yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] hceuterpe:
I have a BT GPS receiver, a fridge magnet, BB, a BB leather case, a TP2. I'm totally gonna try this after my TP is done encrypting!

IF the fridge magnet actually works, it may something so simple like ripping off the logo on the front (so it's black), cleaning the adhesive residue, cutting it to shape, and then going to the store and buying some double side sticky tape!

In the keyboard dock, does the tablet automatically go to sleep when you close the lid? I wonder if it works with EM or a ferro magnet.

I found this here:

http://www.magnetic-shield.com/faq/interference.html#q4

How can I shield one magnet so it doesn't interact with another that is close by?

All commercially available magnetic shielding materials are ferromagnetic. This means they are attracted by a magnet just like iron or steel. Ferromagnetic materials are necessary because shields work by pulling the magnetic field towards them and away from what needs to be shielded. The magnetic field will actually become concentrated within the shield itself, but the field will still exist.

If two magnets are close enough together to attract each other and a ferromagnetic material is placed between them both magnets are now attracted to the shield. The net effect is that both magnets are still being attracted in the same direction prior to the shield being put in place.

Now turn one of the magnets around so they are repelling each other and then place ferromagnetic material between them. Again the magnets are attracted to the shield and will stick to it. With a thick enough piece of material the poles may actually be directed facing each other. With a thinner piece the magnets will be offset from each other, but will still stick to the shield.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] chivas228:
this magnet thing is also intriguing. Going to try with a small fridge magnet to see if it helps.

What's even more wonky is I noticed temperature also effected the GPS. It was cold the last few days here in sugar land and when I stepped out at night, no sats. Get inside where its warm, I get 1 or 2. Put my hair dryer (though I am going bald but one can dream) and heat up the corner, I get 4 and sometimes a flicker of 5! wTF!?!?!? O.o
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jazzsax3:
What I found while playing with this idea is that I can stand a Jeweler's Screw Driver up on end on the glass where the GPS antenna is Located and it will pick up a gps signal. So continuing with that idea I Took a pair of metal Tweezers, taped both sides up to keep from scratching the glass and scratching/grounding out on the back the just stuck it in relatively the same place and I would get the same Results and actually be able to move the device around. Results may vary. I usually have ~0-4 satellites fluctuating in view but none in use before, and ~9-11 in view, 6 in use after. The Tweezers get a better signal strength for me but not necessarily more satellites. This is all Indoors btw.

My Guess is that it's not necessarily the Phone's GPS signal Helping the Prime, but the metal inside the phone is acting as an antenna.

If you're using GPS Test, as a guide with the app's topside being the camera side, the spot i found to work was Between the White border and left side of the compass view. Centered between the top and bottom of the black trim bezel.

People could probably just make some sort of clip on antenna as opposed to opening and modifying the case if it works for them.

On a side note if the tweezers ground out on the back signal strength suffers.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] lennie paz:
Can you take a pic showing where you placed the screwdriver and tweezers?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] taylorgrandorf:
Nothing before or after on my Prime. But, I live just outside of Houston, where LTE is being launched and I cannot get a connection on my Prime, Motorola Photon 4G, Holux M-1000, or various Tom-Tom devices.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] chivas228:
Wait what??? A screwdriver?!?!?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jazzsax3:
Here you go, pictures.

It only took a few seconds for it to take effect when I put the screwdriver in place.

I would imagine this will only work if you can get a fairly decent signal to begin with since the screwdriver is probably acting as an external antenna helping pass the signal along to the internal one.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] chivas228:
Does it work if you put the screw driver up as if its laying flat on the prime? If so, a cl on antenna might be a ticket to winning! :)

Thanks for trying this method. Very excited to try this tomorrow as the gf is passed out and here I am sneaking a post in after having a good v-day..... :p
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] CRom11:
Another one to join the test, with screwdriver up to 8 satellites, lock in 6s, without the screwdriver no satellites at all...

