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I owned the previous Galaxy S 16GB but ended up returining it due to the pathetic GPS performance after getting tired of all the pseudo-fixes and rumours flying around. The nasty rfs filesystem lag also didn't help.
Somewhat lost confidence in normal reviews after that. Fortunately I was able to return the device after 1 month but am now curious about the SGS2.
Have anyone tested GPS results in a consistent, detailed way? (not just the usual comments bout fast fixes and how well it works with navigation apps that snap - more like detailed tracks).
Tried searching but to no good result.
Other than the GPS and Lag issues, I had no major complaints about the SGS1 (you can add the lack of flash led and notification light but those are somewhat solved in SGS2).
GPS issues on the SGS 2
The GPS in SGS2 is OK. However, it take 2 to 4 minutes to get satellite fixed from cold start and also often no signal in doors (eg, in your office or inside your house).
You can try to stick a piece of kitchen Aluminum Foils (about 6x9 cm) on the interior side of the battery cover, which may enhance the reception of the GPS in your SGS2. your can also try this in SGS1.
In comparison to Quarx Cyanogen Mod on the Moto Defy, the Galaxy S2´s GPS fix is slow and little unstable. Sometimes I´m about 50meters away from my real position on google maps.
I think it could and should be optimized.
netrider01 said:
In comparison to Quarx Cyanogen Mod on the Moto Defy, the Galaxy S2´s GPS fix is slow and little unstable. Sometimes I´m about 50meters away from my real position on google maps.
I think it could and should be optimized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try sticking a piece of kitchen Aluminum Foils (about 6x9 cm) on the interior side of the battery cover, which may enhance the reception of the GPS in your SGS2.
Tested hot and cold but for fix and works .
Tested general location works .
Tested My Tracks works .
A slightly better GPS than my SGS1 which worked .
Actual details feet inched sats and metres sorry dont get involved in that argument any more . As those with poor GPS just accuse you of lying if you have no problems .Plus who can keep track of the multiple posts saying exactly the same thing .Post tracks and someone will start yet another post next day .
Their are a couple of detailed tests around including on here .
Clove.co.uk Blog has a detailed test from a member .
jje
jje
If you want detailed tracks, then there are a couple on my post here, but that whole thread will be of interest - other people dump some tracks a few days after me. My traces compare a Desire and the SGS2 sittin side-by-side on the passenger seat of the car, and are equally good.
Overall I'm very pleased with the GPS, it's certainly perfectly good for real world navigation. If you need <5m accuracy for specialist tasks, you might have some problems, but that's not confirmed.
DJGibbon said:
If you want detailed tracks, then there are a couple on my post here, but that whole thread will be of interest - other people dump some tracks a few days after me. My traces compare a Desire and the SGS2 sittin side-by-side on the passenger seat of the car, and are equally good.
Overall I'm very pleased with the GPS, it's certainly perfectly good for real world navigation. If you need <5m accuracy for specialist tasks, you might have some problems, but that's not confirmed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seen them. By SGS 1 standards they look unbelievable, definitely good enough for my needs, which are basically normal car navigation (including in fairly complex urban areas at slow speeds) and some occasional walking navigation.
I also checked Clove's blog review and a couple more tracks and it got the impression that the SGS2 has a working GPS.
Got burnt really bad by the SGS1 and the way Samsung never got to fix it tho (or even somehow recall units) and I'm a bit sceptic about risking money again as I might not be able to return it this time.
Still, those tracks to look great... and it seems the lag issue is gone too. Tempting...
JJEgan said:
slightly better GPS than my SGS1 which worked .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would have to be much better than 'slightly better' in my case... my SGS1 was unable to drive me out of the block.
Slightly better as in the tracks posted you mention are much the same as my SGS2 tracks .
SGS1 tracks much the same except not as accurate on bends and they would snap to the side of the road rather than the centre . But 100% usable as GPS .
Just carried out a cold boot GPS test 4mins 8 satellites locked .
As i see it most had no problem SGS1 and likewise SGS2 .
But some did and some have and no real reason why .
jje
i get indoor fix within 20 seconds. I have used CoPilot for a 50 mile journey, and it is more stable than it was on my hero, which used to lose satelite reception until i restarted copilot.
I used MyTracks yesterday for a hike and it was dead on. I got a lock in about 10-15 seconds and had up to 4 meter accuracy. I am used to my Captivate where the closest accuracy I got was 40m and would go up to 1200m accuracy. I am very happy with SGS2's GPS to be honest
blue265 said:
I used MyTracks yesterday for a hike and it was dead on. I got a lock in about 10-15 seconds and had up to 4 meter accuracy. I am used to my Captivate where the closest accuracy I got was 40m and would go up to 1200m accuracy. I am very happy with SGS2's GPS to be honest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been testing an SGS2 for 4 days now and share your impression. It holds on to locks pretty well and its accuracy appears to at least match my stand-alone little Holux GPS receiver (old SiRF III unit). It's no wonder, but it's good enough for car navigation, perhaps even for walking, but probably not for precise geocaching. Overall, from what I've seen from it so far, I have to say I'm pleased that this time Samsung got it right.
