1 Foreword.

Welcome 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.

1.1 Scenarios

So, 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 BrailleNote GPS and the Point of Interest “look-around” feature 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 Abe’s Diner 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 Abe’s Diner when it asks me for the search string. After the POI list is created, I locate Abe’s Diner 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 Abe’s Diner, 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 sightseeing. To find out what is in the vicinity of Abe’s Diner, I now use the Nearby Points of Interest command (F) to hear what Points of Interest are near the Café. Everything from museums to recreational horseback riding facilities may show up as I scroll through the database of nearby points.

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.

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 or the letter L 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 BrailleNote 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 BrailleNote GPS, a blind user can independently “look around” and hear what businesses, addresses and intersections are nearby.

The second general use of BrailleNote 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.

BrailleNote 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.

2 Getting Started.

This 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 storage card. The latest information about the most recent GPS version can be found in the ReadMe document on the storage card or at www.senderogroup.com. The terms BrailleNote or BrailleNote GPS will be used from here on to describe the system whether it is on a BrailleNote or a VoiceNote.

2.1 Installing BrailleNote GPS Software.

If you recently purchased your BrailleNote and KeyMaps is listed in the Main Menu, all you will need to do is upgrade your version of KeyMaps to access the program you purchased, see the upgrading KeyMaps Section below.

If KeyMaps is not listed in your Main Menu, but you are currently a registered SenderoMaps 2015 user, see the SenderoMaps Manual’s section on using the check for updates feature to download maps to your computer. Also see the section on synchronizing to card or remote device. Using SenderoMaps to install makes the process much easier as installers, license keys maps and POIs are automatically placed in the proper place.

2.1.1 Upgrading KeyMaps to BrailleNote GPS

When you upgrade from KeyMaps to BrailleNote GPS, you will be issued an updated license key. If you do not enter the updated key the program and 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 the password is blank. It is strongly recommended that you change your password after you login for the first time.

2.1.2 Installing BrailleNote GPS on the BrailleNote Apex

This section explains how to install the GPS software and data on your BrailleNote. There are separate procedures for installing on the Apex, mPower and PK. Make sure to follow the instructions for your device. 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.

1. Using your PC download the installation package. An example of the file name is GPSInstaller_2015.HWP.

2. Copy the file to an SD card. Note: the Apex does not have a Compact flash or PCMCIA slot, so any reference to either of these in the manuals should be considered the SD card.

3. Insert the SD card into the SD slot. See the Apex manual for details on inserting and removing SD cards.

4. If the Apex is switched on when you insert the SD card you will receive a message informing you to press the reset button to install packages. The reset button is located behind the on/off switch and is black in color. You may need to use a pointed object such as the tip of a pen.

5. Press the reset button and wait a few seconds. After the music plays you will be asked to install GPSInstaller_2015. Press Y to continue installing BrailleNote GPS or press N to return to the main menu.

6. You are then informed that the installation was successful and are returned to the main menu. You can start BrailleNote GPS by pressing the letter N from the main menu without having to do any other reset.

2.1.3 Installing BrailleNote GPS on the BrailleNote mPower or PK

1) If you need to install the GPS software, hold down Dots 1-2-3 on the Braille keyboard. Press and release RESET and continue holding Dots 1-2-3 down until you hear the chime. Note: to perform a reset on the PK, press and hold C3 and C4 along with Dots 1-2-3.

2) Once you have performed the reset, feel along the back of the BrailleNote and you will find the Compact Flash Card slot. Insert the card into this slot with the lip oriented away from the machine and down. It will only go in one way properly. It takes a little pressure to press it in the last quarter inch or so. Do not force it. If it does not plug in all the way, flip the card over. Note: If you wish to use the PC card slot in the right hand side of the mPower, you will first need to put the Compact Flash card into a PC card adapter and then into the PC card slot.

3) From the Main Menu, press U for Utilities.

4) Press A for Application Program.

5) The prompt: “Run program from which drive?” displays. Press C for Compact Flash card. (or P for the PC card slot).

6) You are prompted for the Directory. Press ENTER for none.

7) Select the GPS program installation file, press ENTER and follow the prompts. If it says “command line”, just press ENTER. If you receive any messages about installing over newer files, listen to the prompt and be sure you are not overwriting your custom sounds. Press ENTER to use the default file or SPACE with E to keep your custom file and continue installing. If you get a message about files being in use, this means the reset did not work properly. Try it again and make sure to hold the three keys down until the second audio chime, about ten seconds after the reset beep.

8) When the installation is complete, remove any storage cards and do a No Key Reset, by pressing the reset button. Your GPS software is now ready to go.

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.

2.2 Installing GPS Receivers.

To establish the Bluetooth connection with your BrailleNote go to the

Main Menu, press SPACE O for Options, C for Connectivity Menu and B for Bluetooth and Y for Yes to Turn Bluetooth on if it isn’t already. Say No to Searching for devices and space through the list until you see the name of your GPS receiver and press ENTER.

1. Space through the list and press Enter on ActiveSync.

2. You will see the message, “remove pairing with *receiver name* or activate ActiveSync. Press A to activate the receiver. Make sure it says ActiveSync Active.

3. Return to the Main Menu, wait 10 seconds and open the GPS application.

Note: If you have to do a hard reset, or your BrailleNote’s battery goes flat, it will be necessary to search for devices and pair with the receiver.

For full details and receiver operating instructions, see the “2receivers” Folder on your Compact Flash or SD card. Choose the file that matches the name of the receiver that came with your GPS package.

2.3 How to Wear the GPS.

For 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).

2.4 About Maps.

Maps are an integral part of the GPS software's capabilities. The map data is developed and maintained by TomTom and licensed to Sendero Group for use in the BrailleNote 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 http://www.mysendero.com. 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 http://www.senderogroup.com/shopgps.htm.

2.4.1 Map Storage.

Map data is available for download from http://www.mysendero.com.

You probably received a Compact Flash or SD card with the files comprising your local area (state or province) already in the Maps folder. You can have up to 75 map sections and 75 POI files in a given map folder on the mPower. Due to the limited memory on the PK you can have up to 15 maps and 40 POI files, however, access times and software are more stable with fewer states loaded.

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.

2.4.2 How the BrailleNote Locates Map Files.

When 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 again to load from the Main Menu, reset the BrailleNote, or remove and reinsert the storage medium.

2.4.3 Downloading Maps to the BrailleNote.

If you have KeySoft version released in 2015 or later, you can download maps directly to the BrailleNote, follow these steps:

1. Make sure your Apex is connected to the internet either wirelessly of via an Ethernet connection.

2. Load BrailleNote GPS

3. Press O to get into GPS options menu

4. Press D to Download maps

5. Select the map you wish to download (If you have purchased more than one country you will first be prompted which country you wish to download). Then you will select from all available maps for the country or region you are licensed for or have previously selected.

6. The software will either start downloading the map right away, or give you an estimate of how long it will take to download and unzip the file first if it will take more than a few minutes and ask if you want to proceed or not.

7. Once the map is downloading you can press SPACE H for Help which tells you how far along the download is, or Press SPACE E to abort the download.

8. After the map has downloaded the software must unzip and install the new map this will take a while to complete, approximately twice as long as it took to download the map. This time depends on where your maps are located (ie. internal Flash vs. SD card etc.). While the map is unzipping no percent complete will be provided since there is no way to determine how fast your SD card is to unzip the maps and POIs. You can press SPACE H which tells you that it is unzipping and installing the maps, or Press SPACE E to abort the map installation process.

9. Once complete the new map will have been downloaded, unzipped and installed into your maps directory and ready for use.

2.4.4 Transferring Downloaded, CD or DVD Disc Maps to the BrailleNote.

Transferring 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.

1) For CD or DVD disc transfers, put the CD or DVD you wish to transfer into the CD or DVD drive.

2) Open Windows Explorer and locate the downloaded maps folder or CD or DVD drive and its contents.

3) Also using Windows Explorer, find the location of the Compact Flash card. There are three ways you could access the Compact Flash card:

a) If you have a PC or laptop with a PC card slot, or a PC card reader attached to your PC, you can put the Compact Flash card into an adapter card and use this. You can also use a PC card style Micro Drive for map storage, however these are typically slower than Compact Flash cards and use more BrailleNote battery power.

b) If you have a PC or laptop with a Compact Flash card reader/writer you can insert your Compact Flash card directly into this.

c) If you have a Compact Flash card reader that plugs into your PC (usually plugs into the USB port), you can insert the card into the reader. It is not recommended to transfer maps via ActiveSync as this can take a long time and may be interrupted.

4) In Windows Explorer, select and copy the files of the Map data.

5) Paste them into the appropriate directory on the Compact Flash card, making sure you get all files associated with a particular map. For example, California has 8 files, 1 RMF file for each of the 6 state sections and 2 database files used during a location lookup. One database is used when performing a City Lookup and the other is used when searching by zip/postal codes. For example California_1.rmf California.cdb and California.zdb. Note: when viewing the files in your map folder using the BrailleNote, you may need to change the BrailleNote to display all files including hidden as the BrailleNote hides database files by default. For more information on viewing hidden files, please refer to the BrailleNote’s user guide. There will also be Points of Interest files beginning with the year of release like 2015 for maps released in 2015. For example, 2015California_Core.pdb. Note the PDB extension for Points of Interest files.

Note: if you are upgrading from a previous version, BrailleNote GPS will remove older maps and POIs from your maps folder. For example you have the Alabama map from last year installed. Once you install the current Alabama map, last year’s Alabama Maps and POIs are automatically removed. This is good as last year’s map is just taking up disk space.

