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Sendero GPS v2010 BT Keyboard ManualSendero GPS
Sendero Group LLC COPYRIGHT NOTICES Trademarks: Copyright Notice: IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL USERS Sendero GPS is designed to convey similar information as displayed on commercial GPS receivers and location databases to people with visual disabilities. However, Sendero GPS products have similar limitations as commercial GPS products. These limitations include:
The individual user is wholly responsible for all issues related to personal safety and mobility. Sendero Group and its distributors advise all users that GPS is not a substitute for orientation and mobility with a cane or guide dog and recommends that users have good mobility skills before using GPS orientation information to travel. Extreme caution should be used when operating GPS as a pedestrian and should never be actively used while navigating busy traffic situations. Sendero Group and its distributors assume no liability for accidents or injuries that occur to users while using any GPS product 2.1 Installing BrailleNote GPS Software 2.1.1 Installing Sendero GPS on the BrailleNote mPower or PK 2.1.2 Installing Sendero GPS on the BrailleNote Apex 2.4.2 How the BrailleNote Locates Map Files 2.4.3 Transferring Downloaded, CD, Or DVD Disc Maps to the BrailleNote 3.4 Using GPS Indoors or in a Vehicle 3.5 Picking Up Satellite Signals 3.7 General Receiver Information 3.8 Accuracy of GPS Announcements 3.9 Getting Oriented Using GPS 4.4 Resetting During a GPS Session 5.4 Miscellaneous Location Lookup Items 6.1.3 Automatic Heading and Distance Announcements 6.1.4 Destination Side of the Street Announcement 6.1.5 Tips on Following a Vehicular Route 6.2.1 Setting a Destination by Address 6.2.2 Setting a Destination by Point of Interest 6.2.3 Setting a Destination by Virtual Explore position 6.2.4 Setting a Destination by Latitude and Longitude (Lat/Lon) Positions 6.3 How to Create an Automatic Route 6.3.1 About Automatic Routes and Waypoints 6.3.3 Inserting Waypoints in Automatic Routes 6.4 How to Create a Manual Route 6.4.1 Entering Manual Waypoints. 6.4.3 Tips for Setting Quality Route Waypoints 6.5.1 Route Announcement Commands List: R A 6.5.2 Route Management Commands List: R M 6.5.3 Frequently Used Route Commands 7.1 General Points of Interest Information 7.1.1 Last Point of Interest Announced 7.1.2 Point of Interest Categories 7.2 Finding Points of Interest 7.2.1 Nearby Points of Interest 7.3.3 Editing Points of Interest 7.4 Creating User Points of Interest
7.4.2 Editing User Points of Interest 7.4.3 Deleting Points of Interest 7.5.1 Attaching media to a POI 9.1.1 Important Virtual Mode Commands 10.1 Recording a GPS Replay Session 10.2 Using a GPS Replay Session 10.3 Creating a route from a Replay File 11.7.1 Working with the History List 11.8.1 Adding Favorite from Location Lookup 11.8.2 Add Favorite from Point of Interest Search 11.8.3 Add Favorite from Current Position 11.8.4 Working With the Favorites List 12.1 Map and Points of Interest Folder 12.7 Restore Factory Default Settings 12.8 Advanced GPS Options Menu 12.8.4 User Definable POI Search 12.8.5 Free POI Database Space. 12.8.8 Spacebar Repeat Last Command 12.8.10 Register Software or New Maps 12.8.11 Change POI Author Name 1 ForewordWelcome to the world of location literacy, the power to know your location and surroundings when you are finding your way. Before we get into the details of how the many features work, we will take a moment to describe the big picture, offering you access to information about your environment never before available. GPS satellites and massive location databases combine to create the potential for every square meter on earth to have a label. Add a portable computing device to this equation and every location label can be accessible. The GPS satellites can be picked up anywhere in the world. Commercial maps and databases are being created with millions of points in most developed countries. Increasing consumer demand for these technologies is driving improvements for more accurate location information. Here is how the BrailleNote brings this Location Information to you. Once you are tracking satellites with the GPS receiver, the latitude and longitude for your position is communicated by the receiver to the BrailleNote. That position can then be compared with the database of maps and Points of Interest in the BrailleNote. There are various commands that will give you directions and distances to specific points, streets or Waypoints along an automatically created route. This communication between the receiver and the BrailleNote is transparent other than telling you how many satellites are being tracked. Return to Table of Contents.1.1 ScenariosSo, now that you have the Global Positioning System and a database of streets and landmarks loaded on your BrailleNote, what can you do with it? Here is where the fun begins! For example: I am a blind person in a car or bus, with minimal knowledge about the environmental information whizzing by my vehicle. I turn on my Sendero GPS and the Point of Interest "look-around" mode automatically announces Points of Interest when I am traveling. When I want to look further away, I use the Simple Find command (SPACE with F) to see where to stop for lunch. I want to find a restaurant called Casey's Tavern and to be routed to it. I know it is roughly 3 to 5 miles away. I press the Simple Find (SPACE with F) command, select restaurant for the category, all for the sub-category and Casey's Tavern when it asks me for the search string. After the POI list is created, I locate Café Italia in the list of POIs then press ENTER to bring up the POI Action Menu. I select "Vehicle Route: V" from the menu to create a vehicular route from my current position to Casey's Tavern, complete with Waypoints, turns and distances. I am now literally the blind back-seat navigator informing the driver of upcoming turns and exits. We have friends visiting and once we finish lunch, we want to do a little sight seeing. To find out what is in the vicinity of Casey's Tavern, I switch to the Sendero GPS's Virtual mode with the V (Virtual) command and my virtual position is set to Casey's Tavern. I now use the Nearby Points of Interest command (F) to hear what Points of Interest are near the Cafe. Everything from museums to recreational horseback riding facilities may show up as I scroll through the database of nearby points with the SPACE with dot 4 command. Once we settle on a place to visit, I toggle back to the GPS Mode with V and create a pedestrian route to guide us to our destination. Today, I am riding through San Francisco on a bus and want to learn more about the route the bus is taking and the points we pass by. The LookAround mode is already turned on and will announce the nearby Points of Interest and intersections. I can hear the street I am traveling on plus the next intersecting street. For good measure, I set my destination to the street address so I have some advance warning to pack up my things to get off the bus. If I verbalized to the other passengers what I was reading on my Braille display or hearing from my earphone, I could be a city tour-guide. My friend is an avid blind sailor and is independently sailing around the world. Along with all his high-tech sailing equipment, he is plotting his course on his VoiceNote GPS. He has worked out a route with latitude/longitude for each key turning point in his route. He enters each of these as a new turning Waypoint and names the respective points, Dead Man's Cove, Ship Wreck Alley and so forth. He changes the repeat interval from 12 seconds to 300 seconds so he can automatically receive updates to adjust his course every 5 minutes. The heading and distance to each turn can be reported in nautical miles. He also changes the Heading Orientation mode to Sailing, this will give him more precise descriptions of where these points are in relation to him. Now, all he has to do is hope for fair weather. I am traveling to Chicago and want to familiarize myself with the street layout and restaurants near my intended hotel so that I can set a meeting. I type in the hotel address, using the SPACE with S command, and choose explore position to set my virtual position at the hotel. I can use the Virtual Explore mode to wander around the streets before I even leave on the trip. Once I feel comfortable navigating the streets, I then use the Simple Find command (SPACE with F) to search for nearby restaurants. I will then send the directions and the name of the restaurant to my colleagues. I can search for points in a circle or in a specific direction. My friend, who is blind, likes to get out and about but she has a terrible sense of direction. She seldom explores on her own because it is so frustrating and embarrassing to be lost. We set a new destination in an area with which she is familiar and then set out in a car with her acting as the navigator, telling the driver which way to turn in order to reach the destination. In this way with the BrailleNote on her lap, she can concentrate on the information and directions without worrying about her mobility. She presses M for Multiple repeat and D for destination and hears the heading and direction repeated every twelve seconds. This is the only piece of information she is dealing with, using the "getting warmer" method to get to the destination. After we arrive at the destination, we go back to where we started and ask the BrailleNote for an automatic route and make a similar trip with instructions from point to point. The BrailleNote provides the directions and reassurance my friend needs to travel independently on her own. She isn't actually on her own after all, she has Sendero's GPS. As you can see from reading these scenarios, there are two general ways to use Sendero GPS. The first and probably most popular use of the GPS information is simply to be aware of one?s environment with the "look-around" options. Traditionally, a blind person might get one percent of location information through a "sighted filter." With Sendero GPS, a blind user can independently "look around" and hear what businesses, addresses and intersections are nearby. The second general use of Sendero GPS is to navigate to a specific destination along an automatically planned route. One can also create manual routes or edit automatic routes either in pedestrian oriented or vehicular routes. These routes can of course be used in conjunction with the Look-Around information. Sendero GPS provides the opportunity for users to get information beyond the reach of their other senses. Even visually impaired users will see how valuable it is to know the names on signs they can see but not read. Information can be discerned far beyond the reach of the visual sense if the user chooses. The BrailleNote and the continually evolving vast quantity of electronic location information gives the blind user entertaining and valuable access to the environment through which he or she can travel more independently. Return to Table of Contents.2 Getting StartedThis User Guide is for use with the BrailleNote and VoiceNote BT models. The keystrokes described are for the Braille Type keyboard. There are duplicate BT keys for some commands to facilitate one-handed operation of common functions, please see the command summary for a complete list. The information in this GPS User Guide covers the items specific to the BrailleNote and VoiceNote GPS software. General operating instructions for the BrailleNote and VoiceNote are in their respective User Guides. Details about GPS receivers are in their respective manuals and in the Getting Started document in the 2receivers folder on the Compact Flash or SD card. The latest information about the most recent GPS version can be found in the Read Me document on the Compact Flash card or at www.senderogroup.com. The terms BrailleNote or Sendero GPS will be used from here on to describe the system whether it is on a BrailleNote or a VoiceNote. Return to Table of Contents.2.1 Installing Sendero GPS SoftwareThis section explains how to install the GPS software and data on your BrailleNote. If you purchased the GPS and BrailleNote at the same time, the GPS software may already be installed for you and it is not necessary to install it, although if you need to reinstall the software for any reason, the GPS installation executable file should be on the Compact Flash memory card or is available online when you log into your mySendero.com account. If you have purchased the GPS as an accessory, you will need to install the software on your BrailleNote according to the following instructions. 2.1.1 Installing Sendero GPS on the BrailleNote mPower or PK
If it is necessary to do a Hard Reset, i.e. with dots 4-5-6 held down, some settings may be lost. If you are using a Bluetooth GPS receiver, you will need to pair and activate it again after a hard reset. After a normal reset it is only necessary to re-activate your Bluetooth GPS receiver. Note: The reset button on the PK is C3 and C4 held down together. C1 and C4 held for about 10 seconds issues a system reset and another C1 with C4 will turn the PK back on. 2.1.2 Installing Sendero GPS on the BrailleNote Apex
2.2 Installing GPS ReceiversFor details and receiver operating instructions, see the “2receivers” Folder on your Compact Flash card. Choose the file that matches the name of the receiver that came with your GPS package. Return to Table of Contents.2.3 How to Wear the GPSFor pedestrian travel, the GPS receiver tracks satellites best when located on top of your shoulder facing the sky. You will find a belt clip on the receiver case to secure your GPS receiver onto the BrailleNote strap (preferably on the sliding shoulder pad). Which hand you operate the BrailleNote with depends upon which hand is occupied with a cane or dog. The shoulder strap is reversible so experiment with which configuration feels best for you. If your right shoulder is through the strap, you would probably put the GPS receiver on your left shoulder and vice versa. To switch the strap, unclip the shoulder strap from the BrailleNote and reverse it. If your Bluetooth connection is intermittent, make sure you have the GPS receiver and BrailleNote on the same side of your body. The receiver will probably work fine in a purse or clipped to your belt. Note, for operation in a vehicle, you may wish to put the receiver on the back dash of a car or clip it near or on a window. (Keep it away from the air bag as the receiver could become a missile if the air bag deploys). Return to Table of Contents.2.4 About MapsMaps are an integral part of the GPS software's capabilities. The map data is developed and maintained by Tele Atlas and licensed to Sendero Group for use in the Sendero GPS. Note: Australia, New Zealand maps and POIs are provided by NAVTEQ®. It is anticipated that map data updates may be available about once a year. Updated Maps and POIs can be downloaded from MySendero website. The BrailleNote serial number and a password are required. The entire U.S. map data occupies around 13 GB. These maps are compiled by states for the U.S. There are at least 3 map files for each state map section. Some states are broken up into more than one section, for example California is split into 6 sections. There are 8 map files for California. For countries not currently offered by Sendero, please contact Sendero Group to see if that country is within the Sendero license. Additional countries will be rolled out as demand and funding permits. Check the Sendero Group web site for the status of available countries at the Sendero GPS Website Return to Table of Contents.2.4.1 Map StorageMap data is available for download from MySendero website The GPS software automatically looks for map files in the Maps folder of the Compact Flash, SD, or PC card. You can, however, define a different location under the Map and POI Folder option in the GPS Options Menu including a thumb drive on the mPower. Just make sure the files themselves are in the user-defined map folder as opposed to having the state as a subfolder. POIs for each map must also be located in the maps folder. Maps can be stored on a large storage card (like a 16 GB Compact Flash card or micro drive) or individual maps to a smaller card. Be careful when deleting or copying map files that the entire group of files per state or country are selected. Some states are divided into multiple map segments. If you are likely to be changing maps often, we recommend keeping each group of state files in its own directory. For example, Maps Southeast, Maps Northwest, etc. HumanWare recommends removing micro drives or compact flash cards from the BrailleNote when it is turned off or before resetting in order to avoid battery drain or accidental erasure of data. Return to Table of Contents.2.4.2 How the BrailleNote Locates Map FilesWhen you first enter the GPS application, the software searches for a user-defined map folder if there is one. If not, it looks for a "Maps" folder on the Compact Flash card, SD card and on the PC card. A sound indicates that map-loading is in progress. The more map files in the folder, the longer it takes to load. The number of maps found is announced when the loading is complete. If there is a corrupt map file, the state in question will be indicated. If you get a message saying "unable to initialize map engine", either try to load from the Main Menu again, reset the BrailleNote, or remove and reinsert the storage medium. Return to Table of Contents.2.4.3 Transferring Downloaded, CD, or DVD Disc Maps to the BrailleNoteTransferring files from a PC to the BrailleNote can be accomplished in a number of ways using a PC or laptop, assuming it has a CD or DVD drive.
