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Change History for GPSSppc

Updated 1400 Friday 13th November 2009 UK time

Robin This page documents the changes made to GPSSppc - the GPS Software for the the Pocket PC . It consists mostly of old extracts from the beta testing page, which gives more recent changes.

Here is change history for version 12, September 2009, the current baseline:

v12j improved changes made in v12i: fixes bug causing online help after keyboard use; displays Direction Finding by drawing a line on the map at an absolute bearing entered on the keyboard as '090 followed by Enter. Minor changes were also made to the AutoPilot logic.

v12h (from March) supported recording of speed trap locations into NEWTRAP.TXT, NEWTRAP.DAT and an NME file. See the recording and playback facilities in the user guide. Andy in Poland asked for this and has done most of the testing. Full Windows GPSS already supported this.

v12g provided better support for DISPSIZE.TXT documented on the config page, for testing on CE devices. It also fixed a minor bug which resulted in "I am receiving GPS data !" on power up.

v12f supported the importing of geocache data from www.geocaching.com. When GPSSppc is started, if it sees geocaching.loc, it converts the data and appends it to the end of $LGEO.GTX used by GPSSppc, deletes the .loc file, and displays a message. This means you can repeat the process to import more geocache locations.

v12e extended the [GPS] search to COM40, instead of only COM20. v12d provides support to Wing Sails in the Robot boat AutoPilot. v12c should give faster responses with ARP display (in Corfu). Tidal drift now in AutoPilot. v12b should give faster responses. Speed Trap Warning modification. Auto Pilot update. Please see Forum for details. v12a fixed a minor bug preventing suppression of RGI with RGICFG.TXT.

from Robin on 4th September 2008 (prior to new GPSS baseline):

GPSSppc v11q removes a bug in power up on a new day. GPSSppc v11p saves GPS speed after [COM] or [-GPS] button use. GPSSppc v11o fixed "missing buttons" related to L-mode logic and made changes related to "more information" and RGD on Corfu. GPSSppc v11N fixed minor bugs related to switching to "Learner mode" on a new day. The [?] button is also shown with [NO][YES] buttons, although no help is given.

GPSSppc v11m changed the Yes/No question to support language translation. A new day results in Learner mode. Bug fixed related to first choice of a destination. Corrupt GPSS.COM detected and gives automatic search for the GPS. Check for "more information" before saying "tap picture ...".

GPSSppc v11k and v11L introduced and improved "Learner mode", to simplify the user interface.

GPSSppc v11k, v11j and v11i extended the AutoPilot logic. GPSSppc v11h simplified the user interface such as linkage between "near menu", destination button and instrument display.

GPSSppc v11g modified the AutoPilot logic. GPSSppc v11f modified the anti-piracy and AutoPilot logic. GPSSppc v11e changed the anti-piracy message, adds AutoPilot logic, and fixes suspected bugs in the talk button and calculation of direction.

GPSSppc v11d: protected DES files and toggle AutoPilot with ! key. GPSSppc v11c - fixed slowness when speaking "more information". GPSSppc v11b (uploaded 14th May) increased the limit of 400 maps to 600. GPSSppc v11a fixed a bug in deletion from MyPlaces. The "Near Menu" is created for "My Places" on startup and updated when there are changes to MyPlaces. ARP/TBTG logic has been updated.

from Robin on 20th April 2008: I have just uploaded the new GPSS v6.91 April Baseline which includes GPSSppc v10.

GPSSppc v10p changes were mostly minor display changes and bug fixes. GPSSppc v10o changes speeded up the WHATMENU when switching Portrait/Landscape mode or spoken language. ARP display logic improved. v10N changes included ARP display for Corfu.

GPSSppc v10m updates the online help, adds button icons, and modifies search, more info and RGI logic. GPSSppc v10L changes map zoomin to step one scale. RGI logic changes and RGICFG.TXT added. GPSSppc v10k RGI ready for first Corfu tests. Abbreviated Near Menu. GPSSppc v10j RGD TBTG logic for Corfu tests. UK speed traps in metric. GPSSppc v10i made lots of changes including showing the "near menu" on the map, adding RGD files, fixing bugs in GEO file logic. GPSSppc v10h made multiple "more info" and "near menu" changes. GEO file bug fix. GPSSppc v10g fixed Talk Menu bug, shows the "find spot" and extended "more info" to multiple pictures and sounds. GPSSppc v10f corrected an inaccuracy in street mapping for Hawaii. GPSSppc v10e and v10d removed several bugs, added missing sounds, and made some improvements. Please see the user guide for details. GPSSppc v10c makes the new "near menu" after use of the "what menu". Searching is also faster. PPCBETA.EXE GTX files were corrected (missing more info). GPSSppc v10b added an experimental "near menu". GPSSppc v10a added the [FILE] button on record/replay page to select NME files for replay. All translation is now non-case sensitive.

