silvscorp

After have searched through this site and the gpspassion I've finally got the hicom cf gps receiver (hi-303III) Many people has this card and they've all gave good reviews on it.

I have installed the iguidance 2.13 and it seems I can't get any signals. The red light on the receiver is flashing constantly. With the HaiTest program, I can see the receiver is on com4 but after I clicked on 'start gps' nothing happens. However, if I do a soft reset and then HaiCom is showing some signals and looks like it's getting some locks. But in iguidance I still can't get it to initialize my current location. (is it suppose to auto detect after I set the receiver's com part and baud rate?) Now when I run the HaiCom again I can't get any signals.

The GPS thing in WM5 is set on hardware for com4 and baudrate at 4800.

Anyone who got this card working with wm5 please help.

Thanks!!

silvscorp

Well this is just an update. I think I've figured out the problem after some more testing with gpsinfo, gpstweak and cemonitor. I can get all of these programs work, including iguidance only if I take out the CF receiver and plug in again right before launching the program and it will work (so far) as long as the program is running. If I quit the current program and open up another GPS related program it would then fail from detecting the GPS unit. According to gpstwek and cemonitor, it seems when I close the program, it would some how "shut off" the CF card device making other programs can't access the com port.

There is one exception to this and that is in Iguidance, if I go to options such as route, display, etc. basically if I want to make any change to the navigation setting, it would also loose connection to the GPS unit. (no other program can access the com port any more)

Is there a fix to keep the CF device/com port stay on untill I take the card out physically?

raylo

Welcome to the club of unhappy x51v owners who bought CF card GPS receivers. This is a known incompatibility and as far as I can tell it affects all of the big s/w packages. Some of the s/w makers are investigating a fix but the core issue may be something related to Windows Mobile 5.0 so I'm not sure it's fixable in software although someone reported that Destinator released a patch that works. I have OCN5 and the Haicom and it behaves just like your setup. For now I have switched to using the receiver with the serial cable that I had to order separately. it works great that way but of course you have a wire to deal with. But the receiver is so sensitive it can be tucked away just about anywhere and still work so the wire clutter can be minimized. God luck, and lets hope they get some patches out soon that enable the CF GPS

Originally Posted by silvscorp

Well this is just an update. I think I've figured out the problem after some more testing with gpsinfo, gpstweak and cemonitor. I can get all of these programs work, including iguidance only if I take out the CF receiver and plug in again right before launching the program and it will work (so far) as long as the program is running. If I quit the current program and open up another GPS related program it would then fail from detecting the GPS unit. According to gpstwek and cemonitor, it seems when I close the program, it would some how "shut off" the CF card device making other programs can't access the com port. There is one exception to this and that is in Iguidance, if I go to options such as route, display, etc. basically if I want to make any change to the navigation setting, it would also loose connection to the GPS unit. (no other program can access the com port any more) Is there a fix to keep the CF device/com port stay on untill I take the card out physically?

Ivan Awfulitch

Originally Posted by silvscorp

After have searched through this site and the gpspassion I've finally got the hicom cf gps receiver (hi-303III) Many people has this card and they've all gave good reviews on it. I have installed the iguidance 2.13 and it seems I can't get any signals. The red light on the receiver is flashing constantly. With the HaiTest program, I can see the receiver is on com4 but after I clicked on 'start gps' nothing happens. However, if I do a soft reset and then HaiCom is showing some signals and looks like it's getting some locks. But in iguidance I still can't get it to initialize my current location. (is it suppose to auto detect after I set the receiver's com part and baud rate?) Now when I run the HaiCom again I can't get any signals. The GPS thing in WM5 is set on hardware for com4 and baudrate at 4800. Anyone who got this card working with wm5 please help. Thanks!!

Don't have the X51, but with my X50V and WM5, I got mine working by not setting anything in the WM5 GPS settings. Leave everything the factory blank. Set the unit up only in Iguidance application as you did with com4 and 4800. Also, remember that only 1 app at a time will communicate with the GPS, and unless you have something installed to actually shut down some of the other apps they may still be running in the background, hampering communication. Try eliminating the WM5 GPS settings and give it a shot after a soft reset without running any other software first and see what happens. It has worked flawlessly for me following these steps on the X50v.

raylo

Been there, done that, no help.... at least on my X51v.

Originally Posted by Ivan Awfulitch

Don't have the X51, but with my X50V and WM5, I got mine working by not setting anything in the WM5 GPS settings. Leave everything the factory blank. Set the unit up only in Iguidance application as you did with com4 and 4800. Also, remember that only 1 app at a time will communicate with the GPS, and unless you have something installed to actually shut down some of the other apps they may still be running in the background, hampering communication. Try eliminating the WM5 GPS settings and give it a shot after a soft reset without running any other software first and see what happens. It has worked flawlessly for me following these steps on the X50v.

silvscorp

update problem fixed!!! do a search on the forum for elserial.dll dl it and put in under your windows directory (on your ppc) then do the following registery mod then soft reset.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers\PCMCIA\CF_CARD-GENERIC-DDEA
Change "Dll" from "Serial.Dll" to "ELSerial.dll"

This fix have solved all the problems I"ve stated in my initial post. It seems the com port will stay open. I believe this should fix those who have the CF card disappear issue? Not sure.

raylo

I saw that Beemer posted this potential fix last night but I haven't had time to try it. I don't have a registry editor. What are you using to do that?

