The place for technical discussions about GA and flying.
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By Glidingdoc
#1878349
I have an ancient Solar GPS. It is a black box measuring 2.5 " x 2" with a solar panel on the front and three buttons on top. There is a charger and a place for the charger cable.

Fuzion SiRF star III is inscribed on one side and Model Number BT2.5SR on the other. (underneath is the FCCID SBUBT25XR.

It worked in a glider in 1993 but I have forgotten how.

I also have a SkyForce Locator.

Does anyone know how I could connect the two to make the Skyforce Locator work???

Many Thanks,

Steve
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By Sooty25
#1878373
Based on the age and experience of similar kit,

The two units will be cabled together using RS232 interface. The data format will be NMEA0183 at 4800 baud rate 8,n,1.

The skyforce is a text display that relies on an internal database of airfields for distance and bearing to them, but the database will be from the 90's!

The GPS has pre-millenium software in it so may well suffer timing issues, assuming the Ni-Cad batteries have any life left in them whatsoever!

Tbh, pop them back in the junk draw you found them in and use your phone with EasyVFR.
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By Glidingdoc
#1878431
Will be using Skydemon. I just want the Locator to tell me 3 miles west Harrogate so I don't get tongue tied when giving position report.
The GPS doesn't seem to have the RS232 interface on it.
Would anything else very small work?
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By Rob P
#1878433
Glidingdoc wrote:Will be using Skydemon. I just want the Locator to tell me 3 miles west Harrogate so I don't get tongue tied when giving position report.


SkyDemon does that already.

The algorithm is superbly designed such that, when overseas, it unfailingly selects a waypoint to reference with the least pronounceable name in a ten mile radius. :(

Rob P
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By GrahamB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1878435
Here's a useful SD tip:

If you tap on a feature to call up the 'What's here' pop-up, then tap on the feature name in that, the first option presented in the next pop-up is 'Track Waypoint'.

Touch that and it will change the content of the Search/Navigation bar at the top to give distance/cardinal direction from your selected feature and Mag Track To and From.

If you then tap on the Search/navigation bar it will return it to doing its normal thing.

@Rob P - you could use this to force it to refer to the nearest pronounceable place.
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By Rob P
#1878436
GrahamB wrote:@Rob P - you could use this to force it to refer to the nearest pronounceable place.

Top tip! :thumleft:

Rob P
By Glidingdoc
#1878657
Paul, thank you. That looks like the answer. I wish the Forum allowed one to upload photos. I have a Garmin55 (circa 1994) and a Skyforce Locator which somebody has wired together in a gordonian knot. Would you mind if I sent you an email to show you the configuration of the resultant spaghetti and perhaps you could advise me how to disentangle the SL from the Garmin 55. I am trying to fit everything onto the very limited panel space of a Pup and the Garmin 55 is just too bulky.
Steve (glidingdoc@yahoo.com)
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By Rob P
#1878760
GrahamB wrote:Here's a useful SD tip:

If you tap on a feature to call up the 'What's here'


I meant to try this out yesterday but forgot, however just experimenting this morning it appears that the distance and direction now appear as part of the What's Here pop-up.

Rob P
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By GrahamB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1878761
Rob P wrote:
GrahamB wrote:Here's a useful SD tip:

If you tap on a feature to call up the 'What's here'


I meant to try this out yesterday but forgot, however just experimenting this morning it appears that the distance and direction now appear as part of the What's Here pop-up.

Rob P

Indeed it does - I’d forgotten that!
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1878811
Glidingdoc wrote:Would you mind if I sent you an email to show you the configuration of the resultant spaghetti and perhaps you could advise me how to disentangle the SL from the Garmin 55.


Sure, I'll drop you an e-mail. Whereabouts in the country are you?