3 GPS Basics and Accuracy.

This 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.

3.1 Use Good Judgment.

This 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.

3.2 About GPS Satellites.

The 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.

3.3 Signal Blind Spots.

Since 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?

3.4 Using GPS Indoors or in a Vehicle.

GPS 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.

3.5 Picking Up Satellite Signals.

The 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 five 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 and the number found. For example: “Searching for satellites, 2 found.” This is especially handy for slower receivers. 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, 10999 Amor Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, WAAS 13 feet, 9 satellites." In the above example 10999 Amor Avenue is the nearest address, Cleveland is the city and Ohio 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 using the heading command.

3.6 GPS and Map Data Accuracy.

To maximize the information and navigation benefits of your BrailleNote 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 BrailleNote GPS software is geared so you know how much to trust the information. If BrailleNote 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.

3.7 General Receiver Information.

See the GPS receiver manual for details and functions not addressed in this user guide. To get started:

1) Turn the receiver on. See the Getting Started manual to learn about the receiver controls.

2) Place the receiver in a location open to the sky where you can begin acquiring GPS satellites. The receiver should have a relatively unobstructed view of the sky. When you travel to a new area or if the unit has been off for several days, for instance when you first use the receiver, it may take longer to determine a position fix.

Once you have turned the BrailleNote on and selected the BrailleNote 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. Make sure your receiver is on. If it is unable to connect, you will be put in virtual mode. You can press BACKSPACE with R to try and reconnect or press V to go into GPS mode. Note: the program will not automatically attempt to connect to the receiver. You should turn the receiver off when not using the GPS program in order to conserve the receiver’s battery power.

3.8 Accuracy of GPS Announcements.

First, 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 hear:

“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:

"Searching for satellites and the number found. For example “Searching for satellites, 2 found.”

To get more GPS tracking details, press Q for GPS quality. 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.

3.9 Getting Oriented Using GPS.

You 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 BrailleNote GPS. Even if you do not start moving, the absolute position of your destination, as announced by BrailleNote GPS, should be reliable. If you have a pedestrian route loaded and walk in the wrong direction for 30 feet (10 meters), you will hear 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.

4 BrailleNote GPS Software Basics.

This section covers the basics of the BrailleNote GPS Software.

4.1 Starting GPS.

To 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.

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. You are then asked if you would like to run in EZ mode or XL mode. EZ has been designed to only give basic commands and information, for example, in EZ mode you cannot access virtual mode or multiple repeat. XL mode turns on all features. Press Y to run in EZ mode, press N to run in XL mode. You can switch between the two modes at any time by pressing O then X, this is a toggle. 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 your serial number and password at http://www.gosendero.com.

After your license is accepted you hear: "X Maps loaded," where X is the number of maps that were loaded. You might also be presented with a list of maps that the system automatically detects. Scroll to the map you would like to load and press enter.

You are then asked for the POI Author name. This step is required. You can type in your initials or your full name and press ENTER.

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.

4.2 Exiting a GPS Session.

When 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.

4.3 Switching Between Tasks.

You 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.

4.4 Resetting During a GPS Session.

There 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.

4.5 Context Sensitive Help.

Context 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.

4.5.1 Using the GPS Help Menu.

BrailleNote GPS has an easy to use and intuitive menu system. To access the Interactive Help menu, press SPACE with H. This will list four frequently used commands along with 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:

a. Announce Summary of current location: Activating this command will announce a summary of your current position such as heading, address and GPS status.

b. Location Lookup: Here is where you can select an address search by city, zip/postal code and view your favorites and history.

c. Nearest POI: This command brings you into a list of POIs that are near your location.

d. Find Nearest POI: Pressing this command will search for POIs by category, subcategory and name.

e. Where Am I Commands: Find out where you are with information such as address, intersection, city and state.

f. GPS Commands: Used in GPS mode, find out information such as your GPS status, speed, or how to switch to GPS mode.

g. Virtual Commands: Used in virtual mode, find out how to explore the map in virtual mode.

h. Destination Commands: How to set a destination.

i. Points of Interest Commands: Commands used to look up POIs or to create your own user points.

j. Route Commands: How to create, follow and edit a route.

k. LookAround Commands: Manage your LookAround settings.

l. Multiple Repeat Commands: Check the status of your multiple repeat items or turn them on or off.

m. Miscellaneous Commands: In this item you will find commands that do not seem to fit into the other categories.

n. Option Commands: Customize options such as Map and POI folder location or Braille display delay.

o. Information Center: Read the Command summary, Users' Manual, and get more information about the program.

p. Exit Program: Selecting this item will Exit the GPS application.

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.

4.6 Copy Protection.

Each 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.

4.7 KeySoft Version.

See 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.

5 Location Lookup.

The location lookup is one of the most commonly used features of BrailleNote 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.

5.1 City Lookup.

The first way to perform a location lookup is by city. The steps below show how to lookup the address, 10999 Amor Avenue, Cleveland OH 44108, which is one of the locations where Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman.

1) From anywhere in the GPS application, press SPACE with S or the letter L.

2) You will hear, “Location Lookup. City Lookup: 1 of 4.” Here is where you choose the type of lookup. If you press SPACE you will move to the Zip/postal Lookup menu item. Pressing SPACE a second time moves to the History list menu item. Pressing SPACE a final time moves to the favorites list. For this example press ENTER to choose City Lookup. You will hear “City Lookup chosen.” Note this selection is remembered the next time you perform a location lookup.

3) If you have multiple maps loaded, a list is displayed followed by the index number. For example, if you have Ohio, Texas, and Utah in your maps folder you would hear, “Ohio: 1 of 3.” If you only have one map in your maps folder, it is chosen automatically. Scroll to the desired map and press ENTER. You will be prompted “Ohio Chosen. City?”

4) Type Cleveland and press ENTER. Note: At this prompt you can type the full address and skip the next two prompts. “10999 Amor: Cleveland”. You must place a colon between the street name and city name or typing the full address will not work. If you are using contracted Braille, don’t forget to use a number sign before numbers and a letter sign before the single character searches or it will be translated, for example B for but.”

5) You will hear “Cleveland chosen. Address?” Type 10999 and press ENTER. Note: you can type the address number and street name, 10999 Amor, and press ENTER. If you type the address number and street name, the lookup will begin at this point.

6) After typing in 10999 and pressing ENTER, you are prompted, “street?” type Amo and press ENTER.

7) You will hear, “Streets found. Amor Avenue: 1 of 5.” Meaning there are 2 streets beginning with the characters “Amo” in the city of Cleveland and 3 additional menu items. These items conclude every street list, they are: (1) Try exhaustive search. If the street you are looking for does not begin with the characters you have typed, try this item as it will search the entire street name and not just the beginning. (2) Back to street address selection. Select this item if you made a mistake when typing in the address number or street. (3) Back to city selection. Select this item if you made a mistake while typing in the city name.

8) Scroll up to the first item Amor Avenue: 1 of 5 and press ENTER. If the lookup was successful you are advised and placed in the address action menu. The action menu is a list of 7 items: explore position, destination, pedestrian route, vehicle route, create user POI, both explore position and destination and add to favorites. Press SPACE to scroll to explore position and press ENTER. You are now virtually near this address. Note: your position is as if you were standing at the street with the building behind you. In this case you would see the following: “At 10999 Amor Ave heading southeast. 1 feet left to Parkwood Drive, 0.29 mi right to East 105th Street.”

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. In the previous section, we described in detail how to lookup the address where Superman was created by using the city search. The steps below show how to lookup the same address, 10999 Amor Avenue, Cleveland OH 44108, by using the zip code 44108.

1) From anywhere in the GPS application, press SPACE with S or the letter L.

2) You will hear, “Location Lookup. City Lookup: 1 of 4.” Here is where you choose the type of search. Press SPACE to move to the Zip/postal Lookup menu item. Pressing SPACE a second time moves to the History list menu item. Pressing SPACE a final time moves you to the favorites list. When you hear “Zip/postal Lookup: 2 of 4,” press ENTER to search by zip code. You will hear, “Zip/postal Lookup chosen.” Note this selection is remembered the next time you do a location lookup.

3) If you have multiple maps loaded, a list is displayed followed by the index number. For example, if you had Ohio, Texas, and Utah in your maps folder you would hear, “Ohio: 1 of 3.” If you only have one map in your maps folder, it is chosen automatically. Scroll to the desired map and press ENTER. You will be prompted “Ohio Chosen. Zip/postal?”

4) Type in the zip code 44108 and press ENTER. Note: At this prompt you can type the full address and skip the next two prompts. “10999 Amor: 44108.” You must place a colon between the street name and zip code or typing the full address will not work. If you are using contracted Braille, don’t forget to use a number sign before numbers and a letter sign before single characters or it will be translated, for example B for but

5) You will hear, “44108 chosen. Address?” Type 10999 and press ENTER. Note: you can type both the address number and street name, 10999 Amor, and press ENTER. If you type the address number and street name, the lookup will begin at this point.

6) After typing in 10999 and pressing ENTER, you are prompted, “street?” Type “Amo” and press ENTER.

7) Because Amor Ave is the only street in the zipcode of 44108 you are placed in the 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 SPACE to scroll to explore position and press ENTER. You are now virtually near this address. Note: your position is as if you were standing at the street with the building behind you. In this case you would see the following: “At 10999 Amor Ave heading southeast. 1 foot left to Parkwood Drive, 0.29 mi right to East 105th Street.” To begin exploring you must turn left or right first.