It appears to be a lot better than the disastrous SGS 1 (couldn't hold to locks, terrible accuracy, useless GPS).
I'm a bit lazy to post MyTracks paths right now but can do it later if anyone needs to see some.
I have been struggeling to get GPS to work on ICS for a few days but nothing worked. Not any fix worked. Then i discovered that the slick plastic battery cover i bought in China
contained a metallic paint. As soon as i put the original battery cover on GPSWas faaaaaast and accurate. So for those who have problems getting stable GPS, remove any protective cases or battery covers and try again!
There’s been a lot of discussion about just how bad the Prime’s GPS is, especially for navigation, with some folks claiming theirs is “working.” There have even been claims it works in a moving car and someone posted this pic as proof.
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Six out of nine satellites with a 90’ accuracy while the Prime is completely horizontal on the dashboard and smashed forward against the windshield is piss poor and by no means a realistic example. If that’s the best it can do, it’s unusable for navigation. And that’s using GPS Test, not real navigation s/w.
I took these three vids today using a G-Tab to show what navigation typically looks like. I use navigation a lot while traveling and the Zoom and Jetstream perform identically. In other words there’s nothing special about the G-Tab or its performance in these videos. And I intentionally used different routes that changed directions so that no one can say "but..." Navigation shouldn’t be hard and you should never have to question its performance. It should just work. This also isn't to show how great the G-Tab is, but to help you guys understand what your expectations should be of GPS and navigation on a tablet, any tablet.
CoPilot
1) Cold Boot
2) Flight Mode On
CoPilot doesn’t require either a 3G or Wi-Fi connection to work at any time. All the data it relies on is stored locally. In this example the G-Tab ran solely on its stand-alone GPS from start to finish. The G-Tab’s sitting on the passenger seat which is where it usually is when I use it rental cars on the road. The direction it’s facing changes numerous times so its ability to maintain a satellite fix isn’t dependent on being in a particular position. At 2:35 you’ll see it navigate an S turn. If accuracy was any higher than 15’ that would be impossible. Throughout the video you’ll see how accurately it keeps position and changes direction as the car does. At 6:19 I intentionally go off route. It corrects so quickly you have to look at the orientation of Ash Street to even notice. The same thing happens again at 7:50. And for the finale you can see the tablet fall off the seat of the car in a turn. G-Tab’s are sturdy.
Google Navigation 1
1) Cold Boot
2) 3G On (to download route guidance)
3) Start Google Navigation
4) 3G Off
The maps are cached but Google Navigation needs to download the driving directions via 3G or Wi-Fi. Once downloaded it can navigate from GPS alone. That’s what this vid shows. You can see how accurate the positioning is based on how well Google Nav keeps up with the car’s position; especially approaching turns. The car changes position multiple times and you can see it passing under bridges and overpasses without losing the signal. At 4:19 watch how accurately it navigates a curve. At 5:18 watch the car’s position change at a turn and how well Google Nav keeps up with it.
Google Navigation 2
1) Cold Boot
2) Flight Mode On
3) GPS Test (1:10 – 1:45, 10 out of 10 satellites and 15’ accuracy in 35 seconds)
4) Flight Mode Off
5) Google Nav downloads driving directions
6) Flight Mode On
Like the first Google Nav vid, it never misses a beat. But why would it? It’s maintaining 15’ accuracy consistently.
So comparing against the pic of the Prime on the dashboard you can see just how bad the GPS in the Prime is compared to a G-Tab (and other tablets) So while everyone beats there head against the wall trying to prove it works you can also see how futile that is. Even a 50% improvement would be half of what the G-Tab’s (or Zoom, or Jetstream) capable of. And I use navigation sometimes twice a week in cities in the U.S. and Europe. If the G-Tab was operating at 50% it would be useless to me (and you too). So god's speed to the developers and to those hoping for an ICS fix. In all my time on XDA I’ve never seen s/w fully overcome a h/w problem. And this my friends is a h/w problem. Anyone else that's used a tablet for navigation feel free to share your expereinces and how they compare to what I've shown.
PSA: Spokane's a podunk town. I strongly recommend against shooting video in a moving car on busy streets.
While I agree you pay $500 for a working tablet with GPS... on the other flipside,who the F uses a tablet for GPS. Use your phone or buy a garmin god damnit. It's just not practical to use a tab.
chugger93 said:
While I agree you pay $500 for a working tablet with GPS... on the other flipside,who the F uses a tablet for GPS. Use your phone or buy a garmin god damnit. It's just not practical to use a tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do whatever you want. For me, and probably others, using a tablet for GPS makes sense. Here's some of the advantages:
1) It's got a bigger screen which is easier to see when you're driving.
2) A lot of the tablified GPS apps have a split screen mode which makes it easier to navigate at turns and on expressway on and off ramps.
3) Tablets have better GPS chips and antennas so they're more accurate (ironic, isn't it).