On 4th February the full Windows GPSS v6.9 Baseline was released, including GPSSppc v9.

GPSSppc v9r removed a "more info" bug. GPSSppc v9q removed minor bugs. GPSSppc v9p includes saving of user preferences such as Talk Menu settings and spoken language. A [RESET] button has been added to the Maintenance page to reset to "Factory Settings" such as spoken English and metric units. More button icons have been improved with a white background. The "Home" button has been removed from the page used to save into home and MyPlaces. A new button [Home->MyPlaces] has been added. The online help has been updated to reflect changes. '

GPSSppc v9o introduced 6 home icons on the map, instead of just one. The GPS icon direction pointer at low speed (< 3kmph) is based on changes in position. "Nautical miles" unit button feedback added. Colour of some buttons changed to white background. Chase on Pocket PC GPSSppc v9n extended recording/replay for "chase" mode and removed GPS position extrapolation to stop "jumping". GPSSppc v9m removed bugs in the chase logic, and "talk menu" logic. DISPSIZE.TXT added for tests with Windows CE. GPSSppc v9L extended the "chase" logic, including switching in and out of chase mode. A bug was fixed in the [REGISTER] logic. GPSSppc v9k made minor changes to talk menu and extrapolation logic. GPSSppc v9j raised limit on number of speed traps from 12000 to 16000. See speed page. GPSSppc v9i fixed minor bugs including after use of keyboard. Spoken altitude above 10,000 ft now supported. GPSSppc v9h corrected several minor bugs including speech and button menu structure. GPSSppc v9g added the aircraft icon under platform control on [A] maintenance button, checksum checking, more sound changes, quicker startup, and Playback logic corrected. GPSSppc v9f made more changes to sound management and allowed "Talk Menu" text to be configured with TALKTEXT.TXT. GPSSppc v9e brought extensive changes to sound management. GPSSppc v9d gave quicker removal of speed trap display. GPSSLOG.CFG added - see config page. GPSSppc v9c gave more protection from overload of GPS data recording process. GPSSppc v9b adds spoken feedback when saving from new home menu, and increases accuracy of position to 1m (was 15m). Protection from recording overload added. Instrument Panel on v3 of GPSSppc beta v9a introduced the "home menu" that appears when you hit the button to be guided "home", or one of the two buttons to update the home location.

from Robin on 26th November 2007: I have just uploaded the new GPSS v6.8 Baseline. No v9 of GPSSppc yet - coming soon :-)

from Robin on 24th November: I've just uploaded v8x of gpssppc.exe and also put this into the GPSSBASE.EXE baseline (last update of GPSSBASE other than gpssppc.exe was 1st November). We may have a new full Windows GPSS Baseline v6.8 soon, including GPSSppc v8 after beta versions have completed testing. v8x supports new RGI (Route Guidance Instructions) logic, linked to Moreref. Please see the Forum. v8w supports all combinations of "more information" picture shape and display Portrait/Landscape mode. v8v added WARNINGD.DAT for faster startup with speedtraps. More flexible Moreref in GTX files for Solution Providers. Tuning of prediction logic. v8u now says "tap picture.." if more information; Average speed used for ETA. WARNINGD.DAT for faster start with speed traps. Prediction logic tuned. v8t fixes "0 km to destination" bug from 8n (between 1km and 5km if in metric). Use predicted position to select map. Delay WAW on powerup. v8s translates text on Intrument Panel, "destination" and "home". Please see user manual. v8r made minor changes related to SKIP22, instrument panel and power-up logic. v8q improved instrument panel and compensates for 3 sec GPS delay for car icon. MAPEDGES.TXT extended. v8p made only minor changes: suppressed "not receiving GPS data" warning on power-up; Map margin zero if MAPEDGES.TXT holds zero. v8o fixed bug in MAPEDGES logic and improved how "more information" is handled. v8n fixed bug in destination range. Help button colour shows GPS status. [Find] button uses search text. v8m fixed a bug in explore mode timeout logic. Speed trap logic tweaked. v8L fixed a bug added in v8k - bad destination position after a map pan: sorry ! :-) v8k fixed several minor bugs which gave unwanted display effects such as brief display of car in wrong position when panning the map. v8j improved performance. e.g. less GPS delay and % CPU loading. Minor bugs fixed such need to remove explore cursor by map control buttons, climb rate calculated every 10 seconds. v8i improved automatic map selection logic and added MAPEDGES.TXT for Solution Providers. Distance to destination no longer rounded to 10 yards, etc. Explore mode aborted with map buttons. v8h rationalised the buttons used for saving into "Home" and "MyPlaces". Trace improved for USA VEC maps. v8g fixed bugs in USA street mapping. Minor changes in GPS lamp, saving to MyPlaces. v8f added the "GPS lamp" onto instrument panel, and avoids it hiding the destination. v8e fixed bugs in GPS+Desti map control and reduced pan threshold to 4 pixels. v8d fixed bugs in destination sound and startup position, modified car icon update, and split the displayed WAW text. v8c changed car icon update and adds display of seconds of delay to the % CPU load. v8b added [< GPS] button for new users, to automatically find the GPS. v8a fixed bug for speed in knots. Also, speed now shown to 0.1 accuracy if less than 10 kmph. Every GPS RMC message is now used (again) and raw GPS data shown on "maintenance" page. GPSSppc v7 was included in a new full Windows GPSS v6.7 Baseline on 28th September.