Just wondering if there isn't some sort of metallic clip that would snugly fit around the upper part of screen without giving the prime stupid look...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dingdonggggg:
I have seen somewhere in this thread someone that had ordered some sort of sticker/foil with a GPS antenna circuit intergrated. This circuit is the ideal circuit length for GPS reception. If placed on the glass instead of a screwdriver wouldn't that be the ideal signal enhancer???

I can't remember who posted a picture of this antenna and hate to go through all the posts again but if someone remembers please let us/him/her know.

If it would work this would be the most elegant solution until Asus comes up with a fix. It would be just a small sticker outside the touchsensitive area of the Prime.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Norcalz71:
This was my first possible thought to help the issue, depending on what is the root cause of the poor reception.

I believe what one would be looking for is a stick on printed fractal antenna, just stick it on the back casing to boost reception. Admittedly I am no electronics/antenna expert though and know little to nothing about parasitic antenna coupling, boosting signal, etc.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dingdonggggg:
In my opinion it should be stuck to the screen. The back would shield the signal. Or maybe both sides but at least one on the front.

Some info for people using Prime's GPS in a fixed location (at home or in a car). Stick or clamp a wire to the screen on the same location as the screwdriver trick. Et voila GPS reception improves also. I used about 1m length but there will probably be some optimum length (wavelength GPS). I think a single strand wire would be optimum but I used speaker cord. If you have the Prime in a stand in your car you could run the wire along the front window of your car.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dingdonggggg:
Paperclip fixes GPS ;)

After some experimenting found that a paperclip does the job.

Straighten a paperclip. Stick or clamp it horizontaly on the screen. Same height as the camera. With the end of the paperclip about 3 to 3,5 cm from the camera. Et voila up to 12 sats.

Slight changes in location already influence the signal. Still looking for the sweet spot. Test with GPS test. Maps takes longer to determine a fix.

Still am curious about optimum minimal length, thickness of the wire (maybe even multiple paralel wires) and wire material.

Testing at the moment with 2 straight paperclips stuck together. Seems like more easy more sats but weaker signals.

In the end it would be great if a small sticker with intergrated and optimized antenna would do the trick.

Anyone out there with the answers?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] smrsxn:
can u post some pics of prime with paper clip? just looking for exact placement that i should aim for as well
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ffroms:
It would be nice if you could post some pictures what you did. I would love to try it my self.

EDIT: smrsxn was faster :)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
Do you have a screen protector? how about you buy one of those sitcker signal booster for cellphones and use a permanent marker to paint it black and stick it on the glass?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] chivas228:
looked it up and i thought i might work but...

http://www.andybrain.com/2005/cellphone-antenna-booster-sticker-test-and-analysis/

that might be true for cell signal but not sure how it would work out for GPS or even wifi.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] leebrunet:
what?

How would a problem caused by metal be fixed with metal?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Chemas:
those stickers are probably made for GSM signal....

I had this idea before ...for WIFI.

Maybe if you cut copper tape in the same shape and size as GPS(for GPS)/WIFI(for WIFI) antena it would work.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
I was just thinking if a paperclip on the glass can improve the signal, maybe those sticker antennas could serve as the same purpose because of the metal but much cleaner looking.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] chivas228:
in a car, your radio is hooked up to a wire for the antenna (metal on the inside). Wrap that wire up with another wire and run electric current though it, you'll get deterioration of signal quality. metal causing problem with another metal.... and in this case, the other way around.

this paper clip thing is a profound thought if it works. my truck currently has static interference since the trigger wire for my HID fog lights is right next to it so when I flick on the lights (had to do that lately here in TX since there has been a lot of dense fog), the radio goes to **** with static; well, not that bad but it does introduce static to the signal when there were none. Going to try a few clips out here in the office and see what happens.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] mmilestone:
This is actually a good idea as it can also be painted the same color as the bezel.

It's worth a try, and can be (hopefully) easily covered by a screen protector.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Norcalz71:
i am not quite following your example...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] thomslik:
So, if you put a phone, screwdriver or paperclip in just the right place on the screen, the GPS starts working? That's really weird, but I guess anything is possible. Does it help if you also chant some strange incantations, maybe in Chinese?

