[aprssig] Garmin NUVI & messaging?

[Stephen H. Smith]

On 2/8/2011 2:38 PM, Scott Miller wrote:
> Sorry folks, I missed this thread until now.  The current situation is this:
>
>
>
> Waypoint creation was NOT originally part of the FMI spec.  It's a quirk that 
> it happens to work (thanks to old code they forgot to remove) on the 350, and 
> to a limited extent on some other old models - the limitation being that 
> moving waypoints leave a trail.
>
> With FMI 2.5 and above, waypoint creation is officially supported, and so is 
> waypoint deletion, so the T2 and GTRANS can delete old waypoints.  The 
> trouble is that the spec did NOT include anything about the user interface 
> behavior, and (at least on the nuvi 1300 and 1490) received waypoints show up 
> at inconsistent zoom levels, with a narrow range - maybe 2 or 3 zoom levels, 
> it seems to be variable - and they don't show labels unless you touch them.
>
> If Garmin gets this fixed, we'll be in good shape.  FMI 2.5 added not only 
> deletion capability, but also categories, so everything the T2 or GTRANS 
> creates is marked 'APRS' (again, the UI isn't working right on the nuvi side 
> and this might not show up) and can be deleted separately.
>

Any indication if there will be any firmware updates for units earlier than the 
current models?      I have a (currently unresponsive -- boots and lights up 
display normally,  but touch screen doesn't work) nuvi 680 and a nuvi 885 that 
I jiust recently bought second-hand through Amazon, because it was the last 
model to have the FM transmitter feature (lets you amplify bluetooth-linked 
cellphone RX audio through your FM broadcast receiver).      I also discovered 
that a simple hack of the mounting bracket electronics can enable an NTSC video 
monitor input function. It was intended for a backup camera, but should also be 
really neat as a monitor for my SSTV mobile LiveCAM.

The 885 also logs your course of travel (whether or not you are navigating) and 
draws a nice cyan track line on top of the map. It also saves the data into a 
.GPX file that can be exported to various mapping programs WITHOUT involved 
format conversion.

I was astounded after my return trip from Michigan back to SoCal, to discover 
the capacity of this trip logger.  A fix every second for the entire 2200 mile 
trip had been captured into a 1 megabyte .GPX file.   Plugged into a Windows 
PC, the Garmin looks like a big flash drive and automagically appears as a new 
drive letter.    I opened the GPX file directly from the USB-tethered Garmin in 
both Delorme TopoUSA 8 and in MapPoint 2010.       Literally almost every foot 
of the trip showed in flawless detail.  I could clearly see my cruising the 
parking area of a Des Moines Taco Bell looking for an empty space, the forced 
detour into the truck side of a rest stop in eastern Colorado,  my stopping 
first at the office and then driving around to the back of the property to my 
room at the Green River, UT Motel 6, etc.   Really cool.

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Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
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