Some pics of my Disco :D
- Thread starter Mr Noisy
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Mr Noisy
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Hiya Paul 
It's the GlobalSat BU-353 mate
Around 30 quid and it's one of the cheaper ones but a reputable/large firm
They have sold millions of these around the world, but it seems the problem with them is not the GPS chip but the USB to Serial chip that they contain.
That chip is made by a firm called Prolific and they are well known to have issues.
In fairness this setup worked on the roof for a good few months but has been dropping out all the time for a year to the point that I just didn't use it properly. The only way to do it was to unplug and replug the USB when it dropped out to give another 10 minutes or so.
Anyway it seems to be much happier connected direct to the laptop and I have downloaded the latest driver v1.80 direct from prolific's website.
Mine works perfectly well in the corner of the windscreen, maybe give it a try??
It's the GlobalSat BU-353 mate
Around 30 quid and it's one of the cheaper ones but a reputable/large firm
They have sold millions of these around the world, but it seems the problem with them is not the GPS chip but the USB to Serial chip that they contain.
That chip is made by a firm called Prolific and they are well known to have issues.
In fairness this setup worked on the roof for a good few months but has been dropping out all the time for a year to the point that I just didn't use it properly. The only way to do it was to unplug and replug the USB when it dropped out to give another 10 minutes or so.
Anyway it seems to be much happier connected direct to the laptop and I have downloaded the latest driver v1.80 direct from prolific's website.
Mine works perfectly well in the corner of the windscreen, maybe give it a try??
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Hiya Paul
It's the GlobalSat BU-353 mate
Around 30 quid and it's one of the cheaper ones but a reputable/large firm
They have sold millions of these around the world, but it seems the problem with them is not the GPS chip but the USB to Serial chip that they contain.
That chip is made by a firm called Prolific and they are well known to have issues.
In fairness this setup worked on the roof for a good few months but has been dropping out all the time for a year to the point that I just didn't use it properly. The only way to do it was to unplug and replug the USB when it dropped out to give another 10 minutes or so.
Anyway it seems to be much happier connected direct to the laptop and I have downloaded the latest driver v1.80 direct from prolific's website.
Mine works perfectly well in the corner of the windscreen, maybe give it a try??
Cheers Sam.
I use a TomTom GPS Sirf3 receiver, with one spare, had them inside the Disco and forever losing signal, so like you mounted it on velcro in the light bar with an extended USB lead for charging .. worked flawlessly until Saturday when they both stopped working in quick succession1
To be fair, it was wet, but the first one is siliconed up completely, and further fettling today suggests exactly what you say, that it might be the lead and that it might be better directly connected to the laptop ... I'll try it inside next to the passenger door which is closest to the laptop.
Both of them work inside the house under testing, and get a signal quickly and talk to Bluetooth easily, so it maybe the Bluetooth USB dongle I have, though that's brand new!!
Mr Noisy
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It's a bit of a black art, but basically I can recommend these BU-353 and LOTS of people use them worldwide.
If you got a problem on both units it's unlikely to be either of the units themselves at fault you would have thought.
It all else fails there is a beast GPS unit on eBay with quality internals and even that is only 50 quid, looks to have plenty of cable also.
Cheers
If you got a problem on both units it's unlikely to be either of the units themselves at fault you would have thought.
It all else fails there is a beast GPS unit on eBay with quality internals and even that is only 50 quid, looks to have plenty of cable also.
Cheers
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Yeah, been looking around .. but it seems that it really is the length of USB cable, the units aren't getting charged properly when I turn them on unless plugged into the laptop .. I was plugging them directly into 12v (cigarette lighter) USB socket so i need to mess with them a little to work it out. Don't think any one thing is actually broken, just small glitches in each adds up to a big fat lack of connection!
Summat to play with, I can map read 'normally' well enough for now.
Summat to play with, I can map read 'normally' well enough for now.
discomark10
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might be worth getting a good quality cable, might have a lower resistance over a cheap one.
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Maybe .. I also think the cigarette lighter 'power distribution unit' might be a tad suspect too .. It's a 'project', which will be sorted when i get a tuit, after i've sorted the springs and tyres!!
Always summat ....
Always summat ....
I have a Globalsat sirf III too but mine is the compact flash version like THIS which plugs direct into my old tablet pc using the pcmcia slot.
The beauty of this set up is that the compact flash card has a external MMCX antenna connector to allow you to plug a cheap GPS antenna like THIS into it.