Almost wish I still had mine so that I could try some crazy stuff!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] slugbug2010:
Well, mine must be "special". The GPS test doesn't calibrate right for me, the compass is way off, I've wondered about it before, figured I must have something setup wrong (maybe I do). So I was re calibrating nearly every time I used it.

So I did and tried this test. It is the first time I've had the app on my phone. The compass was exactly right. Until I put it on my Prime! The compass spins all out of whack on the phone! I didn't give it enough time to see if the trick worked, I was too busy watching he compass spin.

I don't know what to think.

Wtf??
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dingdonggggg:
Paperclip pictures

By request some pictures of the screwdriver and paperclip trick.

As you can see on the time displayed that the pictures are sequential.

I noticed that once sats have been detected they get detected more easily the next time. And when you take the trick item away it sometimes takes a while for the GPS to lose the sats.

Also when your GPS is on for a long time (hours) it stops working all together. Like there is some sort of static build up in the Prime or GPS. Or maybe something in ICS or the firmware.

GPS 1: indoors, no tricks

GPS 2: indoors, screwdriver trick

GPS 3: outdoors (somehow it didn't work indoors), paperclip

GPS 4: outdoors, no tricks

GPS 5: outdoors, paperclip

GPS 6: outdoors, no trick

GPS 7: outdoors, paperclip

GPS 8: outdoors, no trick

Tried again indoors. This time with more luck.

GPS 9: indoors, paperclip

GPS 10: indoors, no tricks

GPS 11: indoors, paperclip

BTW indoors is in front of a dubble glazed window
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] mrokeefe:
I have the PERFECT solution to the paper clip at work! Im grab some and bring it home to-day to try this out.

We have a stack of disposable static wrist straps. The whole copper is flat, sticky, 1/8" wide and painted black.......could work like the paper clip and look very clean.

We have like 30. And are 6 feet long soooooooo I could hook anyone up if need be ;)

Modded by MBOK
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Wordlywisewiz:
Nice lol!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] mrokeefe:
Wah waaaaah....some prick tossed em.

Modded by MBOK
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] xsteven77x:
Ya this is the weirdest **** I ever heard. Low and behold I try it and it works. Crazy.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] chivas228:
I finally got to test this ON THE ROAD (I seem to be always driving.. :mad:)

So I fired up Google Maps (went to get something to the print shop in this god awful rainstorm) and it wasn't working too hot. Once in a while, 1 then flash 2 then back to 0 and repeat as (the Prime) desired. placed my phone over the top right corner and within seconds I got it working and pointing in the direction of travel. I was NOT using GPS on my phone though, just BT data tethering so Google Maps can update the map. Moved it away and in about 20 seconds, lost signal. put it back, 5 seconds later, we're good to go.

Thinking about this more, it may NOT have to do with the GPS signal on the phone to be on but some radio frequency. I'm on AT&T in Houston (I was on 45 and 610 on the south side and what a ****snack of traffic!) and I am not sure if the frequency AT&T uses or what to get the GPS on the Prime working. Someone here said he got his GPS working just placing his iPhone over the corner while on the phone but once disconnected, the GPS stopped working.

This paper clip trick is really trick in itself. Now, where to get the paperclip? I was using the box-of-10-million paperclips and it didn't work. but dingdonnggggggg's clip, I must find one. Probably hit up chinatown on Bellaire to get one at the "asian walmart"; they have every possible asian chotchkies ever made there.

We have seem to hit a divide here though. Phone v. Clip. with phone, it doesn't *always* work. For those that did not work, who's your provider and what kind of phone do you have? maybe it's the GPS chip in the phones? maybe it's the frequency the phone is on that works (or don't work) on this? What other clips are there that could work? Would any wire of that length tapped to that general area work?