3 GPS Basics and AccuracyThis section covers some of the concepts, issues and background information about the Global Positioning System. See the GPS Accuracy document in the “3other docs” folder for more background and details. Return to Table of Contents.3.1 Use Good JudgmentThis product is an excellent navigation aid, but it does not replace the need for careful orientation and good judgment. Never rely solely on GPS or any one device for navigating. Return to Table of Contents.3.2 About GPS SatellitesThe U.S. Government operates the Global Positioning System (GPS) and is solely responsible for the accuracy and maintenance of GPS. Certain conditions can make the system less accurate. There are 24 U.S. military satellites in the Global Positioning System, 12 in each hemisphere and they circuit the earth twice a day. Although your receiver may be able to pick up as many as 12 satellites, three or more signals are necessary to determine the GPS position. Some GPS receivers offer additional accuracy through the use of a fixed (geostationary) satellite called WAAS, Wide Area Augmentation System. It is possible to get a reading of Good with 4 or more satellites or Poor with 5 or more satellites. A Good reading is better than a Poor reading no matter the number of satellites. The quality of the satellite signal determines the quality rating announced to you. The user has no control over the WAAS satellite detection, this feature will automatically turn on and report when it is available from the satellite. A similar system in Europe called EGNOS is now implemented. Having WAAS or EGNOS improves the accuracy, so you might hear accuracy distances lower than 16 feet or 5 meters. However, if all the satellites are coming from the same angle you could have WAAS/EGNOS enabled and still have a poor reading. In the past, the military distorted the GPS signals used by civilians for national security reasons, a process which is called Selective Availability. This was turned off in May 2000 but it may be reinstated if they wish. This has not happened as of the writing of this manual. Return to Table of Contents.3.3 Signal Blind SpotsSince the GPS receiver detects information from satellites orbiting the earth, the antenna needs to have a relatively unobstructed view of the sky. Large obstructions such as buildings, cliffs and overhangs may interfere with signal reception, reducing accuracy or eliminating tracking altogether. This is called the "urban canyon effect." For example, if you were in a city with 50 story buildings on all sides, the satellite signals would be blocked completely. However, if there is a tall building on one side only, you may still be able to receive enough signals from other satellites to determine a position. Changing your location by even a few feet can make a difference. For instance, walking on the outer edge of a sidewalk versus up against the building may help. Positioning yourself on a corner at an intersection may also help. There is a better view of satellites while in a car in the street versus up against a building. The location of the receiver on your body may also make a difference to reception. If you are among tall buildings or near an overhang, you may begin tracking faster if you hold the receiver up and away from your body. Face away from the building. Once the receiver begins tracking, it should continue doing so attached to the BrailleNote shoulder strap. If you need to have it inside a backpack or enclosed because of rain or snow, the GPS signals should be picked up through clothing or vinyl materials. It so happens that among tall buildings in big cities, where GPS is less reliable, there are more people to ask for directions. Out in the open where there are fewer people to ask for directions, the GPS availability and accuracy is best. Isn't this convenient? Return to Table of Contents.3.4 Using GPS Indoors or in a VehicleGPS signals cannot usually be picked up in-doors; however you may be able to pick up signals inside a house with a wooden roof or inside a bus with a fiberglass roof. You may also be successful in picking up signals with the receiver in the window of a bus or train. The best location for the receiver is on the dash or window of a car. (Note: highly tinted and mirrored windows can block satellites.) It is best to secure the receiver as it may become a projectile if you stop suddenly. Although you can often pick up a signal from a plane, you must get permission to use the GPS receiver on commercial airlines. You may pick up signals from the window of an aircraft but you have a limited view of the sky because of the small window. Return to Table of Contents.3.5 Picking Up Satellite SignalsThe GPS receiver needs to track at least 3 satellites to determine a position. Some receivers may provide an approximate position with less than 3 satellites. Once the receiver acquires a position, the information is sent to your BrailleNote through the serial cable or Bluetooth connection. It can take anywhere from 1 second to 10 minutes before a position is tracked depending upon how long it has been since you last turned the receiver on and how clear a view of the sky you have. During this acquisition period, you will get the message: "searching for satellites." If your GPS receiver is not connected or there is a problem between the receiver and the BrailleNote, you will see the message: "Turn on your receiver and reconnect press BACKSPACE with R or press V for Virtual." In this case, make sure your receiver is turned on and is connected to your BrailleNote. If you still cannot acquire satellites, see the Getting Started document for your receiver, which is in the “2receivers” folder of the storage card. Once you have acquired a GPS position you will be given a summary of your current location and the estimated GPS accuracy. For example "Acquired position, F street, Davis, California, WAAS 13 feet, 9 satellites." In the above example F street is the nearest street, Davis is the city and California is the state. Once you begin to move, the receiver calculates the change in your position approximately every second using the satellite signals. The average of your heading is calculated to minimize the variations in heading due to GPS fluctuations. After moving in a consistent direction for 15 to 20 seconds your direction of travel is determined and can be announced on the BrailleNote. When you stop moving, your heading should be locked on your most recent direction of travel. So keep in mind which direction you were heading before you stopped walking. If you spin around in circles, you must begin walking for 10 to 15 seconds before your new direction of travel will be accurate although you may obtain a heading sooner. When you make a turn, walk for several seconds before asking for a heading. Return to Table of Contents.3.6 GPS and Map Data AccuracyTo maximize the information and navigation benefits of your Sendero GPS, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Global Positioning System. You can improve your use of the GPS location information by knowing how the system works. The accuracy scale in the Sendero GPS software is geared so you know how much to trust the information. If Sendero GPS says "1050 feet, 3 satellites" before giving your location, note the large accuracy distance of 1050 feet, this is the best indication how much to trust the GPS information. Move a little and try again to double check. Try to get in a more open area so you can get better accuracy. Bear in mind that you must be tracking satellites for 30 feet (10 meters) or more before your direction of travel can be determined. A comprehensive document called GPS Accuracy can be found in the "3other docs" folder. You can also obtain a quality rating and detailed GPS accuracy reading by pressing Q. The quality ratings are: Poor, Fair, Good and Very Good. Return to Table of Contents.3.7 General Receiver InformationSee the GPS receiver manual for details and functions not addressed in this user guide.
Once you have turned the BrailleNote on and selected the Sendero GPS application from the main menu you should hear, "X detected", where X is the receiver you are using. This will be the name of the receiver, none, or GPS Replay. That is the indication that your receiver is connected properly. If you hear, "To Connect, press C. For GPS mode without connecting, press G or for Virtual mode, press V." Make sure your receiver is on and press C to try and connect to the receiver. GPS will attempt to connect again, after ten seconds. If it is unsuccessful you will be put in GPS mode. You can press BACKSPACE with R to try and reconnect or press V to go into Virtual mode. You should turn the receiver off when not using the GPS program in order to conserve the receiver's battery power. Return to Table of Contents.3.8 Accuracy of GPS AnnouncementsFirst, check your accuracy a couple times by pressing the GPS Accuracy command, G or SPACE with dot 5. If you are tracking satellites when you press G, you will "WAAS (if available), Approximate accuracy distance, Number of satellites being tracked" For example, you might hear "13 feet, 10 satellites." If it first says "WAAS," that indicates the receiver is tracking the extra WAAS satellites, which enhance accuracy. Note that the word WAAS may be heard in countries where the enhanced accuracy is not fully implemented. If you are tracking more than 3 satellites, the receiver will determine which satellites are more accurate and will use the best signals. It is not only the number of satellites that determines position quality but also the relative position of the satellites to each other. Because of atmospheric anomalies, there are times when positions are inaccurate for no obvious reason. If you are tracking less than 3 satellites when you press G, you will hear: "Acquiring Satellites". To get more GPS tracking details, press Q for GPS quality. If you are tracking satellites when you press Q, you will hear: "GPS accuracy rating, WAAS (if available), Approximate Accuracy distance, Number of satellites being tracked, HDOP and VDOP status." The GPS accuracy ratings are Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. Horizontal Dilution of Precision (HDOP) and Vertical Dilution of Precision (VDOP) are measures of the GPS receiver/satellite geometry. A low DOP value indicates better relative geometry and higher corresponding accuracy. Accuracies may range from three to a thousand feet but will average in the 30 foot range. The last way to check how well you are tracking is with the Heading function in the GPS program. Once you are heading in a given direction of travel, press the Heading command H repeatedly to ensure that you are getting consistent compass heading information. This will not only impact your heading but all information relative to your heading such as Points of Interest or your destination. Return to Table of Contents. 3.9 Getting Oriented Using GPSYou can start walking and get a compass direction from your BrailleNote. If you do not intuitively know the cardinal compass directions, having a talking or tactile compass can assist you in heading directly to your destination as announced by Sendero GPS. Even if you do not start moving, the absolute position of your destination as announced by Sendero GPS, should be reliable. If you have a pedestrian route loaded and walk in the wrong direction for 30 feet (10 meters), you will here a warning sound. In a vehicle route, the wrong direction warning comes after being 100 feet (30 meters) off-route. If you do not have a route recorded, you can still work your way to your destination using the "getting warmer" method. Try to get the destination to be announced ahead of you at the 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock or 1 o'clock positions. Once you get close to the destination, the announcement starts to move away from the 12 o'clock heading. When it gets to your 3 o'clock (right) or 9 o'clock (left) position, it is time to make a 90-degree turn. This does not tell you if there is a through street, but it gets you in the vicinity. You also want the destination distance to steadily decline as you move toward it. If it suddenly increases, double and triple check the distance so you know you are not getting a bogus reading. You may very well have veered off track but it is best to make sure. Note, direction of travel is not an issue in Virtual mode where your heading is determined by the automatic route creation and you are locked to the direction of the streets. Return to Table of Contents.4 Sendero GPS Software BasicsThis section covers the basics of the Sendero GPS Software. Return to Table of Contents.4.1 Starting GPSTo start the GPS application, begin from the Main Menu and press SPACE repeatedly until "Navigation" is displayed and then press ENTER. Alternatively, just press N from the Main Menu to load and start the program. Note, the menu item changed from GPS to Navigation with the release of KeySoft 7. If this is the first time running GPS you may be prompted to run the trial, or register your purchased copy. Press T to run the trial or R to register your software. Next you will be prompted to accept the license agreement. Pressing Y will load the license agreement in the book reader, pressing N will exit GPS. Use standard Keysoft reading commands to read the license agreement. When finished press SPACE with E to close the book reader and return to GPS. If you agree with the terms answer yes to continue loading GPS. In the first step, if you pressed T you will start the timed evaluation, GPS loads. If you pressed R you are now prompted for a license key. Using computer Braille, type in the license key you obtained at time of purchase and press ENTER. Note: you can view your license key by logging into your account with serial number and password at http://www.gosendero.com. After your license key is accepted you hear: "x Maps loaded," where x is the number of maps that were loaded. You will then hear if your receiver is on, off, or not active. If your receiver is off or not active and it should be on, you will be given instructions to correct the problem. You can press C to try to connect again, G to go directly to GPS mode, or V to go to Virtual mode without connecting to your receiver. Return to Table of Contents.4.2 Exiting a GPS sessionWhen you exit the GPS application the destination you have set, last GPS position, Virtual Position and mode settings are saved. When you press SPACE with E from the main GPS application you are prompted to exit GPS. If you have a modified route open, you are first asked if you wish to save the changes. Answering Yes will save the changes and exit GPS. Answering No will not save the changes and exit GPS. Cancel will not exit GPS and will leave the route open. Return to Table of Contents.4.3 Switching Between TasksYou may use the BrailleNote task-switching key combinations to switch to applications like the Word Processor or Calculator. You can then switch back to the GPS application by pressing BACKSPACE with ENTER with N. You will be returned to the GPS application where you left off. Note: If you are tracking satellites your position will be updated to your new location. You can go into the BrailleNote Options menu without leaving the GPS application. You can also check the time, date, or even run the stop watch. You can keep the MP3 player running and use the memo recorder while in the GPS application. Return to Table of Contents.4.4 Resetting During a GPS SessionThere is no way other than doing a "no-key" Reset to interrupt a long route calculation. You might accidentally begin a 500 mile route calculation and then change your mind. If route mode is set to detailed, routes over 100 miles will ask to confirm that you want to create your route before the program will continue. If it is necessary to reset the BrailleNote, the Odometer will be reset to zero and a route won't be saved if you have not already done so. Otherwise, there should be little impact from pressing Reset. Return to Table of Contents.4.5 Context Sensitive HelpContext Sensitive Help is available throughout the GPS application as it is elsewhere in the BrailleNote. When you press SPACE with H, you will hear relevant information for the task you are performing. If you are not performing any task in the GPS application and you press SPACE with H, you will enter the GPS Help Menu. The complete list of commands organized by category can be accessed from the GPS Help Menu, as outlined in the following section. Return to Table of Contents.4.5.1 Using the GPS Help MenuSendero GPS has an easy to use and intuitive menu system. To access the Interactive Help menu, press SPACE with H. This will list twelve help menu items, which are informational as well as allowing you to press ENTER to activate that particular function. Each item is briefly discussed below:
Next to the menu item, you will see either a hot key or you will be told how to access the menu. For example, in the "Where am I commands" menu item you see "SPACE H, W." This means to quickly access "Where am I commands" you press SPACE with H (for Help) then W. To access route commands from the main GPS application you can either press SPACE with H then R, or just press R. Return to Table of Contents.4.6 Copy ProtectionEach copy of the GPS software is serialized to a specific BrailleNote or VoiceNote. The GPS receiver can be used on multiple units but the GPS software is specific to a particular unit’s serial number. The software, Points of Interest and map data for the countries you purchased are also licensed for use only on your serialized BrailleNote. User defined Points of Interest can be shared and are not copy protected. You may also hear copy protection referred to as a security key or as Digital Rights Management. Return to Table of Contents.4.7 KeySoft VersionSee the ReadMe document for the latest KeySoft and GPS version compatibility. There are many benefits to upgrading to the latest KeySoft version. For upgrade information, contact your local BrailleNote distributor. Return to Table of Contents.5 Location Lookup.The location lookup is one of the most commonly used features of Sendero GPS. You will use it, for example, to set your friend’s house as your destination or to virtually explore a new city. You can look up an address in two ways: (1) Using the name of the city or (2) zip/postal code search. You can also view your location history list and favorites list for quick access to previously saved locations. Each way will be discussed in detail in the following sections. 5.1City Lookup.The first way to do a location lookup is by city. The steps below show how to lookup Sendero Group’s address, 429 F Street, Davis CA 95616, by using the city of Davis.
Note: When you set the address to the explore position, make sure you are in virtual mode before trying to explore the location. If you are in GPS mode, you can find out how far away the virtual position is by pressing I. 5.2 Zip/Postal code Lookup.The second way to do a location lookup is by Zip/Postal code. The steps below show how to lookup Sendero Group’s address, 429 F Street, Davis CA 95616, by using the zip code 95616.
