For plotting, zoom out to a map that covers the a fairly large area
Plotting is so fast that new map opening takes more time than the actual plotting, so start plotting on maps that cover a good deal of ground (press the Z key several times).
For drawing, make sure the map covers your entire trip area
There is no automatic map changing in the DRAW function. You must use the Z key until your map is big enough.
If your NME file does not start in a timely manner
The author of this help file had NME files that took 45 to 90 seconds to begin.
It turns out that those 45 to 90 seconds were in the NME file: it took me that long to type "%" on the laptop in the back seat to start the recording, peer at the screen to be sure it says "recording," climb into the front seat, start the car, check out the driveway behind, and begin backing up.
The solution is the lop off all early lines in your NME file that have the same lat/lon values.
If you already have large NME files:
If you already have large NME files, Robin has a utility that will strip out all but the basic sentence, $GPRMC. It's called only ONLYRMC.EXE and you can download it on his NME Files Page. Instructions for its use are there.
NME file playing back slowly?
If your NME file plays back slowly and if, further, the ">" key (SHIFT + .[period]) does NOT speed up playback. most likely your NME file is chock full of useless data from your GPS.
Clean out the non-critical GPS data. If your GPS sends $GPRMC sentences, by all means use the ONLYRMC.EXE utility above.
Hint: if you want the GPS signal indicator (the geographic lat/lon numbers along the bottom of the screen, and the circle on the Instruments readout) to indicate a good signal by having a green background, include a few of the non-critical sentences from time to time. These include the $GPGGA, $GPGSA, or $GPGSV sentences.
This is not necessary, but without GPS satellite information, GPSS uses yellow (poor signal) or red (no signal).
By Dave Gehman
© Copyright 2004, Robin Lovelock
Send changes, suggestions to Dave Gehman