Panorama II S GPS lock problems

[Staticblue]

Hi All,

Just got a new Panorama II S with GPS module (came with v1.12.04, non-metal lens casing) from Ebay(shpkorea) based on the recommendation of this site. Excellent image and build quality, compared to my other dashcam (G1W). Having GPS lock problems (amber GPS icon) though, no speed reading or co-ordinates.

Here is my usual driving routine:

1. Start the car in the 3rd basement parking level of our office. Panorama II S starts-up on ACC, GPS icon on amber, GPS module on steady blue led (as expected of course, no GPS signal in basement parking). iPhone mounted on car headunit, has waze running, I input my destination, no GPS lock on waze (again, as expected).
2. Drive out of office building. Multiple intersections, stop and go heavy traffic. Tall 20+ floor buildings early in my route. iPhone and waze already has GPS lock, routing functioning normally. Panorama II S GPS icon still on amber, GPS module on steady blue led. No speed reading/coordinates.
3. 30 mins into my route. Entry on our city’s elevated highway, no buildings around, clear view of sky. iPhone and Waze GPS still OK, Panorama II S GPS icon still on amber, GPS module on steady blue led (ehh?)
4. Last 10 mins into my route. Tall 20+ floor buildings, almost same in our office. iPhone and Waze GPS still OK, Panorama II S GPS icon still on amber, GPS module on steady blue led. While stopped at a red light, decided to turn the Dashcam off and after 10 secs, turn it on again. GPS lock and icon turned green after 5 seconds (WTF???). GPS module now on blinking blue led, speed and location displayed on LCD.
   
5. Arrived at our home, parked the car in garage. Iphone and Waze loses GPS lock, dashcam also loses GPS lock (amber icon, GPS module on steady blue led)

My question is, is this the normal operation for the Panorama II S, where in startup if it doesn’t acquire GPS lock, it will never attempt to attain GPS lock again unless restarted? That will be a real pain for me if it were the case.

My setup to help diagnose the issue:

Firmware: 15Mbps bit-rate Calibrated G-sensor (https://mega.co.nz/#F!XBgD1apK!E2EplQQ1WTd8_aJaISkO3g). It shows up as v1.12.04 though… Verified the .mp4 files in Windows and it has 15Mbps bit rate.

Camera Placement: Panorama II S mounted using supplied fixed mount under the rear view mirror

GPS Module Location: GPS mounted at the upper right (corner of the head board and a-pillar). Adhesive and GPS logo of the module is facing outward, serial number and manufacturer facing inward (to the passenger).

Cable Routing: Power and GPS Cable is routed along the head board. Power cable continues to run into the a-pillar, down under the dash, and into the cigarette lighter socket.

Other Electronic Devices in close proximity: Only devices running are the car stereo and the center console mounted iPhone with Waze app for navigation.

Settings: Motion Detection ON, G-Shock OFF, 1080P 30FPS, 2 Sec Video Files, Time Zone: Beijing/HongKong (I am from the Philippines), LCD Display 30s

Would highly appreciate your help on this. Thanks in advance.

 

[jokiin]

GPS will take longer to lock if not in clear view of the sky, see the link in my signature for further reading on that

that said though yours sounds excessive and there might be more to it, faulty GPS unit perhaps, I don't think it would be the camera at fault