Note: If you are presented with a list the city the street is in is also displayed. This is because a zip/postal code can span multiple cities. Having this information will ensure you pick the correct street.

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 with that address. In the previous sections, we used the City Lookup and Zip/postal Lookup features to set an address as a virtual position so that you could virtually explore around. 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:

1) From the GPS software press SPACE with S or the letter L or select "destination" from the GPS Help Menu.

2) You are presented in turn with fields for type of search, map, city or zip/postal code, address number and street name. To review the help messages for these fields, press SPACE with H for help. Select the map from the list presented and press ENTER. Once you have entered the address, the address action menu is displayed. The items are as follows:

a) Explore Position: Sets your virtual position to the address.

b) Destination: Sets the address as your destination.

c) Pedestrian Route: Creates a pedestrian route from your current position to the address.

d) Vehicle Route: Creates a vehicle route from your current position to the address.

e) Create User POI: Creates a user point from the address you just looked up.

f) Both Explore Position and Destination: Sets the address to both your destination and virtual position.

g) Add to Favorites: Pressing ENTER on this item adds the selected address to your list of Favorites. After the favorite is added you are returned to the Address Action menu to make another selection, for example create a pedestrian route. This saves you from having to lookup the address again.

You can press the first letter of the menu item you wish to move to or press SPACE to move through the list and then press ENTER on the desired item.

3) Select destination from the action menu, BrailleNote GPS announces: "Destination set to the address found.” You can then create an automatic route as described in Section 6.3.

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 or the letter L for a location 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, and 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 6 items: explore position, destination, pedestrian route, vehicle route, create user POI, 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, California.”

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.

1) For the map and city/zip postal fields, you have the option of an exact match, accepting the default from your current position, entering a partial match, or getting an entire list. You can press ENTER to accept or scroll through the list to see the other choices.

2) If you choose accept the default from your current position, the system will use your current position to offer suggestions. For example, if your current position is in Boston Massachusetts, when prompted for the state, Massachusetts is selected, just press ENTER. If you are doing a city lookup Boston is offered as a suggestion. Press ENTER to search in the suggested city or type in a new city. Similarly while performing zip/postal code lookups, your current zip/postal code is suggested. This works in both GPS and virtual explore modes.

3) If you leave the address number empty and type in just the street name or the address number is not found, you will be presented with a list of address ranges along the street chosen. For example, if you type Beach Road, you will hear, “1-199 Beach Road, 200-299 Beach Road” and so on.

4) To obtain a list of cross streets leave the address number blank. When the list of address ranges is displayed scroll to the cross streets option and press ENTER. The cross streets are in order from the beginning of the street to the end. The purpose of this list is so that the user has a choice of potential address ranges or can retrieve a list of cross streets.

5) The street field does not remember the last street name entered. For a list of streets, press ENTER at the street prompt.

6) To obtain a list of all cities or zip/postal codes, press SPACE then press ENTER at the respective prompt. The above also applies for a list of streets.

7) If you do not wish to hear index numbers while scrolling through a list, just press the # sign (Dots 3-4-5-6) to toggle them on/off. If index numbers are on you will hear “New York 3 of 4.” If they are turned off you will just hear “New York.”

6 Routes.

The first general use of BrailleNote GPS is to navigate to a specific destination along an automatically planned route. If you would like to create routes between states each state must be loaded. If you would like to create a route and your destination is two or three states away, you must also have the states your route will travel through loaded. 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.

6.1 General Route Information.

This section deals with General Route Information.

6.1.1 Naming a Route.

Each 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:

"Bus Route A"

"Bus Route B".

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 ? .

6.1.2 Trigger Distances.

The 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.

Pedestrian, Turn now, 125 feet.

Pedestrian, Turn now (Manual Detailed Waypoints), 50 feet.

Vehicle (60 miles per hour), Approaching Waypoint, 1/2 mile.

Vehicle (60 miles per hour), Turn now, 1000 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.

6.1.3 Automatic Heading and Distance Announcements.

Once 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.

1) The orientation reading. There are four orientation methods for obtaining the Waypoint heading information, Clock Face, Left/Right, a combination of both and Sailing. The default is Left/Right. To switch among the four announcements, go to the GPS Options Menu, Heading selection. A detailed description of these modes is also available in Section 12.2

2) The distance reading. The key here is to hear the distance to your next Waypoint or destination decreasing. If the distance is consistently getting smaller, you are headed in the correct direction. If the distance is increasing, you are headed the wrong way. If there is one essential piece of information to be aware of when using GPS for navigation, this is it!

3) The compass heading. The compass announcement tells you if the Waypoint is North, South, East, or West. This is given after the clock face or right/left position announcements. For example, “at 10 o’clock, South.”

6.1.4 Destination Side of the Street Announcement.

When 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:

1) Set your destination using the SPACE with S or the letter L command. You must have an address number, for example, 123 Main Street, or select an address range.

2) Choose a commercial POI that has an address. To check whether or not a commercial POI has an address, press SPACE with P then press SPACE to move through the POI details. If the address is in the database, then it will be announced if there is one.

3) Choose a User POI that has an address. You must record your User POIs with the street address in the User POIs address number field for this to work. For example, you are recording your house as a User POI. Enter “My house,” then press ENTER. Select “user private” as the category and press ENTER three times to skip the addition of tags and media content. Next, press SPACE with P to bring up the POI details. Press the letter A to move to the address field. Press BACKSPACE with C then type in the address number, for example “123.”

All other fields should automatically be populated for you including the name of the Street, City, State/Province, Country and Zip/Postal code.

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.

6.1.5 Tips on Following a Vehicular Route.

When 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 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 exit numbers in the database. Exit numbers are included in the turn instructions. They are also automatically announced if you have LookAround intersections enabled.

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.

6.2 Setting a Destination.

Once 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:

1) by address,

2) by Point of Interest,

3) by Virtual Explore position, or,

4) by latitude and longitude.

Address 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 however 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 pedestrian routes created from replay files, it will not work with vehicle routes or vehicle routes created from replay files. 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.

6.2.1 Setting a Destination by Address.

For 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:

Press SPACE with S or the letter L
Fill in the Address Search prompts
At the Address Action Menu, select Destination.

6.2.2 Setting a Destination by Point of Interest.

To set a POI as a destination, the last spoken POI can be set as a destination by pressing SPACE with D.

6.2.3 Setting a Destination by Virtual Explore Position.

To set your Explore position as a destination press SPACE with D.

6.2.4 Setting Latitude and Longitude (Lat/Lon) Positions.

Setting 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.

Other possible web sites where latitude/longitude information might be available are http://www.geocode.com or http://www.wayhoo.com. Let’s say for example you were going to take a trip to the Galapagos Islands and wanted to know which Central American city was closest to fly into, San Jose Costa Rica or Guayaquil Ecuador. Use Google on the Internet to find the lat/lon for these three locations. Then, set your current position to the Galapagos and set the other two cities as a destination or point of interest.

If this sounds like your kind of fun, play the worldwide GPS treasure hunt game by joining http://www.geocaching.com.

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 BrailleNote GPS system uses Latitude and Longitude coordinates in the WGS84 datum.

To set a virtual position by latitude and longitude, do the following:

1) Press SPACE with Y and you will hear “Enter latitude degrees.”

2) Enter the two digits for the degrees, for example, 37.

3) Repeat this for the rest of the prompts, per the example coordinates:

“Enter latitude minutes.” 46.

“Enter latitude seconds.” 30.7.

“Press N for North or S for South”. N.

“Enter longitude degrees.” 122.

“Enter longitude minutes.” 25.

“Enter longitude seconds.” 5.15.

“Press W for West or E for East.” W.

4) “Enter the name for this location.” Type the name of the location and press ENTER. These example lat/lon coordinates belong to the city of San Francisco, CA.

5) You are then prompted to enter a description. Press ENTER if you wish to skip this step.

6) Finally, the last prompt says: “Lat/Lon 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. Type E for explore position.

7) You can now explore points near this virtual lat/lon for example by pressing F. Switch back to your GPS position by pressing V.

Note: Do not enter a minus sign before any of the lat/lon values as this is determined when choosing S for South or W for West.

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:

1) Press SPACE with Y and you will hear “Enter latitude degrees.”

2) Enter the two digits for the degrees, for example, 37.

3) Repeat this for the rest of the prompts, per the example coordinates:

“Enter latitude minutes.” 46.512.

“Press N for North or S for South”. N.

“Enter longitude degrees.” 122.

“Enter longitude minutes.” 26.286.

“Press W for West or E for East.” W.

4) “Enter the name and description for this location.” Type the name of the location and press ENTER. These example lat/lon coordinates belong to the city of San Francisco, CA.

5) Finally, the last prompt says: “Lat/Lon 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. Type E for explore position.

6) You can now explore points near this virtual lat/lon for example by pressing F. Switch back to your GPS position by pressing V.

The third way to input a lat/lon is called 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.

“Enter N for North or S for South” N.

“Enter longitude degrees.” 122.4180997.

“Enter W for West or E for East” W.

“Lat/Lon Action Menu:” E for Explore position.

6.3 How to Create an Automatic Route.

In 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:

1) Decide if you wish the starting point to be from your current GPS position, i.e. where you are currently located, or from a Virtual position. More information on Virtual positions and Virtual Mode can be found in Section 8. Your current GPS position can either be the GPS position you are tracking or the last GPS position tracked if you have entered a building and cannot pick up satellites.

