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Originally Posted by charlie56
My TNC is a kit built TNC-X which is a KISS based. Is that compatible?
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Overland Navigator interfaces with the TNC/Radio via NMEA including support for both regular $GPWPL waypoints and $PKWDWPL sentences. It has been primarily targeted at users of the Kenwood D700/D710 APRS capable radios or TNC/Trackers that support NMEA output. I am not familiar with that particular TNC, but from what I was able to read on the website it does not support NMEA output of heard APRS stations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlie56
Is a Garmin GPS-18 USB puck (plugged into the laptop) compatible? I currently have a Garmin GPS-18 wired into the TNC. It passes data to the TNC but it doesn't seem to pass data on to the laptop. Still working on the problem but I thought I would buy another USB GPS and plug it directly into the laptop.
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Overland Navigator works with any NMEA0183 compatible GPS. The GPS-18 should work great, though there are better and cheaper puck GPS units available. I recommend the GlobalSat BU-353 as it has the same chipset as the high end Garmin units and is available for $36.
If you can get the TNC to pass along the GPS-18s NMEA then you can use this as the GPS input for Overland Navigator. *IF* you can get it to also pass along an NMEA sentence each time it hears an APRS station, then it will show them as well -- all with only 1 wire between your TNC/Tracker and Overland Navigator. The Tiny Track 4 will operate this way. Note that what I'm describing here is a little different than what's in the picture above. What I'm describing here is putting the TNC/Tracker in place of the GPS rather than using Overland Navigator to feed lat/lon data to the tracker. Overland Navigator is pretty flexible as long as the input is NMEA input for both the GPS and the APRS data. There is no KISS mode.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlie56
For my laptop I currently I have been using UI-View and thinking about buying precision maps. Would your software take the place of both those?
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Overland Navigator allows you to display APRS stations that are provided to it in an extended NMEA sentence. The tracker takes care of the beaconing, and Overland Navigator displays the heard stations. Especially if it is used with a radio like the Kenwood D710a this is a one wire and very simple way to get APRS up and running.
UI-View is a full blown APRS client. This gives you additional features, but also introduces quite a bit of complexity. If there is sufficient interest, I'll continue to add APRS features to Overland Navigator, but only as long as they can be implemented in a simple, easy to understand/user manner.
Precision Mapping is a street network map. Overland Navigator provides USGS Topographic maps. Both are useful. I use Street Network maps when I am calculating a route to another city. I use Overland Navigator when I am off pavement and exploring. Overland Navigator's USGS Topo maps are much more detailed than a street network map and include items of interest to back country explorers such as mines, waterfalls, hot springs, etc.
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Originally Posted by charlie56
I currently also have the Nat Geo Topo maps, so would I have to scrap those and buy your map packages instead?
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National Geographic Topo maps are in a proprietary format and cannot be used by anything except their software... so yes, you would need to buy new maps.