1. Luke Bizzy's Avatar
    Am waiting on a Keychain 2000 I ordered to arrive any day now. Looking forward to finding out just where the heck I am.
    08-02-08 03:29 PM
  2. jeffh's Avatar
    Am waiting on a Keychain 2000 I ordered to arrive any day now. Looking forward to finding out just where the heck I am.
    I hope you enjoy it. A lot of people here have them. After getting the puck paired with your device, if you're having trouble getting the bluetooth to connect, here's what you can do:

    After you have paired with the puck, 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.

    Note: Google Maps cannot keep the Freedom Keychain 2000 locked. The puck requires a regular acknowledgement from the device, or it goes into battery-saver mode and drops the bluetooth connection. Google Maps is unable to provide this acknowledgement. Blackberry Maps can. So if you want to run Google Maps, it will be necessary to start Blackberry Maps first, let it sync with the GPS, then exit it without closing it and start Google Maps. If you do this, Google Maps will run with no problem.
    08-02-08 04:00 PM
  3. jdwx's Avatar
    Silly question... Or, maybe not...

    If you're running the BT keychain, does that stop you from running your BT earpiece at the same time?
    08-02-08 04:07 PM
  4. jeffh's Avatar
    Silly question... Or, maybe not...

    If you're running the BT keychain, does that stop you from running your BT earpiece at the same time?
    Not a silly question at all. It depends on your BT earpiece. When I first got the Freedom Keychain 2000, I had an ancient Motorola HS-815 BT headset. I did extensive testing and proved conclusively that the HS-815 could not be used with the GPS puck.

    I recently purchased a Plantronics 855. I have since returned it for other reasons, but it worked with the puck with no problem. I was able to make calls while using the GPS. I did not get a chance to test receiving a call.

    I suspect any modern Bluetooth 2.0 headset will work. When I get another one, probably a Blueant Z9, I'll check it again.
    Last edited by JeffH; 08-02-08 at 04:23 PM. Reason: typo
    08-02-08 04:23 PM
  5. jdwx's Avatar
    Ahh, thank you Jeff.

    Be interested in hearing your experience with the Blueant as well.
    08-02-08 04:52 PM
  6. strashk's Avatar
    I have a 8830 through Verizon and I have 2 questions.
    1) Is the Freedom Keychain used only for GPS? Does it boost your service range? For instance, if you are in an area with hit and miss service, will it help you get better service?
    2) Does anyone know if you have one, will Greenfinder work if you have Verizon?
    08-27-08 09:36 AM
  7. jeffh's Avatar
    I have a 8830 through Verizon and I have 2 questions.
    1) Is the Freedom Keychain used only for GPS? Does it boost your service range? For instance, if you are in an area with hit and miss service, will it help you get better service?
    2) Does anyone know if you have one, will Greenfinder work if you have Verizon?
    1) Yes, the Freedom Keychain 2000 is a GPS receiver only. It won't have any effect on your cellular coverage.
    2) I haven't used Greenfinder, but I haven't found any GPS app so far that would not work with my Freedom. Its external GPS signal replaces the internal GPS signal. The signal source is transparent to applications.
    08-27-08 09:41 AM
  8. Luke Bizzy's Avatar
    I hope you enjoy it. A lot of people here have them. After getting the puck paired with your device, if you're having trouble getting the bluetooth to connect, here's what you can do:

    After you have paired with the puck, 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.