2) Set a destination by address, POI or lat/lon as described in Sections 5.1, 5.2 and 6.2. From the Action Menu, select either “Vehicle route” or “Pedestrian route.” You can also use the Route Commands, R then V or R then P to create the route when you already have a destination set.

6.3.1 About Automatic Routes and Waypoints.

The 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.

6.3.2 Street Classifications.

In 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 BrailleNote 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 you have route mode 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 an island. If you use the detailed location command 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 cannot 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.

6.3.3 Inserting Waypoints in Automatic Routes.

Once you have had BrailleNote 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.

6.4 How to Create a Manual Route.

Manual 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 BrailleNote 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 BrailleNote GPS users.

To create a manual route:

1) Once in the GPS application, press R for Routes and O for Open/Create. KeySoft prompts: “Folder name? X”, where X is the last folder opened. The first time you use GPS it will offer the General folder. You may wish to select the GPS folder on your Flash disk. Select a folder in the usual way.

2) You are then prompted: "Route name? Computer Braille is required.” The last route or document used will be presented.

3) Type in a unique, meaningful route name and press ENTER. The program says: “Document does not exist. Create a new document? Press ‘Y’ to create the new route.”

4) Press Y as directed. The program then says “Recording route, Route Name.” where Route Name is the name you have just created.

5) When the software announces: “Acquired Position” you can begin to create the route.

6.4.1 Entering Manual Waypoints.

When 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. When you want to record a Waypoint, follow these steps:

1) Press SPACE with K. The system responds: “Waypoint name?” Type a meaningful name and press ENTER.

2) Enter in Waypoint direction, S or Dot 2 for Straight, R or Dot 1 for Right and L or Dot 3 for Left.

3) Next, you will be prompted for a Waypoint description. Some examples of this would be “4-way intersection” or “slight curve in path.” Note: Do not enter the turn direction here (i.e. “right turn”) as the direction will switch when reversing the route.

4) Save the Waypoint by pressing ENTER. The BrailleNote then says: “Waypoint name added.”

5) Continue adding Waypoints until you have reached your destination.

6) To exit and save the route, press SPACE with E, or to save the route but keep it open, press R then S.

6.4.2 Editing Waypoints.

Waypoints 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 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.

· To rename a Waypoint, locate the Waypoint as above, then press R and type in the new name followed by ENTER. To add or modify the Waypoints description press D, type in the description and press ENTER.

· If you have a Waypoint you wish to add to your User POI file, simply press P when that Waypoint is highlighted and it will be copied into your User POI file. Select the poi subcategory from the list, simply press ENTER for "user private."

If you wish to do the reverse and place a POI into your route Waypoints, exit editing and press R for route commands, M for the Route Management Menu, finally P for "add current POI as Waypoint" when the POI you wish to record as a Waypoint is highlighted.

6.4.3 Tips for Setting Quality Route Waypoints.

Waypoints 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 Menu

This 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

2) Route Management Commands

To hear the commands within these categories, press ENTER on the 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 A.

Current 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 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.

6.5.2 Route Management Commands List: R M

Pedestrian 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 BrailleNote 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 BrailleNote 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 recommended 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 BrailleNote 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 BrailleNote 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:

a. Route announcements only: All LookAround events are turned off. You will only receive route announcements such as the approaching turn message. When the route is closed your normal LookAround announcements will trigger. This may cut down on the extra chatter while following a route.

b. Current LookAround settings: All LookAround events you select in the LookAround menu SPACE with M, are active while following a route, for example Intersections, POIs and city change announcements if you have them enabled in the LookAround menu.

c. Route and Intersection announcements: Selecting this item announces intersections as well as route instructions such as the approaching turn announcement.

d. Route and POI Announcements: Selecting this item announces Points of Interest as well as route instructions such as the approaching turn announcement.

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, and 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 M, 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 will be 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 M, 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 BACKSPACE with dot 2 command to manually 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.

6.5.3 Frequently Used Route Commands.

Create 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 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, the subsequent time 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 routes created from replay files, it will not work with vehicle routes.

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 BACKSPACE with 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.

Remaining Waypoints in Route: BACKSPACE with I; This command brings up a list with all remaining waypoints and turns in your route. You can use BACKSPACE and SPACE to scroll through your route. The first item in the list is the point you are trying to get to. While you are in this list you will not receive any announcements such as intersections.

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 sharedPOIs folder. When you use the POI Find commands, both the commercial and User POIs will be sorted.

7.1 General Points of Interest Information.

This section outlines the basics on Points of Interest (POIs), including basic commands and categories.

7.1.1 Last Point of Interest Announced.

To hear the last POI announced, press P. To view and edit the details of 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 “Cleveland (city)”. When labels are off you will just hear “Cleveland.” 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.

7.1.2 Point of Interest Categories.

There are several POI Categories which make up the Core POIs. Some have subcategories to help refine your search; some examples from the restaurant category are "barbeque" and "German." These new points are the equivalent of electronic yellow pages with GPS positions. The core POIs include everything from automobile, transportation, medical, government services to schools, libraries, restaurants, accommodations, entertainment and tourism. These files should be placed in the Maps folder.

For a list of the POI categories and sub-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 Definable POI Search, which will be discussed in section 12.8.4.

7.2 Finding Points of Interest.

7.2.1 Nearby Points of Interest.

To 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, coffee shop, Desert drv, Phoenix, 900 feet, South.” Continue to scroll through the POIs or press SPACE with E to 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.

7.2.2 Simple POI Find.

You 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 P or ENTER from within the POI list. Listen to the currently selected POI by pressing SPACE with R. Scroll through the list with SPACE with Dot 4 forward or SPACE with Dot 1 backward. 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.

7.2.3 Advanced POI Find.

Use 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, starting 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.

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:

1. I was hungry when going from San Pablo to Stockton, which is about an hour and a half drive. I was able to do a search for restaurants ahead of us. I found a good place to eat, set it as our destination and created a route to it.

2. I knew that the POI I was looking for was in Shop/Service category and that it was on Trinity Pkwy, but couldn’t remember the name or phone number. I was able to search by specific category, Shop/Service and by street name search, Trinity Pkwy. Seeing the POI name triggered my memory. I was then able to view the POI details, locate the phone number and call them to find out if they were open.

3. Out of curiosity, I searched for all Chinese Restaurants in the city of Lodi. I will have to visit some of those places the next time I am there.

7.3 Using Points of Interest.

Now that you know numerous ways to find POIs, it is time to discuss how to efficiently use the POIs that you find.

7.3.1 Navigating a POI List.

When 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.

7.3.2 POI Action Menu.

The 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:

1) Vehicle route: Creates a vehicle route from your current position to the POI.

2) Both Explore Virtual Position and Destination: Sets the POI to both your destination and virtual position.

3) Destination: Sets the POI as your destination.

4) Show POI Details: Allows you to view and edit the POI details such as address and phone number. It is the same as the SPACE with P command. While viewing the details, press BACKSPACE with Dots 2-3-5-6 to delete the POI.

5) Explore Position: Sets your virtual position to the POI.

6) Pedestrian route: Creates a pedestrian route from your current position to the POI.

7) Media Playback: This item is only displayed when the POI has additional content such as an audio file or Keyword document. Pressing enter on this item will run the media player or launch the Book Reader application. If you view the POIs' details you can see the name of the attached media file.

8) Add to Favorites: Pressing ENTER on this item adds the selected POI to your list of Favorites. After the favorite is added you are returned to the POI Action menu to make another selection, for example create a pedestrian route. This saves you from having to find the POI again.

You can press the first letter of the menu item you wish to move to or press SPACE to move through the list and then press ENTER on the desired item.

7.3.3 Editing Points of Interest.

Because 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.

· Delete POI: BACKSPACE with Dots 2-3-5-6. If you answer yes to confirm deletion the POI details will automatically close.

· Toggle all or populated fields on/off: BACKSPACE with C

· Display Summary: BACKSPACE with S

· Display file location of POI: SPACE with F

· Address: A

· City: C

· Description: D

· Email: E

· Fax: F

· Side of street: G

· Hours: H

· Third party ID: I

· Category: J

· Subcategory: K

· Latitude / Longitude: L

· Media: M

· Name: N

· Off-street Latitude / Longitude: O

· Phone Number: P

· Labels on / off: Q

· Author: R

· Street: S

· Tags: T

· User POI: U

· State / Province: V

· Web Address: W

· Private POI: X

· Country: Y

· Zip or Postal Code: Z

· Move up one field: SPACE with Dot 1

· Move down one field: SPACE with Dot 4

· Move up one POI: SPACE with Dots 2-3

· Move down one POI: SPACE with Dots 5-6

· Move to top of POI list: SPACE with Dots 1-2-3

· Move to bottom of POI list: SPACE with Dots 4-5-6

· Move down 10 POI: BACKSPACE with Dots 5-6

· Move up 10 POI: BACKSPACE with Dots 2-3

· Exit POI details: SPACE with E

7.4 Creating User Points of Interest.

It 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.

7.4.1 How to Record a User POI.

There 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:

1) Press SPACE with Dot 3. GPS then prompts: “Point of Interest name?"

2) Type a name and press ENTER. When you are naming your POIs, it is helpful to have a unique, meaningful name so that you can remember the significance of the POI. You can use up to 255 characters while writing the name of the POI.

3) You are then presented with a list of categories. The default is "user private." You can scroll through the categories with the SPACEBAR or press the first letter of the category that you wish to find, and then press ENTER. Note: if you choose to send your user POIs to Sendero Group any points that are in the "user private" category will not be shared. If you have a point that does not seem to fall into any category, please use the bonus category.