from Robin on 28th September: GPSSppc v7 was included in a new full Windows GPSS v6.7 Baseline on 28th September. Only change from v7 (26th) was the title and minor change in map pan logic for VGA screens. v7 destination button on startup reflects GPSS.CFG (destination on or off). v7v corrects bug of saving 1kmph into GPSS.CFG on exit. v7u returns to earlier use of the destination button. Power up is detected and supported with PPCHELP.TXT. Minor bugs in destination WAV name logic fixed. Speed threshold in GPSS.CFG now used and 3 kmph. v7t fixed bugs in Landscape help button and remote tracking buttons. Scrambled file support added. v7s gave faster "explore" response, better GEO logic, and fixed minor bug in landscape mode. v7r fixed minor bugs related to Landscape/Portrait mode and Destination name to sound and RGI file. v7q minor changes were Instrument panel movement, faster [next page] on "whatmenu", UK maps and GEO logic. For more detail, please see the Forum. v7p extended language translation to the "whatmenu" buttons: tested with Italian. v7o made speaking altitude configurable as "platform" in GPSS.CFG and able to be switched on or off with [A] button on maintenance page. v7N introduced spoken altitude and rate of climb or descent. This was tested on our first hot air ballon flight on 1st September :-) UK and Irish users will be glad to hear that Grid-aligned maps are now full accuracy.

from Robin on 30th August: I've just uploaded v7m of gpssppc.exe and also put this into the GPSSBASE.EXE baseline. v7m introduces support for GPSS GEO files. GPSSBASE now includes UK filling stations and sample GEO files near Sunninghill. v7L improved the button menus. See user guide. v7k simplified the destination button. Also see "change history" below. v7j changes were mostly minor corrections. v7i fixed map zoom bug in landscape mode. Destination button logic changed. GPS course and speed fixed for non-English settings. PPCEXPT.TXT and PPCNOBUT.TXT for test. v7h fixed bugs in replay and improved and added online help for WHAT/FIND. v7g gave [<<] ability to slow down fast forward and play backwards. first button page More buttons in Landscape mode added. v7f gave a red [o] button and [>>] also starts play. Destination now FindSpot or Explore position. Can now interrupt online help with a tap. v7e gave a much faster fast playback with [>>], with feedback (e.g. "x4 >>") and the play button [>] continues from the pause [||] position. v7d changed button menus. v7c fixed keyboard problems and now ? instead of % toggles CPU load display. v7b improved the record and replay buttons and functionality. recording and replay buttons Changes are made in the online help for these buttons in GPSSBASE. v7a improved speed trap logic, the record playback logic, and supports UK and Irish Grid display under the [LL] button on the maintenance page. Please see the Forum .

