[aprssig] New Truck/Setup Ford Expedition GPS and Install Questions

[Scott Miller]

> Yes they do KISS mode, but I was actually thinking of the Nuvi being 
> connected to the dedicated GPS port of the radio. 

This would also sacrifice everything but the position and callsign.  No 
symbols (other than moving/fixed like the AvMap), and no altitude or 
status text, including course/speed or weather data.

Speaking of weather data, for Garmin models that have enough custom 
symbols, I think I'm going to devote 8 of them to wind direction arrows. 
  That way you'd be able to see wind directions (in 45 degree 
increments) just by looking at the symbols.

> This is sounding more and more like a commercial land-mobile 
> status-reporting terminal of the type used by taxis, utilities and fire 
> departments.   These non-computer-based devices usually have half a 
> dozen buttons for canned fixed messages like "Out of Service", "Enroute 
> to Call", "Arrived at Destination", etc.  Of course, I assume that 
> that's what Garmin had in mind with their "Fleet Management Interface" 
> -- AVL combined with simple messaging and status reporting, using the 
> GPS device as the terminal.

Exactly.  There's actually a firmware variant for the OpenTracker+ 
available that does 5 status messages based on some binary inputs.  It's 
used by a couple of taxi operators to show status based on a selector 
switch.

Scott
N1VG