Issues with GPS and Arkon Powered GPS Mount

rpgsearcherz · 03-31-09, 12:09 AM

I recently got a GPS mount from someone, along with an Axim X51v. I am new to both of these, and I am unable to get the GPS to be recognized.

Reading online it seems the issue is with my settings in the "COM" ports most likely, but I have no idea(nor can I find anywhere) how to set it up correctly.

Arkon has no user guide for the mount(that I can find) and the Axim's user guide has no input on GPS at all.

Has anyone else successfully gotten it to work and/or know how to diagnose the issue/figure out the settings?

Thanks in advance.

Box · 03-31-09, 01:25 AM

It would help to know the Type of GPS Antenna and the GPS software that you are using.

rpgsearcherz · 03-31-09, 07:30 AM

I'm unsure the GPS antannae...I've been trying to figure that out myself. The mount has no model number that I can find, which is causing issues.

As for the software, I'm attempting to use TomTom 6.

Also, I finally got ahold of the original "user guide" for the mount...It still has no information about the GPS itself or the model number of the mount. But it does say that the software the GPS is ran on must be set to read from Com Port 1.

In the Axim there are two settings - one for software and one for hardware.

I have tried various settings for it but have not gotten it to read properly. It seems as if I would need to have both of them set to Com 1, but that is not allowed.

I went ahead and uploaded the document to my website so you can check it out in case it helps figure out where I'm going wrong(the forums only allowed up to 100 kb).

The forums will not allow me to post the link to that so I will attempt to PM it to you.

Please let me know if you need any other information and I will see what I can gather.

Thanks again.

bigtsr · 03-31-09, 01:23 PM

The Axim 51v requires a BT rcvr in order to effectively be a gps unit.
Does your mount have the rcvr built in?
To start with I have 2 software gps apps installed on my 51v,
the Dell/Navteq app auto recognizes the proper ports while
TrekBuddy (a Java app) does not and I had to set ports myself.
Attached are some screen captures maybe they will help.

kcallahan · 03-31-09, 02:43 PM

First - Arkon mounts don't have built in GPS receivers. They only provide power to the PDA.

Second - It sounds like you don't have a GPS receiver. The receiver will either plug into the PDA or work thru the BlueTooth (BT) function. You may have the software on the PDA, but, you need a receiver for it to function.

Box · 03-31-09, 03:11 PM

Kcallahan Arkon do (or did) supply ones with built in GPS receivers as shown here.

rpgsearcherz I don't know what else to suggest except follow the instructions in the user guide you sent me.

Perhaps you need to try setting the com port in the GPS function on the Axim.
Go start/settings/system/external GPS

If not there, try in Tomtom itself.

Without knowing how the mount you have works or the relevant settings in Tomtom, I can't be an more specific.

JakeRich · 03-31-09, 03:30 PM

Moved to the GPS thread for better visibility. I think there are some threads here on getting non-TomTom receivers working with TomTom. It doesn't have to be BT, but it does require some "fiddling" to get it going. Try searching for TomTom and Serial Port (see the bar at the top for the search function).

rpgsearcherz · 03-31-09, 04:11 PM

I finally got it working.

To help anyone else who may have the issue...

The first thing that was wrong was my "COM 1" port in TomTom was listed as 23 2j3kl4j23 12342 or something like that. It turns out it's due to Russian characters(Corrupted).

So I used regedit to change it back to "Link to COM 1"

Afterwards...The x51v has 3 settings for GPS, "Software," "Hardware," and "Automatic."

To get it to work properly you must turn OFF software, turn Hardware to 19,200 baud on COM 1, and disable the "Automatic."

Afterwards, it works great.

Thanks for all of your input guys. I know it was hard not knowing exactly what my issue was(I literally just got the PDA and GPS last night...So I opened it and went straight for getting the GPS to work.)

Box · 03-31-09, 04:21 PM

Good to hear.
Well done.

kcallahan · 04-01-09, 06:23 AM

Originally Posted by Box

Kcallahan Arkon do (or did) supply ones with built in GPS receivers as shown here.

Thanks for the info. They must not have made them when I bought mine 3 years ago. :)