The new v6.6 full Windows GPSS baseline includes GPSSppc v6 (31st July) which fixed two bugs related to speed traps and "GPS + destination" map mode. History points (breadcrumb trail) are now also dropped every minute in playback mode, as for in real time. The "GPS+Desti" map mode can now also be used in "explore" mode. v6z fixed minor GPS-Dest map mode "what menu" bugs on VGA screens. v6y Fixed minor explore-find-map bug. Spoken position now every 30 secs, instead of 20, if more than 300 metres from destination. Use GTX "more information" ref for sound.Other minor improvements such as response to setting a destination. v6x improved performance. % key toggles "% CPU loading" display. v6w changes included better GPS(car) icon, "explore" cursor and "history circles". VGA bug fixed and many other minor changes. v6v reminded the user that he can use the keyboard when saving into "My Places".

new maps button v6u 19th (sorry u missing in startup) sped up the "what menu" and introduced WHATMENU.TXT to remember language and portrait/landscape - which effect the menu. Entering of name when saving to MyPlaces is simplified. Big change in v6t was the "what" menu: now no limit on how many types of thing to search: if more than 8 (in Portrait) then a [ next page ] button is displayed. Easiest to test by running in Landscape mode when only 4 are shown on each page. Also faster by use of WHATMENU.BMP.

v6s fixed more bugs and gave improvements such as RGI in "explore" mode. v6q added the ability to delete places from "My Places" and adds a direction pointer to the "explore" cursor. Map following of GPS and destination starting to work. Yellow status lights on map control buttons. Button menus were modified in v6o, including the new "map control" buttons. These include the old "zoom-in" and "zoom-out" buttons, but also map control buttons new ones to choose what the moving map follows: the GPS (car) position, the destination, or both of them - by automatically zooming out . Making the "explore" position the destination now escapes from explore mode. For details of "explore" mode and the evolving user interface, checkout the user guide.

WHAT menu in GPSSppc v6n corrected bugs, including in the new search logic. Numerous minor improvements have been made in what is displayed and spoken, such as after 60 seconds of poor GPS signals. v6L introduced big changes in the user interface. e.g. replacing "destination explore" by the simpler and more general "explore" mode, shown with a white cross cursor which fades away after 30 seconds. v6k fixed a v6i bug on search logic.

on 4th July: v6j at 1800 corrected a bug in v6i uploaded at 1500 which meant "What" did not change the search file. The "WHAT" button now presents the user with a menu, instead of cycling through each type - this was requested by several of you. Solution providers can specify their own list in GPSSFIND.TXT already in GPSSppc. The "Whatmenu" picture is only created once, so you will see that later responses to tapping the [what] button are faster. Text appearing such as "what type of place ?" goes through the usual language translation process based on TRANSLAT.TXT, when not speaking English.

"More Information" (MOR) pictures were extended in v6h to include GIF, BMP and JPG images. The same information can be given automatically by including a file named EXTRAS.RGI in RGI (Route Guidance Instructions) format - whether or not you are being guided to a destination. MOR pictures should be in normal landscape 4:3 aspect ratio. GPSSp experimental buttons The "maintenance" page has been simplfied, as seen here on the left. If the keyboard is used, the ASCII code of the last keystroke appears after "K/B=". The Keyboard [Del] key now does same as [<-] to delete the last character. When entering new locations into "My Places", the user is asked to confirm, if he has not changed the default name based on time.

from Robin on 30th June: ...The text entry box at the top of the new button page can now be used to enter the name of saved places. buttons to update home and My Places "More Information" is introduced in a simple form: search for the nearest geocache to see an example: Places in GTX files can now include references to pictures and sounds (e.g. 7052.GIF & 7052.WAV) v6f fixed the bug that made Snoopy speak on exit for registered users. v6e added the new page of buttons shown here on the right, supported by additions to online help. Solution providers like Alex can now configure the startup screen with their own logo, and block user access to the experimental/maintenance buttons by adding any file with name NOEXPERI.CFG. The Home location is now shown, as in GPSS, as a blue diamond. Snoopy makes an appearance on exit for unregistered users :-)

from Robin on 22nd June: ... v6d fixes record buttons layout bug and delays speaking when you are tapping buttons. Next big change will probably be a simpler menu structure , better button icons, etc. I welcome ideas by direct email and/or the Forum.

from Robin on 20th June: I've just uploaded v6c of gpssppc.exe which allows Superkeys and fixes minor layout bugs on startup screen, help button, etc. v6b introduced support for hot air balloons. It also fixed bug preventing use of gpssfind.txt with language.cfg. v6a of gpssppc.exe introduced registration. For those beta testers who don't want GPSSppc to start up with UNREGISTERED in red, I'll give you a PPC key code matched to your full name.

from Robin on 11th June: GPSS v6.5 and GPSSppc v5 baselines now updated.

from Robin on 8th June: I've just uploaded a new gpssppce.exe and GPSSBASE.EXE baseline, with what may soon become a new GPSS v6.5 and Pocket PC v5 baseline. Thanks Jan for finding bug related to switching between lat/lon, UK and Irish grids.

