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Getting GPS working for Nokia Sports Tracker on the N95

Run 17.06.07 (click to enlarge)

3.74 miles, 27.03 mins (I’m out of shape!)

The past few times I’ve used it I’ve had a bit of an ordeal getting the GPS signal to work with the excellent (and free) Nokia Sports Tracker application on my N95. Now, though, I think I’ve got it sussed. Here’s what I do:

  1. Turn off positioning via Bluetooth and Network by going to Settings/General/Positioning/Positioning Methods (only ‘Integrated GPS’ should have a tick next to it)
  2. Go outside to start my stretches/warm-up.
  3. Start the Nokia ‘Maps’ application with the keypad showing (the GPS chip is located behind the keys).
  4. Wait for GPS fix whilst stretching and warming-up.
  5. Whilst Maps application is still running, start the Nokia Sports Tracker application.
  6. Whilst both the above programs are still running, start ‘Running’ playlist on random in Music Player application.*
  7. Go back into the Nokia Sports Tracker application, press ‘Start’ and begin your run.

* You may get an ‘insufficient memory’ error at this point. Just persevere!
If it’s working, you should see your location as a blue dot on a black screen and the stats should start changing. Also, if you don’t move much it should automatically pause.

Whilst I’m running I keep the keypad showing (i.e. the multimedia keys hidden) to retain a good GPS signal. When I want to change track I simply temporarily slide the screen down to show the multimedia keys, then slide it back again!

Export to Google Earth (click to enlarge)

When I get back into the house, after I’ve warmed-down and got some liquids onboard, I export the data from my run to Google Earth with the ‘Altitude Mode’ option as ‘Relative to ground’ and the ‘Altitude Data’ as ‘Speed’. This means that I get a nice picture like the one at the start of this post when I bluetooth the file to my Macbook and load it up in Google Earth. 🙂

5 thoughts on “Getting GPS working for Nokia Sports Tracker on the N95

  1. You saved me friend 😉

    I was about to buy some software because I didn’t get the Nokia Sports Tracker to work. But today I got the first green signal on it.
    But I just used your first option 😉 that was enough 😉

    thx

  2. Just got myself an N95 last week and installed Sports Tracker today. You want to talk about out of shape? You should see my graphs! But it’s pretty amazing how well it works. Will definitely be adding it to my workout arsenal and glad to know another educator is also using the N95!

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