God, I feel like I'm doing a 5th grade science experiment here. LOL
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] chivas228:
More testing done and you DON'T need to have any radio signal by the GPS antenna to get it working. If you can get a hold of a long reach lighter (for grills or fireplace and 2 for $1 at dollar tree), place it cross the top of the prime by the antenna so the flame part of the lighter is pointing to the camera and the handle is off to the right of the tablet. Fire up the GPS test and wait about 10 seconds. I got 2 then 6 then 10 and finally 13 with lock of no less than 4. The only anomaly has been the inconsistent amount of viewing sats. Lock flux from 4 to 8 however 4 lock works.good enough.

This might be a good test for those with phones that doesn't work or have a paperclip or the screwdriver.

Thoughts: if I add a metal strip to the top part and put a sleeve over my prime ( on the way from amazon), I wonder if this would be a viable "solution" to getting the GPS working without drilling or having any exposed wires. I know someones test said it has to be away from the racer cover but this test just proves otherwise; not saying they are wrong but my mileage does vary.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
Any one tried the "iRenew bracelets" on the glass above the GPS? Maybe itll be better than the paperclip or screwdriver.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] kru_:
I have been thinking about getting a GPS patch antenna and trying this:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=22217348&postcount=600

I see that digikey has various GPS patch antennas for sale in singles for about ~$5-10. My thought was to sew one of the 0.5cm tall antennas into a leather case..
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] chivas228:
quick update:

took a trip to Miami from Houston (drove 18 hours) and instead of using the GPS extension Asus sent, I got myself one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006BU4TQY/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01

i've had it for a while but just used it to keep the Prime from scratching. It also works with the extension except you really wouldn't want to stretch the lower part of the case out which it would if you tried closing it.

anyways, took the trip and grabbed two paper clips (the clamp style, not the oval type) that were 1.25 inches in width (the mid sized ones). I clapped one about 3/4 of an inch to an inch right of the front facing camera and it helped a lot in finding the sats. The case doesn't get damaged and it helps holds the clip on pretty darn well. Using Co-pilot (which always seem to have a hard time finding sats vs. GPS test or G-maps), i placed the Prime on the dash standing up with the case folded and going from 40 to 100 mph, never lost sat even in the very heavy downpour through MS and LA.

While in Miami at my gf's family's place, they had a D-link wifi router that wasn't exactly very strong. going outside in the rear of the condo, the Prime didn't pick up the wifi signal. I used the second clamp and placed it about an inch to the right of the ASUS logo. THAT helped the signal a lot. I can get good signal and be able to use Google Translate so I can communicate with her family.

The good thing about these clips is you can remove the front side of the "handle" (that semi omega sign shaped handle) so you'll have a clean front end (somewhat) and should you decide to do the rear, it doesn't look too out of place or anything.

Now this doesn't exactly work better than the GPS extension but for those with weak signal (like i started getting unlike before), this might be a viable solution for road trips where you need to charge the Prime while driving or add your keyboard to extend the battery life.

In any case, I am sending my Prime back for camera repairs meow. I was going to send it in but I wasn't feeling confident I would get it back in time for my trip though it would have been nice to take pics and post it right away on FB or email.

Good luck to those with issues. YMMV but this was a work-around to the GPS issue for me.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Blairware:
Wow, the old way is sometimes the best way

Well, as you stated, it did not really work BETTER than the GPS extension, but

you can charge the Prime and or use Keyboard Dock to extend Battery

- Why didn't Asus think of that?
[Android Apps and Games] chamonix:
Have you ever dreamed of an app to execute your favorite shell commands, whether it is for collection dmesg/logcat/dumpsys or set kernel parameters.

Well here comes CommandCenter, a generic app for grouping all your favorite commands.

CommandCenter is free with ads and can be downloaded from the Google Play (please be patient, it takes a while to update as I just published)

It is also open source and your can check my repo to inspect / review the code.

If you are a kernel developer you may want to provide a tool for your users to run certain commands without havint to maintain an app for that; if yes just submit a Command Set and have your users download it.

If you are a poweruser there are commands that you use all the time, wither from adb shell or in the terminal. Make one or multiple Command Set and enjoy the comfort of an Android app and the power of your favorite commands.

