yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Desire HD General] tudor006:
normal

I have my DHD for over a year now and I have no problem with gps fix. It takes about 5-10 seconds to get a fix outside. Sometimes takes longer with Aura nav but I think it's due to RAM clogging because after I kill unused apps it works just fine. As a matter of fact I confess I didn't know about the soft that helps with gps signal because I didn't need one.

My opinion is that it's just a matter of luck how long it takes for the antenna contacts to loosen and give you problems. And if I'll have issues in the future I would buy a new antenna first and try it. Even if I decide for the wire hack I would do the soldering on the flash protection side and not on the circuit board. I have to add that I'm used to soldering electronics parts for about 25 years (since the transistors were the size of a peanut :D ) so I am not afraid to do it but I would rather try to avoid doing it unless absolutely necessary. The main reason is that in the last years this is done only by high-tech robots with micron precision and the temp is very well determined. Does anybody think they can beat a robot at this?
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
The correct question is "Can you beat a person who has spent a year of their life doing this for 12 hours a day?"
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
There is an ideal length for antennas for proper reception....
[Desire HD General] uphall:
GPS Hardware FIX.

Having had a close look at the mobo gps connectors, it seems obvious that there is a design fault. The contacts are supposed to compress downwards when the flash cover is fitted and return to their default position when it is removed.

On both my Desire HDs, the contacts have moved sideways instead of downwards and not 'sprung' back to their default position. This is why, over time, the gps signal degrades.

The soldered wire is a great 'fix' but many people are concerned about heat damage during the soldering process or are just not adept at soldering.

There is an alternative however. If you go on to eBay and search 'wire glue' you will find details of a liquid glue that conducts electricity. It comes in liquid form but sets hard after about an hour.

You can use it to build up layers on the flash cover contacts or to glue the wire to the mobo contacts. The choice is yours.

The handy thing about this glue is that should you wish to remove the mod and although the it sets hard, it is possible to scrape it off once it has set, giving you the best of all possible worlds.

Well done to the originator of this mod, it fixes a real problem for a lot of people.

Edit:

Personally, I believe the wire to mobo contacts is the best solution. By building up the flash cover contacts, you are only compressing the mobo contacts further and you will, eventually, end up with the same problem.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
The better question is, what is the ideal way to get the best reception to get the wire to mobo contacts, and how does one make it a wire that can be firmly attached to the contacts, but also be easily removed if needed? Ideally we have a fix that can be easily reversed to factory state if the need arises...
[Desire HD General] uphall:
@Hunt3r.j2

As stated in my previous, the wire glue sets hard and will give you the desired firm connection. However, due to the nature of the product, it is also possible to remove it by scraping it off with a small sharp screwdriver.

I have used it many times for different situations. For example, iPhone home button contacts are notorious for breaking off. Using this product I have built up layers from the contact base so that when the screen is replaced the button worked flawlessly.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
But you also state that wire to mobo connectors is likely the ideal solution, to which I say, why not have something that achieves that but is also removable?

I'm not questioning the validity of using a conductive gel/glue that dries hard to try and increase contact strength, but HTC's antenna design isn't rigid enough to make that a permanent fix.
[Desire HD General] uphall:
Well, the only way I can think of that would achieve what you want would be a small cable with mini-clips at each end, you could then clip/unclip as needed.

I am sure Maplins supply insulated clips small enough to do the job.
[Desire HD General] Flacid Monkey:
That's what she said.

Just saying the difference in this kind of application is minor and any length of wire thick enough to fit under the cover would be suitable and more useful than stock as they are what... Not even 2mm?

Get me solid graphs, charts and a mythbusters test situation to prove otherwise i will hold my hands up.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
There's a lot of logic behind this. The problem is with the Desire HD, the GPS motherboard contacts and GPS cover pads are physically held together by what is basically the spring force of the motherboard contacts. Not soldered together, not held together by adhesive, not held in place by any method but springs.

The clips should probably be about 5mm in length. Maplin's "Sub-Miniature Probe Clips" are 40mm long, which means that two would be 80mm long.
[Desire HD General] Pootsy:
Thanks!