5.3 Address Action Menu.The Address Action Menu helps you determine your next action once you have entered an address. In other words, you have entered an address, now what do you want to do at that address. In the previous sections, we used the Address Lookup feature to set Sendero’s address as a virtual position so that you could virtually explore around Sendero. With the Address Action Menu, you can also set an address as a POI, as a destination, as destination and virtual position at the same time, or create routes. The previous two sections show how to lookup an address in great detail. You will find another example below:
A few pointers for a successful Address Search: * If you are uncertain as to the spelling of a street name, enter the first few letters of the name and press ENTER. You will then be presented with a list. Press SPACE or BACKSPACE to scroll through the list until you find the street name. Then press ENTER to accept. * If you are not sure if a street is a lane or a court, just enter the name and you are presented with multiple options if there are any. If you know for sure how the suffix is written, you can type it in for an exact match. However if the street name is written as Maple Ln, then you must type it in that way rather than as Maple Lane. * If you are searching for West 8th Street, it must be entered as, “8th St, W.” If you are not 100 percent sure of the proper syntax, just type in “8” or “8th” and you will be given a list of streets with that basic name. Then you can choose the one you want and press ENTER. * Some cities must be retrieved in a round about fashion. If your city is not found, consider a couple “work-arounds”. Try a Zip/postal Lookup. Try a nearby city or district. We found the small town of Volcano California by entering the nearby city of Sutter Creek and got two matches. We chose Sutter Creek-Plymouth. Then either enter an actual address of a known place in Volcano or choose a known street without a house number. Alternatively, search for Volcano in the City POI category and set your Virtual position to the Volcano point. An example of the City Lookup follows: Press V to ensure you are in Virtual mode. Press SPACE with S for an Address lookup. If you have more than one state, select California; then press ENTER. For the city, type Sutter and press ENTER. Press BACKSPACE to get to Sutter Creek-Plymouth, then press ENTER. When asked for the address number, press ENTER. When asked for the street name, press ENTER; 416 streets will be found. Press ENTER on the first street that is displayed since you are just trying to find a point in the nearby town from which to conduct a search. Press ENTER on “8 Oaks”. The system will search for a list of address ranges. Just press ENTER to choose the closest address found. Finally, the last prompt says: "Address Action Menu:" You are presented with a list of 7 items: explore position, destination, pedestrian route, vehicle route, create user POI, add to favorites, and both explore position and destination. Press ENTER on explore position. You are now virtually near 8 Oaks in the town of Sutter. From here, we can search for the town of Volcano. Press SPACE with F for a simple POI search. First you are prompted to select a category. Press the letter C once to get to the city/place category; then press ENTER. When prompted to enter a POI search string, type "Volcano" without the quotation marks; then press ENTER. You will be advised that Volcano is 13.95 miles East.
Press SPACE with V to set your virtual position to Volcano. You are now virtually standing in this old Gold Rush town in California. Press C to check the current city. The system responds “Pine Grove-Silver Lake, Californnia." Press F to list all nearby points. The system responds “creating POI list” while it searches. Shortly you will be advised that you are near Volcano. Press SPACE to move to "Country Store, Hotel, Motel, Main St, Volcano, 185 feet South East." Notice you are told the street the POI is located on and the city the POI is in. This is a good way to quickly determine if this is the POI you are looking for without opening its' details. Note: the city is not announced if it matches your current location. At this point, you can press SPACE to repeat the last command which was to arrow down the list. Press SPACE until you get to Volcano Gallery. Now, press ENTER to access the POI Action Menu, then press S to view the POI details. Press SPACE to move through and read each detail. If you want to hear a summary of the details about this POI, press BACKSPACE with S. The summary command eliminates the need to press SPACE repeatedly. Press SPACE with E when you are finished viewing the address and phone number. Press SPACE with E again to exit the list of nearby points. Note you can also find Volcano by selecting the zip/postal option and use 95689 as the zip code. Most cities aren’t this tricky but it is good to know that even the smallest towns are probably in the map database, it may just take a little ingenuity to bring them up. You can also press ENTER without any text in the city or street fields to produce a list of all matches or enter the first couple letters to narrow the search. Note: If you are in a city like Volcano and press C to hear the City name, the township or county will be announced if the exact city name is not in the database. This will be helpful for faster address matches in the future. * There are occasions when you will not be able to find streets within the city you've chosen. This may be because the selected city contains only those streets TeleAtlas consider to be within the built-up area, e.g. the center of town. If this happens, please try again and select another city from the choices presented. You can use the following commands to review lists of addresses more easily: Go to the top of the list: SPACE with dots 1-2-3. Go to the end of the list: SPACE with dots 4-5-6. Move forward through the list one item at a time: SPACE or SPACE with dot 4. Move backward through the list one item at a time: BACKSPACE, or SPACE with dot 1. Jump backward 10 items: SPACE with dots 2-3. Jump forward 10 items: SPACE with dots 5-6.5.4 Miscellaneous Location Lookup Items.This section discusses miscellaneous items for you to keep in mind when doing location lookups.
6 RoutesThe first general use of Sendero GPS is to navigate to a specific destination along an automatically planned route. One can also create manual routes or edit an automatically created pedestrian or vehicular route. These routes can of course be used in conjunction with the LookAround information. See Section 1.1 for examples of the use of routes and LookAround information. This section will discuss how to create automatic routes using the map information for either pedestrian or vehicle use, as well as how to create manual routes in areas where there is no map information. 6.2 General Route InformationThis section deals with General Route Information. 6.1.1 Naming a RouteEach route must have a unique, meaningful name so that it can be stored and later retrieved by specifying its name. You can use whatever name you like, with up to 200 characters, including spaces, in computer Braille. If you have several routes with a similar theme, you may find it helpful to put the common part of the name first. For example, you might have:
and so on. These route names would be grouped together alphabetically for easy location. Routes can be grouped into folders to make them easier to find. As an example, the routes just mentioned might all be put into a folder called "Bus Routes". The rules for naming a folder are the same as for naming a route. Some characters are reserved and you may not use them in a file name. They are: \ /: " < > | * and ?. Return to Table of Contents.6.1.2 Trigger DistancesThe software attempts to automatically trigger announcements based upon your proximity to Waypoints, turns, the number of lanes and speed of movement. These are complex formulas but here are some approximate trigger distances based on the default Arrival distance of 50 feet (16 meters). For example: Pedestrian, Approaching turning Waypoint, 250 feet. Keep in mind that the distance to an intersection is to the center of the intersection. Note that when traveling at higher speeds, there is a noticeable lag, the car may travel 500 feet just in the time it takes to speak the announcement. Also, direction-of-travel and GPS position are based on samples once a second so a 5 second sample might occupy 400 feet (121 meters) of travel on a highway. If the GPS software determines that you are progressing through your Waypoints but you have not come close enough to trigger them, you will hear that X number of points have been skipped unless Force Sequential mode is turned on. This helps compensate for map data that may not exactly match the street you are on. You can always back up through the Waypoint list if you want to see what was skipped or you can select "Force Sequential Route Following" from the Route Management Commands menu to force the route to be followed sequentially. Return to Table of Contents.6.1.3 Automatic Heading and Distance AnnouncementsOnce a route is loaded, you can hear an automatic heading and distance announcement to the Current Waypoint, Next Turn or Destination. This automatic message announcement contains three pieces of information described below. The interval in seconds for repeating this announcement is user definable from the Multiple Repeat Menu, as described in Section 8.2.1.
Return to Table of Contents. 6.1.4 Destination Side of the Street AnnouncementWhen you have a route loaded, pressing the D key announces the side of the street the destination is on. For example, "895 feet to Starbucks, Destination Left Side." Your destination must have either a street number, or be at least 50 feet from the street for this feature to function. The three examples of a destination with a complete address are:
Once the program detects the address of your destination, its status as an odd or even address number is then compared with the SPACE with C command details to determine the side of the street. The address data is not 100% accurate so this side of street indication could be incorrect. If the POI is 50 feet or more from the street and does not have an address, you will be told if the destination is on the left or right side of the street. Return to Table of Contents.6.1.5 Tips on Following a Vehicular RouteWhen traveling on a freeway or highway, your next turn might be announced as "0.50 miles to Waypoint 12, proceed right on Ramp, connecting to Main Street." The most effective way to review a vehicular route as you are traveling is to use dots 3-6 to move you through your route turn by turn and dots 2-3-5-6 command to explore Waypoint by Waypoint. You may have to press dots 2-3-5-6 a couple times before you move past the exit ramp to the nearest intersection. The name of the intersection is your major clue as to the exit name from a highway. Ramps may have a couple Waypoints because they curve. The intersection at the end of the ramp isn't always the name of the exit. There may also be a name for the exit in the POI database. Once you approach the turning point, you will be alerted and you can tell the driver to take the next exit. Normally you would want Turns-Only mode activated. This way you will not hear each Waypoint as you reach it. You can always hear the name of the current Waypoint by pressing K. If you are on a highway, these individual Waypoints may not be legal exits or entrances from the highway. Return to Table of Contents.6.2 Setting a DestinationOnce you enter the GPS application, one of the first things to learn is how to set and to announce a destination. Before you can create an automatic route, you must have a starting position and a destination. There are four ways to set a destination:
The address lookup uses map information to pinpoint a location based on city, street and number. GPS location information is used to locate the destination using latitude and longitude coordinates. A Point of Interest destination comes from the Point of Interest information, either commercial or user-defined. This variety of options for setting a destination means it is almost always possible to pinpoint an address, regardless of the information you have with which to work. An automatic route is created, from the beginning point of your current position to the end point of your specified destination. If you choose to save this route, it will always open exactly as you have created it. So if you create a route from home to the bank, it will always open ready to take you from home to the bank. If you need to reverse the route, so that it will take you from the bank to home, you can use the Reverse Route command, R then R. Although this might work in manual routes, pedestrian routes and routes created from replay files, it will not work with vehicle routes. It is recommended that you re-create the route because there is the possibility that the reversed route is impossible to follow due to one way streets. Return to Table of Contents.6.2.1 Setting a Destination by AddressFor more details on how to set a destination by address, refer to Section 5. To get you started, here is an abbreviated list of steps:
6.2.2 Setting a Destination by Point of InterestTo set a POI as a destination, the last spoken POI can be set as a destination by pressing SPACE with D. Return to Table of Contents.6.2.3 Setting a Destination by Virtual Explore positionTo set your Explore position as a destination press SPACE with D. Return to Table of Contents.6.2.4 Setting a Destination by Latitude and Longitude (Lat/Lon) PositionsSetting positions by latitude and longitude means that any point in the world can be given a name and saved in your personal database of points. You can find out about your current GPS position relative to any other point in the world. Finding latitude/ longitude positions on the Internet is fairly easy to do - using a search engine like Google.com, type in the name of the location and either 'latitude' or 'longitude' and you should get the information in the first two or three hits. To hear the latitude and longitude for your current GPS or virtual position, Press Y. A list will be displayed with three items. The first two items are the latitude and longitude. The third option gives you the ability to toggle the display from degrees, minutes and seconds to decimal degrees. Press SPACE with E to exit the list and return to the GPS application. The Sendero GPS system uses Latitude and Longitude coordinates in the WGS84 datum.
There are three possible ways to input lat/lon information. The first is outlined above in the example, this way is called Degrees, Minutes, Decimal Seconds. The second way to input a lat/lon is called the Degrees, Decimal Minutes, you will not be prompted to enter seconds. To search a Degrees, Decimal Minutes latitude and longitude, do the following:
Finally, there is the Decimal Degrees. Simply, enter a complete string for the lat and lon in the Degrees field if you have the full decimal value of the string, in which case you won't be prompted for the minutes or seconds. For example: "Enter latitude degrees." 37.7751997. 6.3 How to Create an Automatic RouteIn order to create an automatic route, you need a beginning and an ending point and you must have the street maps loaded for the area where you want the route created. Follow these steps:
6.3.1 About Automatic Routes and WaypointsThe quality of map data varies from place to place and it will continue to be improved by the map supplier over time. Frequently, the street will match exactly with where you are walking or driving. Other times, you may find that the street is 25 or even 50 feet off (8 to 16 meters) from where you are physically walking. This offset has to do with the geocoded position of the street map and the GPS inaccuracy. Our GPS software tries to take these factors into account when announcing information and creating routes. There is no guarantee that the automatic route is completely accurate or safe to travel. However, you should find that the automatic creation of routes is very efficient and useful most of the time and automatic routes can be customized with the addition or deletion of Waypoints. Automatically created routes provide a wealth of information and a variety of options. Numerous factors go into the software calculation of a recommended route and these routes may not always be desirable. You therefore have the option to edit and fine-tune these routes manually. If you veer off your automatically created route, the BrailleNote PK or mPower will automatically recalculate your route if you have that function enabled. To manually recalculate a route press BACKSPACE with Dot 2. Once you have successfully arrived at your destination, your route will be automatically closed. If you would like the route to remain open, press R for the Route Commands menu, M for the Route Management menu, then C to turn off the auto close route at Destination feature. Return to Table of Contents.6.3.2 Street ClassificationsIn addition to map quality factors, the route calculation software must deal with road classification and a multitude of street options. A couple of examples of road classification are Highway and Arterial. Each classification has attributes assigned to them such as one-way or vehicle only. For example, Highway means that only vehicles can access the road. This classification can change along the same road such as Highway 29. It is a major highway approaching Napa California but becomes accessible by pedestrians going through small towns where it switches from Highway to Arterial. The Sendero GPS software takes these classifications into account when calculating routes. Notes: * In automatic route calculation, Waypoints are placed at street intersections. Additional points can be inserted manually. * Once you start route creation, you cannot cancel other than by pressing the Reset button. * Routes may take many seconds or even minutes to create depending upon the length. The storage slot and medium being used may also impact the speed of the route creation. If route mode is set to detailed, longer routes will ask to confirm that you want to create your route before the program will continue. If you know you have a long route to calculate, say 300 miles, it is wise to do the route creation before starting the trip. * When a route first opens, give it several seconds to synchronize with your present GPS position. * If you are calculating a route while moving in a vehicle, your direction of travel is taken into account. If it takes a minute to calculate a 300 mile route, you may be a mile or more past the first Waypoint by the time the route has finished being calculated. The software will automatically skip to the Waypoint nearest your GPS position when the defaults are set. You will have more success being able to follow vehicular routes if you finish calculating the route before moving. If you don't like the route created for you or if you are at a much different place by the time it finishes calculating, pull over and recalculate by pressing BACKSPACE with Dot 2. * When traveling in virtual mode you may encounter a split street. This is a street that is split in the middle, perhaps divided physically by a medium. If you use the detailed location commmand and scroll through the list, you will be told if the street is split. Another way to know is if you are only seeing some cross streets. Going up one side of the street you may only hear cross streets which intersect this side only. When crossing a split street you will hear the same street again when you move forward a short distance away, for example on Main Street 40 feet ahead to Main Street. This may signify you are crossing a split street. To go down the other side of this street you can not just turn around and head in the opposite direction, as this will keep you on the same side of the split street. You must instead turn onto a cross street, move forward a short distance to the other side of the same split street you were just on, and then make another turn onto the other side of this split street. Return to Table of Contents.6.3.3 Inserting Waypoints in Automatic RoutesOnce you have had Sendero GPS create an automatic route with a sequence of Waypoints at intersections, you can insert manual Waypoints if you wish. First, create a route per the instructions in the Automatic Route section by setting a destination and selecting R then V, or R then P. Press R then S to save that route and give it a name. Now, walk through the route. When you find the place you wish to insert the manual Waypoint, press SPACE with K and type the name (e.g. 1st Street, 4- way intersection). You must of course be at the location of the Waypoint you wish to insert because the manual Waypoint is based upon your GPS position. You are asked to insert the Waypoint before or after your current Waypoint. Press B for before or A for after. Save Waypoint changes from time to time just as you would when creating a document to ensure that data is not lost due to unforeseen circumstances. To save your route and Waypoint changes made, press R then S. Note: You must be tracking a GPS position before you are allowed to create a Waypoint. If you are not tracking and wish to create a route, switch to Virtual mode and insert manual Waypoints into the route. It is not required that you save an Automatic Route before inserting manual points but it can't hurt in case you change your mind and wish to revert to the original route. For information about editing Waypoints and setting quality Waypoints see Section 6.4.2 and 6.4.3. Return to Table of Contents.6.4 How to Create a Manual RouteManual routes can be created in areas with maps in a situation when you do not want to use the automatically created route. More often, you will find manual routes a powerful tool when you are somewhere where maps are unavailable - perhaps on a university campus, camping, or sailing as in our earlier example. With Sendero GPS, you can create a custom route simply by walking or riding along it and creating Waypoints as you go. You can then save this route and reuse it as often as you need and even swap it with other Sendero GPS users. To create a manual route:
6.4.1 Entering Manual WaypointsWhen creating a manual route, you must be tracking satellites and be at the location you wish to use as a Waypoint when creating the Waypoint.