4) The battery on a tablet's a lot bigger than a phone so it'll last three times as long if it's not plugged in.
5) Using a tablet vs. a phone doesn't drain the phone's battery while you're on the road.
6) The phone's free to make and receive Bluetooth calls.
I posted the vids only to give people that even care about navigation something to benchmark against. I could care less what people choose to use for navigation or if they don't care about GPS at all. I'd assume the latter group would have no interest in this thread anyway (hint).
Have you tried using a 7" tablet for car nav? How would legibility fare against a 10"? Seems to me that it would be easier to mount a 7" in a location more in front of the driver, as opposed to a center location where you have to turn your head and look.
oh man not again
we know. I bought it and kept it anyways.
BTW, have an Ipad 3g. Never used navigation on it without it being wired to the internet, 3g or tethered. Will be the exact same with tf201.
AND, now, my phone has google maps. this way, I can still watch old Billy Mays infomertials on youtube whilst navigation with the phone.
just don't buy it dude. put it on craiglist and get something else.
Now is the time to be looking for or finding a solution. Or seeing what Asus is going to do about it. this is beating a dead horse. already known GPS sux, even Asus admitted. So instead of dragging the issue out, which is widely known, lets focus more of solving the problem vs. just keep talking about how bad it is.
e.mote said:
Have you tried using a 7" tablet for car nav? How would legibility fare against a 10"? Seems to me that it would be easier to mount a 7" in a location more in front of the driver, as opposed to a center location where you have to turn your head and look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me, 7" is too close to the size of my phone. I mostly use the tablet for video, web, news and stuff like that while I'm traveling so I like the extra real estate. With 5.3", 7", 7.7", 8", 8.9", 10", and 11.6", it really comes down to personal preference.
demandarin said:
So instead of dragging the issue out, which is widely known, lets focus more of solving the problem vs. just keep talking about how bad it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So without an example of "good," how would you know how bad "bad" is and what a working threshold is? Also, people trying to use Google Nav to do some of their own testing couldn't figure it out. At least they can now see how it works. And some people who haven't seen a tablet navigate might find watching one in action interesting.
Again, with no interest in GPS, I don't understand why anyone would keep extending a thread on it just to let the world know (once again) they don't care. It's important enough to some people that they returned their Prime's over it so it's not like no one cares.
Hmm, that's a good demo of Co-Pilot for me. Although, I think I prefer the graphic of Sygic... But yea, pretty accurate demo of GPS navigation on a tablet.
Btw, I noticed some significant lag with your G-Tab....
You've listed Moto/Samsung/HTC as tabs with good GPS. Not sure about the Jetstream, but both the GTabs and Xoom also have dual-band wifi. I don't think it's a coincidence that all these are also phone vendors. Their tablets tend to be better designed, and unsurprisingly, cost more.
Despite the shiny iPad-like shell, the TF201 is pretty similar in build quality and price to the TF101 and other "mainstream" tabs. Even without a metal shell, I wouldn't bank on GPS performance for any of the non-phone vendors' units.
Connectivity is something these tab vendors will need to improve. Most of the issues listed with the Prime (and to a lesser extent, with 1st-gen Droid tabs) are about I/O: HDMI, bluetooth, USB, wifi, GPS.
Some of the blame lies with the OS. Frankly, I'm looking forward to Win8 tabs if only for Windows' proven connectivity.
shinzz said:
Btw, I noticed some significant lag with your G-Tab....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blame me, not the G-Tab. I have a ton of stuff syncing and widgets that dependent on outside data so booting takes a while. It's 3G so it's always connected so it's not an issue in daily use. It's actually worse in airplane more because everything looking for a signal does and has to fail before the UI’s normal again.
Thanks for making this thread, maybe it will shut up those that swear their GPS is working flawlessly lmao.
A lot of people use a tablet for GPS. Just because you don't see yourself using it doesn't mean everyone should also not use a tablet for GPS...
I don't use GPS at all for anything but I could see how many people would like to use it, especially for their jobs.
jzen said:
Thanks for making this thread, maybe it will shut up those that swear their GPS is working flawlessly lmao.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Part of the issue is everyone seems to have a different definition of "working." The guy with the Prime on his dashboard swears his is "working." If people watch even short segments of the video it shows how important precision is for accuracy. And the difference between 90' and 15' hurling along an expressway at 70MPH looking for an exit is the difference between making it and not.
e.mote said:
You've listed Moto/Samsung/HTC as tabs with good GPS. Not sure about the Jetstream, but both the GTabs and Xoom also have dual-band wifi. I don't think it's a coincidence that all these are also phone vendors. Their tablets tend to be better designed, and unsurprisingly, cost more.
Despite the shiny iPad-like shell, the TF201 is pretty similar in build quality and price to the TF101 and other "mainstream" tabs. Even without a metal shell, I wouldn't bank on GPS performance for any of the non-phone vendors' units.