This fix worked for me but I didn't need to add the additional antenna. I pushed the springs up again and gave the contact points a good clean with isopropanol solution.

Now my GPS picks up 10 satellites within 20 seconds and stays locked on when I go for a run. Previously the GPS would have cut out during the run or not started at all.

;):D:)
[Desire HD General] Pongt09:
Risky.....

Gps antenna holds a mathematical problem.

If you soldier wire to long your signal will actually degrade itself completely or to an unusable state. (You will need external power to use ample amount of antenna)

Copper also doesn't hold near the strength as steel.

Aluminum hold a signal up to a certain point but then has a "reflection"

and it seems to be the "Jumper" is to thick.

Needs to be smaller...

0.22-0.25 gauge works like a charm...

The shack is a good spot to find pieces like these.

My gps antenna doesn't have a "sky" view

(The Ring around the flash lights is the stock antenna)

but I cold start around 15 seconds

Warm start is about 5-7 Seconds

Accuracy is 3.6ft at 11 Sats in my basement.

Took 4 days to find the best non-bulky solution to a gps that never picked up 2 sats.
[Desire HD General] jazon7:
wow,

looks really cool. i'm saving it, in case i get gps problems in the future.

but right now, i'm having super fast fix even with otterbox defender.

danke ;)
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
Please help explain what the "jumper" is....

Do you mean about 25 gauge steel wire? Would we be aiming for quarter length antenna or something less?
[Desire HD General] bigdaddy83:
2 second connecting outside. very well

thanks
[Desire HD General] arcenik:
Hi,

I give you my feedback.

5 minutes for the cable installation without souderer.

Find me between 4 to 7 satelites inside my home neer a window.

Very good Hack.

Thanks a lot.
[Desire HD General] Pongt09:
Jumper is what the thread creator explained in the first post.

A cable soldiered to fix or bypass a broken circuit.

.25 if i can find the rest of mine I'll post a pix...

Or a pix of my fix.
[Desire HD General] p0d0:
very risky but if it works it would be amazing
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
Anyone like to report their experience with this fix?
[Desire HD General] waits:
Three months after the fix (only small solder blobs on the GPS cover contacts): (Reply #63)

After this fix, my GPS reception is still fine. My guess (just an idea based on my common sense, not on knowledge / technical expertise) is that the original contact area is too small which leads to some kind of corrosion on the contact area, and results in a bad contact for the GPS antenna. The solder blob is soft, and because of that it is slightly deformed by the pressure of the spring contact. As a result the contact area is larger. And that solves the problem. The slightly diminished distance between the contacts, caused by the height of the solder blob, might also help a bit.
[Desire HD General] starkilling:
I'm scared of soldering anything to my phone, but I love this idea. Is there any way one could make the same contact without actually soldering?
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I'm guessing that the most viable way would be some kind of conductive tape...
[Desire HD General] starkilling:
Guys, do you think something like this would work? Do I have to isolate the wire?

I'm planning on connecting the ends of the wire to the contacts on the antenna.

Works great, except it doesn't close properly.
[Desire HD General] TransientMotion:
Nice idea, and I'm quite good at soldering but wouldn't wanna risk frying my dhd tho lol
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I think it looks like your wire is a bit too thick...

---------- Post added at 10:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 PM ----------

Do you know how long your wire is?
[Desire HD General] Tycorc:
Great mod just amaizing :) no comparison to before
[Desire HD General] yskang62:
This seems a good method to solve weak GPS signal.
[Desire HD General] anatol55:
Hi people mine gps takes 3seconds to get start..i just flash my gps and now works 100%
[Desire HD General] Zeitraffer:
Today I did it, and it works great!

I can't get a proper signal inside my room, but at the window it takes ~7seconds to get the first fix.

Outside it's much better, it took 2-4 seconds to connect, I got about 5-6 satellites and connection strength is about 24-30, measured by GPS Test Plus.