6.4.2 Editing WaypointsWaypoints in any saved route can be renamed or deleted. 'to execute any of these edits, first open the route and then press E for Edit while in the GPS application. The system presents a list of 3 items, User POI, route and favorite. Press press R to edit the route. Move through the Waypoint list by pressing SPACE with dot 4 to go forward or SPACE with dot 1 to go back, until you find the one you wish to edit. Details of each type of edit are listed below: To delete a Waypoint, scroll to the desired item and press E to Erase. 6.4.3 Tips for Setting Quality Route WaypointsWaypoints should be significant points in the route. By setting a Waypoint, you are figuratively dropping an electronic breadcrumb to help you retrace your route. Significant points in the route may be turns on to other streets, major landmarks and any other distinctive environmental clue. You do not want your Waypoint to be something that can move or that may not be there when you walk the route again. A Waypoint may focus on a specific spot such as the corner of the street or the front door of your house, but in reality it is more like the area within a 10-30 foot (3-10 meter) radius. The GPS cannot reliably pinpoint a spot more accurately than this. It is wise to take this into consideration when using the GPS. Waypoints should not be too close. If the points are too close together, you may have an overlap of points. It is recommended to set your points 100 feet (30 meters) apart although shorter distances can work. Be descriptive and concise when naming the Waypoints. The Waypoint is recorded as soon as you press SPACE with K, so you have as much time as you need to enter the name. You can continue on your route without having to write the name immediately. If you have time when setting the route check the GPS status before setting the Waypoint by pressing G to hear the GPS position quality. You need at least 3 satellites to have a GPS position fix, but it is best to have more when setting a Waypoint. If the receiver is not tracking satellites, you will receive a message telling you so. To maximize the accuracy of a Waypoint recording, try to get a clear view of the skyline and pause for 10 seconds or so. When adding a turning Waypoint, it is very important to make sure you are heading in the correct direction before you record your Waypoint. If your heading is incorrect, the system will announce an incorrect direction for your turn. For example, you are traveling North but GPS thinks you are going West, when you mark a left turn, the system thinks you should be turning South. To check your heading before marking a turning Waypoint, press H. 6.5 Route Commands MenuThis section outlines the commands that affect the way a route is announced, presented, or calculated. Route commands are available anywhere within the GPS program except when in the menus editing a route or POI. The route parameters you set using these commands will be saved along with the route, even after exiting the GPS program. To access the Route Commands Menu press R. You can scroll through the Route Commands Menu or simply press the initial letter of the selection you want. The Route Commands Menu separates the commands into two categories, followed by frequently used commands. The two categories are: 1. Route Announcement Commands To hear the commands within these categories, press ENTER on that item. To hear the list of frequently used commands, scroll past the categories. These and the command categories are outlined in the following sections. 6.5.1 Route Announcement Commands List: R ACurrent Waypoint: K or dot 2 Nearest Waypoint: N Next turn or road transition: T or BACKSPACE with dots 2-3; On top of any route command setting you have chosen, you can also choose to hear the next turn announced. To do this, press T at any time when following the route. This T command announces the distance from your current GPS location to the next turn in the form of the distance and direction of the turning point, plus the name of the turning street and the direction it travels. For example, "1 mile to Turning point 10, proceed right on Market heading West." It is an announcement only and does not change the current Waypoint. The T command is followed by the ETA. Route distance and ETA from current position to Explore Waypoint: R, A, G; Your explore Waypoint is the current point you are viewing by using the explore next Waypoint (dots 2-3-5-6) or explore next turn (dots 3-6) command. Total route distance: R, A, D; This command announces the total accumulated distance of the route, not as a straight line but as traveling distance. Announce Route distance from beginning of route to current position: R, A, B; This command announces the total distance between your current location and the beginning of the route. The distance announced is the approximate distance in the route, not "as the crow flies." Announce Route distance and ETA from current position to end of the route: R, A, E; This command announces the total distance between your GPS position and the end of the route plus it gives you an Estimated Time to Arrival (ETA). The distance announced is the distance still to be traveled, not "as the crow flies." The Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is calculated by comparing your current speed of travel with the distance to a turn or end of route. Speed is not averaged. It is up to the user to interpret the ETA. It is recommended that you request the ETA information when you are traveling at what you believe to be the average speed for your trip. If you are not moving, an average speed of 2 MPH, 3.2 KMH, will be used for a pedestrian route ETA. An average of 25 MPH, 40 KMH, applies to vehicle routes when moving less than 5 MPH, (8 KMH). Once you approach a turning point or end of route, the ETA will say less than a minute. Remember that this is a very rough estimate. To obtain an ETA, you must have a route active. Press R, then A, then E to hear the ETA and distance from your GPS position to the end of the route. Press T to hear the distance to the next turning point followed by the ETA. Return to Table of Contents.6.5.2 Route Management Commands List: R MPedestrian Turn Preference: R, M, X; Default is shortest distance. This option defines how pedestrian routes are handled. If you want a route created by shortest distance select shortest distance, The route may have 10 turns. if you select fewest turns the system tries to create a route with less turns. It may take you longer to arrive at your destination but you will not need to make as many turns. For example A route that has 10 turns for shortest distance could have 6 turns when set to fewest turns but could be 0.5 miles longer. Vehicle Turn Preference: R, M, U; Default is favors right. Selecting this option you are presented with three choices: fewest turns, favors right and favors left. The fewest turns option works the same for vehicle routes as it does for pedestrian routes. The system attempts to create a route with the fewest number of turns. If you select the favors right item, the system attempts to create a route favoring right hand turns. If you select the favors left item, the system attempts to create a route favoring left hand turns. Vehicle Route mode: R, M, B; Default is fastest. Selecting this item you are presented with two choices, fastest and shortest distance. The fastest item looks at the speed of the road and calculates based on that. Note: this is how routes were calculated in previous versions of Sendero GPS. If you select shortest distance the system ignores the speed in the road and calculates the route based on the shortest distance between you and your destination. Highways Preference: R, M, H; Default is normal. Selecting this item presents you with a list of four items. normal, none, preferred and avoid if possible. Normal is the setting that Sendero gPS used in previous versions. none ignores highways completely, the system will not route you on highways. Selecting preferred will prefer highways and avoid if possible will avoid highways if possible. Note: it is not recomended to create a long route when the highway preference is set to none as this may take a long time to create the route. Toll Road Preference: R, M, T; Default is normal. Selecting this item presents you with a list of three items. normal, none and avoid if possible. Normal is the setting that Sendero gPS used in previous versions. none ignores toll roads completely, the system will not route you along toll roads. Selecting avoid if possible will avoid toll roads if possible. Roundabout Preference: R, M, O; Default is normal. Selecting this item presents you with a list of three items. normal, none and avoid if possible. Normal is the setting that Sendero gPS used in previous versions. none ignores roundabouts completely, the system will not route you through roundabouts. Selecting avoid if possible will avoid roundabouts if possible. Route Lookaround Preference: R, M, L; Default is route and intersection announcements. This item lets you set a preference for the Lookaround events you want active while following a route. The choices are:
The Route Lookaround preference will not override the LookAround settings you have selected in the Lookaround menu. so if you have commercial POIs turned off but have "Route and POI announcements" active, POIs will not be announced. Also if you have LookAround announcements turned off By pressing SPACE with M then L, the route LookAround preference settings are ignored, only route instructions are triggered. Set current Waypoint nearest GPS position: SPACE with N Edit route: E, R Add current POI as a Waypoint: R, M, P Add current GPS or virtual position as Waypoint: SPACE with K or SPACE with dot 2 Auto increment Waypoint on/off GPS mode: R, M, A; Default is on. This command toggles between Auto Increment and Manual Increment announcement modes. In manual increment mode, you will be advised that you are approaching the Current Waypoint at 1.5 times the arrival distance, default 75 feet, or 23 meters. Then you will be advised that you have arrived near the Current Waypoint when you are within 40% of the arrival distance, default 20 feet. After you have reached your Waypoint, you have to press W to advance to the Next Waypoint. This gives you time to consider the current announcement before moving on to the next Waypoint instructions. Make sure you have R, then T, then M set to Detailed Waypoint mode. In Auto Increment Waypoint mode, you hear that you are approaching the current Waypoint, that you arrived at that point and then you hear information about the next Waypoint. That "next" Waypoint is then automatically set as your new current Waypoint. To find out whether you are in Auto Increment or Manual mode, press R then I. Force sequential route following GPS mode: R, M, F; Default is off. Before following a route that may wrap back around itself. As in a circular route or one with hair pin turns, switch the route type to "Follow Sequential Route" by pressing R, then M, then F. This ensures that Waypoints will be announced in numeric order. No points will be skipped or triggered even if they are closer to you than the next numeric point. This is particularly useful for manually created routes which are far more likely to meander - for example a route that goes North on the left side of the street for 3 blocks then back South on the opposite side of the same street. Route Mode: R, M, M; Default is turns only. This command toggles between two different ways of creating a route - by Turns Only, or by Detailed Waypoints. You can toggle between them while in a route without having to recalculate the route. A more complete description of each mode follows: Turns-Only mode: In this mode, WayPoints are only created at turns or bends in the route, in the form of the distance and direction of the turning point plus the name of the turning street and the direction it travels. For example, "1 mile to Turning point 10, proceed right on Market heading West." If you don't touch any keys, you will hear an announcement when you approach the turn. A unique sound will draw your attention when you are near each turning point. It is common for highways to change names in the map database when passing through towns. This may cause a Turning point to appear when there is one of these name changes. In practice, you aren't turning, just making a transition. Press dots 3-6 to go to the next turn. If you wish to move your explore position back to your current GPS location press SPACE with N. In this mode be sure that your R, then T, then A is set to Auto Increment Waypoint mode. Detailed Waypoint mode: In this mode, Waypoints are created at each intersection. Warning announcements will occur when you are approaching a point, when you arrive at a point. And if you need to turn at a point. Again, if you are in automatic increment mode (R, M, A toggle) the current Waypoint and next Waypoint information will be spoken. If the Waypoint Announcement is set to Manual, you will be advised that you are approaching the Current Waypoint at 1.5 times the arrival distance, default 50 feet. Then you will be advised that you have arrived near the Current Waypoint when you are within 40% of the arrival distance, default 20 feet. Note: this distance is cut in half for manual routes and pedestrian routes created from replay files. At this point you need to press W to advance to the next Waypoint Save Route Directions: R, M, D; Save your route directions as a document that you can print or emboss. When you press this command, you will be prompted to save your route Turns Only or Detailed, Press T to save the turn by turn route instructions. Press D for Detailed instructions. This option saves all Waypoints in your route. Next prompt will ask if you want Waypoint numbers included, answer Y for Yes or N for No. Finally you will have to tell your BrailleNote where you want to save these route directions. Select a Folder as you would for any other BrailleNote document. Route information such as route type and route total distance is also included. Waypoint numbering on/off GPS mode: R, M, G; Default is On. The Turning points will still be announced, just not the interim Waypoints. Beginners may wish to keep Waypoint numbering on to be very clear about his or her position in a route. Since automatic Waypoint triggering and skipping of Waypoints can quickly change the Waypoint number and position, the numbering helps the user know the exact Waypoint number. Once the user is more experienced, the Waypoint numbers aren't as important and they are just extra information on the Braille display and it makes sense to switch them off. Note that the Braille display will use the abbreviation WP to represent Waypoint. Waypoint numbering on/off Virtual mode: R, M, V; Default is On. Auto Recalculate Route: R, M, R; Default is On. If you want to change the setting, press ENTER and this will toggle the setting to Off. If you choose On, routes can now automatically be recalculated when you stray off-route. The automatic rerouting will happen when you are around 150 feet, 45 meters, off-route under 15 MPH, 24 KMH and approximately 500 feet, 150 meters, when traveling more than 15 MPH, 24 KMH. This off-route distance is relative to the distance to the current Waypoint accessed with the K or dot 2 command. If you turn Auto Off-Route Recalculation off, you must use the R, then V or R, then P commands to recalculate a route. If you load a previously created route, the first time you are off-route, you will be asked if you wish to create a manual, pedestrian or vehicle route. If the remaining distance to your destination is greater than 10 miles (as the crow flies), you will be asked if you wish to recalculate your route as it may take a while to complete. The system will only recalculate a route twice. You will need to recalculate the route again manually if desired. Auto Close Route at Destination: Default is on. If this option is set to on, the current route is automatically closed when you arrive at the destination. Turning this option off will leave the route open, and you must close it manually by pressing R for the route menu, then C to close the route. Return to Table of Contents.6.5.3 Frequently Used Route CommandsCreate pedestrian route: R then P; Use this setting when automatically creating a route suitable for walking. The automatic calculations disallow vehicle only roads such as highways and allows for two way travel on a one way street. If you receive an error message that a route cannot be calculated, it could be because the map data has a street classified as a highway when in fact it may allow pedestrian access in an area where you wish to travel. You can try calculating a vehicle route to confirm that this is the problem. As we indicate with the caution notes at the