Connectivity is something these tab vendors will need to improve. Most of the issues listed with the Prime (and to a lesser extent, with 1st-gen Droid tabs) are about I/O: HDMI, bluetooth, USB, wifi, GPS.
Some of the blame lies with the OS. Frankly, I'm looking forward to Win8 tabs if only for Windows' proven connectivity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, can you tell me how dual-band WIFI helps with GPS?
Jetstream and Xoom has better design over TF101?
Last I checked, all these vendors use similar GPS chip (btw, Asus is releasing padfone.. doesn't that qualify Asus and phone vendor?)
shinzz said:
Umm, can you tell me how dual-band WIFI helps with GPS?
Jetstream and Xoom has better design over TF101?
Last I checked, all these vendors use similar GPS chip (btw, Asus is releasing padfone.. doesn't that qualify Asus and phone vendor?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the point of what he's saying. Asus has far fewer products dependent on far fewer radio combinations than a manufacturer that builds phones does. Motorola, Samsung, and HTC sell tens of millions of mobile devices equipped with multiple radios. It makes sense that their experience makes a difference in the finished product.
>Jetstream and Xoom has better design over TF101?
I don't know about the Jetstream, but the Xoom is better constructed. It has none of the build-quality issues that occurred with the Acer/Asus/Toshiba tablets. You can verify by scanning the start of the respective tablets' general forums for complaint frequency.
The GTab has some issues, eg the "Newton rings". But in overall volume of complaints, it's a still only slight second to Xoom. The largest by far is the Prime, followed by Acer A500, then Asus TF101.
There are other models with worse issues, eg the Iconia A100 with terrible screen & battery life, but they aren't as popular, so complaints are fewer.
>Last I checked, all these vendors use similar GPS chip
Consumers tend to obsess over chips and specs, eg quad-core. For GPS, antenna and overall system design matters more, or even most. For other aspects, the proof is real-world app performance.
>(btw, Asus is releasing padfone.. doesn't that qualify Asus and phone vendor?)
Dell sold a phone as well. That doesn't make it a phone vendor.
e.mote said:
I don't know about the Jetstream
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Jetstream's built like a tank. And it's as big as one and weighs as much too. I wanted to like it and Sense on a tablet was cool, but it just wasn't comfortable to carry around or even hold.
The GTab has some issues, eg the "Newton rings".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the biggest complaint. Samsung changed the screen design in October so newer G-Tabs don't have the issue. The other biggest "discussion" is the love/hate relationship with TouchWiz.
the proof is real-world app performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^^^
This. Always.
Dell sold a phone as well. That doesn't make it a phone vendor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if the PadPhone fares as well as Dell's phone attempts sell your Asus stock. I love the concept of the PadPhone, just not from Asus.
People who use a tablet for gps, please post a sign on your windshield or something. Cause I would sure love to drive in front of you and when you look down at you tablet gps on the passenger side, slam my brakes and get paid by your insurance. Easy win. "Officer it's not my fault. I bet you he took his eyes off the road to play with the gps on his tablet". CHA-CHING!!
Better yet, why not set up a 22 inch monitor on the dash and have your phone output to the monitor. Instant ultimate GPS!! BAM!!
Of course this is all fun and games
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
I'm a bit confused by the videos and such. I appreciate you making them, but what are you comparing them to? Is it to the picture of someone's prime?
I don't really see how that is accurate at all. Was the photo shown the best possible accuracy anyone with a prime has ever had? There are so many variables here that are out of your control that is there is no way you could claim this as proof that the prime's GPS in extremely bad.
I'm not trying to argue that the prime's GPS is fine, I just don't see how this test proves anything. Show a prime next to you galaxy tab in these videos to show that there is in fact a difference if you want to claim such, otherwise it doesn't support your argument at all.
unxconformed said:
I'm not trying to argue that the prime's GPS is fine, I just don't see how this test proves anything. Show a prime next to you galaxy tab in these videos to show that there is in fact a difference if you want to claim such, otherwise it doesn't support your argument at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, with two different nav programs, GPS Test, and multiple different driving scenarios, you've witnessed what a typical tablet using GPS is capable of without depending on Wi-Fi. Can the Prime pass any of those tests? Until it can, no one can say the Prime’s GPS is “working.” Besides, now that the bootloader’s unlocked I’m sure the devs are going to look at GPS. They now have a bogie. But having used tablets for GPS all over the world, anything less than 75% of the performance shown in the vids isn’t usable for driving navigation. The G-Tab even becomes a bear in thunderstorms.
P.S. - The best performance of a moving Prime is in the pic in my original post. And since it's a still vs. a video I'm guessing that's the best it could do, not the worst.
I have noticed recently (perhaps related to the .21 update?) that Google sky was not tracking well with my movements... so I tried 2 compass applications to validate the e-compass performance.
The compass behavior is really squirrely and seems to have very little correlation to which direction the tablet is pointed.
It seems that the compass must have worked better in the past as Google Sky used to work great.
Can anyone else report if their compass is working properly? What app did you use to verify it? What orientation did you hold your TFP to get a good result?
