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[akriss]

I came home and to my surprise a day early was the Amazon box on my front steps. Took the box in and quicker than a youngster on Christmas morning I opened it. Ahh a brand new BU-353 and a copy of MS streets & trips 2009. So I get out my Toshiba laptop and proceed to do the driver install. And done. Ok now I install GpsInfo. Also done.  Great that went well.  Now I plug in the BU-353. And Windows go’s true the found new hardware and installs the driver and assigns it to com5. Woot getting closer! I fire up Gpsinfo and set it to com 5 and test it, all is working! Now I install Street & trips and setup the GPS, WhooHoo it Works!!  Now that all is good in the world. I realize that I literally just got home and went straight in to the install of my new toy. So I shut off the laptop to take care of some other needed tasks.

Fast forward about 2-3 hours and I’m back and ready to play with my new toy. So I power up the laptop and start up Streets and trips. Go to the GPS config and its not finding the GPS. Hmmm. Ok. I start up device manager and  see listed under “ports” is “Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port(COM5)” and in device status its working properly. Hmmm.  Start up GpsInfo and all I get from it is a com port error.
Ok that strange. I try different USB ports on the laptop to no avail. I go thru the install manual step by step to no avail. I uninstall and reinstall the drivers to no avail. I search the net for a possible answer and it leads me here to this forum. I see that there may be some problems with the drivers under vista x64. So I replace the laptops HD with a spare and do a fresh install of Vista x32 with all drivers. And still the BU-353 is seen by windows, however it is not working. I’m at a loss now. Help please.


System specs:
    Operating System                                  Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 6.0.6002 (Vista Retail)
    Date                                              2009-08-22
    Time                                              23:49


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Computer:
      Computer Type                                     ACPI x64-based PC  (Mobile)
      Operating System                                  Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
      OS Service Pack                                   Service Pack 2
      Internet Explorer                                 8.0.6001.18813
      DirectX                                           DirectX 10.1
      Computer Name                                     x
      User Name                                         x
      SMTP E-mail Address                               x
      Logon Domain                                      x
      Date / Time                                       2009-08-22 / 23:49

    Motherboard:
      CPU Type                                          Mobile DualCore AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58, 1900 MHz (9.5 x 200)
      Motherboard Name                                  Toshiba Satellite A215
      Motherboard Chipset                               AMD M690V, AMD Hammer
      System Memory                                     3968 MB  (DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM)
      DIMM1: G Skill F2-5300CL5-2GBSA                   2 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM  (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz)  (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)  (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
      DIMM3: G Skill F2-5300CL5-2GBSA                   2 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM  (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz)  (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)  (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
      BIOS Type                                         Phoenix (06/02/09)
      Communication Port                                Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM4)

    Display:
      Video Adapter                                     ATI Radeon X1200 Series  (128 MB)
      Video Adapter                                     ATI Radeon X1200 Series  (128 MB)
      3D Accelerator                                    ATI RS690M
      Monitor                                           Samsung LTN154X3-L06  [15.4" LCD]

    Multimedia:
      Audio Adapter                                     Realtek ALC268 @ ATI SB600 - High Definition Audio Controller

    Storage:
      IDE Controller                                    Ricoh Memory Stick Controller
      IDE Controller                                    Ricoh xD-Picture Card Controller
      IDE Controller                                    Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
      IDE Controller                                    Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
      Storage Controller                                A4DY8FSE IDE Controller
      Storage Controller                                Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
      Disk Drive                                        TOSHIBA MK2035GSS ATA Device  (200 GB, 5400 RPM, SATA)
      Optical Drive                                     PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K17LF ATA Device
      Optical Drive                                     YLOZC 6R0TIN4L27O SCSI CdRom Device
      SMART Hard Disks Status                           OK

    Partitions:
      C: (NTFS)                                         140.8 GB (91.8 GB free)
      E: (NTFS)                                         20449 MB (5026 MB free)
      Total Size                                        160.8 GB (96.7 GB free)

    Input:
      Keyboard                                          Standard PS/2 Keyboard
      Mouse                                             Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad

    Network:
      Primary IP Address                                192.168.1.26
      Primary MAC Address                               00-1B-9E-5A-25-9C
      Network Adapter                                   Atheros AR5008X Wireless Network Adapter  (192.x)
      Network Adapter                                   Realtek RTL8101 Family PCI-E Fast Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0)
      Modem                                             TOSHIBA Software Modem