beginning of this manual, you should realize that the data and route calculation can be incorrect and unsafe and you should always use alternate information to ensure safe travel. Create vehicle route: R then V; Use this setting for automatically creating a route suitable for a car, van or other vehicle. The calculation includes all road types and respects one-way streets and highway ramps. If a route cannot be calculated, the data may be classified incorrectly and you can try calculating a pedestrian route to see if this is the problem. Be aware that a pedestrian route allows going the wrong way on a one-way street. Create manual route: R then O; See explanation on opening manual routes below. Open route: R then O; To select an existing route or create a new route, Press R then O. You will be asked for a file location as for any other KeySoft file, and can open an existing route, or enter a new filename to create a new one. When you open a saved route the system attempts to optimize the route. It does this by quickly going through the route and comparing features of the road. You are then asked if you would like to optimize your route, answer yes to recreate the route or answer no to continue loading the route. If you optimized the route, it is a good idea to save the route as you will be asked to optimize each time the route is loaded. Note: If you are in an unsaved route and create or open a new route, you will be prompted as to whether you want to save the current route. Press Y to save, or N to close the route without saving. Save route: R then S; You can save a route any time by pressing R then S. Close route: R then C; To close the route you are in, simply press R then C. If you haven't saved the route, you will be prompted to do so at this point. "Press Y to save or N to close without saving." If you decide at the last second that you want to keep the route open after all, press C to cancel closing. Explore Route next Waypoint: dots 2-3-5-6; This command moves your explore position forward through the route Waypoint by Waypoint. You can do this as many times as you like, and each time the next sequential Waypoint in the route will become the current Waypoint. Explore Route previous Waypoint: SPACE with dots 2-3-5-6; This command moves your explore position back through the route Waypoint by Waypoint. For example, if you miss a point, pressing this command would move to the previous Waypoint number in the sequence. You can do this as many times as you like and each time the previous sequential Waypoint in the route will become the current Waypoint. Explore Route next Turn: dots 3-6; This command moves your explore position forward through the route turn by turn. Regardless of how many Waypoints may be between your current position and the next turn, by pressing the command dots 3-6, the program will then skip over them all and start announcing the next turn as the current Waypoint. Explore Route previous Turn: SPACE with dots 3-6; This command moves your explore position back turn by turn. Regardless of how many Waypoints may be between your current position and the previous turn, by pressing the command SPACE with dots 3-6, the program will then skip over them all and start announcing the previous turn as the current Waypoint. Recalculate route: BACKSPACE with dot 2; The recalculation may not trigger if you are paralleling a route, particularly at high speeds. . After a route is recalculated once, you will be instructed that your target Waypoint is behind you but a recalculation will not happen automatically. If you get a message saying Waypoints have been skipped, the recalculate option will be enabled again. If you find routes are recalculating prematurely, switch to manual calculation in the route management menu. Use the recalculate hot key when you feel it is necessary. Reverse route: R then R; To Reverse the route so that the opposite end point becomes the destination in the Waypoint sequence, press R then R. It is best to recalculate the route to your new destination. Reversing your route might work in manual routes, pedestrian routes and pedestrian routes created from replay files, it will not work with vehicle routes or vehicle routes created from replay files. Percent of route completed and ETA: dots 1-4-6 Route information: R I; Press this to bring up the current route settings in a list. Press SPACE or BACKSPACE to scroll through the list, or BACKSPACEwith S for a summary. Press SPACE with E to close the list. This list will give you some details such as, if the route is reversed, if the route needs saving, if Auto Increment is on or off or if Follow Sequential Route is on. Return to Table of Contents.7 Points of Interest (POIs)There are more than 13,000,000 commercial Points of Interest for the U.S. and Canada. See the Read Me document for up-to-date POI details for these and other countries. Just like User POI files discussed below, the commercial .pdb files can be modified. If a POI goes out of business, or its name changes, it may be modified or deleted. The user Point of Interest file is called User.PDB and it is automatically created in the folder where your maps and commercial POIs are located. When you use the POI Find commands, both the commercial and User POIs will be sorted. Return to Table of Contents.7.1 General Points of Interest InformationThis section outlines the basics on Points of Interest (POIs), including basic commands and categories. Return to Table of Contents.7.1.1 Last Point of Interest AnnouncedTo hear the last POI announced, press P. To view and edit details about the announced POI, such as address and phone numbers, Press SPACE with P. Press SPACE to move through and read each detail. If you want to hear a summary of all the details about this POI, press BACKSPACE with S. The summary command eliminates the need to press SPACE repeatedly. Pressing the letter Q will toggle the reading of field labels on or off. For example when labels are on you will hear "Davis (city)". When labels are off you will just hear "Davis." Press SPACE with E to exit the POI details. You can set this POI as a destination by pressing SPACE with D, a virtual position by pressing SPACE with V, or as both the destination and virtual position by pressing ENTER with B. Return to Table of Contents.7.1.2 Point of Interest CategoriesThere are several POI Categories which make up the Core POIs. Some have subcategories to help refine your search, Some have sub-categories, such as "German" and "barbeque" under the restaurant category." These new points are the equivalent of electronic yellow pages with GPS positions. The core POIs include everything from automobile, transportation, medical, government services, school, libraries, restaurants, accommodations, entertainment and tourism. These files should be placed in the Maps folder. For a list of the POI categories, go into the GPS program and press SPACE with F or BACKSPACE with F, a dynamic list of categories and sub-categories will be displayed. For example, there will be more categories and sub-categories in California than in Hawaii. For a complete listing of all categories and sub-categories, even those that may not be available with the currently loaded POIs, view the categories and sub-categories available in the User Defineable POI Search, which will be discussed in section 12.8.4. Return to Table of Contents.7.2 Finding Points of Interest7.2.1 Nearby Points of InterestTo view a list of nearby POIs in any category and in any direction press F. The list of POIs is sorted in order of proximity. Once you change locations, you must exit the list then press F to sort points at your new location. As you scroll through the POIs you will receive additional information such as its name, the category and sub category if it has one, the street the POI is on, the city the POI is in, heading and distance to the POI from your current location, the side of the street the POI is on if known and the compass direction. Press F, you will hear "creating POI list". You will be placed in a list of points. Scroll through the list by pressing SPACE or BACKSPACE. For example "Burger Palace, Restaurant, Main ST, Phoenix, 330 feet ahead, right side, west." Notice you are told the street the POI is located on and the city the POI is in. This is a good way to quickly determine if this is the POI you are looking for without opening its details. If you are looking for Burger Palace, you can type the first letter, B, to go to the POIs that start with the letter B. If there are no POIs that start with the letter B, the system beeps. Scroll to the final item in the list "No other POI within X feet, press ENTER to continue searching or SPACE with E to exit. Where X is the distance the BrailleNote has searched from your current position. If you press ENTER the BrailleNote searches for 10 seconds and announces if points are found. the first POI is announced, "Starbucks, restaurant, coffeeshop, Desert drv, Phoenix, 900 feet, South." Continue to scroll through the POIs or press SPACE with Eto close the list. In addition to using the F command to list all nearby POIs, you may wish to just list nearby Points of Interest in a specific category and sub-category of your choice. By default BACKSPACE with Dot 3 is configured to display all nearby user private POIs you create yourself. See section 12.8.4 for details on customizing the behavior of the user definable POI search. Note: you can search for nearby POIs without opening the list by pressing Dot 4. The nearest POI is announced and the maximum distance is 820 feet from your current position. Note: when using this command the current street the POI is on and current city the POI is in will not be announced. Return to Table of Contents.7.2.2 Simple POI FindYou use the simple find feature if you want to search for a POI by name, or category using the command SPACE with F. You are asked for the category, subcategory and then the search string. For example, you want to find a restaurant called Burger Palace that is 10 miles away. First you would press the Simple Find command, SPACE with F. Next, you will be prompted for a category. Press the letter R to move to "Restaurant" and press ENTER. If you do not know the exact name of the category, you can scroll through the category list or use the first letter of a category to hop directly to a specific item. The program remembers the last category used, but defaults to the ALL category every time you enter the GPS program. You will then be prompted for the subcategory. Select a subcategory from the list and press ENTER. Note: you can press the first letter of the subcategory you are interested in to move directly to it. Finally, you will be prompted for the search string, which refers to the name of the POI that you want to find. In this case that would be Burger Palace and press ENTER. If you type 1 or 2 characters in the search string, the software will only find these characters at the beginning of the POI name. However, if you type three or more characters, the software will look for a match anywhere in the POI name. When the search begins, you will hear the announcement “creating POI list”. You will be placed in a list of points. Scroll through the list by pressing SPACE or BACKSPACE. For example “Burger Palace, Restaurant, Main ST, Phoenix, 9.5 MI, ahead, West.” Notice you are told the street the POI is located on and the city the POI is in. This is a good way to quickly determine if this is the POI you are looking for without opening its details. Scroll to the final item in the list “No other POI within X feet, press ENTER to continue searching or SPACE with E to exit.” Where X is the distance of the search from your current position. If you press ENTER the search lasts for up to 10 seconds and announces if points are found. The first POI is announced. Press ENTER on the POI to access the POI action menu. This is a list of up to 8 items you can use to interact with the POI such as, creating a route or viewing details. Press SPACE with E to exit the list. The search is then cancelled. The search will take longer when the area is densely populated or when you search far away. A sound will indicate a search is in progress. If you want to look at points that are several hundred miles away, it would be best to set your Virtual position to that vicinity and then search for POIs relative to your Virtual position by pressing V to go to Virtual mode.
Remember that you can set a POI as a destination with SPACE with D, as your Virtual position by pressing SPACE with V, both the destination and virtual position by pressing ENTER with B, or bring up the POI Action Menu by pressing BACKSPACE with Por ENTER from within the POI list. Listen to the currently selected POI by pressing P. Scroll through the list with SPACE with DOT 4forward or SPACE with DOT 1backward. As you scroll through the POIs you will receive additional information such as its name, the category and sub category if it has one, the street the POI is on, the city the POI is in, heading and distance to the POI from your current location, the side of the street the POI is on if known, and the compass direction. Return to Table of Contents.7.2.3 Advanced FindUse the Advanced Find command, BACKSPACE with F, if you want to find a POI by category, subcategory, distance, direction, or field type. You are asked for a category, then the subcategory, start distance, direction, field type and then the search string. For example, you want to find a restaurant called Burger Palace that is 20 miles away. First you would press the Advanced Find command, BACKSPACE with F. Next, you will be prompted for the category. Press the letter R to move to "Restaurant" and press ENTER. You will then be prompted for the subcategory. Select a subcategory from the list and press ENTER. Note: you can press the first letter of the subcategory you are interested in to move directly to it. Next, you will be prompted to enter your starting POI search distance which would be 10 in this case. Press ENTER. Once you have defined the start distance, you will be prompted for a search direction. If you are unsure of the direction choose “full circle”. Some examples of directions are North, East, Ahead, and Behind. Press SPACE to cycle through the choices until you hear full circle and press ENTER. You can also press the first letter of the direction such as S for south and press ENTER. Note: if you have a heading you can search relative to your direction of travel. For example ahead of you or to your right. Next choose the field type, for example, name, phone number, address number, street or zip code. Press SPACE to cycle through the choices until you hear name and press ENTER. You can also press the first letter of the field type such as S for street and press ENTER. Finally, you will be prompted for the search string, the specific name or number that you want to find. In this example that would be Burger Palace and press ENTER.
You will hear “creating POI list”. You will be placed in a list of points. Scroll through the list by pressing SPACE or BACKSPACE. The following scenarios illustrate examples of when you would use the Advanced Find command:
7.3 Using Points of InterestNow that you know numerous ways to find POIs, it is time to discuss how to efficiently use the POIs that you find. Return to Table of Contents.7.3.1 Navigating a POI ListWhen your POI search returns a long list of POIs, you can use the following commands to review the POI list: Go to the top of the list; SPACE with dots 1-2-3. Go to the end of the list; SPACE with dots 4-5-6. Move backward through the list one item at a time; SPACE with dot 1. Move forward through the list one item at a time; SPACE with dot 4. Jump backward 10 items; SPACE with dots 2-3. Jump forward 10 items; SPACE with dots 5-6. Return to Table of Contents.7.3.2 POI Action MenuThe POI Action Menu is a collection of the most common actions associated with searching and locating POIs. For example, if you are searching for a restaurant, most likely you will want to create a route to that restaurant. Additionally, you might want to get the phone number to call that restaurant to make reservations. To get to the POI Action Menu, press BACKSPACE with P, or ENTER from within the list of POIs. Once in the POI Action Menu, you can choose from up to eight actions, namely:
You can press the first letter of the menu item you wish to move to or press SPACE to move through the list, then press ENTER on the desired item. Return to Table of Contents.7.3.3 Editing Points of InterestBecause POIs are constantly changing, it is inevitable that some of the data will be out-of-date. A POI might move, go out of business or change phone numbers. These details can be edited by pressing SPACE with P. The following hot keys are used within the POI details to jump directly to a field or perform an action.
