new acer n35 owner questions

[steveg]

Hi just bought the acer n35 of this site for the bargin price of 99 + vat

I have a couple of q's

1. I have a 1gb SD card & wish to transfer the contents of the 256 Mb card supplied with Destinator on it to 1 Gb card , so that I have more space .
How do I do this , can I just copy the contents via USB & Active sync to my pc & then copy these files onto new card ?

2.I also use the PDA on my motorbike from time to time , I am suffering a lot of glear on the screen will a screen protector help ?

3.I am getting 2.30 hrs on battery when using GPS , are they any other ways of extending battery life , eg aux power to run PDA powered by AAA batterys ?

4. Sometimes when I run destinator with Ariel up get message GPS not Found , when I turn off then on its is fine , Is this normal ?
Edit unit shipped with following GPS Settings :-
Com 8
Baud = 14,400
Protocol = NMEA
Auto reconnect
In Destinator manual shows Baud rate as 57600
Do I need to change value / will this have any effect on the No GPS Method , What actually is a Baud rate in relation to GPS ?

Many thanks for the fast service I have received from Total PDA

Merry Christmas
Cheers Steve

[badgerdid]

I think a screen protector might help a little but i dont think it will help much outside, i used to use one but took it off.

I have seen a cover somewhere that fits over the holder so makes a sun shield and stops the glare, i think someone made it out of a bit of thin plastic and used velcro to hold it in place, sorry but i cannot remember where i seen it.

[getsurfers]

Indeed. Then there's keeping the PDA dry.

[Border_Collie]

1. I have a 1gb SD card & wish to transfer the contents of the 256 Mb card supplied with Destinator on it to 1 Gb card , so that I have more space .
How do I do this , can I just copy the contents via USB & Active sync to my pc & then copy these files onto new card ?

A. In My Computer Go toTools - Folder Options - View and select Show Hidden Files and Folders. Copy all files to a folder on your hard drive then transfer all back to your bigger card.

2.I also use the PDA on my motorbike from time to time , I am suffering a lot of glear on the screen will a screen protector help ?

A. Not much you can do about it, I occasionally get glare when in the car, if the sun is at the wrong angle.

3.I am getting 2.30 hrs on battery when using GPS , are they any other ways of extending battery life , eg aux power to run PDA powered by AAA batterys ?

A. Can vary between about 90 minutes and 4 hours according to device and mapping software.

4. Sometimes when I run destinator with Ariel up get message GPS not Found , when I turn off then on its is fine , Is this normal ?
Edit unit shipped with following GPS Settings :-
Com 8
Baud = 14,400
Protocol = NMEA
Auto reconnect
In Destinator manual shows Baud rate as 57600
Do I need to change value / will this have any effect on the No GPS Method , What actually is a Baud rate in relation to GPS ?

The Baud rate is the speed data is transferred to your device. The various $trings of data can easily be transferred using 4800 Baud but some devices are set higher.

Here is 5 second capture from my device monitoring all $trings mine is capable of receiving, although TomTom 5 on my Mio P350 needs only the
GGA, GSA, GSC and RMC data.

All data is received every second except GSV, which is every 5 seconds. There are three GSV lines 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3. This represents Line 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3.

