GPS Cell Tower Mapper

[bqs]

Is there any good application that can track the location of cell towers for the BB 8830? I am really interested in understanding where the tower handoffs are - that might explain some coverage issues.

[Shooperman]

BBCool did an article about a free plug-in for BlackBerry Maps back in April called Signal-Location Utilities. Here is the link. I have not used it, but it looks pretty cool.

The beta for Signal-Location Utilities just came out recently, and looks extremely useful for wireless professionals. By plugging into BlackBerry Maps, you can find tower locations, signal strength, available services, and tower IDs. Easily save tower locations and export them as CSV files or into Google Maps on your desktop. Handheld Google Maps integration is in the works, but everything is still in beta, so be warned. Although it’s a bit of a technical utility that might not be especially useful for most people, anyone working with carriers trying to map out their coverage area could definitely use this to get a good idea of what’s up. Customers in low-coverage areas might also find it helpful to figure out where to go for the best signal. Don’t worry if you don’t have internal GPS - Bluetooth-connected GPS is also supported. Go ahead and give Signal-Location Utilities a shot!

[bqs]

My issue is that I can not get SigLoc working reliably with the 8830. I have the Keychain 2000 BT puck - any ideas?

[JeffH]

I've used SigLoc with my Verizon 8830 and Freedom Keychain 2000 with no problems. We appear to have identical carrier and hardware setups. The only problem I've had with my Freedom puck is that I have to occasionally refresh the bluetooth connection, as follows:

After you have paired with the Blackberry, and with the Freedom Keychain 2000 turned ON, go to Manage Connections / Bluetooth Options / Keychain GPS 2000 / Menu / Device Properties / Menu / Refresh Service List.

You will first see the message: "Waiting for Keychain GPS 2000"

Watch closely. If next you see this message: "Unable to connect to Keychain GPS 2000" flash on the screen, turn the Keychain 2000 off and back on again and try again. You have to watch. The message will appear momentarily, then go away.

Once you have successfully refreshed the list, the blue light on the phone should start blinking.

The other bluetooth issue with many BlackBerries is that you have to enable the Bluetooth Activity LED for the Bluetooth connection to function reliably. That's a generic BlackBerry issue, unrelated to the Freedom Keychain 2000.

If neither of these issues apply to your situation, then let me know what the symptoms are and I might be able to offer more help.

[bqs]

Thanks Jeff but getting the GPS to communicate with the BB does not appear to be the problem. I get my lat/lon, speed, etc but I am not captureing the cell site information. It has worked for me before but it has been rare. Any ideas?

[JeffH]

From the Sig-Loc website: "Displays network info such as signal level, services, cell site id, channel and, if supported by your device and network, the lat/lon of the current cell site. Also displays GPS info such as lat/lon, altitude, course and speed. Can export data to CSV."

If I turn on my puck, sig-loc will tell me that the Cell Site is located at me. Based on that result, and given the underlined text, I assumed that Verizon does not transmit the location of their tower. Is that what you see as well?

I have also noticed that if I leave sig-loc running for a few minutes, when I press Esc, nothing will happen. I press Esc again, and I get an App Error 523 and the device has to reboot. It doesn't seem to cause any other harm, and I don't use sig-loc often enough to figure out why it's happening. If it did give me the cell site location, then I'd be more interested in solving it. As it is, I'll probably just remove the app at some point.

[tomvb2000]

I have the app as well for a few weeks and have noticed the same App Error 523 problem. Doesn't happen often and doesn't seem to cause any damage other than a reset.

I've been mainly using it to monitor the RAM (not flash) available via Device Details thinking it might be related to some of the spinning hourglass problems since File Free is still at +20MB. I'm starting to think that App Error 523 may also be related to low memory/hourglass conditions, but can't really prove it yet since I haven't seen RAM free go below 5MB.

Since BBTracker and other apps can record waypoints, I'm not sure I'll keep this app much longer either. Don't have a big need for the cell site info.

[JRSCCivic98]

Just use Google Maps with My Location Beta. Contrary to popular belief, the blue dot is really the tower you're connected to.

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by JRSCCivic98

Just use Google Maps with My Location Beta. Contrary to popular belief, the blue dot is really the tower you're connected to.

I appreciate you making that point. I've noticed when I'm at home in Alabama that the blue dot is exactly on the nearest cell tower. I had wondered if Google always located the nearest tower, or if it sometimes triangulated as is popularly reported. Do you know if it ever triangulates?