and wire it to a PS2 connector, but this will not be necessary if you can fix the cable in the first place.

welo
(hoping the moderator approval for hist post doesn't take too long)

welo

It seems there are even GPS receivers on sell with a PS2 plug from factory.

Check this link.

welo

jkpimp

wow...thanks welo!! a lot of useful info.! i will definitely try them out. i went ahead and tried to fix the cable with a standard 6pin connector....apparently they only use four wires on top and the bottom two are empty...so i wired everything with the same order of the color wires....but i dont know why it failed...i guess i really messed up now..and have to try to get a usb gps receiver and see if it works...so if i can unlock this maxtek mnt-7t with miopocket, i can probably install a better map software and start to use a usb gps receiver instead of this, eh? hm....a new project for me! thanks and i will update this later.




good eyes welo! the GPS receiver u provided looks exactly the thing im looking for....pretty pricy tho...that i think i could just use those $ to get a new gps. lol. but thanks!

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welo

Hm, what connector exactly is broken, and why do you think you 'really messed up'?. Did you fry your GPS, did you see smoke come out somewhere?

How did you end up doing the wiring, meaning, how did you match the wires to the pin?

Don't give up! If just the cable connector is broken I think this should be fixable.


As I said before, I would definitely try to unlock the device, you will be able to do much more things with it. Maybe run a music player, calculator, pdf viewer, depending on your processing power even run a video player, etc. Or run a different GPS software with better maps!
For unlocking Windows CE check out the link here
It is not really 'beginner' friendly, but not to tricky ether. The problem is that your device is not so popular and you will not get easy step by step instructions.
Your device has 512MB internal flash memory, no SD card reader. It seems you can connect a USB thumb drive, which you will need if you want to unlock it and install another software.


Actually, mp3car.com is a car pc forum, and people here don't like standalone navigation systems so much. You will not find a lot of information and help here on this topic.
It's not a personal thing, just that people here do different things (basically put a full-blown PC into their cars) and have different interests/knowhow.


Btw, I don't know why, but I just invested an hour to find out more about your device. I guess you are just lucky that these are my first posts on mp3car.com and I'm motivated

The device is a rebranded Plenio vxa-2000. It seems the manufacturer is DVS, a Korean company. The homepage is http://www.dvs.co.kr.
I actually found a report where somebody ordered a replacement antenna by contacting cs.dvs@dvs.co.kr.

There is a long discussion on the VXA-3000 here, which might have some similiarities in terms of hardware/software used (it runs Windows CE 4.2).

One more thing, there are USB GPS devices out there for less than 30 USD, I definitely would not go with a 100 USD device.

Last advise: google more, and read more, you might not always be so lucky to find somebody do all the work for you

peace

jkpimp

I think you're right welo. I think I used all my luck for my whole year to find you here at mp3.car.com. I should NOT go to vegas at least for awhile. lol you're extremely helpful my friend. it's people like you who make the online community so resourceful. i needa practice my google-skill more often. I was never able to find those websites. and i posted several threats on multiple forums just to test my luck if i can find someone like you. i only knew about the new "plenio" name. but i should have tried google that name instead of just "maxtek mnt-7t", anyhow. I really wanna thank You!

the connector? well, fortunately, no smoke yet. it's just that entire silver part with the pins along with the chips completely came off from the black plastic wrap. i was unplugging it from the gps after i parked and "snap"! only the black plastic wrap was out and the silver part is still connecting to the monitor. but ya. i saw the green and red wires are on the left and the yellow and black on the right, but the guy from fixya.com said the opposite. since mines not working right now. i guess i DID messed up the left and right order. sigh.

i think the unlocking tool is really cool! i never learned about miopockets...but i think i can do it as long as it's a software and does not involve physical wiring activities. thanks and i will definitely keep you updated!

welo

Yeah, similar with me. I am working hard to get my hardware skills en par with my software skills.
I love software for being just made of zeros and ones, everything is so easy to organize, and trial and error works nearly without regrets, since failures can mostly be undone. UNDONE! That's the key!
But for the same reason I hate it! I wanna do something that actually exists, that you can touch and that takes up space in this world. Here comes the hardware part. And I'm not talking about putting PCs together, but really CREATE something (but still technical)
That's why I want to look into fabrication and electronics. I really envy those guys on the board that are good at that.
Will take some time to catch up.

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