4) You are presented with a list of tags. These are predefined words that you can add to your user POI such as driveway or elevator. Scroll up and down the list of tags by pressing SPACE or BACKSPACE. If you know the name of the tag, you can also use the first letter of its name for example Press W to move to the Wi-Fi free tag. When you see a tag you wish to use, press SPACE with M to mark or unmark the tag. Once you have marked all relevant tags press enter to continue. Note: if you change to a different category you may see different tags. It doesn't make sense to be presented with Braille menu if you select the sport category.

5) 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.

6) You are then given the opportunity to add additional media content such as an audio recording. select from the list of 4 items:

None: This is the default just press ENTER to create the user POI.

Record audio: Press ENTER to start recording audio, press enter again to stop recording and create the user POI.

Add media file: Pressing enter will allow you to browse for a file to add to the POI, it could be an audio file or a keyword text file.

Description: This item allows you to type in a description of the POI if you wish. Perhaps you would like to make a notation that the POI is near a light pole or a trash can.

You will hear, “POI name added,” where name is the name you just created.

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 the letter L 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 Interest.

In 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:

1. Press E for Edit while in the GPS application. The system presents a list of 3 items, User POI, route and favorite. Press U for User POI. You will be placed on the nearest POI and will be told the number of User POIs you have defined. For example “3 of 5 Bus stop.”

2. In the POI list, locate the POI you wish to edit, and press ENTER. You will be in the POI editor. The heading and distance from your current position is announced.

3. Scroll to the field you wish to edit and press ENTER. Type in the new information and press ENTER. For example press ENTER on address number. The address number and street name are in their own fields.

4. When you press ENTER the information gets updated and you are automatically moved to the next field. If you want to edit that field, press ENTER and type in the new text or continue to scroll down the list.

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.

7.4.3 Deleting a Point of Interest.

There might be times when you wish to delete a commercial or user POI. Follow the below steps to delete a POI.

1) In the POI list find the POI you wish to delete.

2) Select Show/edit details.

3) Press BACKSPACE with Dots 2-3-5-6. The system asks if you are sure. Answer yes to delete the POI, answer no if you do not wish to delete the 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 User POI Files.

User.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. The MySendero.com page provides more details on sharing User files.

7.5 Media Content.

This 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.

7.5.1 Attaching Media to a POI.

There 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.

1) Press SPACE with DOT 3.

2) The BrailleNote is waiting for you to type in the name of the Point of Interest. Just press ENTER.

3) BrailleNote asks for the category, select a category or just press enter to accept "user private." Press ENTER twice to skip the prompts relating to adding tags.

4) At this point you can press SPACE to scroll to the "record audio" item and press ENTER to start recording the audio for the POI. Press enter to stop recording. Note a unique name will be assigned to the POI. For example POI7. You may rename the POI by viewing the POI details and editing its' name.

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.

1) Use any of the previously discussed methods for finding POIs.

2) View the POI details by using the POI action menu or pressing SPACE with P on the desired POI.

3) Scroll to the Media option and press ENTER or just press M to move to the media option quickly.

4) You are presented with a list of 2 items, record audio and add media file. A file can be either an existing audio file or a text document. You are unable to attach word documents. They must be Keyword documents.

5) Pressing R starts to record the audio as outlined above. Pressing A opens a standard KeySoft file open prompt. You will be asked for the location of the file. Select the drive, folder, and then finally the filename. The files you can attach are: audio files with extensions of wave mp3, and or documents with the extensions of kwt, or kwb.)

6) Press SPACE with E or SPACE with S or the letter L to exit the POI editor and save the changes.

7.5.2 Playing Media Content.

Now that we know how to attach additional media content to a POI lets discuss how to view the content.

1) Search for the POI using any of the previously discussed methods.

2) In the list of POIs press enter to bring up the POI Action menu.

3) The first option is "Media Playback, the type of media attached to the POI is also announced. Pressing ENTER on this item launches the Book Reader for documents and the media player for audio files. Use your standard book reader commands to view the text of the document. Press SPACE with E to return to BrailleNote GPS. 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 Menu.

In 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.

1) Search for the POI.

2) View the POI details.

3) Scroll to the "media" option and press ENTER. Note the name of the media file is displayed POI7.wav.

4) You will be placed in the POI Media Action menu. There are 3 items. Media playback, delete media file and Replace media file.

a. Media playback: Pressing ENTER on this item allows you to view the attached content as discussed in Section 7.5.2.

b. Delete Media file: Pressing ENTER on this option removes the additional media file.

c. Replace Media File: Pressing ENTER on this item will prompt to record audio or attach an existing file as discussed in Section 7.5.1.

7.6 Tags.

The 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 BrailleNote GPS comes with a number of predefined tags such as Door main, door revolving, trash can 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, and 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.

1) Use any of the previously discussed methods for finding POIs.

2) View the POI details by using the POI action menu or pressing SPACE with P on the desired POI.

3) Scroll to the tag option and press ENTER or just press T to move to the tag option quickly.

You are presented with a list of tags. These are predefined words that you can add to your user POI such as driveway or elevator. Scroll up and down the list of tags by pressing SPACE or BACKSPACE. If you know the name of the tag, you can also use the first letter of its name for example Press W to move to the Wi-Fi free tag. When you see a tag you wish to use, press SPACE with M to mark or unmark the tag. Once you have marked all relevant tags press enter to continue. Note: if you change to a different category you may see different tags. It doesn't make sense to be presented with Braille menu if you select the sport category.

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.

If you would like to edit or delete a user definable tag, press SPACE with M on that tag, you will hear Mark/Unmark, delete or edit.

8 Looking Around.

BrailleNote 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.

8.1 Automatic LookAround Mode.

Automatic 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:

0 - 5 MPH (0 feet to 300 feet)

5 - 15 MPH (300 feet to 600 feet)

15 - 40 MPH (600 feet to 1200 feet)

40 - 200 MPH (1200 feet to 6000 feet or just about 1 Mile)

Greater than 200 MPH (1 Mile to 5 Miles)

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:

1) Turn LookAround Mode On or Off - Default is on. To simply switch status, press L for On or Off. Alternatively, scroll down to the prompt Turn On or Off LookAround and toggle the status with the ENTER key.

2) Route LookAround Preference - 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:

c. Route and Intersection announcements: Selecting this item announces intersections as well as route instructions such as the approaching turn announcement.

d. Route and POI Announcements: Selecting this item announces Points of Interest as well as route instructions such as the approaching turn announcement.

3) POI search direction - Default is ahead. You can use this item to only have POIs announced ahead of you, behind you, or in a particular direction such as North. Pressing ENTER displays a list of nine items. These items include full circle, ahead, behind, left, right, North, South, East, and West. If you have this item set to ahead and do not have a relative heading, full circle will be used until you obtain a heading.

4) Commercial points - Default is on. Turns commercial POI announcements on or off. If you are moving down the street near a POI, the side of the street the POI is on will be announced. For example “Burger King, Restaurant, right side.” Note: POIs are announced if they are within one mile or one kilometer.

5) Intersections- Default is on. You can see the status of intersections i.e. if the item is switched on. Press ENTER on this item to toggle its status.

6) Street Changes- Default is on. Use this item to be notified when the street you are moving along changes. When you make a turn onto a new street, the street that you are now traveling on is automatically announced.

7) City changes- Default is on. You will be notified when you enter a new city or section of the city. For example, Cleveland, or Cleveland University of California. Parks and other sections of a city may also be denoted. With a LookAround time interval set to 12, it can take up to 48 seconds (4 times the LookAround timer) before a new city is announced.

8) Map Changes- Default is on. You will be notified when you cross into another state or province. With a LookAround time interval set to 12, it can take up to 72 seconds (6 times the LookAround timer) before a new state/province is announced.

9) User POIs- Default is on. This item is for turning on or off the announcement of user Points of Interest. Note: User POIs are announced if they are within one mile or one kilometer.

10) Change commercial POI category- Default is all categories. Press ENTER on this item to make changes in the POI categories you wish to select for announcement.

11) LookAround time interval: Selecting this option allows you to change the number of seconds in which the system scans for and announces a LookAround event. Default is 12 seconds. The minimum is 5 seconds and the maximum is 300 seconds.

12) Silence intersection announcements when speed reaches: The intersection announce feature of LookAround mode allows you to automatically hear an intersection as you approach it. To minimize the constant announcements of intersections, you will only hear about intersections when you are traveling under a certain speed. The default is 50 MPH. If you are traveling at a higher speed and would like to hear the intersections announced, change the speed setting accordingly. Intersections are checked once a second. When traveling above 15 MPH you will only hear the cross streets announced, this number is not user definable. A unique sound signifies the approaching intersection. On the display you will see (x.)

13) Include tags in LookAround and POI lists- Default is on. Selecting this option extra tag information will be identified if it is included in the POI. For example Bus stop, Bench. Bus stop is the POI name and bench is the additional tag. If you turn this option off you would only see the POI name, Bus stop.

14) Include distance and direction in LookAround POI events- Default is off. When a POI is announced you can have the distance and direction included. If this feature is turned on the distance and direction to the POI will be announced. For example, Starbucks, Coffee shop, 431 feet, ahead, right side. If this feature is turned off the distance and direction is not announced. For example, Starbucks, Coffee shop, right side.

The status of your LookAround settings is maintained when you exit the GPS program with SPACE with E.