from Robin on 7th June: I've just uploaded gpssppc.exe v5n to fix bugs, including in [GPS->MYPLACE].

from Robin on 6th June: I've just uploaded gpssppc.exe v5m and updated GPSSBASE.EXE. This should fix the bug in the [GPS->MYPLACE] logic. Pictures can now be included in the online help under the [?] button.

from Robin on 4th June: I've just uploaded gpssppc.exe v5L and a bigger GPSSBASE.EXE (use link below) which includes v5L and extra files such as PPCHELP.TXT and supporting help sounds. LOTS of bugs have been fixed - many thanks to Nick and Jan. I also found a few myself, but some more are certain to be there. I thought it best not to delay you getting the updates.

from Robin on 31st May: I've just uploaded v5k of gpssppc.exe which continues to implement some of the things in our "wishlists" on the Forum . Altitude now appears below speed at top of the instrument panel. The last good GPS position, saved in GPSSLAST.TXT, is now used if the GPS is not yet tracking. We now have two new buttons on the experimental page, which enable the GPS location to be saved as the new "home" location. e.g. to return to where you parked the car. Also, the GPS position can be saved into a new "My Places" file, GPSS.GTX, for later access in the same way as for "Interesting Places", "Population Centres" etc. For a more detailed description, see the updated User Manual. Numerous other minor changes have been made. I have also updated the Pocket PC baseline files with gpssppc.exe v5k and the extra files needed such as the "My Places" button, and data for the ASCOT.RGI file - seen and heard if you make Ascot the destination. You can download GPSSBASE.EXE holding these files from gpss.tripoduk.com/ce/gpssbase.exe. I look forward to your feedback after testing, and new suggestions.

from Robin on 20th May: June and I had a great holiday in Sicily, and it did not take too long to clear the backlog of emails waiting for me. During use of GPSSppc on my iPAQ, it was good to see first hand lots of minor changes I need to make. It also occured to me that we might make more use of the Forum when discussing tests on the latest GPSSppc. Looking forward to working with you again this coming week.

from Robin on 2nd May: I've just uploaded v5h of gpssppc.exe which tidies up screen layout and RGI logic. See "RGI files - Route Guidance Instructions ..." below. Bugs cleared in v5g include speaking the extra "and" for ranges of 200 yards and destination sound not remembered from last run. If an RGI file is available for the destination, it is now loaded on startup. The standard symbols in GPSSSIGN.TXT are now available in addition to image files. The "RGI" keyboard cammand allows simpler testing. v5h shows the "last key" code received, to help testing with different keyboards.

Keyboard on v5b of GPSSppc beta Here you see result of entering 'STON - GPSSppc has found Stonehenge, the nearest "Interesting Place" with name starting "STON".

GPS Software on Pocket PC Hitting any key now enables the keyboard, and you should now get the correct responses to keys including backspace, ".", "-" used to permit entry of a lat/lon position or UK grid as a destination. e.g. "SU935673" or "523075N0012350W". Lat/Lon entry may be useful for geocaching ? :-) Hitting either of the single quote keys (` and ') simply clears the text line. The "instrument panel" can now also be toggled off by tapping on it, and it shows the destination name. A bug was removed that occured when searching some baseline GTX files. The destination sound is used if available. Map copyright text is now handled completely differently.

v5d removed code no longer needed for the USA mapping. Numerous changes also made related to clearer visual response to searches. Tests continue with Nick on the obscure VGA mapcprtxt problem.

On my iPAQ, tapping the centre button results in an Enter key. For tests, I've linked four cursor buttons as follows: UP-zoom map out, DOWN-zoom map in, LEFT-quiet/OK to speak, and RIGHT-next button menu. The [UP] key seems different on my iPAQ to the Emulator.

RGI files - Route Guidance Instructions ...

RGI sign on Pocket PC RGI files have been in the full Windows GPSS since 1995, but it is only now they are being provided in GPSS for the Pocket PC. To test this capability you will probably find it easiest to use the full Windows GPSS Baseline from the download page, upgraded with the latest beta version of gpssppc.exe. The GPSS baseline has several examples of RGI files including ASCOT.RGI - which you may examine with Notepad.

You can make GPSSppc select ASCOT.RGI for automatic monitoring by selecting Ascot as the destination from "Population Centres". e.g. by tapping buttons to select this category, then tapping "A" on the keyboard, followed by Enter. When GPSSppc sets a new destination, it looks for a matching RGI file based on the name.