$GPGGA,150904.000,5122.2861,N,00035.9727,E,1,06,1. 3,44.3,M,47.0,M,,0000*65
$GPGLL,5122.2861,N,00035.9727,E,150904.000,A*39
$GPGSA,A,3,06,25,30,01,14,02,,,,,,,2.4,1.3,2.0*30
$GPRMC,150904.000,A,5122.2861,N,00035.9727,E,0.19, 35.99,250906,,*38
$GPVTG,35.99,T,,M,0.19,N,0.4,K*5A
$GPZDA,150905.000,25,09,2006,,*54
$GPGGA,150905.000,5122.2860,N,00035.9725,E,1,06,1. 3,44.5,M,47.0,M,,0000*61
$GPGLL,5122.2860,N,00035.9725,E,150905.000,A*3B
$GPGSA,A,3,06,25,30,01,14,02,,,,,,,2.4,1.3,2.0*30
$GPRMC,150905.000,A,5122.2860,N,00035.9725,E,0.22, 324.13,250906,,*03
$GPVTG,324.13,T,,M,0.22,N,0.4,K*63
$GPZDA,150906.000,25,09,2006,,*57
$GPGGA,150906.000,5122.2860,N,00035.9725,E,1,06,1. 3,44.8,M,47.0,M,,0000*6F
$GPGLL,5122.2860,N,00035.9725,E,150906.000,A*38
$GPGSA,A,3,06,25,30,01,14,02,,,,,,,2.4,1.3,2.0*30
$GPRMC,150906.000,A,5122.2860,N,00035.9725,E,0.26, 129.08,250906,,*01
$GPVTG,129.08,T,,M,0.26,N,0.5,K*63
$GPZDA,150907.000,25,09,2006,,*56
$GPGGA,150907.000,5122.2858,N,00035.9725,E,1,06,1. 3,45.0,M,47.0,M,,0000*6C
$GPGLL,5122.2858,N,00035.9725,E,150907.000,A*32
$GPGSA,A,3,06,25,30,01,14,02,,,,,,,2.4,1.3,2.0*30
$GPRMC,150907.000,A,5122.2858,N,00035.9725,E,0.36, 143.66,250906,,*0E
$GPVTG,143.66,T,,M,0.36,N,0.7,K*64
$GPZDA,150908.000,25,09,2006,,*59
$GPGGA,150908.000,5122.2857,N,00035.9725,E,1,06,1. 3,44.9,M,47.0,M,,0000*64
$GPGLL,5122.2857,N,00035.9725,E,150908.000,A*32
$GPGSA,A,3,06,25,30,01,14,02,,,,,,,2.4,1.3,2.0*30
$GPGSV,3,1,11,30,75,081,40,06,63,201,39,24,56,245, ,25,38,303,23*76
$GPGSV,3,2,11,05,34,095,,01,33,277,33,02,27,056,26 ,14,21,226,24*73
$GPGSV,3,3,11,04,05,024,18,31,05,338,,07,01,227,09 *40
$GPRMC,150908.000,A,5122.2857,N,00035.9725,E,0.17, 330.05,250906,,*0E
$GPVTG,330.05,T,,M,0.17,N,0.3,K*60
$GPZDA,150909.000,25,09,2

[steveg]

Thanks for your comments

I keep pda in my waterproof tank bag on my motorbike.

I have installed a Safecom wireless SD card tonight , due to problems had to hard reset & reinstall Destinator , now finding GPS fine .

BTW the wireless works fine , ran a speed test from PDA & is connecting @ 700 k which is fine for surfing.

Re extending Power supply have been searching and have found some battery extenders which could do the trick

Have ordered a screen Cover to reduce glear / protect screen, if this does not work will make some kind of shading for screen.

Cheers Steve

[badgerdid]

Rather than a tank bag have you thought of the RAM mounts that are available for bikes, by having the pda upright and on the handlebars or under the bike screen would reduce the glare greatly.

I bet with it in the tank bag it is very hard to stop the glare, i am hoping to get a bike after xmas and this is how i would do it.

[steveg]

Originally Posted by badgerdid

Rather than a tank bag have you thought of the RAM mounts that are available for bikes, by having the pda upright and on the handlebars or under the bike screen would reduce the glare greatly.

I bet with it in the tank bag it is very hard to stop the glare, i am hoping to get a bike after xmas and this is how i would do it.

hi
I took a look at the ram mounts , to be honest it would cost a fair amount as would need a waterproof case and hook into bikes power supply
what bike ru getting?
cheers Steve

[badgerdid]

Im thinking of a vfr 750 or 800, not sure yet, or maybe a pan european, depends on funds other side of christmas. As for waterproofing i will just put mine in a extra strong polythene bag, like the ones you get for freezer goods, it shouldnt need to be in it that much as most of the time riding the bike i wouldnt need the gps. Or i might put it in my pocket and just listen to directions through the ear piece.

What i liked about the ram mounts is once you have the main components for you pda you just buy the mounts, one for the car and one for the bike then you just swap it around as needed, dont need to buy two.

[steveg]

you won't go far wrong with a vfr 750 / 800 , I have a sv650s for my daily commute
re ram mounts how much do u recon it would cost for bike mount kit (ballpark)
cheers Steve