Streets & Trips 2009 GPS Locator lags behind

Hi,

Just bought Microsoft Streets and Trips 2009 software with the GPS locator and have a couple of problems someone may be able to help with. Hopefully!!

Posted this over at the MSFT newsgroup but maybe someone here can help.

While testing it out driving to work, noticed it is a bit slow on moving. For example, I'm already past a cross-street and the display still shows I'm approaching it. Not useful. Is there any tweaking to make the MSFT GPS Locator more responsive and more accurate? Have it plugged directly into the usb port on my laptop that sits on the passenger seat of my Jeep Wrangler. At home it shows me like 3 houses away from my actual address on the map? Is that map problems or the GPS locator?

Alemaker

Hi Alemaker,

to Laptop GPS World.

When you stop your car, is the GPS icon on the map still moving for a few seconds till it reaches your exact location, or the icon stops when you stop driving?

Don't know-will check tommorrow morning.
As I am new to GPS stuff, what would be your opinion of a good solution. I do drive alot and don't neccesarily need to stick with S&T 2009 but would like to since I already bought the software, maybe a different GPS module?

Alemaker

Alemaker, the location of the GPS receiver is critical. I'd suggest using a USB extension cable that will allow you to keep the GPS receiver on the dashboard, close to window. That way the weak signals of GPS satellites from various directions in the sky have a better chance of reaching your GPS receiver.

Marvin,

Thanks for the tip, will try that tommorrow with the included usb cord with suction cup. Just seems that it acts just like the GPS on my ATT Tilt phone with Live Search.Both are a bit off from my actual location, like when I'm at or through a street intersection and it still shows me approaching. Don't know how to describe it other than lagging behind my actual position by a few seconds. Is this commmonplace? I thought maybe my Tilt was that way because of the underpowered cpu in the phone but it is doing the same on my 2.6 Ghz dual core laptop and different software.
If you have other suggestions as to a better responding solution, I'd appreciate it. Don't need to stay with S&T but want something that shows location more accurately and responds quickly.
Another concern is the actual map in S&T 2009. While I sit here and type with the GPS Locator running, S&T shows my location with full strength and 8 satelites but the actual point shown on the map is like 3 houses away from my address as shown on the map.

Alemaker

(will try the usb cord tommorrow)

I agree with Marvin's assessment. Poor satellite signal reception could explain both issues (home and car). Using the Streets&Trips GPS receiver I can get a signal inside the house but the accuracy factor is much lower than outside where the locator can see the satellites better. It's not easy in Streets&Trips to determine what sort of signal and accuracy you have, like it is in some other navigation programs so you sort of have to take this on faith and test to see if Marvin's suggestion makes it work better. The locator that came with my S&T 2008 came with a USB extender that just barely allows me to set the receiver up on the dash. When I do this with Garmin Mobile PC or Garmin nroute running so I can see which satellites it is receiving, what the signal strength is and what the accuracy factor is, it makes quite a difference when I move the receiver up on the dash. The farther forward on the dash you can get it, the more accurate the positional lock will be.

...ken...

Thanks Ken,

Will definetely try that in the morning. I really like the ability to see the map on my laptop and being a newb to all this, was wondering if I spent my money wisely. Will definetly check it out tommorrow.

Thanks again to Marvin and Ken

Sorry, I missed the question about the maps in S&T. They are about as good as you can get for North America; better - eg. more up to date and complete - in highly populated urban parts of the country and less so in more rural and lower populated regions. Microsoft and Garmin both use map data from Navteq. I have S&T 2008 and Garmin's City Navigator v8 and 2009. The Garmin v8 is a year older than the S&T2008 map data and 2009 is a year newer. There is virtually no difference among the three of them in the rural regions. In the large urban centres you see the additions you would expect to see, year over year, from new construction in those areas.

The only caution is that the map data is typically at least two years old by the time Navteq assembles the data and the major vendors like Microsoft and Garmin are able to package it, test it and roll it out as a complete product. So my Garmin City Navigator 2009, which is about the most up to date product on the market, has, at best, 1st quarter 2007 data in it.

Related to your issue of poor location display of the vehicle icon on the map versus where you really are, there are only two things that will cause that. One is poor accuracy of the GPS signals so that the nav program is having difficulty placing the indicator in an accurate position on the display.

The other is poor calibration of the map data itself. I have not experienced any calibration issues with Navteq's map data and I have been using the Garmin maps based on Navteq data since 2003. If I have a good enough signal for accurate calculation of my location on the face of the planet, it will be displayed equally accurately on the map with either Streets&Trips or the Garmin products I own.

To support that you need only look at the pickle Google Maps has created for themselves by dropping Navteq for North American data and going with TeleAtlas. TeleAtlas has always had questionable data for North America and you can see it in all of its glory on Google Maps now. Their forums are overloaded with complaints.

I'll shut up now that I've probably made your eyes glaze over with more details than you ever wanted to know.

...ken...

Well,

Just went outside the house and fired up S&T and got a lock, and sure enough it works WAY BETTER. Weird though, it still showed me 4 yards away from the street address. I walked to the front door from where I was standing in front of the garage and BINGO-0 yards to destination

Sorry for the newb questions as you both resolved my concerns. Will use the usb cord tommorrow for driving

Thanks again for all your help Marvin and Ken

Alemaker, thank you for the testing it and the quick feedback!

Glad it works, and very impressive accuracy. Don't expect that sort of accuracy all the time. My various Garmin software gives me the accuracy factor and it's rarely better than 3 or 4 meters. That's plenty good enough. Even with my poor eyesight, if I can't find a house from 15 feet away I really should be sleeping it off somewhere safe.

...ken...

I feel much better now about my purchase as I was about to put it up for sale on eBay.

You guys helped out a frustrated Laptop GPS newb and I appreciate it.

One last question if I may?

Is there any way to get an aerial view with topography and roads in Microsoft Streets and Trips like you see on Google Maps or Live Search Mobile?

What you could do is right-click on names of towns for example, and then on the menu that opens up select "Show in Live Search maps"

ahh, that is a nice feature but was wondering if it there is an option to show that type of map as I am driving?