8.2 Multiple Repeat Mode.

The 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 K; Multiple Current Waypoint Announcement.

M then M; Deactivate all Multiple Repeat Commands.

M then N; Multiple Intersection Detail Announcement.

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 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 Delay.

Under 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 the receiver is searching for satellites and it will not repeat in Virtual mode.

8.3 Manual LookAround Mode.

Manual LookAround mode allows you to spot check your location. You can manually enter the LookAround commands such as:

SPACE for Current Location Summary. You will hear information such as nearest intersection, next turn and destination of a route is loaded, heading, nearest address including city and GPS status. This is a great way to get a summary of your current location with one keystroke.

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, so 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 the nearest intersection from the next intersection (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 or dot 3 for the nearest POI.

F for all Nearby POIs. See Section 7.2.1 for more details

9 Virtual Mode.

To 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.

9.1 Virtual Explore Mode.

A virtual position can be set by address, Route Waypoint, POI, lat/lon or to your GPS location. See the respective sections about how to set these positions. 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 then P for Pedestrian. You can virtually explore routes with or without the GPS 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.

9.2 Enable Virtual Side of Street Tracking.

In BrailleNote GPS there are two ways to explore the street layout. By default when you explore you move from intersection to intersection. Think of yourself walking down the center of the street, you are not taking into account the side of the street you are walking down, you are just moving from intersection to intersection. When you enable Virtual Side of Street Tracking it is as if you are walking along a virtual sidewalk. For example if you set your explore position to your house the street is in front of you. Pressing Dots 2-3 will turn you to the left and you are on the left side of the street. Another difference is when you reach an intersection you must press Dots 3-6 to cross the street. This is because when you reach the intersection, you could cross the street ahead of you or you could turn right and cross to the other side of your street, turn right again and walk along the opposite side of the street.

Note: Virtual side of street tracking is only available on the Apex.

To toggle Virtual Side of Street Tracking: From the help menu, select the GPS options menu, then press SPACE to move to the “side of street tracking” item and press ENTER. Alternatively from the main GPS program press O then T.

Lets explore around the address where Superman was created 10999 Amor Avenue, Cleveland OH 44108.

Use the address lookup command SPACE-S to set your explore position to this address. See section 5 for details.

“At 10999 Amor Ave heading southeast. 1 foot left to Parkwood Drive, 0.29 mi right to East 105th Street.”

Press Dots 5-6 to turn right.

“southwest on the right side of Amor Avenue at Parkwood Drive, behind and right”

Now press A to find out the nearest address.

“Address: 10999 Amor Avenue, right side”

Notice you are told you are on the right side. Picture yourself walking along the right side of the street. The side of street information is also announced when you turn.

Now press Dots 2-3-5-6 to move forward.

“You must cross the street before moving forward.”

Press Dots 3-6 to cross the street.

“Crossed Parkwood Drive”

Press Dots 2-3-5-6 to move forward.

“0.29 mi west, East 105th Street, right and left and Amor Avenue, behind.”

You are now standing on the right corner and are still on the right side of Amor Avenue. We have some choices. We can cross East 105th Street and continue ahead, turn right and walk along the right side of East 105th Street, or turn left and cross Amor Avenue. Because Amor Avenue ends here, we can only turn left or right.

Lets turn left by pressing Dots 2-3.

“south on the left side of East 105th Street at Amor Avenue, left”

We have not crossed the street, we just turned at the corner. To cross Amor Avenue we must press Dots 3-6. If we press Dots 2-3-5-6 to move forward we will be told to cross the street first.

Press Dots 3-6 to cross the street.

“Crossed Amor Avenue”

We are now walking along East 105th Street on the left side. Press A to confirm this.

“Address: 976 East 105th Street, left side”

Now that we have crossed the street, press Dots 2-3-5-6 to move to the next intersection.

“126 feet south, Adams Avenue, right”

Press Dots 2-3-5-6 to move to the next intersection.

“170 feet south, Morison Avenue, left”

As you can see, you did not need to cross the street as Adams Avenue is on the other side of East 105th Street.

Finally, turn to the left by pressing Dots 2-3.

“East on the left side of Morison Avenue at East 105th Street”

Confirm the side of the street by pressing A.

“Address: 10501 Morison Avenue, left side”

As you can see from the example above, this is a powerful way to explore an area and get great details down to the side of the street you might be walking along.

9.2.1 Important Virtual Mode Commands.

Set Virtual to GPS; SPACE with G,

Query relative GPS or Virtual position; I,

Switch between GPS and Virtual Modes; V,

Move forward an intersection; Dots 2-3-5-6.

Cross the Street; Dots 3-6.

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; ENTER 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.

10 GPS Replay Files.

This 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.

10.1 Recording a GPS Replay Session.

To record a GPS Replay file, do the following:

1) Enter the GPS application and ensure that you are tracking satellites (press G for GPS Status to double check)

2) Press SPACE with Q, you will be prompted for the location you wish to save the file in.

3) The system prompts: “Folder name? Press ENTER for X”, where X is the last folder opened. The first time you use GPS it will offer the General folder. You may wish to select the GPS folder on your Flash Disk or a routes folder on your compact flash card. Select or create a folder in the usual way.

4) The system then prompts: "GPS Replay file to open?” The last GPS Replay used will be presented.

5) Type in a unique, meaningful name and press ENTER. The program responds with: “Document does not exist. Create a new document?"

6) Press Y to start recording.

7) The program then says “Started recording GPS data to GPS Replay file."

Begin traveling around. Your movements will be recorded until you stop the recording by pressing SPACE with Q. Note: to append to an already created GPS Replay, all you need to do is re-open an existing file. The data will be appended to the end of the file. 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.”

10.2 Using a GPS Replay Session.

Now 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.

1) Press O for the "GPS Options Menu."

2) Press the letter G for "GPS Receiver"

3) Press R for "GPS Replay."

4) You will be prompted for the drive, folder name, then the filename you wish to open. Note: By default the last file you were working with will be suggested.

5) Press ENTER to open the GPS Replay file. 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, Cleveland, 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, name of replay." Notice the words "GPS Replay." 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:

1) Press O for the "GPS Options Menu."

2) Press G for "GPS receiver."

3) If you were using a Bluetooth Receiver press B.

You will then hear if the receiver was successfully connected and the name of the receiver.

10.3 Creating a Route from a Replay File.

You 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:

1) Press R for the "Route Menu."

2) Press the letter F for "Create Route from Replay file"

3) You will be prompted for the drive, folder name, then the filename you wish to open. Note: By default the last file you were working with will be suggested.

Press ENTER to open the GPS Replay file. You will hear "Creating route from replay file.” A short time later the system announces that the route is created. If you have the replay running the route will begin to 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.”

11 Other Functions.

This section covers a range of miscellaneous general functions available while using the GPS.

11.1 Append to Clipboard.

BACKSPACE 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.

11.2 The Odometer.

The 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.

11.3 Speed Announcement.

To hear the current speed announced, press S. At speeds under 20 MPH you will hear speeds such as 2.4 or 13.5.

11.4 Compass Heading.

To 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.

11.5 Setting GPS Time.

To 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.

11.6 Altitude.

To 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 BrailleNote 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.

11.7 History List.

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 location, performing a location lookup and setting the address as your virtual position or destination.

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.

1) Each time you load the GPS program and acquire a position your current position is automatically added to the history list. For example "Initial GPS Position, 123 Main street, Reno."

2) Explore your area for as long as you wish. When you are ready to return home bring up the history list. You can accomplish this in two ways. The first way is to press SPACE with S or the letter L and select "History List" from the menu, or Press ENTER with DOTS 2-3-6.

3) The first item in the history list should be Initial GPS position, Street name, and City name. In the above example the item would be, "Initial GPS Position, 123 Main Street, Reno."

4) Press enter to bring up the history action menu.

5) Scroll to "pedestrian route" and press enter.

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. Let’s work with the history list. Perform a location 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 or the letter L 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.

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:

1) Explore Position: Sets your virtual position to the history item.

2) Destination: Sets the history item as your destination.

3) Pedestrian Route: Creates a pedestrian route from your current position to the history item.

4) Vehicle Route: Creates a vehicle route from your current position to the history item.

5) Create User POI: Creates a user point from the history item you just looked up.

6) Both Explore Position and Destination: Sets the history item to both your destination and virtual position.

7) Add to Favorites: Pressing ENTER on this item adds the selected history item to your list of Favorites. After the favorite is added you are returned to the History Action menu to make another selection, for example create a pedestrian route. This saves you from having to find the item again.

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, Location lookups, Lat/lon and your current GPS or virtual position. You can also view/edit the details and remove the favorite from the list.

11.8.1 Add Favorite From Location Lookup.

To add a favorite by address: first perform a location lookup by pressing SPACE with S or the letter L. Choose the type of lookup, i.e. 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.

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.

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:

If you wish to add your current GPS position, make sure you are in GPS mode. Press BACKSPACE with V, you are then prompted for a name, type in a name and press ENTER.
You can also add a favorite from within the favorites list. There are two ways to bring up the favorites list. The first way is to press SPACE with S or the letter L and select Favorites list from the menu. The second way is to press ENTER with dots 2-3-5.
Press SPACE to scroll to the item "add current location to favorites" and press ENTER.
You are prompted for a name, type in a name and press ENTER.

Note: items are added to the favorites list in ascending order, i.e. 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.

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. Let’s work with the favorites list. Using any previously discussed method adds a favorite and then brings up the favorites list.

