Review: u-Blox 5 USB GPS Stick - New GPS Locator for Microsoft Streets and Trips

I have installed the u-blox on several computers. The drivers appear to already be present if S&T 2009/ MapPoint 2009 were previously installed. Otherwise I used the Windows Update option and it worked fine.

I prefer the one-piece design of this GPS receiver over the Pharos. The included USB extension cord is quite short at 30" (the Pharos one is ~50") , slightly heavier and with no suction cup. The power indicator is a lighted Microsoft logo that flashes once a second. I think I prefer the blue glow of the Pharos.

I was unable to perform a cold start indoors however it came up quickly once I took it outside. A quick stationary comparison using 2 laptops showed the signal received by each unit was comparable. These receivers are not WAAS aware (not an issue for navigation).

I expect to test it with the UMPC and various mapping programs in the next few weeks.

Terry

Terry, it's good to know that Windows Update site was able to provide you the driver needed for the u-Blox 5 USB GPS Stick on the PC which had no Streets & Trips 2009 or MapPoint 2009 installed.

I was told Streets and Trips 2009 contained the driver, and I'm assuming the same must be true even for MapPoint 2009.

I very much agree with you that this one-piece design is superior to GPS-500. Several users of GPS-500 have managed to physically damage their unit because of the flimsy design.

I actually like the nice white Microsoft light. The problem I have with it is the flashing of it, as you mentioned. It will be an annoyance to night drivers.

The light is designed to be solid when there is no 3D satellite fix, and to start flashing when 3D fix has been achieved. In my humble opinion this should be reversed: the light should flash when there is no 3D fix, and the light should become solid when 3D fix is present. Drivers at night would not be distracted by a soft white solid light (and a flashing light would alert drivers of bad satellite signal).

A work-around to the flashing (annoying?) light is to cover it with black electrical tape.

Terry, I'm curious to hear from you how the new u-Blox GPS receiver compares to the GPS built into your UMPC.

I am surprised after reading all the hoopla about the u-blox, how little it has improved on the Pharos SirfStar III. I was expecting to see performance in the league of the MTK chip but it may be antenna size, as you say.

I will definitely compare it to the Sirf III in the UMPC, a much larger antenna (I think) but with limited placement.

terry
Terry

Oups!

Of what i am seeing, i am happy to have the old Pharos 500 unit and not the new one

Thanks
Marvin

I must be the only one who likes the pharos design. I like the ability to use it USB with my laptop or stick it in the bluetooth sled and use it with my handheld. I will admit I don't like the cable and USB dongle as much as just using the cable that came with the my i360 (it had just stopped working or I would have just purchased the software only version of S&T) but the old i360 cable work fine with the i500.

It is great that the device is flexible. However, with the pricing of Bluetooth or dual units so competitive these days, that approach is not as appealing as it used to be.

Terry

Just looked up some dual units and I can see your point. But the i500 can also do Compact flash so ... all right I am reaching on that one. Anywayes no one is forcing me to get the new u-Blox reciver so I will only get the Software verision this year and stick with my i500.

CF Card- I'm still using a Socket Bluetooth cf card in my Toshiba E800PDA. The Drakar Bluetooth stack is a dinosaur but the card does not extend past the top of the slot and it works fine with GPS (not much else though).

terry

That's a good approach. The Pharos 500 is a competent unit. Unless you purchased the product in Canada, you would get the same unit anyway.

Terry

jhinman, even the new u-Blox 5 receiver will have a Bluetooth dock available for purchase. I never heard of Navation, I don't know who is behind this company, and judging by what I see at their website the company's only product line is this new USB GPS Stick and related accessories.

The website still seems under construction as I'm writing this, but do check it out. Here's the URL: www.navationtech.com

I am in Edmonton, so I would get the new one.

OK, good to know. I wonder how much the Bluetooth 200 dock with RF antenna increase the senstivity to weak signals?

jhinman, I sent your question via e-mail to support [@] navationtech [.] com, which at the moment is the only available contact information at the website. Interestingly, my mail has been returned to me undeliverable from microsoft.com.

But my guess is that the reference to the RF antenna is about the Bluetooth antenna, not another (higher gain) GPS antenna. But don't take my word for it, and I don't know the difference between the two docks, Bluetooth 100 and Bluetooth 200.

Here's a link to my first impressions of the u-Blox 5 in contrast to the other four receivers I have.

I put it in the Hardware section because it was a test of the receivers, not the software. And I didn't use S&T or Mappoint for the testing. Both of them are fine for what they do, but neither one of them provides any useful information for receiver performance testing. I just ran each of them with each of the receivers to make sure they would be able to navigate with them.

