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ZyCast SG-289 Bluetooth GPS with LCD Display And Datalogger
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synforge
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Joined: Feb 15, 2008
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 2:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bought one of these devices a few days ago, unfortunately I can't say it's been a painless experience.

Bluetooth pairing has been fine, however the absence of CR/LF has proved somewhat troublesome for my SPV M700. Using putty to check direct serial output the device seems to pause for a long period of time when presented with a line feed. I tried this with stop bits set to 1 as stated in the manufacturers documentation however it seems that stop bits should be set to 2 as the device fails to open when set to 1.

The SG-289 works fine with my older SPV M500, PC with bluetooth USB, Laptop and another HTC device (I can't recall the model).

I checked the manufacturers website and couldn't immediately find any firmware releases, does anyone know of any releases?
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JSK
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Joined: Feb 06, 2008
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:16 pm    Post subject: A little good news Reply with quote

Hi folks,

This device is somewhat of a paradox, both terrific and frustrating at the same time. I did a little homework and decided (with a little trepidation I may say) to get the newer version of the SG-289, the 'Progin T-368'. It has the same firmware, but it has a larger screen, external mmcx connector and a new overcoat. It arrived from Germany (not available in the UK) a couple of days ago and I have been playing nicely thank you Laughing

The company website is at http://www.progin.com.tw/t368_en.htm if you are interested.

So how has it performed, Well, it is a little larger than I expected, but if that is the trade off for top notch signal reception due to a larger antenna, then that is OK by me. It has no problem in connecting via bluetooth to my hx4700, Touch Cruise, PC, and Sony laptop; the battery charges correctly and lasts hours, and it is a real pleasure to use. If this link works you may see a photo of the device (if not, copy and past it into a browser without the [img] stuff, that's my grubby mit holding it by the way!).

[img]http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/cronkystick/GPSLoggerStuff[/img]

Now the not so nice stuff. It is not possible to connect via USB as a PC sees the device as faulty, so no matter what drivers you try to load, it will not work on any machine I have tried. I don't see a problem in updating firmware though, as this could be done via the SD card, same as nearly all camera's do, though I won't hold my breathe waiting Rolling Eyes

Now the really annoying bit, the non compliant NMEA datafiles produced on the SD card - a simple problem but a real pain in the arse. The only program I can use that produces any usable output in either .kml or .gpx format is 'GPSVisuliser'; great, providing you have an internet link and the site does not go off air. Has anyone found any other software or site that can use the files produced from this device ???

Now I am not a GPS guru by any stretch of the imagination, so please don't flame me if I talk a little drivel here, but this is my solution to the datafile problem. It is only a text file, so it must be easy to amend the file - right !! Shocked . After a little experimentation I have found a workaround (well, until a firmware update is forthcoming anyway). Here's my solution -

- Save the GPS datalog file from the SD card onto the PC desktop
- open MS Word, click the 'open file' icon and navigate to the desktop, click on the datalog file you saved then click 'open'
- Word will detect the incorrect file format and ask what you want to do; the "File conversion" box will appear and the 'windows default' radio button should be highlighted (if not, click it), then click OK.
- Word will then re-format the text file correctly. Don't mess about with any of the data on the screen unless you know what you are doing.
- Now click 'file' - 'save as' and call the file whatever you want, leave the format as plain text.
- When you click 'save', you will be asked what format you want to save the file as; the 'windows default' radio button should be highlighted (click it if it is not) and then click 'save'

That's it, job done Very Happy You now have a datafile that works. I have tried it with 'Textmaker 2006' on the PC and it works even easier as it re-formats the file correctly without asking. I have used this workaround on several files and they all work fine, only takes a couple of seconds to create a usable datalog file.

I then used 'NMEAtoKMZ' http://homepage2.nifty.com/k8/gps/file/nmea2kmz.htm to convert my log files into either Google earth tracks or .gpx files I use in Memory Map software. I have tried it with GPSBabel and it works OK as well, but I am not a fan of the wide 'breadcrumb' trail used in this program.

I hope the above will help others in the same situation as I was. It really is a simple and quick way of sorting out a problem we should not have in the first place, but it makes this device a lot more useful than it was a couple of days ago Wink . Now to sort out creating .kml files on my PDA while on a USA roadtrip.

If anyone can refine this procedure (macro script?) or confirm other programs work, then let us all know via this forum.

Cheers,

John


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