Initializing Your Gps Receiver; Using Your Gps Receiver; Faq's - Globalsat BR-355 User Manual

5. INITIALIZING YOUR GPS RECEIVER

Before using your USB GPS receiver for navigation (especially for the first time), the receiver must
obtain a local GPS fix (coordinates) of the current position. To do this, take your laptop (with your USB
driver and the mapping software loaded and configured) to an open area that has a clear view to the
sky (such as a park or empty field). Start your software (or the included Mac_GPSutility program) and
wait for initialization of the GPS to complete. This may take a few minutes depending on various
factors such as the distance of the current coordinates from the last time the GPS receiver was
activated, GPS signal strength and surrounding terrain (tall trees and buildings can block the satellite
signals). Once the RAW GPS data is displayed onto the screen, if applicable for your software, a fix
has been initialized (red LED on the GPS will also start to flash). In some cases initialization can take
up to several minutes depending on the conditions mentioned above before complete GPS data will be
displayed on the screen.
Coordinates scrolling with zero's means that the port connection is cormplete but the satellite data is
not being received yet (possibly still initializing or in a bad area for satellite reception).

6. USING YOUR GPS RECEIVER

Once the USB GPS receiver's driver and your personal mapping software have been installed and
configured properly, you can begin to use your navigation system by plugging the USB GPS into your
laptop's USB port and launching your mapping software. If you don't have a mapping, or navigation
software, we've included a GPS test utility called "GPS Utility" so that you can test the function of your
USB GPS receiver. This utility is located within the Mac directory on the CD-ROM or can be download
from our web-site www.usglobalsat.com/mac.
GPS LED Status indicator:
LED OFF: GPS receiver is off (no power).
LED ON (solid): No fix, searching for GPS signals.
LED FLASHING: Position fix established and GPS signals are being received.
Always select an area in the vehicle where the GPS unit will be secure and not obstruct normal driving,
visibility and safety, but still maintaining a "view to the sky" in order to receive satellite data.

7. FAQ's

How Do I Enable a Root Account
The "root" user (also known as the super user) is the most powerful UNIX account. The root account
can do anything to any file or folder, anywhere on the system. For that reason, Globalsat/USGlobalsat
cannot recommend, nor support users who attempt modifications of the 'root user" as it's considered
quite dangerous, and only needs to be used (occasionally) by advanced users.
Because of the dangers of operating as root, Apple has chosen to hide the root account in OS X Final.
However, there are a number of ways to enable it. The easiest is to boot off the install CD, and look
under the Install menu for the "Password Reset" option. You can use this to change your own
password if you forget it, and to enable the root account. This utility will not run if you copy it to your
hard drive! It only works when booting from the CD.
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USB GPS (Mac)
USB_GPS_MAC_ v2.0