cfguy

So, it's been real difficult getting my Samsung Blackjack to talk to my Holux GPSlim240 Bluetooth GPS receiver. They seem to pair up just fine, but my GPS software is unable to see it.

Here's a step-by-step guide to setting up bluetooth GPS on the Blackjack. Note that this is based on my setup, your mileage may vary, and always back up your stuff before you monkey around with system settings. :)

What you'll need:

• A registry editor for Windows Mobile. Total Commander for Smartphone is a nice, shareware 30-day fully functional trial.
• Some kind of GPS software. Google Maps for Mobiles is free and cool as hell, but it does require an internet connection on your phone. If you don't have a data plan, you'll want to look into finding something else .
• A bluetooth GPS receiver. I chose the Holux GPSlim240 because of the good reviews, the small size (about the size of a thumb drive), and the SiRFIII chipset. As an added bonus, it's quite sexy for an electronic gizmo.

Enough chit-chat, let's get started. Assuming you have all the things above available, and the GPS and Registry editing software installed, here we go.

• Navigate to Start -> Settings -> Connections/Bluetooth. Make sure Bluetooth is set to "On".
• Click Menu -> DevicesMenu ->New
• Select your GPS device from the list and click Next.
• Enter the passkey for the Bluetooth GPS. For example, 0000.
• Next
• You should get a message box saying "Your Smartphone has connected".
• Click OK
• Click Next
• Check the "Serial port" checkbox.
• Click Done
• Click Done
• Menu/COM Ports
• Select your GPS.
• Click Menu -> New -> Outgoing Port.
• Choose your device and click Select.
• A COM port has already been chosen for your GPS. For example, COM6.
• Click Done.
• Click Done.
• Click Done.
• Your GPS device should be running on COM6 now.
• Start Total Commander.
• Navigate to:
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\GPS Intermediate Driver\Drivers\My GPS Driver
• Select CommPort, and change the value to the port you specified above (in this case COM6)
• Click OK
• Exit out of Total Commander.

Special thanks to Jason Fuller on the Windows Mobile Team blog for most of the info above, and to TransFXB for his post to the Google Mobile Help Group for the remainder.

If you have any corrections or additions, don't be shy, post a comment!