    Note: Google Maps cannot keep the Freedom Keychain 2000 locked. The puck requires a regular acknowledgement from the device, or it goes into battery-saver mode and drops the bluetooth connection. Google Maps is unable to provide this acknowledgement. Blackberry Maps can. So if you want to run Google Maps, it will be necessary to start Blackberry Maps first, let it sync with the GPS, then exit it without closing it and start Google Maps. If you do this, Google Maps will run with no problem.
    Thanks Jeff, all the above clicked and synched like you said. I really enjoy the 2000. I'm going to keep one in each vehicle. Appreciate all of your helpful posts.
    Luke
    08-27-08 04:20 PM
  9. StayFly's Avatar
    Well I don't know how exactly this works do I have to be real close to the gps receiver for it to work? With this can I use third party apps like tom tom or garmin? Thanks in advance
    08-27-08 04:47 PM
  10. jeffh's Avatar
    It'll work reliably with a few feet of separation between the puck and the BlackBerry. I haven't measured it. I normally clip the puck to a belt loop and hold the BlackBerry in my hand while walking, or clip it into a vent holder in the car. The puck is a GPS, like the Garmin or TomTom, only much smaller since it doesn't have a display or any controls, other than an on/off swith, 4 status LEDs, and a charging port. It decodes the satellite signals and provides location data to whatever software you're running on the BlackBerry. There wouldn't be any reason to use it with a Garmin or TomTom unit.
    08-27-08 05:59 PM
  11. NFLBlitze1's Avatar
    how is the battery life on this thing?
    10-11-08 03:33 AM
  12. jeffh's Avatar
    To answer your question, I fully charged my Freedom Keychain 2000, turned it on, and started a timer. Then I started BBMaps, and selected Start GPS Navigation. I used BBMaps for the test because it can keep the puck running continuously. I plugged the BlackBerry into AC power and sat it and the puck near a window.

    I can't turn off my password timer, so every thirty minutes or so I had to zoom in or out on the map to keep the Blackberry from locking. I was concerned that if it did, BBMaps might stop and then the puck would shutdown. If you're not familiar with the Keychain 2000, it has a battery saver circuit that shuts it down if it doesn't get an acknowledgement from the BlackBerry. BBMaps can give that ack signal; Google Maps cannot. That's why I tested with BBMaps. BBMaps also tells you how many satellites it's seeing, so you have feedback that the device is still running properly. And of course, there are the blinking LEDs, orange for satellite acquisition and blue for Bluetooth connectivity.

    In addition to the orange and blue LEDs, the puck also has a red/green battery status LED. That LED is green when charging, off when fully charged or discharging, and flashes red when the battery needs charging.

    I started the test over 9 hours ago. The Red LED started flashing at the 9 hr mark. BBMaps still showed 9 satellites, so the GPS was still working. While I was typing this note, the unit shut off at 9 hrs 15 minutes elapsed time.

    I've had my unit since April, so it's still fairly new, but I've used it a lot. Based on my results today, I think you can safely expect 8-9 hours of continuous operation from a fully charged battery in the Freedom Keychain 2000. The battery is not removable, so carrying a spare battery is not an option. The unit does come with a car power adapter, and can also be charged from a USB port or any BlackBerry charger.
    10-11-08 07:50 PM
  13. pete1118's Avatar
    I have a 8830 through Verizon and I have 2 questions.
    1) Is the Freedom Keychain used only for GPS? Does it boost your service range? For instance, if you are in an area with hit and miss service, will it help you get better service?
    2) Does anyone know if you have one, will Greenfinder work if you have Verizon?
    I have been using Greenfinder on a VZW 8830 with a Freedom Keychain for about 4 months. Works fine. Every once and a while the BB seems to lose contact with the Keychain (I think) and causes Greenfinder to lose it's location and I have to restart Greenfinder. Does not happen that often, could be due to poor GPS reception on some of the courses I pay on, overall not a big pain. I have found their course distances to be a least as good as Sky Caddie if not better.

    A GPS puck is only for GPS, it cannot help with reception issues for calls or data.
    Last edited by pete1118; 10-12-08 at 05:23 PM.
    10-12-08 02:04 PM
  14. Blacklatino's Avatar
    The Freedom Keychain 2000 will work perfectly with an 8830. There are other models that will as well, but I own the Freedom. It has a minor issue with Google Maps, but no problems with any other app I've tried. The Google issue is easily worked-around, but always baffles first-time users. Other than that one caveat, I recommend the Freedom Keychain 2000 whole-heartedly. Many people in the forum use it.
    Jeff- Thanks for the heads up on the Freedom Keychain GPS. I replaced the housing on my 8310 and noticed the internal gps stopped on it(no mystery there). So, I purchased the unit, received it today and it works great
    Last edited by Blacklatino; 10-14-08 at 09:55 PM.
    10-14-08 09:51 PM
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