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[gps-talkusers] Re: Earthmate USB cable

From: Michael May <mikemay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 2005 21:55:39 -0700

One of the reasons many companies stayed away from USB, not just HumanWare, is the fact that different drivers have to be loaded that are specific to each device. Since the PK or mPower cannot load the Earthmate software, one has to bank on a generic driver working. There is no call for drivers for Bluetooth.

At the end of the day, I believe the benefits of the wireless Bluetooth technology far outweigh the inconvenience and relative fragility of wires.

Mike

At 09:15 PM 9/1/2005, you wrote:

Hello, Charles, Well, it is kind of discouraging to hear that. I thought the ability to supply power to small things was one of USB's attractive features. And now, of course, the Bluetooth feature is showing its true worth in many cases by being reluctant to work anywhere nearly as well as a direct connection. I guess that is what you get when you have too much confidence in one new and unproven technology and try to re-invent the wheel. The whole thing is much too restrictive when you consider the price. It is gratifying that the M-Power has at one standard USB port, which means to me that someone suddenly realized the error of his ways. So, if the PK users want to revert back to the tried-and-true USB, they are going to have to shell out another wheelborrow full of money for a trade-in to the M-power. Oh, well. I don't suppose a retro-fit to the PK would be possible? I know that all this is not your fault. There was very little warning that Bluetooth would create problems in a mobile and noisy environment. Also, there was undoubtedly some concern for the life of the PK battery. If it has to run a GPS receiver, the battery might be sucked dry in a lot less time, since it is known that those GPS chip-sets are heavy drinkers of power.
Dick Myers
(8):[(8)
From: Charles La Pierre <lapierre@xxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: Earthmate USB cable
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 2005 19:26:49 -0700
Hello everyone,
I just want to clarify, a USB GPS receiver does not work with either the mPower or the PK. The PK's USB port is non-powered I.e. its a slave only USB port. The mPower has both master (I.e. powered) and slave USB ports, but since I only received my mPower just before we released the GPS product I could not get working the GPS receiver on the master USB port on the mPower. Maybe in a future release of the GPS software will this be an option for the mPower, but since the pk's USB port is not a master a USB solution on the PK is not possible.

Our main goal on both the PK and on the mPower was to get bluetooth working and have a wireless solution, so having a USB solution as well was a lower priority.
Charles.
At 06:25 PM 9/1/2005, you wrote:
Hello, Mary Ellen, I ordered my Earthmate from DeLorme, and it came packed with the USB cable. If your PK has a USB port, chances it is a standard port, the flat 4-wire jack. The Earthmate receiver end of the cable has the proper connector for fitting directly into the Earthmate GPS receiver without the need for the battery pack.
Walk in sunshine
Dick
(8):[(8)
From: " Mary Ellen Earls" <meearls@xxxxxxx>
Reply-To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: Multiple repeat, BT 338 fine
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2005 17:41:20 -0700
Yes that makes sense but as of right now, I know of no cable to fit the pk for the earthmate, otherwise I would use it. Mary Ellen Earls ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Myers" <dkmyers28@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 5:05 PM Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: Multiple repeat, BT 338 fine
Hello, Mary Ellen, I guess it is easy for those wireless GPS receivers to get confused. The satellite signals are just fine in most cases, but the Bluetooth wireless connection may be getting a bit offset by automatic door openers, radio-controlled signal lights, and police speed detectors, all which use the same kinds of signals. I use the USB cable on my Earthmate, and have never had a problem with dropout. I like the Earthmate receiver. Now, if only they could get their software problems fixed........
Walk in sunshine
Dick Myers
(8):[(8)
From: " Mary Ellen Earls" <meearls@xxxxxxx>
Reply-To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: Multiple repeat, BT 338 fine
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2005 09:15:46 -0700
Mike, then maybe heaven forbid we need to look into going to a wired receiver with the pk. I have noticed one thing and that is that it has been extremely difficult to get the blue logger set up with the mpower.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael May" <mikemay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 8:31 AM
Subject: [gps-talkusers] Multiple repeat, BT 338 fine
Vicky,
Weather should have little impact on GPS reception.
I have been testing the BT339 and Holux and will soon also have a Fortuna Slim to test. For our UK friends who have tried that receiver, it runs at 38.4 baud so that is why it won't work with the BrailleNote PK. The standard for receivers is 4800 baud. We may add a 38.4 selection if it appears that more than this one receiver are going that route.

One thing to check with these new receivers is their connectivity. I have experienced more drop outs than with the Blue Logger or Garmin receivers. By this I mean that the new receivers I am testing completely disconnect and the PK says Bluetooth not detected or sometimes they just flick to no detection for a second and then reconnect. You can always press G to see the receiver status and with these new receivers, I would do that frequently to test the connectivity.
Mike
At 05:50 AM 9/1/2005, you wrote:
Hi All,
Well, when I tried the BT 338 receiver this morning, it worked just fine with the multiple repeat commands. So, who knows. Either I was doing something wrong before, or the number of satellites and weather conditions made the difference. For, the last time I tried with the BT 338 when it didn't work, I normally got 4 or 5 satellites and it was cloudy, while I got between 8 and 10 satellites today and it was sunny.
Charles M. La Pierre CTO
Sendero Group, LLC
Lat. 37 15' 25" N  Lon: 121 53' 04" W

Michael G. May

CEO Sendero Group

Developers and distributors of BrailleNote GPS Distributing BrailleNote, VoiceNote, Miniguide, The Tissot Silen-T tactile watch, Talks cell phone software and the ID Mate, bar code reader

MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.SenderoGroup.com

(1-888-757-6810, Fax (530) 757-6830, Mobile (530) 304-0007
Sendero Group, LLC
1118 Maple Lane, Davis, CA 95616-1723, USA

Latitude, 38 33 9.239 North
Longitude, 121 45 40.145 West

Follow-Ups:

[gps-talkusers] Re: Earthmate USB cable
From: Richard Myers

[gps-talkusers] Re: Earthmate USB cable
From: Scott E Ford

References:
- [gps-talkusers] Re: Earthmate USB cable
  - From: Charles La Pierre
- [gps-talkusers] Re: Earthmate USB cable
  - From: Richard Myers

[gps-talkusers] Re: Earthmate USB cable

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