tomtom one 30 series questions

[gastan]

I apologize in advance for this long post. I want to be as specific as possible about which device I think I have and the two questions I have about it. I scanned the first 10-15 pages of the forum but didn't see what I was looking for.

Just purchased a TomTom One from a retail surplus store (for a ridiculously low price). The shop owner said it is a used/surplus demo unit. There is no label with model or sn. The only controls are a mini-USB port, a power button, and a green led that glows when hooked up to the computer or a power recepticle in the car. It has a 2" (5cm) round speaker . I installed tomtom/home and have updated the unit until home says everything is up to date. When I clicked the "read manual" button it opened the manual for the 30 series tomtom one so I think I have a 130 or similar.

I somehow stumbled upon this info screen after all the updates (not sure if I will ever be able to find it again):
Device: AKSZS BSE62
App: 8.010 (9369/080529) OS: 190943
32MB RAM (free: 2.4MB)
GPS v1.21 Boot 5.5011
Map: USA_and_Canada v875.3673
Language: English_US

The unit seems to have 2 quirks and I am wondering if they are normal or indications of a problem.
1. When powered up in the house it will not connect with any GPS satellites. I have left it on the patio, powered up, for an hour and it still says "waiting for a valid GPS signal..."
When tested on a short drive in the car (mini-USB connected to a power recepticle) it acquired GPS satellites quickly and workd fine (except for quirk #2). Is this normal?
2. When used in the car the 3D map-view stays on for only a few minutes and then the screen starts cycling thru a whole series of what seem to be sales pitches. There must be several dozen of them -- they all have TomTom ONE and then sayings like "going somewhere?"; "switch on & go"; "missed your exit?"; "getting hungry?". There are several photo screens (dude standing in front of disabled car with the hood raised; tow trunk, etc) and several with demo maps. When I touch the screen the 3D map returns but only for several more minutes before the sales pitch cycling starts again. (when a turn was forthcoming the 3D map view screen did return and the speaker voice did advise me of the turn) but, AGAIN, after several minutes the sales pitch started again. Is this normal or is there a setting that will keep the map on screen at all times?

Thanks for patiently working thru this post.
Gary

 

[dhn]

On the bottom of your unit is a serial number (next to the bar code). Enter the first 2 characters HERE to see what model you have.

Connect to the computer. Use Explorer to navigate to the scripts folder. Delete all files in there. That should end the promo stuff.

 

[Andy_P]

Your quirk #1 is quite normal.
Don't expect to get reception at all in the house, and you might have problems even outside on a patio if there are lots of walls close by. You need a good clear view of the sky.
Also, if you switch it off somewhere and then take it somewhere completely different before you switch it on again, then it can sometimes take a LONG time to find the satellites again. This shouldn't happen in normal use where you switch it off overnight, say, and then switch it on in the same place again.

You'll also find it gets a signal lock much quicker if it is standing still, rather then driving along.

There is a download you can get from TomTom (via Home) called QPS Quickfix which can speed up satellite acquisition.

All of these things (apart from the indoors bit) are improving over time as better and better (more sensitive) GPS chip are invented.

 

[gastan]

There is no label with model or sn.
Gary

But the info about deleting the contents of the scripts folder was spot on. Thanks. That's one little irritation gone away.

@Andy_P -- thanks for the info about the satellites. My patio has no roof or cover but I was just a few feet/meters away from a wall. I was hoping I could use this device on walking tours in unfamiliar cities but maybe that won't possible.

Gary

 

[Andy_P]

You'll find things different once it has GOT a satellite lock, from when it's trying to find one.

Best thing is to just try it out.

 

[spider362]

gastan, you should be able to see how many satellites have been acquired, their location in the sky, and the signal strength of each by tapping the signal strength bars on the status bar on the navigation page then tapping the signal strength bars again on the right side of the summary page.