The signal didn't get stronger outside - but the fix is much quicker (took about 30 seconds before) and I'm sure my phone won't lose its connection easily.

Thank you for sharing :)

Testing apps:

GPS Status

GPS Test Plus
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I'm definitely going to test and play with the GPS to see if the wire alone actually improves GPS signal.
[Desire HD General] Zeitraffer:
If you're scared of soldering inside your phone:

Just solder the cable into the cover.

You have to take it off anyway, and if something happens, you can buy a new one on the internet.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I'd rather solder the phone, honestly just have steady hands and don't screw it up, that's all there is to it.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I just tried the fix, I've noticed with the cover off and the antenna dangling out of the phone, 6 foot accuracy with cloudy skies is completely possible. With the antenna on it's you cannot put the wire inside the phone or it will fail to work.
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
So just did this hardware hack except I just put two little dots one on each contact of the plastic flash panel. Works great. Thought I had better reception with the software patch I found on the inspire forum. But this blows that out of the water. Never hit green before on GPS test.

Very nice hack. Ill be sending others with gps poblems here to check this out.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I just had the idea of trying to use conductive paint/glue to bond the GPS antenna and the motherboard contacts together.
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
That might work but like I said the two dots of solder work great. I think its more about contact surface. There are tiny nipples on the little springs on the mother board. Those seem to rub the gold plating off of the antenna over time. The solder has a larger surface and creats a larger surface to surface contact.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
True, but the problem is that over time it's very easy to jostle the connectors until they stop working.
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
The problem I see with contact glueing them you'll never be able to get the flash cover back off without risking snapping the springs off the mother board. Plus a fast drying bonding aggent is out of the question. It takes to long to put the flash panel back into place.

But if you have some contact adhesive and don't care to ever remove your panel again. Give it a shot aand post your results.

I personally recommended against it. Because those springs are meant to flex with the phone. That's why they rub the gold plating off over time. Case is metal flash panel is plastic. Both expand and contract at different rates in hot and cold temps. That's why it was built the way it was. Not the best build idea ever but we gotta deal with it.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I've noticed a small little connector on the motherboard that looks like it was meant for an antenna of some sort, maybe it's a GPS antenna connector?
[Desire HD General] sale52:
Do you mind posting some pictures dj sampson?:)
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
I should have taken pics while doing it. Ill see what I can come up with maybe if I get board ill take it back apart and do some pictures.

Walking dead is on right now. Muuuussst watch..... {zombie voice}
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
Forgot to add this one. This is in my garage with an otterbox case on. Not to shabby...
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I tried to do the same and I accidentally melted the plastic in the process... I think I'm going to try to get some solder on the mobo connectors and possibly add an antenna in order to get some extra gain.

---------- Post added at 04:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------

I've been trying to read up on antennas, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to achieve GPS reception without having to punch a hole to run a wire through the GPS cover.....
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
Yeah I saw you posted that. Sorry to hear that. Should be pretty easy to get a replacement.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
Yep, but it looks like I'm out 30 dollars and a few weeks of the phone sitting at home.

---------- Post added at 05:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:01 PM ----------

I've gotten some solder onto the motherboard connection though, hopefully that solves the majority of the issues with the weak connection, as GPS requires strong connection for good signal.
[Desire HD General] Berky99:
Hi,

I'm going to do this mod and just bought a soldering gun for this purpose! It'd be appreciated if someone could answer my questions.

1. The general consensus seems to be to solder 0.8mm single-gauge insulated conducting cable direct between the motherboard's GPS contacts in a loop, as shown in the initial post. What am I likely to own that has this type of cable already, or where can I get it easily?

2. This will look like a stupid question but since the cable's insulated surely it's not able to receive any GPS signals?

3. Once soldered as per my point 1., should the removeable lens cover GPS contacts still touch the original motherboard GPS contacts or not?

Many thanks.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
The loop won't really add much, I think the main gps antenna is more important...
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I'm starting to think that the real solution is to solder a wire to ensure connection from the flash cover gps antenna to the motherboard gps contacts.
[Desire HD General] Berky99:
Your view seems to differ from the suggestion of the opening post, Hunt3r.j2.!