    Peripherals:
      Printer                                           Fax
      Printer                                           Microsoft XPS Document Writer
      FireWire Controller                               Ricoh RL5C832 IEEE1394 Controller (PHY: Ricoh RL5C832)
      USB1 Controller                                   ATI SB600 - OCHI USB Controller
      USB1 Controller                                   ATI SB600 - OCHI USB Controller
      USB1 Controller                                   ATI SB600 - OCHI USB Controller
      USB1 Controller                                   ATI SB600 - OCHI USB Controller
      USB1 Controller                                   ATI SB600 - OCHI USB Controller
      USB2 Controller                                   ATI SB600 - EHCI USB 2.0 Controller
      USB Device                                        Chicony USB 2.0 Camera
      USB Device                                        Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM4)
      USB Device                                        USB Composite Device
      Battery                                           Microsoft AC Adapter
      Battery                                           Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery

    DMI:
      DMI BIOS Vendor                                   Phoenix Technologies LTD
      DMI BIOS Version                                  1.90
      DMI System Manufacturer                           TOSHIBA
      DMI System Product                                Satellite A215
      DMI System Version                                PSAFGU-02L002
      DMI System Serial Number                          x
      DMI System UUID                                   x
      DMI Motherboard Manufacturer                      ATI
      DMI Motherboard Product                           SB600
      DMI Motherboard Version                           Rev 1
      DMI Motherboard Serial Number                     None
      DMI Chassis Manufacturer                          AMD
      DMI Chassis Version                               None
      DMI Chassis Serial Number                         None
      DMI Chassis Asset Tag                             No Asset Tag
      DMI Chassis Type                                 

[USG_TECH3]

Does the light on the receiver go on when you plug it in?

[USG_TECH9]

Hello akriss,

The problem seems to be that the BU-353 got switched into SIRF binary protocol which will cause it to be recognized by the computer, but will not work with NMEA compliant software. The best way to fix this would be to unplug it from the computer for 72 hours which will allow the device to reset itself into its default settings which is the NMEA protocol.

Leaving it plugged in when shutting down/powering on the computer could have caused this problem.

[akriss]

Does the light on the receiver go on when you plug it in?

No, not now. It did in the begining.

The problem seems to be that the BU-353 got switched into SIRF binary protocol ......

I well leave it unplugged for a few days and try again. Is there not a utility available to switch protocols?

[USG_TECH9]

Hello Akriss,

There is a software called Sirf Demo that allows you to switch protocols. Leaving it unplugged for 72 hours also would switch it back to the NMEA protocol.

Let me know if you are still having trouble with your BU-353 after the 72 hour period.

Thank you.

-Jesse

[twosouls2gether]

Hello Akriss,

There is a software called Sirf Demo that allows you to switch protocols. Leaving it unplugged for 72 hours also would switch it back to the NMEA protocol.

Let me know if you are still having trouble with your BU-353 after the 72 hour period.

Thank you.

-Jesse

Jesse - I noticed in my thread you stated the same advice, and while it may be useful as a last ditch troubleshooting effort this is UNACCEPTABLE behavior.  There should be no reason short of an act of god and a stray gamma ray to leave your unpowered GPS unplugged for THREE DAYS.  I had the same issue with XP and Linux, and much to my surprise I find that linux's gpsd can tell the gps puck to output only nmea strings with n=0 option.  How can linux and a third party driver/client reset the gps chip, but your own driver/utility can not?  If this is a common problem perhaps globalsat should release a quick patch/update to correct this issue? I myself certainly don't want to have to remember to boot into linux simply to have my gps work as it should from the moment I got it into my hands.

[akriss]

USG_TECH9, Sirf Demo worked for me. Thanks for the info.

Twosouls2gether, you got me thinking. I duel boot Linux on this laptop. And on the day it flaked out I did a restart and not a shutdown of the laptop by mistake, and then stepped away. Of course the boot loader is set to start the Linux distro first, (I’ve been meaning to disable the auto boot in grub). Well anyway, a few months ago I was playing around with a loaner GPS and NavIt. And it seems that GPSD was still a start up process, and set to start any GPS devise found to SIRF binary mode.

Oh and Twosouls2gether, Dam you for giving me back the Linux itch. I’m a Linux novice at best. But have enjoyed playing around with it for years. I usually can handle small doses of trying to setup Linux at a time. If I try for too long without a break I start losing hair. Fast. =p

 Thanks.