7.4 Creating User Points of InterestIt is very helpful to create your own user Points of Interest. Your user point at the front door of a building is more accurate than the general address for that building. You can add environmental details like recessed doorway or steep driveway. When you start GPS for the first time you are prompted for the POI author, this could be your full name or initials. The information you provided will be displayed in the author field when viewing the POI details by using SPACE with P. The first time you record a POI, a file called User.pdb is created. It will store all the POIs you create. You can have only one User.pdb file active at a time and it must have this name. Therefore, if you swap user.pdb files with another GPS user, it is a good idea to change the filename of your own and ensure it is backed up before sharing. The User POIs are automatically sorted along with the commercial POIs when you use the POI Find commands. Because of this, we recommend a naming scheme that allows you to distinguish between a commercial POI and a User POI for the same business. For example, let’s say that you created a route to McDonalds. Once you arrive, you see that the front door or drive-through is a couple hundred feet away from the commercial POI location for McDonalds. This is normal with businesses that are not directly on a street, especially for businesses in malls that share one common address. So in this example when you record your POI at the McDonalds front door, you could name your POI “McDonalds, main door.” Now you know when you see two McDonalds close together, which one is actually your user point at the building doorway. Return to Table of Contents.7.4.1 How to Record a POIThere are three ways to record a User POI. The first way to Record a POI is by capturing your current GPS or virtual position and assigning a name to that location. For example, you are at a location that is not currently in the database and you would like to save this location for future use. To set your current GPS or virtual position as a POI, you must be in the GPS application and successfully tracking or in Virtual mode. Follow these steps:
This POI is now saved in the user.pdb file and it will be triggered next time you are in the vicinity. In fact, it may trigger immediately after you create it if you are standing still. The two additional ways you can record user POIs are by setting an address with SPACE with S or establish a Lat/Lon with SPACE with Y. Once you have entered either an address or a Lat/Lon, press C to create the User POI at the defined position. For more information about addresses and Lat/Lon, refer to Section 5 or 6.2.4. 7.4.2 Editing User Points of InterestIn addition to editing the Points of Interest with the SPACE with P command, you can also access a list of your user POIs only and edit them. This way you do not have to search through the entire database for your User POIs. To specifically edit your User POIs:
Press SPACE with E when you are done editing the POI. You are asked to save the changes. You will be returned to the user POI editor. Repeat one of these procedures for any other POIs you wish to edit. You can use the following commands to review the User POI list: Go to the top of the list; SPACE with dots 1-2-3. Go to the end of the list; SPACE with dots 4-5-6. Move backward through the list one item at a time; SPACE with dot 1. Move forward through the list one item at a time; SPACE with dot 4. Jump backward 10 items; SPACE with dots 2-3. Jump forward 10 items; SPACE with dots 5-6. Return to Table of Contents.7.4.3 Deleting a Point of InterestThere might be times when you wish to delete a commercial or user POI. Follow the below steps to delete a POI.
After the POI is deleted the POI details automatically close returning you to the place you were before deleting the POI. For example, if you were in a POI list you will be returned to the list. If you were in the main GPS program you are returned there. If you answer no you are returned to the POI details. 7.4.4 Sharing POI Filesuser.pdb files can be shared between users. Simply copy or attach the POI file from the maps folder and send it to another user. Only one User POI file can be active at a time as the GPS program is looking for a file called user.pdb. If you swap your user POI file with another user or vice-versa, you should rename and back up any shared POI file you wish to save so as to not accidentally overwrite your user.pdb file with another one. For additional help refer to the BrailleNote user guide for instructions on transferring files. Sendero Download page provides more details on sharing User files. Return to Table of Contents.7.5 Media ContentThis section will discuss the use of attaching additional media content to Points of Interest. There may be times when you would like to record a sound to be associated to a POI name. For example, you wish to record the sound of Big Ben in London. You may also wish to associate a text menu to your favorite restaurant. If the additional media is an audio file the media player will run in the background. If the attached media file is a Keyword document the book reader will be launched. Note: you can only have 1 media file attached to a POI. if you try to attach a different media file your existing one will be replaced. Return to Table of Contents.7.5.1 Attaching media to a POIThere are two ways to attach media to a POI. Both will be discussed below: The first way is to record a new user point of interest.
Once you are done recording the user POI will be created. Note: After pressing ENTER it may take a few seconds for the BrailleNote to launch the recorder and start recording. The second way to attach media is by editing the POI details.
7.5.2 Playing Media ContentNow that we know how to attach additional media content to a POI lets discuss how to view the content.
Note: When viewing a POI from within the list you can also press ENTER with Dots 4-5-6 to playback the attached media. If you press this command on a POI with no media you will hear the message "No media." 7.5.3 POI Media Action MenuIn previous sections we discuss the Address Action Menu and the POI Action menu. These menus allow us to perform a specific action on a specified item. There are three actions we can perform on media content, we call this the POI Media Action Menu. Follow these steps to view the POI media Action menu.
There are 3 items. Media playback, delete media file and Replace media file.
7.6 TagsThe purpose of tags is to provide brief and consistent descriptions and to ensure correct spelling. You still have the description field to add longer and personal descriptions to points of interest. It can be very helpful if you choose Door Main for example when you tag a restaurant so you can distinguish your specific POI from the commercial POI at that location. The Sendero GPS comes with a number of predefined tags such as Door main, door revolving, trashcan and fountain. If the POI has a revolving door you may wish to indicate that by adding the Door revolving tag to the POI. You can also add your own tags by scrolling to the "user definable" item, then mark it by pressing SPACE with M then pressing ENTER. Tags can be added to both commercial and user POIs. There are two ways to add tags to a POI. The first way is to create a user POI, see section 7.4 for steps on creating user POIs. The second way to attach a tag is by editing the POI details.
After you press enter, you are asked to save changes and the tags you have previously marked are announced. Press ENTER on the first item to save the changes or press SPACE then enter to select the menu item return to the list of tags. If you select return to list you can continue to mark or unmark tags. Select the desired menu item and press ENTER to continue to the next step. You are returned to the POI details. Press SPACE with s to save changes. · You can view the tags by viewing the POI details. They will also be announced automatically if the Lookaround option "include tags in Lookaround and POI announcements is turned on. Return to Table of Contents.8 Looking AroundSendero GPS provides a means of accessing information about your environment, through speech, Braille or both. This information can be invaluable for getting oriented in a strange, unfamiliar or even familiar environment. The announcement of nearby Points of Interest (POIs) and street information may let you know you are in a familiar area as well as allowing the opportunity to choose one as a destination. This is often the way sighted people orient, by using nearby landmarks and signs to know that they are in a familiar or unfamiliar area. The local maps and Points of Interest databases allow the environment to talk to you through the BrailleNote so a blind person can also orient in this fashion. You can look around to get oriented to your surroundings in three distinct LookAround modes: Automatic, Multiple Repeat and Manual. LookAround Mode allows you to get a sense of the environment around your current location. The information can be very useful indeed in assessing what type of route you wish to create and follow, what type of heading information is going to be best suited to the environment etc. as well as being useful in its own right. The commands for looking around will work while you are in either the GPS or Explore modes and while tracking or following a route, relative to your current position. If you are not tracking, they will work relative to your last GPS position, or if in virtual mode, they will work relative to a specified virtual position. Return to Table of Contents.8.1 Automatic LookAround ModeAutomatic LookAround Mode searches for POIs and intersections in the vicinity and will scan for POIs every 12 seconds by default. If no POI or intersection is found, the software looks around again 5 seconds later. Nothing is announced until it finds a POI or intersection within the trigger distance or direction. If the same POI or intersection is announced and then found a second time, it will not be repeated. It can be set to announce nearby POIs and/or intersections, or turned off depending on user preference. If you are actively following a route, it may be less distracting to switch off the LookAround mode so the POIs are not interfering with the Waypoints. If you press another command at the same instant as the program is "looking around', there may be a delayed response. Note that the nearest point is announced but not all points within the LookAround range. If you want to hear all the points, press F for a proximity list. Using the default of 12 seconds when you approach a turn all LookAround announcements will be switched off for 36 seconds. If you adjust the LookAround time interval the announcements will be switched off accordingly. Some LookAround options like POI distance will automatically adjust based on speed of travel, direction of search and category chosen. If you are in a densely populated area with a category containing lots of POIs (Bonus) the automatically announced POI may be close to your current position. However, if you have a category selected with few POIs (Travel/Entertainment) the distance between you and the automatically announced POI may be farther away. The following distances are based on your speed of travel: When you press SPACE with M for the automatic LookAround mode, you are presented with the LookAround Mode menu. The LookAround Mode menu contains fourteen items: The Route Lookaround preference will not override the LookAround settings you have selected in the Lookaround menu. so if you have commercial POIs turned off but have "Route and POI announcements" active, POIs will not be announced. Also if you have LookAround announcements turned off By pressing SPACE with M then L, the route LookAround preference settings are ignored, only route instructions are triggered. The status of your LookAround settings is maintained when you exit the GPS program with SPACE with E. Return to Table of Contents.8.2 Multiple Repeat ModeThe Multiple Repeat key, M, followed by one of several single-letter keys repeats the respective single-letter function every X number of seconds. This repeat interval defaults to 12 seconds and can be changed under the Multiple Repeat Delay Setting, M then R, see the next section for a description. The following is a list of multiple repeat commands, which you can access through the menu system. M then A; Multiple Address Announcement. M then C; Multiple City/State Announcement. M then D; Multiple Destination Announcement. M then E; Multiple Percentage of Route Traveled Announcement. M then F; Multiple Nearest POI Announcement. M then G; Multiple GPS Status Announcement. M then H; Multiple Heading Announcement. M then N; Multiple Intersection Detail Announcement. M then K; Multiple Current Waypoint Announcement. M then M; Deactivate all Multiple Repeat Commands. M then P; Multiple POI Announcement. M then R; Multiple Repeat Delay Setting. M then S; Multiple Speed Announcement. M then T; Multiple Turn Announcement. M then V; Repeat Distance between GPS and Virtual. M then X; Multiple Intersection Announcements. M then Y; Multiple Repeat of Lat/Lon. M then Z; Multiple Altitude Announcement. You can activate several multiple repeat commands at the same time. For example, Press M then X for Intersection and M then D for Destination. They will both repeat one after the other, every 12 seconds by default. Press M then M to turn all repeat items off. Press the item once to turn it on and a second time to turn it off. For example, M then D turns Destination repeat on and M then D a second time turns it off. If you get confused as to what is turned on or off, just press M then M to turn all items off. You can also just press M then scroll down the menu and see the status of each item. 8.2.1 Multiple Repeat DelayUnder the Multiple Repeat Delay option you can change the repeat interval, or the length of time between the items selected as multiple announcements. The repeat announcements are as a result of pressing M with one of several command letters, as explained in the previous section. The default interval is 12 seconds and you can change it in this option by typing the number of seconds in numeric form e.g. 15 for 15 seconds. If you enter 0 seconds for the repeat interval, you will enter into Stationary mode and the multiple items will be announced once when you are stationary. The lowest repeat interval you can set multiple repeat commands to is 5. For example, if you have a route loaded, you may wish to turn on the next turn announcement with M then T as well as the destination announcement with M then D. When you come to an intersection and stop moving, the announcements you have selected will automatically trigger in stationary mode. If you need to immediately hear the announcement again, press L for Last announcement. If you need to hear the Stationary items and they have already triggered or you are moving, press BACKSPACE with Dot 1. Note, the items will trigger in a set order, not the order in which you turn them on. Remember that multiple repeat is disabled in GPS mode when you do not have a fix and it will not repeat in Virtual mode. Return to Table of Contents.8.3 Manual LookAround ModeManual LookAround mode allows you to spot check your location. You can manually enter the LookAround commands such as: X for Announcing Intersections. This announces the nearest Intersection name, heading and distance. The cross street is announced. If you are moving, X announces the nearest intersection in a 90 degree arc ahead of you i.e. if ahead is 12 o'clock, between 10:30 and 1:30 o'clock. If you are not moving, X gives you the nearest intersection, in any direction. A unique sound differentiates X-not moving from X-moving (no sound). You can hear the intersection announced repeatedly by pressing M then X. Map data quality and GPS accuracy impact the preciseness of intersection announcements. Once you are within 100 feet (30 meters) of the center of the intersection, no distances will be specified and the X key will announce that you are near the intersection. Remember that the distance to the intersection refers to the center of the intersection, so you might be stopped at the intersection and hear that the intersection is 105 feet away. If you want more details about your intersection press SPACE with X. 'this command will announce intersection details like direction of travel and the compass orientation of the cross streets. To have the detailed intersection description announced repeatedly press M then N. A for nearest Street Address. Query the nearest known street address by pressing the letter A. If you are on a highway or if the address number is not known, the name only will be announced. You can also be off the street itself, say in a nearby park and hear the nearest address. The wider the street, the more likely the address will correspond with the side of the street you are on. If you are near an intersection, you may receive the address of the cross street and not the one you are physically on. If you get a message saying the Address is unknown, move a bit and try again. If you are more then 50 feet from the street you will receive a distance and direction. C for City, Feature, State. To hear the current city, Map Feature, if there is one, and state announced, Press C. If you get a message saying it is unknown, move and try again. There may be some small towns which do not have address level data, only street names without house numbers. If the city name is not found, the nearest township will be announced. If no township is found either, the county or district may be announced. If there is a body of water, college campus or other map feature in the database, this will appear after the city and before the state. You can also have the complete details of any location displayed in a list by pressing SPACE with C. Press SPACE to scroll through the list of available options. These details include the road classification, such as one way, split, tunnel, skyway, bridge etc. The average speed a car travels on the street, number of lanes, address range on each side of the road, city, borough if there is one, county, country, zip, lat/lon and map name. Y for Latitude/Longitude. To view a list with the current latitude and longitude, press Y P for the last POI announced. See Section 7.1.1 for more details F for all nearby POIs. See Section 6.1.1 for more details Return to Table of Contents.9 Virtual ModeTo familiarize yourself with your neighborhood before you actually walk or drive through it, Virtual Mode allows you to look at the maps without having to be in the location being explored. This means that you can explore the layout of the streets, preview a route, or virtually walk around the vicinity of a Point of Interest, address or lat/lon. You might set your destination to a particular point of interest and then wish to know what else is in the vicinity of that destination. The Virtual Mode allows you to do this. You can be exploring in Virtual Mode and check on your relative GPS position at any time with the I Information key. Toggle between GPS and Virtual modes with V. When you go into Virtual mode, any automatically repeated commands will be switched off until you return to GPS mode. Return to Table of Contents.9.1 Virtual Explore ModeA virtual position can be set by address, Route Waypoint, POI, lat/lon, or to your GPS location. See the respective sections about how to make these settings. Once you are set to one of these positions, you can use the Virtual Explore Mode commands to navigate around the map or you can use the POI Find functions to see what is near your Virtual position. Setting an address or lat/lon position is one way to explore an area hundreds of miles away. Let's use the example from the Foreword where I am in Chicago and want to know what is around my hotel, so that I can plan a business meeting. First, I want to know the layout of the streets. I press V to go into virtual mode, the BrailleNote will announce that my virtual position is 150 Main Street, the address of the hotel. I press Dots 2-3-5-6 to move forward one intersection. I hear "On Main Street, 256 feet to 2nd Avenue." If I move ahead one more intersection, I hear "On Main Street, 438 feet to 3rd Avenue." From this I can conclude that Main Street intersects the numbered avenues. If I want to turn left or right, I press Dots 2-3 or Dots 5-6 respectively. I can start to mentally picture the grid of the streets around my hotel. To hear about nearby restaurants, I