I'd be really grateful for anyone able to reply to my questions. I'm itching to do this today but the instructions aren't clear in how this is meant to achieve its aim.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
The opening post claims that using a wire as a replacement antenna will solve GPS problems, but I've done some testing, and the problem is that with a wire GPS signal decreases greatly if you try to put it in the phone like shown in the opening post.

If the normal GPS antenna inside the phone is good, then the issue lies with the connection, and maybe the best solution is to solder wires from the GPS cover to the motherboard, so the connection is as strong as possible. I'm not sure whether the wires may have problems, as when I tested using a wire antenna, if it touched the metal on the phone or was put under it, signal disappeared.
[Desire HD General] rs1982:
Works great for me.

Always had gps signal issues, after soldering a wire to the contacts the issue is gone. Gps works great, fast fix and reception without any software patches.
[Desire HD General] Berky99:
The two posts exactly above this are precisely the reason I'm confused.

So Hunt3r.j2 explains why a wire doesn't help; then rs1982 contradicts this! This is a fairly basic procedure, so the results shouldn't differ.

Can someone at least explain what the hell the wire does, bearing in mind my questions 2 and 3, i.e.:

"2. This will look like a stupid question but since the cable's insulated surely it's not able to receive any GPS signals?

3. Once soldered as per my point 1., should the removeable lens cover GPS contacts still touch the original motherboard GPS contacts or not?"

Thank you.
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
Its been debated quite a bit in here about what works and what doesn't. Personally I just put some dots of solder on the contacts to make a larger contact surface. And it works well for me. Others have tried wire and others have said the wire can cause signal loss. So its up in the air it the wire actually does any good or not. I can tell you from experiance the just the solder alone works well enough to lock on to 6 to 8 satellites without dropping all day.

Had a post on how I did it a few pages back. Just don't melt the plastic by actually touching the solder gun to the plastic.

Sent from Soundwave aboard Nemesis.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
All I know is that the wire only works if you punch a hole through the GPS cover to let the wire run out. That will deliver impressive GPS reception, but also look very ugly.

The cable being insulated isn't important here because the signal can go through it anyway, this only applies to electric current trying to reach the wire.

I'm betting that it isn't the wire that's improving the reception, but the added solder that increases the contact area to the GPS antenna.
[Desire HD General] Berky99:
Thanks both - I'll solder just the contacts and leave the wire, as at least I can understand why that helps. (And no way would I have a wire hanging out!)

Actually I'm now sending my phone back to HTC for a screen issue and will request they ensure the GPS works too. You never know, maybe the GPS will be fine once I get the phone or a replacement back!
[Desire HD General] DJ_MiX:
Just tried a Similar Hack on my HTC Inspire (Similar to Desire HD).

What I did was used conductive foil tape (Conductive on both sides of tape)

I Got a signal in 3 to 5 seconds from inside my home near window!!
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
Nice work!

Sent from Soundwave aboard Nemesis.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
The replacement GPS cover I got works a treat.
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
Hey hey! Glad to see you got your cover finally. :)

Sent from Soundwave aboard Nemesis.
[Desire HD General] LanceShaw:
Not sure what all the fuss is about. I am using Co-Pilot and Sygic and always get a fix on satelites within about 5 seconds outside. Inside does take longer, but I know my way around my house :-)
[Desire HD General] DJ_MiX:
Some of us do since we got big homes
[Desire HD General] tcsurfs:
good work, appreciate it
[Desire HD General] limct:
I had solder a wire as shown by the poster . I was able to get around 5 fix in 3 sec. However once I closed the cover, I was not able to get any fix again. I guess this method only work with the wire hanging outside or without the cover.

I am ordering a new antenna from ebay . Hopefully this will fix my problem once and for all.
[Desire HD General] dj sampson:
Chances are you will still have issues. There is a thread on the dev page for a GPS patch. Download and flash that if you are still having GPS issues.