There are two ways to bring up the favorites list. The first way is to press SPACE with S or the letter L 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.

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 favorite’s 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 favorite’s 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:

1) Vehicle route: Creates a vehicle route from your current position to the favorite.

2) Both Explore Virtual Position and Destination: Sets the favorite to both your destination and virtual position.

3) Destination: Sets the favorite as your destination.

4) Show /edit Details: Allows you to view and edit the details of the favorite such as address and phone number. While viewing the details, press BACKSPACE with Dots 2-3-5-6 to delete the favorite from the list.

5) Explore Position: Sets your virtual position to the favorite.

6) Pedestrian route: Creates a pedestrian route from your current position to the favorite.

7) Media Playback: This item is only displayed when the favorite has additional content such as an audio file or Keyword document. Pressing enter on this item will run the media player or launch the Book Reader application. If you view the favorite's details you can see the name of the attached media file.

11.8.6 Deleting a Favorite.

There might be times when you wish to delete a favorite from your favorites list. Follow the below steps to delete a favorite.

1) In the favorites list find the favorite you wish to delete.

2) Select Show/edit details.

3) Press BACKSPACE with Dots 2-3-5-6. The system asks if you are sure. Answer yes.

The favorites list will automatically close after the favorite is deleted.

11.9 Virtual Annotate Intersection.

The annotate intersection feature allows you to add notations to an intersection. Lets say you are virtually exploring, you reach an intersection that has a stop sign and you would like to be reminded of this.

a. Virtually explore to the intersection you would like to annotate. From the Miscellaneous menu, select the annotate current intersection menu item. Alternatively press SPACE with H, then C, N.

b. If you have not setup a POI author name you are prompted to do so. Type in the POI author name and press enter. Next you are prompted to type in the annotation name. Type “Stop sign” and press enter.

c. Press ENTER.

The annotation has been added. Press SPACE with X to view the details of the intersection. This will include the new annotation.

Note: items are added to the annotate intersection list in ascending order, most recent first. The annotations are located in a file called Annotations.adb contained within your current maps folder. If you switch map folders a new list is created.

11.10 Annotate Intersection List.

The annotate intersection list is a list of annotations or notes you have added. You are not limited to the number of annotations you can add. You can also view/edit the details and remove the annotation from the list.

11.10.1 Working with the Intersection Annotations List.

In the previous section we discuss how to add annotations to an intersection. Let’s work with the intersection annotations list.

From the miscellaneous menu select the “intersection annotations” menu item.

When you enter the intersection annotations list you are placed on the last annotation added. Press SPACE or BACKSPACE to scroll up and down the list. You can also press the first letter of the annotation name in order to jump to it. You will see the annotation, the street name, city name, distance and direction and if the annotation has media attached. For example, Stop sign, Main St., Reno, 753 feet, South, (media).

Press ENTER on the desired item to bring up the Annotation Action menu. The annotation Action menu is discussed in the following section.

11.10.2 Annotation Action Menu.

The Annotation Action menu helps you determine your next action once you have found an item in the annotations list. You can also view its details, set as a destination, or create routes. The previous section shows how to use the annotations list in detail.

Once you press ENTER on the annotation, the annotation action menu is displayed. Press TAB to move through the menu. The Annotation Action menu is a collection of the most common actions associated with annotations. For example, if you are searching for an annotation you have saved, most likely you will want to view its details or create a route to it. Additionally, you might want to remove the annotation if it is no longer needed. To activate the Annotation Action menu, press ENTER from within the list of annotations. Once in the Annotation Action item, you can choose from up to six actions, namely:

1) Vehicle route: Creates a vehicle route from your current position to the annotation.

2) Destination: Sets the annotation as your destination.

3) Show /Edit Details: Allows you to view and edit the details of the annotation such as if it has media.

4) Explore Position: Sets your virtual position to the annotation.

5) Pedestrian route: Creates a pedestrian route from your current position to the annotation.

6) View/Play Media: This item is only displayed when the annotation has additional content such as an audio file or document. Pressing enter on this item will launch an external application such as the Media player for audio and book reader for text files. If you view the details the name of the attached media file is displayed.

11.10.3 Deleting Annotations.

There might be times when you wish to delete annotations from your intersection annotations list. Follow the steps below to delete an annotation.

1) In the intersection annotations list find the annotation you wish to delete and press ENTER.

2) Scroll to the Show/edit details item and press ENTER.

3) Press BACKSPACE with Dots 2-3-5-6 to delete the annotation. The system asks if you are sure. Answer yes.

The list will automatically close after the annotation is deleted.

12 GPS Options Menu.

You 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.

12.1 Map and Points of Interest Folder.

With 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. You are presented with a dialog. The first item shows your list of available maps. You might see something like California with Washington and Oregon. If you have multiple maps in a map folder you are given this information. You might also see New York by itself. This means that New York is the only map within that folder.

Scroll to the map or group of maps you would like to switch to and press ENTER. If you switch to a group of maps your virtual position is not on one of those loaded maps, you are presented with a list of maps so that you can set a new virtual position. This gives you a starting place.

Below the list of maps you will find one menu item it is called browse to specific map folder. Select this item if the automatic detection fails. Select 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.

12.2 Virtual Side of Street Tracking (Apex only).

Using this option, you can choose between two different ways of exploring in virtual mode. When this option is turned off you can explore from intersection to intersection without worrying about the side of the street and having to cross the street. With this option enabled it is as if you are walking on the sidewalk along the side of a street. You could be walking along the left side or the right side. Pressing the letter A will announce your nearest address along with the side of the street you are virtually standing on.

See section 9.2 for details and an example of the benefits of having the Virtual Side of Street Tracking enabled.

12.3 Heading Orientation.

There 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 BrailleNote 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 destination 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.

12.4 Units.

This 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), yards 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.

A yard equals 3 feet. An example of distance is 75 yards.

12.5 Sounds.

This 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 a wave 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.

12.6 GPS Receiver.

In 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 need 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.

12.7 Speed Alert.

You can have the system worn 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 sound again.

Note: This setting will not work for pedestrian speeds.

12.8 EZ mode toggle.

If you press O for the GPS Options Menu, then X this will toggle between EZ and XL modes. In EZ mode advanced functions are not available to you such as Look-Around settings, advanced route options and the ability to explore in virtual mode. In XL mode all settings are available to you. An easy way to tell the mode you are in is by either bringing up the help or options menu. For example, Pressing O will say BrailleNote GPS EZ options menu. This tells you that you are in EZ mode.

Here is a sample of items that are disabled when EZ mode is active:

· Advanced multiple repeat options such as altitude and virtual mode,

· Some advanced route settings,

· Some advanced options in the options menu,

· Look-Around configuration settings,

· GPS Replay functionality,

· Advanced search, i.e., BACKSPACE with F and

· Ability to create user POIs.

12.9 Restore Factory Default Settings.

If you press O for GPS Options Menu, then R for Restore Factory defaults, this will restore all the BrailleNote GPS settings back to their factory defaults.

Factory Default Settings are as follows:

Virtual Side of Street Tracking is off.

Heading Orientation will be set to Left/Right.

Units will be set to Imperial.

Sounds will be turned on.

GPS Receiver Type will be set to No GPS.

Speed Alert is turned off.

GPS Averaging will be set to Automatic.

Street Names will be set to short.

Arrival Distance will be set to 50 feet.

Arrived Near Threshold will be set to 12 feet.

Braille Display Delay will be set to 2 seconds.

ENTER Repeat Last Command is turned on.

Multiple Repeat is Off

LookAround Mode is On and searches every 12 seconds.

Commercial category will be set to All.

Silence Intersection announcements will be set to 50 MPH.

User definable POI search will be set to user private.

Change POI Author Name will be set to none.

Lat/lon will be set to Degrees, Minutes and Seconds.

Route Commands Factory Default:

Pedestrian Turn Preference is set to shortest.

Vehicle Turn Preference is set to favors right.

Vehicle Route Mode is set to fastest.

Highway Preference is set to normal.

Toll Road Preference is set to normal.

Roundabout Preference is set to normal.

Route LookAround Preference is route and intersection announcements.

Auto Increment is On.

Force Sequential Route Following is Off.

Route Mode is turns only.

Waypoint numbering is On.

Auto Recalculate Route is On.

Auto Close route at Destination is On.

12.10 Advanced GPS Options Menu

Press O then A to access the advanced GPS options menu.

12.10.1 Heading Averaging Mode

Selecting this option allows you to tell the system the frequency you wish the heading updated. There are three options:

1) Automatic: When you select automatic the frequency of your heading is updated by speed. The faster you are moving the faster a new heading is obtained. If you are moving slowly, it takes more time to update your heading.

2) Instantaneous: This option will get the heading directly from the receiver. This gives you the fastest heading updates but due to GPS fluctuation this also has the highest probability of being incorrect.

3) City (Urban Canyon): This option is the slowest at updating your heading. This option attempts to match your heading with the street you are traveling along. Use this option in cities like New York or San Francisco. Selecting this mode in conjunction with the "set GPS heading mode" may help maintain a direction of travel when experiencing the “Urban Canyon” effect.

12.10.2 Street Names.

Using 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.

12.10.3 Arrival Distance.

The 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, BrailleNote 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.

• 15-40 MPH equals 5 times arrival distance, 250 feet.

• 40 MPH and faster equals 10 times arrival distance, 500 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, BrailleNote GPS announces that you are “near” your Waypoint without a heading or distance.

12.10.4 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.

12.10.5 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.

12.10.6 Arrived Near Threshold.

This 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.