If you have an older laptop with one of those slots it might be worth a try as the usb to serial stuff is notorious for issues. As Sam says its not the GPS that's the issue but the conversion chipset for the USB
I have one of those mounted on my light bar and always get min 5 satellites locked on.
The beauty of this set up is that the compact flash card has a external MMCX antenna connector to allow you to plug a cheap GPS antenna like THIS into it.
If you have an older laptop with one of those slots it might be worth a try as the usb to serial stuff is notorious for issues. As Sam says its not the GPS that's the issue but the conversion chipset for the USB
I have one of those mounted on my light bar and always get min 5 satellites locked on.
Pikey
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I have a bluetooth dongle, and a Bluetooth Nextconnect gps dooberythingymajig..
Works great..
One of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/keyring-bluetooth-gps-receiver-389402
Works great..
One of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/keyring-bluetooth-gps-receiver-389402
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Mr Noisy
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Good shout rob, yep it's defo the USB to serial chip that is the issue, the Megasquirt guys are VERY wary of connecting the ECU on USB to serial, whereas using a proper serial port is far preferable.
Mr Noisy
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Anyway, seems that I have been successful in eliminating play from my steering system, much nicer now to have direct steering control!
However the side effect of removing that rubber joint is that I can now hear the sound of the hydraulic pressure squirting around inside the steering box through the steering column!!
It's just a faint noise, but tbh might be handy for keeping an ear on things.
Cheers
However the side effect of removing that rubber joint is that I can now hear the sound of the hydraulic pressure squirting around inside the steering box through the steering column!!
It's just a faint noise, but tbh might be handy for keeping an ear on things.
Cheers
discomark10
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was your rubber fooked, or did you just want better feel?
sidewaysste
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So many jokes, so little time ....
discodrivercumbria
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Mine was!!! He's just walked through the door, rubber no stronger now than i was 18 years ago!!!! lol
Mr Noisy
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Haha yes I see the potential in that one
Well, the shaft itself was only a year or so old, I replaced it be used the UJs had seized in the old one.
In this one, the rubber was fixed to the metal parts using some kind of rivets, and these had basically rattled loose so had developed play.
Rather than try to fix it i thought sod it and ditched the rubber all together
The rubber was actually very solid so maybe it was simply to remove the feel/noise transmission up the steering column?!
Well, the shaft itself was only a year or so old, I replaced it be used the UJs had seized in the old one.
In this one, the rubber was fixed to the metal parts using some kind of rivets, and these had basically rattled loose so had developed play.
Rather than try to fix it i thought sod it and ditched the rubber all together
The rubber was actually very solid so maybe it was simply to remove the feel/noise transmission up the steering column?!
Mr Noisy
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250 mile laning trip this weekend!
Good news: no breakages, woohoo!
Bad news: 10.4 mpg. ####ing ****.
Good news: no breakages, woohoo!
Bad news: 10.4 mpg. ####ing ****.
sidewaysste
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Can you do some datalogs of what she's pulling under load? if so I'll have a look at 'em for ya.
Mr Noisy
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Actually forgot to allow for my oversize tyres so actually might have been 300 mile. As such, 12 mpg or so.
I've raised the point on LR4x4 earlier about leaning out the cruise section of the table so will see what the guys on there say, or if 12mpg average is considered good enough for a fully laden disco on 12.5 tyres.
Yes mate I can easily datalog, I think it saves them in excel format which you can then view in MegaLogViewer.
What sort of thing do you need? Or just a 20 minute datalog of me driving around with various conditions?
I don't really understand what to look for with the datalogs.
I have Wideband lambda fitted which is handy
I've raised the point on LR4x4 earlier about leaning out the cruise section of the table so will see what the guys on there say, or if 12mpg average is considered good enough for a fully laden disco on 12.5 tyres.
Yes mate I can easily datalog, I think it saves them in excel format which you can then view in MegaLogViewer.
What sort of thing do you need? Or just a 20 minute datalog of me driving around with various conditions?
I don't really understand what to look for with the datalogs.
I have Wideband lambda fitted which is handy
Dr_evil
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12mpg think you's definitely overloading the disco
think you's definitely overloading the disco
Mr Noisy
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I genuinely think my non torquey cammed 3.5 is not big enough to efficiently motor my vehicle along at low rpms.
I have very high manifold Kpa, something in the 80s usually at 2500 rpm cruise whereas I would like it nearer to 60 Kpa...
I have very high manifold Kpa, something in the 80s usually at 2500 rpm cruise whereas I would like it nearer to 60 Kpa...
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