Inspire 4g GPS patch: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=17292607

Sent from Soundwave aboard Nemesis.
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
Remove the wire, have some solder on the motherboard contacts to ensure better contact patch, get a new GPS antenna.

With HTC Inspire you will have to get a paperclip the size of the hole in the GPS antenna for noise cancelling microphone, heat up the paperclip over the stove, and punch the hole through a place in the LED flash to have noise cancelling.
[Desire HD General] SagiLo:
Some things i couldn't understand completely...

Should i somehow make a "touch" between the MoBo solder to the GPS cover pins ?

If so, any recommendations ? a spring maybe (not that simple) ?

If not, will the reception still be good with the cover closed over ?

And what is the conclusion about the length/thickness/material ? as i understand, 0.8 mm thick, 4.67 cm, 1 core , but nothing regarding the material (?) :)...

Thanks
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
I've taken a look at the wire, and honestly you will not gain reception from it. The signal improvement with wire underneath the cover is functionally nothing. What does improve is the signal from the real GPS antenna in the flash cover.

The best solution is to first clean the flash cover with alcohol to make sure that it is shiny and no oxidized material is on the GPS contact, then you might want to bend up the motherboard contacts (VERY GENTLY DO NOT SNAP THEM!).

From there if you still find reception unacceptable, you could possibly try soldering wires from GPS antenna contacts to the motherboard connector, but you will have to make them long enough that you can still take out the GPS cover and make sure that they do not interfere with signal...
[Desire HD General] SagiLo:
I understand what you are saying here, but isn't it a contradiction for the whole thread ? In the main post it looks like the author removed the contacts.. this is basically my status now since they are snapped and has no use.

Although what you are saying sounds reasonable, how come the 'original' fix does works to the guys here ?
[Desire HD General] Hunt3r.j2:
You might be able to but if you want ideal reception you'll have to punch a hole and you'll want to aim for. 5 wavelength antenna.
[Desire HD General] SagiLo:
Well, i tried,

I couldn't find single core 0.8 thick, so i've used multi-core and bridge the 'contacts'. Didn't work.

Then i bridged the cover contacts and tried to create a contacts of my own on the MoBo, with the wire cores, also didn't work.

is there a place to buy these (or close enough) 'contacts' ?!

Again, when i close the circuit with the fingers, the signal pops up !

Might it be a wrong cable i use ?? whats going on there ?
[Desire HD General] Jasoninaz:
Being a hardware engineer I'm thinking a copper coil would work really good, wrap it round a nail to the correct length and then attach it to the system board. also, people there is cold solder you can buy at radio shack that works really well
[Desire HD General] Masoun Mardini:
I did it

good job bro

Thanx
[Desire HD General] zenga:
Amayzing

It really worked for me.

At the begining 2/3 sattelites, in the end 8/9.

Thank you very much.:D
[Desire HD General] SagiLo:
Can someone please take a picture of the wire he used ?

I have only really thin single core or thicker multy core, can you please take a picture of the wire you used ? and if it's has a specific description i would love that too :)

Thanks
[Desire HD General] zenga:
Hi

I used a thin copper wire, and didn't solder. Just wrap it arround.
[Desire HD General] skiboom:
It really works:)Dont need soldering:).Thanks for advise:)
[Desire HD General] muppetofdoom:
worked for me

Done this mod and worked well for me, now frequently get 10 sats and a fix outdoors in a couple of seconds, i used single strand copper wire.No software mods at all required
[Desire HD General] SagiLo:
Can you please post an image of it ?

Thanks
[Desire HD General] zenga:
I used a wire from a pc fan. Don't have any image of it.
[Desire HD General] Daimonion1980:
I tried it with a copper wire but it didn't work.

I got no GPS Signals with soldered wire and without gps cover. Maybe i took the wrong strenth or the wrong length.

Then i unwired it but tinned the spring contacts and on the GPS Cover antenna the contacts.

Now i have a signalstrength from 8-10 satellites within 5-10 seconds.

So my question to you guys who solded the copper wire. Did you tried gps just with copper wire but without gps cover?

Regards

Daimonion