No signal on the BU-353. From New York.

I have recently purchased the globalsat bu-353 after reading countless good reviews on the product. I was excited when it finally came but was dissappointed after setting up the drivers and could not get a signal with the gps reciever unit. I have researched on all possibilities, but failed with no working solutions. When I plug the receiver in, it shows a non flashing red light which means its working but no fixed signal. I have tried it on multiple laptops as well as desktops, thinking maybe my primary laptop did not support it. Is it hardware problem or the satellites are not reading here in New York? Please any help is appreciated.

It would require a quite few minutes in a good location to obtain its first fix. Have you actually tried it with any software to see what it is doing?

Terry

Hey Terry.
I appreciate your fast reply so much. Yes I tried it with MS streets as well as the gpsinfo the unit came with. Both with no fixed signal. What else can be the problem?

Kevvv, welcome to the forums. Are you testing it indoor or outdoor?

You have a clear view of the sky? GPS info says it sees the GPS? You are looking at the correct COM port? You have left it connected for some period of time with a good view of the sky to initialize?

Terry

thanks for the welcome. i have tried it very close to windows in the house. the gps receiver is still actually connected now with ms trying to find satellites for it. the receiver is literally inchs from the window. i am looking at the right com port, and also have tried all my usb ports while updating their designated com ports. but still with no luck. when i try to track it with gps info, i see multiple numbers circled in red. guessing these are the satellites but no fix. i have left the receiver by the window for quite some time now, maybe almost 2 hrs.

maybe its the weather?? it has been very very cloudy when i have tested the receiver. i have tried the program sirfdemo before to try to reset the receiver back to default settings, in case something was wrong internally. but this has not solved the problem. maybe its hardware problem or really just the weather.

That doesn't sound promising, however it may need to be outside depending on how many tall buildings are around you. I assume you can't open the window or the weater is not such that it would be advisable. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the display for GPS Info but I would think to prove whether the GPS will work, you need to take it outside. You should not need 2 hours; under normal conditions 5 minutes should suffice. Even if the sky view is heavily blocked by buildings, you should see at least one satellite.

Terry

thank you for all the suggestions. there are no tall buildings around me, max height are 3 story houses. It seems that gps info is trying real hard to pick up a read from my reciever, but i will test it out in the car tomorrow. hopefully this solves my problem. thank you again terry.

Kevvv, there is really no need to start any software to test this. Just keep an eye on the red light. Once it starts flashing you know you have a fix.

Normally, BU-353 works even indoors, but in some houses/buildings it just doesn't, so it may be a good idea to take the unit outside to your car.

It is possible you have a faulty unit.

I was never able to get the first (cold) start indoors with my Pharos 500 and the uBlox-5 USB receivers. I had to take them both outdoors where they had a clear view of the sky for that first location fix. They still don't like to get a fix indoors even when they know the location. They will, but with very few satellites and very poor signal strength. Interestingly, they almost never work near my windows. I think that's because I have energy efficient window which have a reflective film in them.

...ken...

took the bu-353 for a test ride in the car and it did finally work. i still had to wait longer than expected, like a good 5 minutes. but i thankful that it is finally getting a fix. thanks a lot to everybody for the tips for it caused me much stress. I was going to buy another reciever today to replace it.

cheers laptopgpsworld!

Extra quick thought:
i get another problem from it, that it read that i was moving at varying speeds when i was just parked. is there a way to fix this problem or is this normal? this is not a big problem to me for i am very happy and appreciative that its receiving a fix on the satellites.

Are you using Streets & Trips 2009? This may be related to the known Streets & Trips 2009 issue discussed in the following thread: http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/1039-streets-trips-2009-reports-speed-4-mph-instead-0-mph