can conduct a simple search by pressing SPACE with F. Next, I will press R to move to restaurant for the category and press ENTER. At the subcategory prompt, I will press ENTER to select the default "All." Finally I press ENTER when asked for a search string. Once I have chosen my restaurant, I set that as my destination by pressing SPACE with D. Now with my virtual position set to the hotel and my destination set to the restaurant, I can create a route to the restaurant from the hotel by pressing the route command R and then P for Pedestrian. You can virtually explore routes with or without the GPS receiver on. You have two ways to explore a route. These commands work in both GPS and Virtual modes. You can move from Waypoint to Waypoint with the explore forward and back commands, dots 2-3-5-6 and SPACE with dots 2-3-5-6. Each Waypoint intersection will be announced as you reach it. You can explore the route turn by turn with dots 3-6 to move forward and SPACE with dots 3-6 to move back by turn. Each press of dots 3-6 will move you to the next turn, skipping the interim Waypoints. You will first hear the Waypoint intersection you have reached and then the instruction which way to turn. Exploring by turns allows you to focus on the overview of the route. Your explore position moves with you but you cannot turn right or left while the route is open. You can only follow the route. You can use the backward command, SPACE with Dots 2-3-5-6 as many times as you like whereas in Explore mode, you can only back up once. Once you close the route, all Explore functions such as left and right are again active and your Explore position is at the location of the last Waypoint in your route. This is particularly useful for looking at routes in another town. It is also helpful when in a vehicle and you need to be several Waypoints or turns ahead of the driver on the route. This gives you enough time to figure out what is coming up so you can advise the driver. You may wish to preview a route on the BrailleNote and then navigate strictly by memory, leaving your BrailleNote at home. When exploring a route you can always set your virtual position to any Waypoint along the route. Just highlight the Waypoint or turn and then set your virtual position to that point by pressing SPACE with V. Return to Table of Contents.9.1.1 Important Virtual Mode commands:Set Virtual to GPS; SPACE with G. Query distance between GPS and Virtual position; I. Toggle between GPS and Virtual Modes; V. Move forward an intersection; Dots 2-3-5-6. Move to previous virtual position: SPACE with Dots 2-3-5-6. Turn left at an intersection: Dots 2-3. Turn right at an intersection: Dots 5-6. Set a POI or Explore position as your Destination; SPACE with D. Set a POI or Waypoint as your Virtual position; SPACE with V. Set both your destination and virtual position to a POI or Waypoint; SPACE with B. Note that setting your virtual position by pressing SPACE with V will either set your virtual position to the current POI or Waypoint depending upon what you were last looking at. If you were searching for POIs then SPACE with V will set your virtual position to the current POI. If you were looking at a Waypoint along a route then SPACE with V will set your virtual position to the current Waypoint. The same applies to the use of the SPACE with D command for setting a POI or Explore position as your destination. The command will apply to the last function you were performing. BACKSPACE with V will set your virtual position to a pre defined spot on the map. You will either be taken to the capital of the state or country, or be placed at a tourist attraction. This allows you to start exploring quickly. If you have multiple maps installed you will be presented with a list. Return to Table of Contents.10 GPS Replay FilesThis section discusses how to create and playback a GPS Replay file. A GPS Replay file is just as the name implies. It is a file that records the GPS information while you are out traveling so that you can play it back later to review your trip. It would be similar to having a tape recorder while traveling with your GPS. Instead of recording sounds, a GPS Replay records your movements. Your movements can be played back as if you were actually out exploring in real time. This feature is highly beneficial in the following situation. You are out training with a mobility specialist. You start recording the GPS Replay file at the beginning of your training and let it run in the background while you are learning a new trip. The system will record your movements so you can play them back and study the trip you took. Note: A GPS Replay file records only your position, speed and number of satellites (i.e. the GPS data available). If you issue a command while recording the file, for example, you press A to find out the nearest Address, this will not be recorded. Return to Table of Contents.10.1 Recording a GPS Replay SessionTo record a GPS Replay file, do the following:
While you are recording a GPS replay you can add notes as you move around. The notes are called annotations and will be played back when you replay that file or when a route is created from that replay. When recording the replay and you are at the location where you wish to set the annotation, press SPACE with W. BrailleNote responds “recording paused, enter the annotation description to add to the replay.” Type in the annotation and press ENTER. The BrailleNote responds “Annotation added, recording resumed.” You can also use this to pause recording of the replay if you stop somewhere for a long time and you don't want this time lag to appear in the replay. An example of an annotation could be words like, “passing a park bench on the right.” Return to Table of Contents.10.2 Using a GPS Replay SessionNow that you have successfully recorded a GPS Replay file, let's put it to practical use. After your mobility lesson you may want to sit down on your couch and review the trip. You must first switch to the GPS Replay. To do this, make sure you are in the GPS application.
You will hear "successfully connected to receiver." Then you will hear acquired position, the current location and number of satellites you had at the time you started recording the file. For example "Acquired position, F street, Davis, California, WAAS 13 feet 9 satellites." Press G to hear your GPS status. You will hear, for example, "WAAS, 13 feet, 9 satellites, GPS Replay." Notice the words "GPS Replay, name of replay file." This assures you that you are not working with live data. The name of the currently playing replay file is also announced. The system is currently moving through the trip that you took. If you have LookAround mode switched on you will hear Points of Interest as you pass them. Press A and you will hear the nearest address. You can also see how fast you were moving by pressing S for speed. To Pause/Resume a replay file during playback, press BACKSPACE with Q. If you have a route you wish to follow with the GPS Replay file, you may open it at any time. Open it just like you would if you were outside tracking live GPS. Also remember if your route recalculated while you were recording, it will recalculate at the same spot during playback. Note: When you have a replay running, you may also use the Multiple Repeat commands, just as you do when traveling outside with a GPS receiver. Remember, a GPS Replay file is just that. It plays back a trip you took at a specific time. When the file is done playing, you will hear "GPS replay has ended." To start the replay over press the reconnect command BACKSPACE with R.
Note: The GPS Replay remains the active receiver until you change it back by doing the following:
10.3 Creating a Route from a Replay FileYou can have the system automatically generate a route from a replay file. The route will be complete with annotations, waypoints and turning points. If you have maps loaded when generating the route you will be told the name of the street to turn onto at each turn if the street is near the turning point. You are also told the street and city of the destination. If the system is unable to accurately determine the street, the name of the replay will be displayed instead. For example 0.25 miles ahead Home to bus stop. The file name will also appear in the history list. Let's take the previous example. You are out training with a mobility specialist. You start recording the GPS Replay file at the beginning of your training and let it run in the background while you are learning a new trip. Once you Return home you would like to have a route complete with turning instructions. Do the following to create a route from the replay: If you have the replay running the route will be followed. Note: if you wish to save the route you can do so by pressing R for the route menu then S for save route in the normal way. Any annotations that are inside the Replay will be marked in the route as separate waypoints with the name of the annotation as the waypoint's name. When reviewing the replay a unique sound plays and the annotation is announced, for example "annotation. park bench." Return to Table of Contents.11 Other FunctionsThis section covers a range of miscellaneous general functions available while using the GPS. Return to Table of Contents.11.1 Append to ClipboardBACKSPACE with K will copy the last GPS message and append it to the clipboard. The first time you use the command, you will hear, "copied data to clipboard." Subsequent times it will say "append data to clipboard." The reason is that the KeySoft clipboard is left alone until the first time you use the command in the GPS program. At that point, the clipboard is wiped clean and the GPS data is copied. Subsequent times, the data is appended. You can record as many GPS messages to the clipboard as you wish. That way, you could collect, for example, restaurants that you were interested in calling and just paste them into a file after you exit GPS. Note: Anything in your clipboard before you go into the GPS program will be overwritten by the items you append from within the GPS program. Return to Table of Contents.11.2 The OdometerThe Odometer allows you to check how much ground you have covered in either GPS or Explore modes. It operates in the unit of measure setting you have chosen in the Unit setting of the GPS Options Menu. To hear the Odometer, press B. Any time you want to check how far you have gone, press B again and the distance will be announced. To reset the Odometer back to zero, press SPACE with B. The Odometer is not related to any routes or POIs, it just keeps track of the distance until you reset it. The accuracy of the Odometer will fluctuate with the accuracy of the GPS signals available. It may accumulate distance while you are stationary as a result of this GPS fluctuation. You may wish to turn off the receiver if you are in a building and your signal fluctuates due to GPS inaccuracies. The Odometer resets when you exit the GPS program. However, the Explore mode Odometer is reset to zero when you select a new Virtual position by address, lat/lon, GPS POI position, or by changing the GPS receiver type. Return to Table of Contents.11.3 Speed AnnouncementTo hear the current speed announced, press S. At speeds under 20 MPH you will hear speeds such as 2.4 or 13.5. Return to Table of Contents.11.4 Compass HeadingTo hear your current heading in terms of a compass reading and degrees, press H. East equals 90 degrees, South 180 degrees, West 270 degrees and North 0 degrees. The average of your heading is calculated to minimize the variations in heading due to GPS fluctuations around 30 feet. The degree reading is an excellent way to understand when you are on a curving road that would otherwise be difficult to detect by feel. It can take up to 10 to 15 seconds at pedestrian speeds to determine your direction of travel. Force GPS heading: this option allows you to tell the system the heading you will be traveling. For example you exit a subway station and always head west. The GPS will not know the direction of travel until you move for a time. To change your initial heading press ENTER with H. You are then presented with a menu with the following options: North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, by degrees and unknown heading. Selecting any Compass heading sets your heading temporarily to the desired direction. If you wish to set the heading to a specific degree i.e. 121, select the "by degrees" option. Selecting unknown forces your heading to be in an unknown state. Once you move for 15 seconds or so, your temporary heading will be replaced by the real GPS heading. Return to Table of Contents.11.5 Setting GPS TimeTo set the BrailleNote's system by using the GPS time, press SPACE with U. Make sure you have selected the proper Daylight Saving option and time zone for your location under the BrailleNote Utilities menu. You must be tracking satellites in order to get accurate time. The GPS time is quite accurate. You can not use a GPS Replay to set your BrailleNote's time since this will not be the current time, but the time you recorded the replay. Note that you can utilize the BrailleNote's stopwatch while the GPS continues to operate in the background. You won't be able to issue any commands to the GPS but you will hear automatic GPS announcements while the stopwatch is running. Return to Table of Contents.11.6 AltitudeTo hear the approximate altitude, press Z. This Z axis vertical reading is not quite as accurate as the X/Y horizontal GPS reading. Altitude accuracy averages approximately 50 to 75 feet (16 to 22 meters) accuracy. You need at least a Fair GPS reading in order to get an altitude reading from the Sendero GPS. You wouldn't want to fly an airplane based upon this GPS altitude reading but it sure is fun to hear your approximate altitude when flying. When you are within 100 feet, 30 meters, of sea level, your BrailleNote will announce "near sea level" instead of announcing an exact number. Return to Table of Contents.The history list is a list of your 25 most recently used locations. Each time you create a route to an address or POI the destination is automatically added to the history list. Other events are added such as the first time in each session you acquire a GPS fix, set an explore position (virtual mode), set a POI as a destination by searching for it, a Lat/Lon lookup, performing an address lookup and setting the address as your virtual position or destination. Return to Table of Contents.11.7.1 Working with the History List.The following paragraph demonstrates the power of the history list: You decide you wish to go for a walk around your area then create a route home..
A route is created from your current position to the initial GPS position guiding you back to your house. In the previous paragraphs we discuss the different ways items are added to your history list, from an address search, Point of Interest and using your initial GPS location. Lets work with the history list. Perform an address lookup for your address, set it as your explore position then bring up the history list. There are two ways to bring up the history list. The first way is to press SPACE with S and select history list from the menu. The second way is to press ENTER with dots 2-3-6. When you are in the history list you will be placed on the most recently added item. Press SPACE or BACKSPACE to scroll up and down the list. You can also press the first letter of the history name in order to jump to it. You will see the history name, the address number if specified, the street name, city name, distance and direction. for example 123 Main st, Reno, 753 FT, South. Press ENTER on the desired item to bring up the History Action Menu. The history Action menu is discussed in the following section. Return to Table of Contents.11.7.2 History Action Menu.The History Action Menu helps you determine your next action once you find an item in the history list. In the previous section, we used the history list to locate your initial GPS location so that you could create a route back home. With the History Action Menu, you can also set a history location as a POI, as a destination, as destination and virtual position at the same time, or create routes. The previous section shows how to use the history list in detail. Once you press ENTER on the history item, the history action menu is displayed. The items are as follows:
11.8 Favorites List.The Favorites list is a list of locations you may wish to work with at a later time, just like when browsing the Internet on your BrailleNote or PC. Unlike the history list discussed in the previous section you are not limited to the number of locations you can add. The different location types are Points of Interest, Address lookups, Lat/lon and your current GPS or virtual position. You can also view/edit the details and remove the favorite from the list. Return to Table of Contents.1.8.1 Adding Favorite from Address Lookup.To add a favorite by address: first perform a location lookup by pressing SPACE with S. Choose the type of lookup, IE city or Zip/postal lookup. See sections 5.1 and 5.2 for step by step examples. At the address action menu scroll to Add to Favorites and press ENTER or press the letter A. After the address is added you are returned to the Address Action Menu. This saves from having to look up the address again in order to perform another action. Return to Table of Contents. 11.8.2 Add Favorite from Point of Interest Search.To add a POI as a favorite, search for the POI by using any of the POI search methods previously discussed. See section 7.2 for details and examples. in the POI search results list scroll to the POI and press ENTER. From the POI Action Menu scroll to Add to Favorite or press the letter A. After the POI is added you are returned to the POI action menu. This saves from having to find the POI again in order to perform another action. Return to Table of Contents.11.8.3 Add Favorite from Current Position.There might be times when you are out and you wish to add your current position to a favorite, perhaps it is a bus stop that you will return to in the future. Follow the below steps to add your current position as a Favorite:
Note: items are added to the favorites list in ascending order, IE most recent first. The favorites list is located in a file called favorites.fdb contained within your current maps folder. If you switch map folders a new favorites list is created. Return to Table of Contents.11.8.4 Working With the Favorites List.In the previous sections we discuss how to add a favorite from an address search, Point of Interest and using your current location. Lets work with the favorites list. Using any previously discussed method add a favorite and then bring up the favorites list. There are two ways to bring up the favorites list. The first way is to press SPACE with S and select Favorites list from the menu. The second way is to press ENTER with dots 2-3-5. When you are in the favorites list you will be placed on the most recently added favorite. Press SPACE or BACKSPACE to scroll up and down the list. You can also press the first letter of the favorite name in order to jump to it. You will see the favorite name, the address number if specified, the street name, city name, distance and direction. for example Home, 123 Main st, Reno, 753 FT, South. Press ENTER on the desired favorite to bring up the Favorites Action Menu. The favorites Action menu is discussed in the following section. Return to Table of Contents.11.8.5 Favorite Action Menu.The Favorites Action Menu helps you determine your next action once you have found an item in the favorites list. you can also view a favorites details, set as a destination, as destination and virtual position at the same time, or create routes. The previous section shows how to use the favorites list in detail. Once you press enter on the favorite, the favorites action menu is displayed. The Favorites Action Menu is a collection of the most common actions associated with favorites. For example, if you are searching for a restaurant you have saved as a favorite, most likely you will want to create a route to that restaurant. Additionally, you might want to get the phone number to call that restaurant to make reservations. To get to the favorites Action Menu, press ENTER from within the list of favorites. Once in the Favorites Action Menu, you can choose from up to seven actions, namely:
11.8.6 Deleting a FavoriteThere might be times when you wish to delete a favorite from your favorites list. Follow the below steps to delete a favorite.