The default start position in Armitage Court will make GPSSppc execute the RGI that says "turn left out of Robin's drive". You can play all of an RGI file to test it, by entering "RGI" as a command on the keyboard, followed by the Enter key.

The RGI file includes 2 lines for each instruction, documented at the end of ASCOT.RGI below.

Note that the locations are given here in UK grid (e.g. "SU 93320 67300") but they could have been in any of the allowed lat/lon formats (e.g. "512382N0003960W" or "5123819N00039600W" or "51.39698 -0.66000" ).

I used my digital camera and Windows Paint to create TLOORD.BMP 320x240 pixels, and changed just the last parameter of the first line of ASCOT.RGI to this. Here is the full ASCOT.RGI:

Route Guidance on Pocket PC

SU 93320 67300,50,090,40,RGI$TL.WAV,TLOORD.BMP
turn left out of Robin's Drive
SU 93410 67357,50,140,40,RGI$TL.WAV,RGI$TLT
turn left out of Armitage Court to Sunninghill Village
SU 93500 67600,50,025,40,$LS.WAV,RGI$SCHO
School ! Children !
SU 93700 68200,200,22,60,RGI$TL.WAV,RGI$TLR
turn left at roundabout towards Ascot on A329
END,END,END,END,END,END
END,END,END,END,END,END

The above is an example RGI file holding some
Route Guidance Instructions to Ascot.
Each RGI is two lines. The first line holds
location, range threshold, direction, direction threshold,
WAV file played, BMP file (or picture generated if no .BMP)
Sign Pictures are specified in GPSSSIGN.TXT
The next line is the text of the RGI displayed.
The two lines of ENDs terminate the list of RGI. 

The full Windows GPSS should also cope with this example. We have now implemented the capability to draw a symbol specified in the GPSSSIGN.TXT drawing file (e.g. if the "TLOORD.BMP" had been left at it's old original "RGI$TL"). GPSSppc should also cope with JPG files, such as TLOORD.JPG, but you may prefer to stick with BMP images to permit testing with the full Windows GPSS.

In the example above I used the sound file RGI$TL.WAV - "turn left ..." from the GPSS Baseline. I could have created a unique sound such as "TLOORD.WAV - "turn left out of Robin's drive ..." with Windows Sound Recorder and put this in ASCOT.RGI, as I did the image file.

As you might imagine, considerable beta testing has yet to be done on this :-)

from Robin on 24th April: I have just uploaded the v4 (23 April) GPSSppc baseline to gpss.tripoduk.com/ce/gpssbase.exe . Later today this will also be included in the new full Windows GPSS baseline v6.4. We will soon continue testing new versions of GPSSppc as pre-release versions 5a, 5b, etc.

USA vector mapping is now good - see picture from Don in Sierra Vista much further down, then here for what we have now. The scaling was modified to avoid a cluttered display. Progress of drawing the USA vector mapping is traced with time taken. If you are not in the USA, you can do as I have, using the experimental [US] then [POS] buttons. You will need to SAVE data from USADISK.EXE , USADES.EXE and usa\31n110w.EXE . the latest data will soon be in \usa. USA WAW is fixed. My iPAQ now changes USA map scales in 8,14,19 and 4 seconds (was 19,26,33, and 7 for v4L). Moving across the map is much faster, of course. Tap [US] followed by [POS] to move car to a position to be near a church - the first landmark displayed. A test pattern of landmarks is switched on for testing after zooming out. The test pattern is cleared after zooming back in. USA placenames were added in v4q, and v4r supports the new N.VEC files to be added to \USA. i.e. Avoids need for USANAMES.TXT. Street name rotation was corrected. v4 23 April skips reading USANAMES.TXT if a new N.VEC file is found.

language switching I have been testing the language switching with ITALTRAN.EXE data, which needs to be in folder \italian\ in main memory. The language.cfg file is copied into the GPSS folder.

GPSSppc v4e and later support GTX search files being configurable with gpssfind.txt. You will find an example of gpssfind.txt, with extra GTX files from GPSS Baseline like "eating places", "sleeping places" and "population centres".

Many changes were made in GPSSppc v4d, including the WAW logic, to "program around" what seems to be a bug in the Microsoft Compact Framework when running with non-English Regional Settings. See "Regional Settings not English ?" below. Other v4d changes are "cosmetic", like the "busy" light.

new button page Important: If you don't see these new buttons, download the NEWPBASE.EXE data.

v4b of gpssppc.exe fixed more bugs related to displayed and spoken units. Earlier v4 changes fixed bugs in the new v3 "units" button, "instrument panel", and spoken distance to destination for those with Windows Mobile settings that use a comma instead of a dot for the decimal seperator.