Mine has never worked correctly, and I've been trying off and on since I first got it in December, before any official ICS update was even released. I always assumed it was related to the poor GPS performance.
nategodin said:
Mine has never worked correctly, and I've been trying off and on since I first got it in December, before any official ICS update was even released. I always assumed it was related to the poor GPS performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly the same for me. And I have the (same) prime ever since December as well.
MNDaveC said:
I have noticed recently (perhaps related to the .21 update?) that Google sky was not tracking well with my movements...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No change (for better or worse) with .21 or ... ever
MNDaveC said:
It seems that the compass must have worked better in the past as Google Sky used to work great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It never worked reliably. I'm sorry but I am skeptical about your statement "worked great". Search this forum for my posts mentioning the e-compass as almost unusable.
I once had fun watching the compass readings constantly revolve, making full 360 deg sweeps in just a little over a minute (sic!). A recalibration brought back the unreliable, miserable readings.
Yes this is a problem. But can be fixed by a simple step. Just move, rotate your tab in all directions (up down, left right and on its own AXIS)
This should fix the compass. In my case, thus would fix it but would revert back
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I also confirm twitchy e-compass... no new news here though, it is all related to our known problems.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Make sure you do not have mock locations enabled in the developer settings....This throws off the compass
google skymap sucks for me too. I'll double check to see if mock locations is on, I don't think it is, I've fiddled with all the skymap settings with no results.
I have to calibrate my compass using GPS Status every time I want to use it. After that, it seems to work fine.
There seems to be a problem with keeping calibration settings for the compass after each reboot...
These e-compasses do not use the magnetic field to give direction. They totally rely on GPS. GPS accuracy requires movement. The compass gets 2 (or more) readings, and then caculates the location and direction from them.
Even a good GPS device like Garmin, will have difficulty. If you are stationary, the gps reading will vary. The best accuracy for consumers is about 10 ft. If you had a test app, and were stationary....you would see that the individual gps readings are grouped in about a 10 ft radius from your position, with a few being outside that.
robertg9 said:
These e-compasses do not use the magnetic field to give direction. They totally rely on GPS. GPS accuracy requires movement. The compass gets 2 (or more) readings, and then caculates the location and direction from them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please stop diffusing inaccurate information.
Prime is equipped with a physical magnetometer. PERIOD.
You can try to recalibrate the compass by moving the device in a large figure of eight in a horizontal plane, outside and away from any ferrous metal.
Also, beware of any magnetic devices, fastenings or closures in protective cases you might buy. Don't park your Prime on a convenient HiFi loudspeaker top!
FG
ForeignGadger said:
You can try to recalibrate the compass by moving the device in a large figure of eight in a horizontal plane, outside and away from any ferrous metal.
Also, beware of any magnetic devices, fastenings or closures in protective cases you might buy. Don't park your Prime on a convenient HiFi loudspeaker top!
FG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Prime's keyboard itself has a magnet in it, and I'd imagine the Prime does as well to register that field so that the screen shuts off when you close it.
But yes! Keep your Primes off of awesome speakers lol, as well as all your other precious electronics
I haven't actually played with the compass all that much as I've fretted over WiFi/BT and GPS. I know that my accelerometer consistently feels off: until I actually run tests on it. I think many of our issues (outside of the aluminum body and bad choice in wireless module) really are drivers and apps' implementations of h/w as opposed to the h/w itself.
robertg9 said:
These e-compasses do not use the magnetic field to give direction. They totally rely on GPS. GPS accuracy requires movement. The compass gets 2 (or more) readings, and then caculates the location and direction from them.
Even a good GPS device like Garmin, will have difficulty. If you are stationary, the gps reading will vary. The best accuracy for consumers is about 10 ft. If you had a test app, and were stationary....you would see that the individual gps readings are grouped in about a 10 ft radius from your position, with a few being outside that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not know why the hell you would post this. The meter does detect magnetic fields. Why do you think they call it an ecompass. Put a magnet close to it and open a compass app. Even your GPS explanation is horrible and incorrect.
sorry I just hate when people give out stupid info
Sent from my ADR6300 using xda premium
ForeignGadger said:
You can try to recalibrate the compass by moving the device in a large figure of eight in a horizontal plane, outside and away from any ferrous metal.
Also, beware of any magnetic devices, fastenings or closures in protective cases you might buy. Don't park your Prime on a convenient HiFi loudspeaker top!
FG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay I have read this and tried on an android phone with no success. Just to clear things up, do I keep the prime oriented the same way through the figure eights or point it through, kinda like a kid playing with a toy car driving in a figure eight. Also do I keep the prime horizontal as well? sorry to sound like a dolt, but I can see many ways to do a figure eight with the prime. Your Horizontal plane was a help.
As far as I know, just keep the device pointing the same way and horizontal.
If your compass does not respond to this, I suggest it might be stuffed.
FG
It would make sense that they would update the faulty hardware when they found the problem. I'd still like a TP 201 but GPS is a necessity for aviation navigation. If the problem was fixed in later batches, I would buy one.