From version 0.10 a Locale / Tasker Plugin was added to execute command from actions.

How it works

The command sets are stored of the sdcard in the app's private folder /sdcard/Android/data/com.asksven.commandcenter/files in the form of json files. On load the files are parsed and each file (Command Set) shown as a tab.

A single click on a Command displays its details, a long click pops up a dialog from where you can run the command (this is configurable in the preferences).

A command has two parts:

- the command to be executed itself: it may contain a variable and in that case a popup will ask for the value to be used

- an optional command to retrieve a status: if a status can be read it will be displayed

CommandCenter comes with two pre-configured Command Sets:

- general commands for logging / diagnosis

- a few command for Fracisco Franco's awsome GN kernel

Want to contribute?

If you want to create and distribute command set just drop me a PM. I would be happy to give you more details about the syntax of the command sets and there is a section in this thread to list authored Command Sets. I may also add some to the Market app.

Caution

Always check the command's before running them. CommandCenter support 'su' command and you should know what you do as those could harm your phone. I will not take any responsibility for any dammage caused by command run using CommandCenter

Contact

You can contact me here (PM, this thread) or on twitter
[Android Apps and Games] chamonix:
Release Notes

v0.11.0 2012-07-24

Major fix: added synchronization to avoid freeze conditions

#24: "refresh" reads changes on command collections from the external storage

#26, #27, #28: different error conditions from reports

v0.10.1 2012-05-06

#15: samples scripts were being re-created on every start instead of once at first install

#14: FC when turning to portrait

#16: FC when number of result lines for a command < 5

#17: Various FC conditions from google play logs

#21: error in one script should not cause the other not to load

v0.9.0 2012-03-10

Solved stability issues (threaded processing)

Tablet support

#8: new command dialog layout

v0.8.0 2012-02-24

#4 Popup menu was called "edit"

#5 added support for user defined and editable commands

#6 added support for commands returning data

v0.7.2 2012-02-12

#2: dumpsys missing su, and logcat files have zero-length

#3: A few issues with backward compat to Android 2.1/2.2 fixed

v0.7.1 2012-02-11

#1: fixed Android 2.1 compatibility issue

v0.7 2012-02-11 Initial release
[Android Apps and Games] chamonix:
Command Sets

If you want to create command set for CommandCenter please read this
[Android Apps and Games] chamonix:
FAQ

For future use
[Android Apps and Games] XlAfbk:
sounds quite nice, can't wait to try. Have been using Tasker + Secure Settings for that so far, let's see how it compares.
[Android Apps and Games] chamonix:
V0.7.1

Fixed a minor issue with Android 2.1 (getExternalFilesDir does not exist on Eclair)
[Android Apps and Games] harpo1:
When I try and dump logcat radio or logcat it creates the file but it's blank. Also when I dump alarms the file reads Permission Denial: can't dump AlarmManager from pid=5637, uid=10128. ComandCenter never ask for SU Permissions. I ran the dump alarms with su permission from the terminal and it worked fine. HTC Inspire running ICS.
[Android Apps and Games] chamonix:
Ok the alarm dump is fixed, it was a definition error in the command set (dumpsys did not require su).

Testing the other commands now on rooted and unrooted device
[Android Apps and Games] chamonix:
V0.7.2

Fix-Release is rolling out, see post #2 for release notes.

I did quite a lot of testing on 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 4 devices with and without root and I hope the fixes work for everyone.
[Android Apps and Games] harpo1:
Thanks for fixing this so fast. Everything is working perfectly now. Great app.
[Android Apps and Games] Kurre:
Another great release from chamonix :D

I have been looking for an app like this..so thank you very much. Now I'll start study it to take full advantage from it ;)

Sent from my sandwiched SGS
[Android Apps and Games] chamonix:
It's time to collect some feature requests and build some use cases. Do you guys have suggestions for feature or know a kernel dev who has no time to write a sexy "settings" app. I'd be happy to provide the command sets while finalizing the schema aiming at making it public for contributors