12.10.7 Braille Display Delay.

Enter 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.

12.10.8 ENTER Repeat Last Command.

The ENTER key 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 ENTER 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.

12.10.9 Languages.

This 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.

12.10.10 Register Software or New Maps.

When 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.

12.10.11 Change POI Author Name.

When 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.

BrailleNote BT GPS v2015 Command Summary.

Description	BT Command

Announce Summary of Current Location	SPACEBAR
Location Lookup	L
Nearest POIs	F
Find POIs	SPACE with F

Where am I Commands	SPACE with H, W
Nearest Intersection if you are not Moving, Next Intersection if you are Moving	X or dots 4-5-6
Detailed Description of Intersection	SPACE with X or dots 4-6
Nearest Street Address	A
Current City	C
Detailed Description of your Current Location	SPACE with C
Heading Compass and Degrees	H or dot 5
Latitude and Longitude	Y
Altitude	Z
Which Mode am I in? GPS or Virtual	SPACE with I

GPS Commands	SPACE with H, G
Speed	S or BACKSPACE
Approximate GPS Distance-Accuracy, and Number of Satellites	G or SPACE with dot 5
Quality and Detailed GPS Accuracy	Q
Switch to GPS Mode	V
Distance Between Virtual and GPS Positions	I
Force GPS Heading	ENTER with H
Greenwich Mean Time	U
Set BrailleNote Time to GPS Time	SPACE with U
Set GPS Receiver	O, G
Reconnect to Bluetooth GPS Receiver	BACKSPACE with R
Toggle Pause/Resume GPS Replay	BACKSPACE with Q
Start/Stop Recording GPS Replay	SPACE with Q
Write Annotation to GPS Replay	SPACE with W

Virtual Commands	SPACE with H, V
Switch to Virtual Mode	V
Set Virtual Position by Address	L
Set Virtual Position to GPS Position	SPACE with G
Set Virtual Position to a Map	BACKSPACE with V
Set Virtual Position by Latitude and Longitude	SPACE with Y
Distance Between Virtual and GPS Positions	I
Move Forward One Intersection	dots 2-3-5-6
Virtual Cross Street (Apex Only)	Dots 3-6
Turn to Next Street on Left	dots 2-3
Turn to Next Street on Right	dots 5-6
Move Backward One Intersection	SPACE with dots 2-3-5-6

Destination Commands	SPACE with H, D
Heading and Distance to Destination	D or dot 6
Set Destination by Address	L
Set Destination to POI or Waypoint	SPACE with D or SPACE with dot 6
Set Both Virtual and Destination to a POI Or Waypoint	ENTER with B
Set Destination by Latitude and Longitude	SPACE with Y

Points of Interest Commands	SPACE with H, P
POI Action Menu	BACKSPACE with P
Media Playback	ENTER with 4-5-6
Find Nearest Points in All Categories	F or dot 4
Find POIs by Name Specifying a Category in All Directions	SPACE with F
Find POIs by Category, Distance, Direction or by a Specific Field	BACKSPACE with F
Find Nearest POIs-User Defined Category, Subcategory	BACKSPACE with Dot 3
Announce Current POI	P or Dot 3
View Details of Current POI	SPACE with P
Create a User POI at GPS or Virtual Position	SPACE with dot 3
Create User POI by Address	L
Create User POI from Latitude and Longitude	SPACE with Y
Edit User Points of Interest	E, U
Move to Next POI	SPACE with dot 4
Move to Previous POI	SPACE with dot 1
Nearest POI	SPACE with dots 1-2-3
Furthest POI	SPACE with dots 4-5-6
Jump Forward 10 POIs	SPACE with dots 5-6
Jump Back 10 POIs	SPACE with dots 2-3

Route Commands	R

Route Announcement Commands List	R, A
Current Waypoint	K or dot 2
Nearest Waypoint	N
Next Turn or Road Transition	T or BACKSPACE with dots 2-3
Route Distance and ETA from Current Position to Explore Waypoint	R, A, G
Total Route Distance	R, A, D
Announce Route Distance from Beginning of Route to Current Position	R, A, B
Announce Route Distance and ETA from Current Position to End of the Route	R, A, E

Route Management Commands List	R, M
Pedestrian Turn Preference	R, M, X
Vehicle Turn Preference	R, M, U
Vehicle Route mode	R, M, B
Highways Preference	R, M, H
Toll Road Preference	R, M, T
Roundabout Preference	R, M, O
Route Lookaround Preference	R, M, L
Set Current Waypoint to 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
Force Sequential Route Following (GPS Mode)	R, M, F
Toggle Between Route Turns and Waypoints (GPS Mode)	R, M, M
Waypoint Numbering, On/Off (GPS Mode)	R, M, G
Waypoint Numbering, On/Off (Virtual Mode)	R, M, V
Auto Recalculate Route	R, M, R
Auto Close Route at Destination	R, M, C
Create Pedestrian Route	R, P
Create Vehicle Route	R, V
Create Manual Route	R, O
Create Route From Replay File	R, F
Open Route	R, O
Save Route	R, S
Close Route	R, C
Save Route Directions (Text File)	R, D
Explore Route Next Waypoint	dots 2-3-5-6
Explore Route Previous Waypoint	SPACE with dots 2-3-5-6
Explore Route Next Turn	dots 3-6
Explore Route Previous Turn	SPACE with dots 3-6
Recalculate Route	BACKSPACE with dot 2
Reverse Route	R, R
Percent of Route Completed and ETA	dots 1-4-6 or ENTER with dots 5-6
Route Information	R, I
Remaining Waypoints in Route List	BACKSPACE with I

LookAround Commands	SPACE with M
LookAround On/Off (Toggle)	SPACE with M, L
Route LookAround Preference	SPACE with M, R
POI Search Direction	SPACE with M, D
Commercial POIs- On/Off- if on which Category Subcategory	SPACE with M, P
Intersections- On/Off	SPACE with M, X
User POIs- On/Off	SPACE with M, U
Street Changes- On/Off	SPACE with M, S
City Changes- On/Off	SPACE with M, C
Map Changes- On/Off	SPACE with M, M
Commercial POI Categories	SPACE with M, A
LookAround Time Interval	SPACE with M, T
Silence Intersection Announcements When Speed Reaches	SPACE with M, I

Multiple Repeat Commands	M
Turn Off All Multiple Repeat Commands	M, M
Multiple Repeat Delay	M, R
Trigger Multiple Repeat Announcements Manually	BACKSPACE with dot 1
Intersections	M, X
Detailed Intersections	M, N
Heading	M, H
Destination	M, D
Virtual	M, V
Route Next Waypoint	M, K
Route Next Turn	M, T
Route ETA	M, E
Speed	M, S
GPS Status	M, G
City	M, C
Address	M, A
Nearest POI	M, F
Current POI	M, P
Altitude	M, Z

Miscellaneous Commands	SPACE with H, C
History List	ENTER with Dots 2-3-6
Favorites List	ENTER with Dots 2-3-5
Add Current Position to Favorites	SPACE with V or SPACE with Dot 1
Odometer GPS Accumulated Distances	B
Odometer Virtual Accumulated Distances	B
Reset GPS Odometer	SPACE with B
Reset Virtual Odometer	SPACE with B
Lock/Unlock the Keyboard	ENTER with L
Spell Name	SPACE with dots 2-5
Redo Last Command	ENTER
Repeat Last Announcement	SPACE with R or ENTER
Interrupt Speech	BACKSPACE with ENTER
Append Last Spoken Item to Clipboard	BACKSPACE with K
Add Virtual Annotation	SPACE with H, C, N
Virtual Annotations List	SPACE with H, C, O

Option Commands	O
Map and POI Folder	O, M
Virtual Side of Street Tracking (Apex Only)	O, T
Heading Orientation	O, H
Units	O, U
Select GPS Receiver	O, G
Speed Alert	O, L
Speed Alert	O, X
Restore Factory Default Settings	O, R

Sounds Menu	O, S
Turn On/Off all Sounds	O, S, S
Play Nearest Intersection	O, S, X
Play Background Operation	O, S, B
Play Destination Arrival	O, S, D
Play Virtual Arrival	O, S, A
Play POI Has Media Content	O, S, M
Play Route Turn Approaching	O, S, W
Play Route Waypoint Turn Now	O, S, T
Play Route Turn Around	O, S, E
Play Route Continue Straight	O, S, C
Play Route Off-Route	O, S, O
Play Route Recalculating Pedestrian	O, S, P
Play Route Recalculating Vehicle	O, S, V
Play LookAround Street Change	O, S, F
Play LookAround City Change	O, S, G
Play LookAround Map Change	O, S, H
Play Speed Alert	O, S, L
Play Annotation Reached in GPS Replay	O, S, C

Advanced GPS Options	O, A
Change POI Author Name	O, A, A
Register Software or New Maps	O, A, R
Languages	O, A, L
Set GPS Heading Averaging	O, A, H
Street Name, Short/Long	O, A, N
Arrival Distance	O, A, D
User Definable POI Search	O, A, U
Free POI Database Space	O, A, F
Near Threshold	O, A, T
Braille Display Delay	O, A, B
ENTER Key Repeats Last Command	O, A, C

Information Center	SPACE with H, I
About GPS	SPACE with H, I, A
Command Summary	SPACE with H, I, C
BrailleNote GPS User Guide	SPACE with H, I, U
License Agreement	SPACE with H, I, L
Sendero Contact Information	SPACE with H, I, S

Exit GPS	SPACE with E