...ken...

You ain't alone.

I have to admit, though, that I do not really get how the u-Blox device interfaces with either of their dongles (I think there are two). Even if your laptop is not BT-enabled out-of-the-box, there are some small, neat, cheap BT dongles that have been discussed elsewhere on this Forum at length that seem to be much cleaner than the u-Blox device(s).

With respect to the prospect of the Pharos blue glow, I would hope that a unit in a BT cradle could be easily positioned where the driver could not see it or it glow. Or just put it in a sock.

The USB GPS Stick is just a USB device. The Bluetooth dock gives it Bluetooth capability. That's all.

Glenn (glennw) pointed out earlier this morning that there is now only $10 difference between the software-only version of Streets & Trips 2009, and the version that includes this new USB GPS Stick. At least some store(s) are this inexpensive. More details here: http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/1096-streets-trips-2009-now-canada#post7506

Even though I'm not thrilled with the performance of this new GPS receiver, for only a $10 premium I'd suggest everyone buys it. At least you will have a spare unit, if nothing else.

Gee, it seems they've got the pricing wrong on that and that everyone should jump on it before they wake up!

All right, this plan did not survive getting to the store and seeing the 10 dollar price difference between with GPS and with out. Like my I500 better but its nice to have a back up.

You pushover, you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhinman

I wonder how much the Bluetooth 200 dock with RF antenna increase the sensitivity to weak signals?

I just received the answer from Navation Technology. The RF antenna mentioned on the product page of the Bluetooth docks refers to the Bluetooth antenna, not the GPS antenna. They will modify their product page to clarify this.

Ok, I wonder what the diff between the 2 dock is.

My guess as the mention an antenna is the the one dock was a higher gain bluetooth antenna and there for more bluethooth range.

Here's their answer:

I got this product from Amazon.ca, but I've been having a real hard time getting any satellites. I must admit I haven't tried it in the great outdoors yet. But I've tried it in at least 3 different buildings, in areas with no skyscrapers, with the GPS receiver right at the window, and it just says "Searching for satellites".

I tried reinstalling everything and still so. Is there anything I have to do to "activate" the GPS receiver? I didn't see any buttons on it.

Streets and Maps will sit for hours looking for a satellite and not find any. I find that hard to believe. It detects the hardware with the correct driver without a problem.

Maybe there is a way to hack the antenna to improve it? Or some other solution?

Any thoughts?

If you have it plugged directly into a USB port, it may not work. Make sure you are using the cord that came with it. I have also found it has difficulty in poor signal locations. Take it outside and see if it will work.

Terry

Wow, you're absolutely right. It only seems to work with the cord provided. I had been trying with my own cord and with directly into the laptop.

How weird is that!

I can make it work with other cords but get a 'unrecognized USB device' on returning from sleep mode. Unplugging and restoring the device solves this. As far as plugging in with no cord, Marvin spotted that and we tested it with 4 different computers that all failed (XP and Vista).

Terry

Just a brief update on my usage of this new Microsoft's USB GPS stick:

Other than some initial testing I didn't use it much. But my GlobalSat BU-353 developped some issue, and instead of trying to figure out what the problem was, I just replaced it with the MSFT USB GPS stick. I have been using it now for the past few weeks on a daily bases. It works flawlesly. No issues to report. Signal strength is just fine, and I see 10, 11, or even 12 satellites most of the time. Just make sure the Microsoft logo faces up - that's where the antenna is. If you place the GPS receiver upside down, you will receive weaker signal.

Just bought Streets & Trips 2009 with the u-blox GPS and it won't find any satellites. The PC and software detect the GPS unit and it appears to be working other than it doesn't find any satellites. Today was a perfectly clear afternoon and so far it has not found a single satellite in Auburn WA. Tried with and without the usb cable that came with it. No errors. When I unplug the GPS from the laptop, the software notices that the unit has been disconnected, and when I plug the GPS back in, the software finds the unit and starts scanning for satellites (but never finds any).

Software was bought yesterday is proper installed and registered (not a demo). The word Microsoft lights up in the GPS as expected when plugged in, and turns off when unplugged. It should find satellites, but doesn't.

Any known problems with this GPS device.

nrnoble, :welcome: to Laptop GPS World.

My first instinct always in these situations is to say that most likely everything is just perfectly fine. You have installed and set up everything just the way it was meant to be. Now all you need to do is to wait. A GPS receiver sometimes needs even up to 30 minutes to acquire satellite fix for the very first time. Also, make sure you test it outdoor, and do use the USB extension cable.