Regional Settings not English ?

GPSSp mode1 There have been bugs uncovered in GPSSppc or the Compact Framework when using Regional Settings other than English.

English Windows and GPSS data files use "." as the decimal point in numbers. Some European languages use the comma. e.g. 3,14159 instead of 3.14159. We hope to have "programmed around" what appears to be a type-conversion bug in the Microsoft Compact Framework, but it is probable more changes will be needed to GPSSppc.

If you have problems, such as GPSSppc not speaking correct distances, you may want to try switching your Regional Settings to English - if they are not already.

Some of you with English settings may wish to try settings such as "Finnish" to help us confirm no problems remain.

The first time we came across this problem was with the help of Aki in Finland. See " v2a 12 September. Fix "611,7N02504,3E" bug.." in "change history" at the bottom of this page i.e. GPSSppc was not displaying lat/lon correctly. Niels in Qatar found a similar bug in GPSSppc v3 with how distance to destination is spoken, which was fixed in GPSSppc v4a. More recently many changes were made in v4d after the problem was pinned down to the CF bug. This included the WAW logic which makes GPSSppc speak position.

The default position in Armitage Court should cause GPSSppc to say:
"we are in Sunninghill and in 22 Armitage Court"
but in non-English regional settings, before we "programmed around" the CE bug, GPSSppc might say something like:
"we are 2 yards north west of 22 Armitage Court"
If zoomed out onto a different map, using the larger GPSS.WAW file, it should say, something similar to:
"we are 25 miles west of London and in Sunninghill"

earlier recent changes in gpssppc.exe ...

v3L of gpssppc.exe corrected some bugs for VGA screens and tidies up the experimental page - under the new "maintenance" button. v3j of GPSSppc introduced the new page of menu buttons. The playback/record facilities. and the "experimental" page of buttons, are now reached from a particular new button. For more detail, see the bottom of the brief user guide page.

Recent changes introduced our new "instrument panel", similar to that in the full Windows GPSS. The instrument panel shows direction to destination graphically, and can be toggled on and off. The instrument panel shows the direction to destination on a clock face, with the distance to go. Direction Finding It also shows the speed (top left), time to go (top right), and Expected Time of Arrival, ETA (bottom left). The panel is moved automatically left or right to avoid hiding the car (GPS) position. It also includes a compass, showing true north with "N".

v3a starts to add Radio Direction Finding capability into GPSSppc - but is delayed waiting for testing by those with the required hardware. This rather specialized capability has been in the full Windows version of GPSS for years, and has often been pioneered by the Radio Amatuers, or "hams", who use it in their "foxhunting" hobby, explained on the page above. If you already have the required experience and hardware to help test this new capability, you may wish to contact me, and join people like David in Nottingham,UK and Anton in Indonesia, help us test DF in GPSSppc.

See "change history for GPSSppc ..." below, for a summary of version 3 changes and details of earlier GPSSppc changes.

"how to find the modem in a smartphone?"

GPSS chase near GG bridge from Robin on 8th October: Beta testers like Sham are having success with the latest GPSSppc, tracking one of our cars - but by using an external modem on their smartphone. The big important problem for us to solve right now is "how to find the modem in a smartphone?". We believe that most, if not all smartphones, will include a modem which appears as a virtual COM port. e.g. COM1 or COM2. It probably supports standard Hayes commands. e.g. software sending out AT will receive OK as a reply. ATDT followed by a phone number will result in a number being dialled. AT+ commands will handle functions such as sending or receiving SMS messages. We have some of these functions working in GPSSppc but need more information on how we can most simply exploit what is already inside the smartphone. Sham has made some progress: see here. Maybe you can help ? If so, please contact Robin.

beta testers helping us test latest GPSSppc ...

This list of good people has been moved onto the page: Those helping with testing of GPSSppc.

want to help Robin ?

iPAQ with Thuraya 'phone Over the years many people have helped Robin - even if only being one of the many who download software from gpss.co.uk - if there is a problem, Robin gets to know quickly :-)

Here are ways you might help Robin:

You can contact Robin by email or 'phone via the contact page.