Well, if GPS is a necessity... don't go for the TP... it's a fantastic device, but not intended to be used as a GPS device... it's a design fault more than a hardware fault... perhaps if the TP Infinity has GPS it would be better...
prime will work fine for navigating now that asus is giving away free external gps dongles..read my gps dongle test thread for more details
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1602789
Is the dongle only for people who bought a TP before the GPS was removed from the specifications?
Would a person who bought a TP today get a dongle?
skypony said:
Is the dongle only for people who bought a TP before the GPS was removed from the specifications?
Would a person who bought a TP today get a dongle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes..dependent on where you live though. most places can get them
I bought a Prime 1.5 weeks ago. After rooting and apply the aGPS fix, my GPS works great. I haven't waited longer than 10 seconds for a lock. Maybe they did improve it.....
I would not trust a non dedicated GPS system for aviation. That is just asking for trouble.
I have a later TFP (C1 series) and my GPS is functional but not great.
The Asus TFP aluminum case (product design - good for appearance and sturdiness) imepeeds GPS and Wi-Fi in some cases.
I ordered the GPS dongle and anticipate this will bring GPS reception up to the level of my smartphone.
jlabrat said:
I have a later TFP (C1 series) and my GPS is functional but not great.
The Asus TFP aluminum case (product design - good for appearance and sturdiness) imepeeds GPS and Wi-Fi in some cases.
I ordered the GPS dongle and anticipate this will bring GPS reception up to the level of my smartphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
recent testings, including mines and other members, show prime gps dongle performing better than smartphone gps
Pilot here. Bought my prime to be an EFB. All the pilots I personally know that use a tablet for an EFB are apple freaks so they were my only point of reference before buying. I was told not to expect a tablet GPS to be that useful in the confines of a small aluminum cockpit. The GPS antenna really needs to be up on the dash which obviously would make the tablet a bit useless. The suggestion was to use a bluetooth GPS and set it up on the dash if I wanted georeference on the charts. However, none of these pilots bothered with that. Of course it did occur to me that these pilots were full of **** and trying to justify why they bought the cheaper ipad without 3g (and no GPS either) but I was not expecting any tablet gps to be great in the cockpit so I wasn't making my purchase decision based on that.
I'm of the mindset of not bothering with it. I have three panel mounted GPS units in the airplane. I really don't need another. It's easy enough to just swipe chart to the right location when I need the chart and I don't need to actually look at a chart very often at that.
So, I was dissapointed when I saw the the GPS in the prime is a no-go, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. That said, I put in for that new dongle... it's free afterall, may as well give it a try.
Mr Zulu said:
Pilot here. Bought my prime to be an EFB. All the pilots I personally know that use a tablet for an EFB are apple freaks so they were my only point of reference before buying. I was told not to expect a tablet GPS to be that useful in the confines of a small aluminum cockpit. The GPS antenna really needs to be up on the dash which obviously would make the tablet a bit useless. The suggestion was to use a bluetooth GPS and set it up on the dash if I wanted georeference on the charts. However, none of these pilots bothered with that. Of course it did occur to me that these pilots were full of **** and trying to justify why they bought the cheaper ipad without 3g (and no GPS either) but I was not expecting any tablet gps to be great in the cockpit so I wasn't making my purchase decision based on that.
I'm of the mindset of not bothering with it. I have three panel mounted GPS units in the airplane. I really don't need another. It's easy enough to just swipe chart to the right location when I need the chart and I don't need to actually look at a chart very often at that.
So, I was dissapointed when I saw the the GPS in the prime is a no-go, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. That said, I put in for that new dongle... it's free afterall, may as well give it a try.
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please post back after you receive the dongle and test it on your flights. i bet you will be surprised as to how well and accurate the dongle performs.
Mr Zulu said:
Pilot here. Bought my prime to be an EFB. All the pilots I personally know that use a tablet for an EFB are apple freaks so they were my only point of reference before buying. I was told not to expect a tablet GPS to be that useful in the confines of a small aluminum cockpit. The GPS antenna really needs to be up on the dash which obviously would make the tablet a bit useless. The suggestion was to use a bluetooth GPS and set it up on the dash if I wanted georeference on the charts. However, none of these pilots bothered with that. Of course it did occur to me that these pilots were full of **** and trying to justify why they bought the cheaper ipad without 3g (and no GPS either) but I was not expecting any tablet gps to be great in the cockpit so I wasn't making my purchase decision based on that.
I'm of the mindset of not bothering with it. I have three panel mounted GPS units in the airplane. I really don't need another. It's easy enough to just swipe chart to the right location when I need the chart and I don't need to actually look at a chart very often at that.
So, I was dissapointed when I saw the the GPS in the prime is a no-go, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. That said, I put in for that new dongle... it's free afterall, may as well give it a try.