Further to what Marvin said, it helps for the very first "cold start" if it's outside with a clear view of as much of the sky as possible. Pour a cup/glass of your favorite beverage and relax for awhile.

...ken...

No mention of configuring. Did you hit the configure button?

This may only be needed if switching from one usb port to another. It just seems I had a bit of a situation in getting a lock (this was a test indoors mind you) and when I hit the config. button, the gps locked on rather quickly.

I could be wrong here. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants and try all kinds of things.

The only config button in S&T is 'Configure GPS'. That opens a window to allow a change of COM port or auto scan. If I recall correctly, the Ublox driver does not change COM ports even if you change USB connections. Your experience was probably coincidence.

terry

I'll have to look into. It was with the Ublox and it was to configure the GPS. Seems I was scanning for satellites from a cold start. This was taking a few minutes or so, thus I hit the configure button, scan for a port (may have kept same one, although I seem to remember each usb port has a different com port) and satellites started locking in rather quickly.

Like you say, probably just coincidence. That feeling like, "I" did something to speed the process while actually the process was already in motion and coming to its conclusion regardless of my action.

I did a quick test to confirm that. The u-Blox (Navation 168) and S&T's previous USB GPS, the Pharos 500 remember that the driver is already installed when you change USB connections. The COM port remains the same.

The GlobalSat BU-353 requires reinstall of the driver each time you plug it into a different USB port. Therefore, it assigns a different COM port unless you intervene.

Terry

I'm still at the office and my netbook is home so I can't check it at the moment, however, I think you may very well be right.

When I can, I'll do the same test just for ha ha's.

EDITED: 7-2-09

Yes, the COM port remains the same. What I was seeing that was different on my Dell Mini 9 is in moving from one usb port to the next changes the "available" Com port number. I.e., in a given usb port Com port 3 is used and Com port 4 is available. Move the GPS to the next usb port and Com port 3 is used and Com port 5 is available, etc.

I wonder if Navationtech is even in business, email will not deliver? interesting. I just may buy the Pharos with the sled, I like that so I dont have to run usb cable to it.
I dont have much patience for companies who dont let email deliver.

I just purchased a Motorola T815 system and tried to use the bluetooth receiver puck and let Microsoft street with GPS Locator find it and it did and it worked one time but when I recconnect the bluetooth locator device, microsoft turns it off when I start microsoft streets.

Regarding the e-mail issue. I experienced something like that as well. A while back I sent a quick email to them. It was bounced back. Actually, if I recall correctly it came back as undeliverable to microsoft.com (I did not email it to MSFT). However, a few days later I did receive a reply from Taiwan (I believe it was from Taiwan).

Just give my experience, I have found that the short usb cable supplied with 2009 Microsoft streets and maps with gps is defective. I have plugged the gps locator into a usb port on my laptop and it works fine. Make sure you have no system issues with xp if that is what you are using. get latest service packs and reinstall streets 2009 if needed. I foiund the locator is super accurate and I mean down to the yard and mile per hour and its kinda of scary when I think about how accurate this is.
I went to frys and purchased a 10 foot usb extension and it even worked on that too just for trying it. good luck

We could probably help sort that out. Could you provide clearer information on exactly what happens.

Terry

I'm curious what this means exactly. You mentioned also latest service pack (SP3). Is the lack of SP3 the issue?

I ask, as I have installed MS S&T 2009 on 1 or maybe 2 Dell mini 9 netbooks (both running MS XP Home SP3) as well as the trial version on my HP 6000 laptop running Vista with no issues.

I have connected to several usb ports on all machines and each received the usb connections just fine.

I (and others as well) have had issues with usb connections on the Dell mini 9. This was with a usb DVD recorder/player. Turned out the supplied usb cable was not up to the task and in this discovery process found of the three supplied usb ports on the minis, the one next to the power button seem to be the best to use (long story).

I'm starting to get off the subject, however, the point I'm trying to make is, there may be miner issues seemingly to be bigger then they really are.

Netbooks sometimes have one USB port that can supply power when the computer is off to allow you to charge a phone or whatever. Maybe that is the case with the Mini 9 and the difference you are seeing. It would certainly work with a GPS to retain its lock if powered all the time.

Terry

Interesting! I haven't heard anything about this as a possiblity, and I have been a member of a mini 9 forum since Dec. 2008.

I also haven't looked at any supplied (very limited info I'm sure) owners manuals either.

I'll check this out, as you mentioned retaining GPS lock could/would be handy.

I've just written it off as the electronics is suppling a little less power to the port on the opposite side of the other two.