I am glad you find the BN GPS so helpful. It is truly an incredible thing. I can only help with one question, that of the cover on the case. I once saw that someone had glued a strip of Velcro to the narrow section of the case above the thumb keys so that he could attach the cover to it instead of closing it completely. He mainly used it so that an undiscovered lawn sprinkler or hard obstruction that hit the BN would not kill it. With a bit of getting used to I am sure you can at least read the display and use the keyboard.
Sorry I could not be of more help, but TeleAtlas makes our GPS maps so their site will probably have a map correction suggestion section, and many people use Radio Shack to get the type of speaker you talked about. Many prefer a Bluetooth one (you need a bt headphone adapter but there are no wires). HTH.
Have a great day, Alex
----- Original Message ----- From: Joleen <cjferg@xxxxxxxxxxx To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date sent: Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:21:35 -0700 Subject: [gps-talkusers] New Subscriber, Many Questions
Hi,
First let me introduce myself. I am possibly one of the newest GPS users having purchased my unit recently and having just started using it last Thursday. I was so anxious to get it that I read all the documentation I could find and listened to the audio tutorials ahead of time. I do have some questions that I am hoping this list can help me resolve. I am very excited to have this wonderful orientation device. I have already done some really fun navigation with it in virtual mode.
1. I have tried to create a route in virtual mode and have ben successful with both the pedestrian and the vehicular routs. However, I tried to create a manual route by pressing R and then O while in virtual mode. It would indicate that the file was saved, but when I try to go back to it, it is not to be found. I am now thinking that this is not possible. What if I want to create a route from instructions that a friend gives me for getting to a certain destination. From my home, for example, it creates a route that would bring me to intersections that I usually avoid crossing. I understand and accept this shortcoming, but how can I create a route ahead of time that circumnavigates this problem?
2. I have been amazed at the wealth of points of interest in my city that is off the beaten track. However, I find that there are multiple entries for the same places and several entries for what seem to be private residences as they only have personal names as titles. There are also listings for places that have closed and there are misspellings. How may I participate in improving the accuracy of these?
3. I have worked in virtual mode and when traveling by car. I once went out with a friend on foot. It seemed to me that some of the streets are not accurately located. I understand from the reading that I have done that this is sometimes true. I understand and accept that, but if I can be of help to improve the accuracy in my area, I would be glad to do that.
4. Some POIs seem to be triggered more easily than others. My church, for example has a POI, but it did not speak it as I passed. It did speak the "food Pantry" that is housed in our church.
On another block, the Christian Supply Center POI did not announce until I was in the intersection at the end of that block.
I do understand the "bubble" concept, but I feel that my fix was better than that distance.
As I was walking, the automatic repeat would be telling me about the next street over, paralleling my path. I will have to go out again and record the exact messages, but it would say, for example, "Catherine Street Behind and Ahead." This would be the street paralleling mine.
5. I missed the chat discussion on how to keep the Braille Note safe while walking last evening and it is not up on the web site as yet. I would like to see a bag developed that would hold the unit in place and provide some relief to avoid bumping the keys inadvertently with the case and still give access to it as needed. It scares me silly to think that I could fall and destroy the whole thing with one stumble. I did try putting it in the bag that I usually use to carry my Braille Note. I locked the keyboard, but still, the pressure of the bag against the unit made it constantly beep or tell me that the keyboard was locked. How about a key combination to insure that the keyboard is locked and then no indication until it is unlocked again. Alternatively, how about making the cover of the braille note just a little longer so that it reaches the velcro without pulling it so tightly over the keys. Then, there could be a slight elevation built into the case to give the keys just enough space that they would not be pressed so easily.
6. My plan is to set the automatic functions and go along with the ear pieces easily available but not constantly in my ears. I found the chatter somewhat distracting as I walked and the sounds distanced me from the real world a bit. Is there a small speaker that could be clipped on a person's shoulder that might have a volume control so that it could easily be turned up and down as the traffic and other sounds Dictate? Having an ear bud only in one ear may diminish my ability to recognize the direction of sounds accurately.
Thank you for any help or support you can give me. I am truly excited about this product and hope to keep it safe while gaining maximum benefit from it.
I really needed it once when I stumbled on ice at a corner, and when I regained my balance, I headed off down the wrong street and walked several blocks before I could discover why the world was so turned around. If only I had had the GPS on that day, I could have resolved the problem much more easily and with less time loss and less distance covered.
Joleen