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Yes the free GPS Extension Kit; this is what Asus calls in the packaging it does help the GPS. What the Kit does is it disables the built in GPS and uses the dongle GPS. Works good, I tested to see indoors. I have the C3OK serial TP and the GPS kind of works outside, but with the dongle, it finds your location within 30 seconds after the first time. I prefer not to have the dongle, but at least I can use it if I ever wanted to really use the GPS. I have my TP rooted, so I might try the GPS hack that has been really working. Here is a quick view of the dongle.
demandarin said:
please post back after you receive the dongle and test it on your flights. i bet you will be surprised as to how well and accurate the dongle performs.
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It came in today and while I haven't flight tested it yet I think I have to say color me not impressed.
When I first got the tablet with Honeycomb still on it, I could get and lock onto GPS with it sitting on my dining room table near a window with an accuracy of 90 something feet. Outside was a little better... maybe 40 feet or so but I have no doubt that if I was diving (or flying) that the lock would be lost but I never tested it.
When the tablet updated to ICS, I lost ALL GPS function. Never could see a satellite inside or outside even when left for hours under an open sky.
Well, with the dongle, my GPS now see satellites again... but not as good as I had with the native GPS and Honecome operating system. Sitting here on the same dinning room table near the same window, I mostly do not have lock. Occasionally it will grab a lock but the best I've seen is accruacy o 143'. The last lock I had was to 757'. Currently as I type, no lock. Outside after setting for a long time, I got a lock to 70 or so feet. As I walked around the yard, accuracy fluctuated between that 70' and 125' but was mostly between 90' and 125'.
I'll have a chance to test it in a small aluminum cockpit going 200mph tomorrow and see how it does... not expecting much.
---------- Post added at 03:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:47 AM ----------
Woops, sorry. Nevermind. It didn't occur to me that it might perform better after restarting the prime (since it's hardware and the software has been restarted several times since the last update).
In any case, it's actually impressive now. Inside it's a solid 40 or so on the accuracy. Outside walking around the back yard, it holds a solid 12' or so. Best I've seen.
I'm feeling better about it's chances tomorrow. We'll see.
Finally got a chance to post back here. It worked flawlessly in the airplane. 17' to 20' accuracy when the Prime was sitting on the seat next to me. Would go to less than 10' accuracy when I held the Prime in front of me where it would normally be when I'm working on it and that's going at about 200mph. Nice feature added to the charting software.
I still regard it as just a 'nice feature' though. It really is easy enough to just swipe the chart to your location without GPS. Most airplanes have GPS in the panel now (mine has three) so you already know your location and most GPS units built in the last 12 years or so contain most of the information you'd need on a typical flight in the database so we don't even have to look at these charts during the actual flight that often anymore... and some of the more recent ones have the charts actually loaded into them (mine does not and is what I use the Prime for). When we douse a chart in flight, it's not to see where we are (since we already know that), it's to look up some detailed information that's not in our GPS databases, or perhaps the most common reason... to look up the spelling of an assigned intersection (spellings are typically very odd) so that we can access that intersection in the panel GPS.
Now, there are SOME older planes where the owners may not of updated their panels to have a GPS in them. For those, I'd want to buy a tablet with a good working GPS. In that case, a GPS would be a HUGE benefit.
Can someone explain why the compass of EVERY android phone I have ever owned has sucked? From a cheap HTC Aria to an uber-expensive S23U? Specifically, the compass seems to require re-calibration very frequently. For example, if you ask for walking directions in gmaps on an iPhone, the blue cone indicating the direction of motion is always correct and pointing in the appropriate direction. On every android phone I have owned it is frequently grossly off without calibration, sometimes by as much as 180 degrees. This affects the usability of the phone in augmented reality apps, whether it is hiking, figuring out where the sun is going to rise or set, where the milky way is going to be, etc. And even after the compass is calibrated it tends to drift for a few minutes after calibration, and cannot be trusted for critical use, for example "is the sun going to set between these two spires over there".
There may be regional magnetic anomalies.
blackhawk said:
There may be regional magnetic anomalies.
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Why has my wife's iphone never suffered then?
GroovyGeek said:
Why has my wife's iphone never suffered then?
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You probably shouldn't have swallowed those magnetic balls as a kid?
Borrow your wife's iPhone?
GroovyGeek said:
Why has my wife's iphone never suffered then?
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Because different phones different problems? Report it on samsung members app with some proof
blackhawk said:
You probably shouldn't have swallowed those magnetic balls as a kid?
Borrow your wife's iPhone?
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That could have been somewhat funny if it even peripherally addressed the question.
blackhawk said:
There may be regional magnetic anomalies.
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OMG, do you mean Tycho Magnetic Anomaly 1?
My experience also. Have owned almost every iPhone model and the compass has always been flawless. Recently spent a week in Gran Canaria and used Google Maps on my S23 ultra for hours everyday. The compass was almost way off all the time. Calibration could help a minute and the it was off again.
The wife's and kids iPhones of course worked perfectly. I had to swallow my pride and ask them for direction a lot of times Love the phone but the compass is really a disaster most of the times
GroovyGeek said:
That could have been somewhat funny if it even peripherally addressed the question.