The favorites list will automatically close after the favorite is deleted. 12 GPS Options MenuYou can access the GPS Options Menu either from within the GPS program by pressing O or from the GPS Help Menu by pressing SPACE repeatedly until you hear "Option Commands" then press ENTER. To select an option, move through the menu until the desired option is displayed and then press ENTER. Alternatively, from anywhere in the Options Menu, press the initial letter of your choice. Once you have accessed the GPS Options Menu by pressing O from within GPS, you will be presented with the General Settings Menu. At the end of the General Settings Menu you can access the Advanced GPS Options Menu by pressing ENTER on that menu item. Return to Table of Contents.12.1 Map and Points of Interest FolderWith this option you can set the folder where the GPS software will look for map and POI data. You can easily change the Map and POI Folder. The default folder name is Maps on the Compact Flash card, PC Card, or SD card. To set the folder, select the Map and POI Folder item and choose the drive and folder containing the map and POI files in the same manner as selecting any folder on the BrailleNote. Take note of the confirmation message after you set the folder to make sure the appropriate number of maps and POIs were loaded. If you pick a folder that does not have any maps in it, the system will search again for the default locations and will inform you that it has chosen this other map directory instead. If you are in the application and are suddenly getting announcements of "Unknown" addresses and intersections or no POIs are showing up, chances are that the map folder needs to be pointed to the proper map files. You can check the location of where the system thinks the map files are located just by highlighting the Maps and POIs item in the GPS options menu. Note: If the maps or POIs are in a sub-folder of the folder you have selected, it will not work. Instead, select that sub-folder as the Map/POI Folder. Prior to GPS version 3.5, the Maps and POIs could be in separate folders. Return to Table of Contents.12.2 Heading OrientationThere are four orientation methods for receiving heading information, Left/Right, clock face, a combination of both Left/Right and Clock face and Sailing Mode (a combination of left/right, degrees and compass directions). The default is Left/Right. In Left/Right mode, directional information is expressed in terms of left or right and ahead or behind. For example, the "Golden Gate Bridge is slight left, 1.3 miles." In clock face mode, think of yourself with a clock surrounding you, where straight ahead is 12 o'clock, directly behind you is 6 o'clock and your right and left are 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock respectively. When you are heading in the correct direction Sendero GPS tells you that your destination is at 12 o'clock or directly ahead. It will also add a compass heading after the clock heading which tells you if the point is North, South, East, or West. This is given after the clock face or right/left position announcements. For example, "Golden Gate Bridge at 10 o'clock, South." In the combination mode your 12 o’clock position is announced as ahead. Slight right would be announced as 1 o’clock or 2 o’clock depending on the number of degrees. In sailing mode, directional information is expressed in terms of left/right, relative degrees and absolute compass direction. For example, the "Golden Gate Bridge is 1.3 miles south, 90 degrees left." The above example assumes your current heading is west, you would need to turn left 90 degrees and start moving towards the Golden gate bridge. Once you make the turn and your heading is updated, you will see "Golden Gate Bridge is 1.3 miles south, 0 degrees ahead." To select a different heading orientation, activate the GPS Options Menu, press H for Heading Orientation. You will then be presented with a list of the four heading modes. Press SPACE to scroll to the desired item and press ENTER. Return to Table of Contents.12.3 UnitsThis option allows you to change the units of measure; IE reported distance to your next turn. When you select this option you are presented with a list that includes the following: feet (Imperial), meters (Metric) or Nautical Miles (Nautical). Scroll to the option you wish to change then press ENTER to confirm. You are then returned to the GPS application. The default unit is Imperial. An Imperial mile equals 5280 feet. An example of distance is: 0.80 miles. A kilometer equals 1000 meters. An example of distance is: 1.30 kilometers. A nautical mile equals 6076.215 feet. An example of distance is: 0.80 nautical miles. Return to Table of Contents.12.4 SoundsThis refers to the sounds used in the program to indicate various warnings or notifications. Use this menu to hear the sounds, or to turn all the sounds on and off. When you select Sounds from the GPS Options Menu, GPS prompts: "Sounds Sub-Menu" Press SPACE or BACKSPACE to scroll through the list of sounds. Each time you press ENTER the sound for the selected item plays. The Sounds Menu items are listed below: Turn on or off all sounds. This will enable or disable all alert sounds from being played. The default is On (sounds are played). Play background operation sound when the BrailleNote is busy. This sound plays every 3 seconds, mimicked by a counter on the Braille display. This sound indicates the BrailleNote is processing and you cannot interrupt it. Play Destination arrival alert sound. This sound indicates that you have arrived near your destination Play Virtual position arrival alert sound. This sound indicates that you have arrived near your virtual position. Play POI Has Media Content: This sound triggers when a POI has additional media content associated such as an audio file or Keyword document. Play turning-point sound in route following. This sound triggers at a turning point in a route to indicate it is time to take the next available turn. Play route approaching turning point sound. - This sound plays when you are approaching a turning point in your route. This is a good indication that your next turn will be coming up. Play sound when user is heading in the wrong direction at the beginning of a route. This is a unique sound to draw the user's attention to the possibility that he or she is starting the route in the wrong direction. Play continue straight sound when you successfully make a turn in your route. This sound plays when you successfully make a turn in your route. The distance to your next turn will then be displayed. Play off-route sound when you have wandered off your route. This sound is an indication you are no longer following your route. Play off-route recalculating pedestrian route sound. This sound is an indication that a pedestrian route is recalculating. Play off-route recalculating vehicle route sound. This sound is an indication that a vehicle route is recalculating. Play Street Change sound. This sound plays when your current street name changes. Play LookAround City Change Sound. This sound plays when you enter into a new city or city section. Play LookAround Map Change Sound. This sound plays when you cross into a new country, state or province. Play Speed Alert Sound. This sound plays when the set speed limit is reached. The speed limit can be set in the GPS options menu by selecting the Speed Alert item. Play Annotation Reached in GPS Replay. This sound plays when an annotation is reached during playback of a GPS replay file. These are the default sounds but you can customize or turn off individual sound cues. To access these sounds go to the GPS\Sounds directory on the flash disk. To turn off individual sound cues, simply erase the sound and nothing will play for that sound. To customize individual sound cues, overwrite the sound file with a new sound. Just make sure the filename of the new sound is identical to the one you are replacing. Try and keep your sound effects short as the system will wait in most cases until the sound file finishes playing before continuing any operation. Note, when you perform an upgrade, you will receive a prompt about overwriting your custom sound with the default sound, press SPACE with E to keep your file or press ENTER to use the default sound. Return to Table of Contents.12.5 GPS ReceiverIn this option you can select the type of GPS receiver you are using. Select from the menu or press one of the following options: B for Bluetooth, S for Serial GPS, M for Magellan, F for Compact Flash, P for PC card GPS, R for GPS Replay, N for No GPS and C for Custom GPS. The default is No GPS. Magellan receivers reset their direction of travel to North when you stop moving and other receivers do not. We have compensated for this and hence have the different settings. GPS receivers that use the NMEA communication protocol should work. On some unusual receivers, you may have to enable the NMEA option on the receiver to establish serial communication. Sendero does not support receivers it does not sell but most should work including cell phones with built in GPS. Return to Table of Contents.12.6 Speed AlertYou can have the system warn you when you reach a desired speed. For example, you are riding in a car and wish to be automatically notified when the speed limit of 65 MPH is reached. Select Speed alert from the GPS options menu and press ENTER. The system prompts for the speed alert, type 65 and press ENTER. You will be notified when the speed reaches 65 MPH. If the speed momentarily drops to 62 MPH, you will not be notified. Once your speed drops 15 MPH below your speed setting, the alert will reset so the next time you reach 65 MPH, you will hear the alert again. Note: This setting will not work for pedestrian speeds. Return to Table of Contents.12.7 Restore Factory Default SettingsIf you press O for GPS Options Menu, then R for Restore Factory defaults, this will restore all the Sendero GPS settings back to their factory defaults. Factory Default Settings are as follows:
Route Commands Factory Default:
12.8 Advanced GPS Options Menu12.8.1 Heading Averaging ModeSelecting this option allows you to tell the system the frequency you wish to have the heading updated. There are three options:
12.8.2 Street NamesUsing this option, you can choose between Long or Short forms of street names. If a highway has both a name and a number, you can hear both by selecting Long Names. For example: Long form is El Camino Real, CA-82, while the short form is just: El Camino Real. The status will change from short to long each time you select this item. Short Names is the default. For UK and Australian users you can now use short street names to get the common street name instead of using long street names. Alternatively, use the location details SPACE with C command to hear all information about a location including the multiple street names. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.3 Arrival DistanceThe Arrival Distance option allows you to set the distance from your Waypoints at which they are announced. In other words, when you are within X feet, or meters, of your Waypoint, Sendero GPS automatically announces that you are approaching that Waypoint. The default is 50 feet (16 meters) in an automatically created route and half that distance, or 25 feet (8 meters), for manually created routes. The arrival distance automatically increases if you increase your speed in the following intervals: • 5-15 MPH equals 2 times arrival distance, 100 feet. If you switch between meters and feet, the Arrival Distance may shift a digit or two to round off the setting. When you select this option, GPS prompts: "Arrival Distance? Press ENTER for number" where number is the number that is currently set as your arrival distance. To change the distance, type the new distance as a number value e.g. 60 feet as 60 or 20 meters as 20 and press ENTER. The arrival setting also affects Waypoint and turning point announcements within routes. If you don't feel alerts are triggering soon enough, increase the Arrival Distance. If you feel they are prematurely announced, reduce the Arrival Distance. Note: If you are within 12 feet, or 4 meters, of your Waypoint, Sendero GPS announces that you are "near" your Waypoint without a heading or distance. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.4 User Definable POI Search..This item is used to define the Category/sub-category you would like quick access to. Imagine the following: you are on vacation and you would like a quick way to look up all nearby tourist attractions. Select this item and change the category to Travel/Entertainment and the sub-category to Tourist attractions. Press BACKSPACE with Dot 3 to see all nearby tourist attractions. While you are on your vacation you decide it is time to go shopping, change the category to Shop/service and the sub-category to all. Now when you press BACKSPACE with Dot 3 you will see all nearby POIs in the shop/service category. By default the category is user and the sub-category is private. BACKSPACE with Dot 3 will display all user private POIs you create yourself. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.5 Free POI Database Space.When you add media to a POI the file is saved in the PDB file. For example you attach an audio file that is 500KB, your user.pdb file is now at least 500KB. When you remove the media file from your POI your user.pdb file is still at least 500KB. Using this option shrinks the database to the size it was before adding the audio file. This task is not executed automatically as it could take a while. If you add/remove media files it is a good idea to select this option on a regular basis. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.6 Arrived Near ThresholdThis item gives the user the ability to select the minimum proximity distance to a Waypoint or POI. The default is 12 feet. For example, when you are 12 feet or less from Peets, you will hear, "Near Peets." If you wish to always here the estimated distance, change the threshold distance to 0. In this way, you will hear estimated distances as low as one or two feet. This is recommended only for carefully recorded manual routes. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.7 Braille Display DelayEnter the number of seconds you want messages to stay on the Braille display, the default is 2 seconds. For example, in multiple repeat mode with two or more items turned on, the second piece of information will quickly replace the first. To ensure that you can read the information on the Braille display, you might want to increase the delay from the default 2 seconds to 4 or 5 seconds depending upon your Braille reading speed and whether or not you also use speech. This delay factor impacts other timers like the 12-second LookAround timer. If The Display delay is set to 5 seconds, LookAround will occur every 17 seconds. If you have multiple repeat turned on, you may wish to increase the Braille display delay to 4 or 5 seconds so you have time to read the first multiple announcement before it is displaced by the next message. It will take some experimentation in different situations to find the best setting. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.8 SPACEBAR Repeat Last CommandThe SPACEBAR will reissue a command. For example, if the last command key that you pressed was the X command to find out your nearest intersection, you can press SPACEBAR to have that command repeated. This feature defaults to enabled, but you can turn it off in the Advanced GPS Options Menu. The value of this option is so you can more easily implement commands one handed. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.9 LanguagesThis item is used to have the program translate prompts into a supported language. Currently the system supports English or UK English. For example, when the system is set to English you will hear "On a Railroad." If the system is set to UK English you will hear "On a Railway." To change the language: press O for the GPS Options menu, scroll to the Advanced menu item and press ENTER. Scroll to Languages and press ENTER. You are then prompted: "Language to load?" Press E for english or U for UK English. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.10 Register Software or New MapsWhen you purchase a new map you will be issued an updated license key. If you do not enter the updated key the new maps will not load. From the Advanced GPS options menu, select Register Software or New Maps and type in the license code. The code is not case sensitive. When you press enter you will be told the number of map licenses that have been registered. If you type in an incorrect key you will be notified and returned to the Advanced GPS Options Menu. You can obtain your product key by logging into your account at http://www.mysendero.com. Use your BrailleNote's serial number as the user name. By default use your last name as the password. It is strongly recommended that you change your password after you login for the first time. Return to Table of Contents.12.8.11 Change POI Author NameWhen you create a user POI the Author name is displayed when viewing the POI details. Some people may use their full name, while others will use their initials. If you wish to change the author name that is associated with the POIs you create you can do so by selecting this item. You are told the current author name. Type in the new name and press ENTER. The Author name is updated. The new name will take effect the next time you record a user POI. Return to Table of Contents.<<end manual>> |
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