Imray Digital chart - how long for gps to connect?

[Burnham Bob]

I just bought the ID10A chart pack with tides for use on the laptop. I have an ND 100S USB GPS dongle - the same one reviewed in East Coast Sailing as I know they use Imray Digital charts too.

I've posted this on the PBO main site, but I'm hoping someone closer to home might know the answer.

Got the chart software and tides registered (this has to be the most complicated registration process ever!) and the GPS works fine with its own program - gives me my lat and long in the conservatory in seconds.

The IDC 'sees' the GPS fine and asks if I want to connect so there's no com port or NMEA or BAUD rate issue I presume. Then the dialogue box opens and just runs with the animated flashing signal with info passing from the little pic of a gps to the plotter icon, but with the whole icon flashing on and off raidly every few seconds after about a minute as if its trying but failing. Anyone know how long it takes to connect? I gave up after several goes as it just kept saying 'please wait'.

Is there a 'first time it takes ages' then next time no problem issue? Or is it confused because I'm on land (although not more than 3/4 mile from the river). Is it trying to find the right chart to show my location and failing?

Or is it never going to work? any advice please

 

[sailorman]

Hi BB
answer here

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299861

 

[Burnham Bob]

sorry Sailorman - no answer showing on the PBO thread.......is it that the gods of the ethernet don't like me today?

 

[sailorman]

sorry Sailorman - no answer showing on the PBO thread.......is it that the gods of the ethernet don't like me today?

the Gods frown on d/posting thats why no answer.
Patients is a Virtue

 

[tillergirl]

Oh dear. I did the review so I ought to remember what I did. It took not long (less than a minute) but I think I had to change the Baud rate. Let me find the dongle and see if I can replicate what I did. Once sorted for the first time which as I say did not take long, thereafter it has been pretty instantaneous.

 

[Burnham Bob]

thank you Sailorman for the message and the stern rebuke which i don't think is justified. if I may explain, I am not sure there is too much duplication between the two forums. It seems to me perfectly justified - like putting an ad in a local paper as well as a national publication.

Casting a net over the whole of the PBO readership gets me to a larger audience - the national forum where I get many more readers. In fact I have got one reply from a forumite with a similar problem.

However, as I know the authors of East Coast Sailing read this forum, and the dongle in question is one they recommended, and the chart software is the one used for updates on Crossing the Thames Estuary as that too is published by Imray, i thought they may be able to offer some expert advice on their experience of exactly the set up I am using

I did own up that I had posted this on the PBO forum - and explained briefly why.

Please advise me, should I have used the main PBO forum and possibly missed the local experts who use this combination of software and usb dongle, or used this forum solus and missed the wider experience of the whole PBO readership?

You are obviously piqued, and I am sorry, but do not think I have misused the forums in any way that most people would think unreasonable.

If anyone else reads this far I would be grateful for their advice on the original issue as well as Sailorman's comments on double posting in the light of my reasoning above.

 

[tillergirl]

The flashing dialogue is an indication that it cannot connect. Mine connected instantaneously with the programme although it could not acquire the satellites as I was in my office. Moving to the Conservatory it found itself and worked perfectly.

In the Imray programme click on the Wire and connection type icon in the middle of the menu bar and set the Baud rate to 4800 (I think it defaults to 9600), Data Bits 8, Parity None, Stop Bits 1, Term Char On, time Tag Off and Interval 15. Obviously check it is on the right Com Port which you can check with the ND programme.

 

[FullCircle]

Simple Bob. Cross posting is frowned upon.

Now, I think you should get a little program called Xport from here.


http://www.curioustech.net/xport.html


And it will allocate a Port that does not clash, and allows your GPS to be used by several programs like OpenCPN, PolarNavy and NavmonPC all together.

Give that a whizz, it sorted my BU-353 whhich works the same.


I think.

 

[Burnham Bob]

thanks Tillergirl......will try in tne morning when i'm less tired!

 

[MoodySabre]

I bought a BlueNext GPS dongle which connects quickly when it wants to but takes forever - well, never actually - when I'm in a hurry. And drops the signal regularly requiring a reboot. A new plan required for next year....

 

[Stork_III]

Don't worry about SM rebukes, he likes to be Forum Police, probably become full time in the near future.

Sorry can't help with the problem, still with paper and electronic pencil, (Yeoman).

 

[sailorman]

Don't worry about SM rebukes, he likes to be Forum Police, probably become full time in the near future.

Sorry can't help with the problem, still with paper and electronic pencil, (Yeoman).

Will be joining InterPol

 

[PetiteFleur]

I also had problems with the first gps dongle I bought so bought another make and eventually made it work - had to fiddle with baud rates etc etc but it did work. I have to make sure the gps dongle is plugged in before firing up the chart programme. This was all last year so hoping it will work OK this year..... Very helpful young lady on the Imray stand at LIBs who explained a couple of things I was unsure about.

 

[Burnham Bob]

Tillergirl's advice was spot on - the configuration was 'hidden' in the serial port configuration. i was looking in the help file for 'com' port as the softwfrer creates a virtual com port from usb. in the serial port configuration you can set the baud rate which defaults to 9600 as opposed to the more usual 4something or other.

If anyone else is having a problem that's where to look.