Originally Posted by silvscorp

update problem fixed!!! do a search on the forum for elserial.dll dl it and put in under your windows directory (on your ppc) then do the following registery mod then soft reset. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers\PCMCIA\CF_CARD-GENERIC-DDEA Change "Dll" from "Serial.Dll" to "ELSerial.dll" This fix have solved all the problems I"ve stated in my initial post. It seems the com port will stay open. I believe this should fix those who have the CF card disappear issue? Not sure.

CJ4

I haven't been able to locate the .dll- could you please post a link?

Thanks,
CJ

raylo

The link is in the message sent by beemer to the thread below. http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=113860

Originally Posted by CJ4

I haven't been able to locate the .dll- could you please post a link? Thanks, CJ

CJ4

Thanks!

CJ

raylo

It looks like you are going to beat me to trying it! Please post the results and make sure to tell us what GPS hardware and software you are running.

Originally Posted by CJ4

Thanks! CJ

Jcmackey

I am having the same problem that Silvscorp wrote about with his Haicom 303III, Iguidance and Axim x51v. I have the same configuration.
I’ve read through the threads but am confused with the fixes.
1) How do I change the Registry on the Axim?
2) I’ve placed the “ELSerial.dll” file in my Axim Windows folder, but that did not help.
I have written to Haicom and received an email saying that there is a “workaround driver” but the only driver I find on their website is one for the Haicom 305 and not 303. I tried downloading this 305 driver but I cannot open the *.rar file extention.
If anyone can explain the fixes, I’d be interested.

raylo

I haven't had a chance to try this yet. But you need a registry editor since MS didn't see fit to include one with the OS. I don't have one yet but PHM and Resco Explorer have been recommended to me. Like any windows registry edit be very careful and back up your existing registry beforehand if you can.

Also, I believe the ELserial.dll was posted as a .zip file so make sure you unzip before you put in th Axim Windows directory.

See also the related thread about OCN5 not seeing CF card. http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=113860

I am anxious to hear from you guys who are getting to do this before me. Thanks for being guinea pigs! ;-)

Originally Posted by Jcmackey

I am having the same problem that Silvscorp wrote about with his Haicom 303III, Iguidance and Axim x51v. I have the same configuration. I’ve read through the threads but am confused with the fixes. 1) How do I change the Registry on the Axim? 2) I’ve placed the “ELSerial.dll” file in my Axim Windows folder, but that did not help. I have written to Haicom and received an email saying that there is a “workaround driver” but the only driver I find on their website is one for the Haicom 305 and not 303. I tried downloading this 305 driver but I cannot open the *.rar file extention. If anyone can explain the fixes, I’d be interested.

silvscorp

Yes you'll need a reg edit program such pas PHM or resco one. Simply point the .dll file to the new one and do a soft reset. I can't promise this will work for everyone else but it certainly fixed all the problems I had.

I am not sure about CF card disappearing problem since I've never used one. (I have 2gb sd and use CF for gps, besides the fact that a small 8mb CF card will drain 2.5mb of ram) I've used CF couple of times after doing this patch and so far haven't had the disappearing problem. The GPS receiver is still working solid after 3 days of testing with many resets. However, there is one exception. If you put the PDA to standby while the GPS is running, it will stop working after you wake it up. It won't recognize the COM port. All you have to do is to take the GSP out and plug it it again.

The above exception only applies to the CF GPS receiver (at least on my X51v) the regular CF storage card still works perfectly.

raylo

Well, I got around to trying this tonight and it didn't work with my X51v (A06)/OCN5/Haicom CF GPS combo. It behave exactly as before, the GPS receiver connection drops with any interaction with the software. Oh well.... Back to serial cable mode.

Originally Posted by silvscorp

Yes you'll need a reg edit program such pas PHM or resco one. Simply point the .dll file to the new one and do a soft reset. I can't promise this will work for everyone else but it certainly fixed all the problems I had. I am not sure about CF card disappearing problem since I've never used one. (I have 2gb sd and use CF for gps, besides the fact that a small 8mb CF card will drain 2.5mb of ram) I've used CF couple of times after doing this patch and so far haven't had the disappearing problem. The GPS receiver is still working solid after 3 days of testing with many resets. However, there is one exception. If you put the PDA to standby while the GPS is running, it will stop working after you wake it up. It won't recognize the COM port. All you have to do is to take the GSP out and plug it it again. The above exception only applies to the CF GPS receiver (at least on my X51v) the regular CF storage card still works perfectly.