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Couldn't resist
Using the phone is poor plan anyway if your navigation depends on it in remote areas.
Get a military compass; KISS.
blackhawk said:
Couldn't resist
Using the phone is poor plan anyway if your navigation depends on it in remote areas.
Get a military compass; KISS.
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Fair. But what about walking in the city? Surely I should not have to carry a military compass in order to decide which way gmaps directions are sending me.
GroovyGeek said:
Fair. But what about walking in the city? Surely I should not have to carry a military compass in order to decide which way gmaps directions are sending me.
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You can gauge NS/EW direction by streets, landmarks or the rising/setting sun. After a time it becomes second nature. Use anything at hand that works including distant sounds.
Or simply use gps plus maps. I navigated for decades using only maps and cross highways, roads, streets etc to determine my location and direction. Didn't use a compass; formed a rough idea of north using the map and/or visual clues. Today it's so simple to do many don't have basic map or navigation skills anymore. Getting lost means you get by the seat of your pants navigational training... try that in Boston
easycure197401 said:
My experience also. Have owned almost every iPhone model and the compass has always been flawless. Recently spent a week in Gran Canaria and used Google Maps on my S23 ultra for hours everyday. The compass was almost way off all the time. Calibration could help a minute and the it was off again.
The wife's and kids iPhones of course worked perfectly. I had to swallow my pride and ask them for direction a lot of times Love the phone but the compass is really a disaster most of the times
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I am guessin it's not the S23U's fault since ALL Android phones do it. Suggests that the screwup is at the OS level
GroovyGeek said:
I am guessin it's not the S23U's fault since ALL Android phones do it. Suggests that the screwup is at the OS level
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The compass works smooth and true on my N10+ except in the present of magnetic anomalies. Maybe iPhone is using GPS
GroovyGeek said:
Can someone explain why the compass of EVERY android phone I have ever owned has sucked? From a cheap HTC Aria to an uber-expensive S23U? Specifically, the compass seems to require re-calibration very frequently. For example, if you ask for walking directions in gmaps on an iPhone, the blue cone indicating the direction of motion is always correct and pointing in the appropriate direction. On every android phone I have owned it is frequently grossly off without calibration, sometimes by as much as 180 degrees. This affects the usability of the phone in augmented reality apps, whether it is hiking, figuring out where the sun is going to rise or set, where the milky way is going to be, etc. And even after the compass is calibrated it tends to drift for a few minutes after calibration, and cannot be trusted for critical use, for example "is the sun going to set between these two spires over there".
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Click to collapse
iPhones use a different sensor and calibration method that does not require the user to draw a figure-eight. Instead, the iPhone's calibration process is automatic and continuously adjusts the sensor's readings based on the phone's movement and orientation. Don't ask me why, in 2023, Samsung's flagship still requires drawing a figure-eight to recalibrate its sensor almost every single time, while my iPhone does it automatically. It's just ridiculous.
Wad12355 said:
iPhones use a different sensor and calibration method that does not require the user to draw a figure-eight. Instead, the iPhone's calibration process is automatic and continuously adjusts the sensor's readings based on the phone's movement and orientation. Don't ask me why, in 2023, Samsung's flagship still requires drawing a figure-eight to recalibrate its sensor almost every single time, while my iPhone does it automatically. It's just ridiculous.
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That's not the magnetic compass. I normally don't need to calibrate that but I only have one game that uses those sensors (might be the orientation sensor, there are several). My Samsung is very well behaved and predictable... likely a 3rd party app that's mucking yours up.
DevChek is handy for seeing and checking sensors.
blackhawk said:
That's not the magnetic compass. I normally don't need to calibrate that but I only have one game that uses those sensors (might be the orientation sensor, there are several). My Samsung is very well behaved and predictable... likely a 3rd party app that's mucking yours up.
DevChek is handy for seeing and checking sensors.
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Certainly not my experience. I have seen the compass on Android off by as much as 180 degrees, and without calibration is almost.alaays off by around 45 degrees. Calibrating it makes it true... till next. Time you shut off the screen after which the figure 8 song and dance needs to be repeated.
GroovyGeek said:
Certainly not my experience. I have seen the compass on Android off by as much as 180 degrees, and without calibration is almost.alaays off by around 45 degrees. Calibrating it makes it true... till next. Time you shut off the screen after which the figure 8 song and dance needs to be repeated.
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Don't see that but I rarely use it. Not sure what the calibration suppose to do unless there's nearby ferrous metal.
I have to add... in a city with lots of tall metal buildings, I often have trouble getting the figure 8 to do anything anyway.
cjkimmel said:
I have to add... in a city with lots of tall metal buildings, I often have trouble getting the figure 8 to do anything anyway.
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Yeah if bracketed by dense ferrous metal it will screw it up. It's pointless to calibrate in that case.
I can get pretty near to heavy trucks, in a large metal building and it's still fairly accurate.
However if I put in between two upright thick 8 inch C channels about 2 feet apart it goes way off by 45°.