ADVENT GPS 400 The less important problem is getting GPSSppc to run on the ADVENT GPS 400. On the right you see one that Robin purchased from Dixons early in 2006. Why ? Because it looked like an excellent hardware solution already running Win CE Net 4.2 Core. I understand from the GpsPasSion forum that others have replaced the bundled Navigon software by alternatives such as TomTom, so I know it can be done. Now just a matter of finding the simplest - reversible - solution. I'm sure that I'm not the only guy who would like to use the bundled software AND GPSSppc :-) This information was put up early in 2006. Since then we've realized the problem is probably due to the ADVENT using a "stripped down" CE, not able to load the latest version of the Microsoft Compact Framework - on which VB.Net and GPSSppc depend. Also we've found many other good, low cost platforms running Windows Mobile 2005. See the beta tester list above.

If you wish to do more than just email Robin to say whether or not you have GPSSppc working, and on what platform, please first invest your time as follows: read the Business page followed by step 1 then step 2 on the download page. Step 1 requires a GPS and a Laptop running full Windows.

Testing of GPSSppc and to VB.Net Programmers ...

Robin is looking for simple answers, with the minimum lines of VB.Net code needed to do the equivalent of what is very simple in versions of Visual Basic since over 10 years ago. The main difference seems to be additional declaration statements.

Best contact Robin direct via the contact page, for his latest list of problems - since he would not want you to work on problems already solved :-)

details of earlier GPSSppc changes ...

See the earlier "help us test the latest GPSSppc ..." for more recent changes.

from Robin on 6th February 2007: I've just uploaded new v2 gpssppc.exe within GPSS Baseline v6.1 & GPSSBASE.EXE.

from Robin on 3rd January 2007: I've just uploaded v2j of gpssppc.exe. The more who can test it the better. See the "change history" further below, for summary of changes made in recent weeks. A more detailed description of recent changes is below.

Main change in v2j was the saving of the last good GPS position - if there is one - into GPSSLAST.TXT on exit, and reading of this position when GPSSppc is restarted, into the location control near the experimental [POS] button. A minor bug was also fixed, where a beep might be sounded instead of "destination".

Main change in v2i was the [SAVE] function, also done automatically on GPSSppc exit, which saves information such as that in GPSS.CFG, GPSS.COM, METRIC.CFG etc. i.e. parameters such as the GPS COM port settings, units such as km or miles, the destination, or lack of destination. So when you restart GPSSppc it should pick up these parameters from what they were last time. A minor bug was also fixed which caused GPSSppc to start with "Good Morning" after midday. Lots of changes so plenty of scope for new bugs to have been introduced :-)

Changes in v2h included the experimental page. The [LL] button switches format of lat/lon between the standard GPSS 15 character format based on degrees and minutes (e.g. 523000N0013000W) and decimal format (e.g. 52.500000 -1.500000). [NJ] was removed. Minor bugs were fixed, such as the lat/lon displayed being the GPS lat/lon rather than the tapped position. When on the experimental page the raw $GPRMC GPS data is shown. When changing map, such as after tapping on the zoom buttons, the map name is displayed.

Changes made in v2g were: "bad GPS data: go outside ?" message is now clearer. The experimental button for switching the top right control between [OK] and [X] is now clearer ([>X]/[>OK]). GPSSppc now suppresses automatic display timeout, even if set at 30 secs. Some of the code has been made faster by removal of untyped variables. Recent v2f changes include different startup display of speed warnings being loaded from WARNING.TXT, to reduce confusion. There are only 7 warnings in the GPSSBASE.EXE baseline, but many more in the GPSS baseline, and a typical large file takes several seconds to load. Other changes include displaying the lat/lon and guidance information immediately, and not after you use the menu. If your GPS is not tracking, and a lat/lon of zero,zero is being received, this is now not used, and a message "bad GPS data: go outside ?" is shown. This avoids GPSSppc switching map and/or showing a position near Africa, if the GPS is not working well. Two buttons no longer needed on the experimental page have been removed - [IRE] and [NEB]. Many Thanks to those who pointed out these problems to me - let us hope I have not created new bugs :-)

the old GPSSp based on NSBasic ...

Before GPSSppc there was an earlier version, GPSSp, written in NSBasic instead of Microsoft VB.Net. NSBasic was an excellent alternative to Microsoft Visual Studio VB.Net, having better documentation and support. The problem with NSBasic is the more complicated installation process, and some performance limitations. The earlier GPSSp is still available, from our GPSSp page, for assistance in diagnosing any problems experienced with GPSSppc below. This page has been "tidied-up" a little by moving GPSSp-related information onto the GPSSp page above.

other stuff ...

Here below is gpssp working in Landscape mode, mounted in a Thinknavi cradle designed for Portrait mode - no wonder the GPS had a struggle tracking - that's the GPS antenna on the left, pointing directly into the car, instead of up into the sky :-)

Landscope mode in Bracknell