Using StreetTalk VIP

Contents of this page

Skip past contents.

1. The Output and Trip Windows
2. StreetTalk VIP Operating Modes
3. StreetTalk VIP Menus
4. Address Conventions
5. Calculating a Route
6. Saving a Route
7. Navigating a Route
8. Breadcrumb Routes
9. Manage Routes
10. Setting a Point of Origin
11. Displaying Navigation Information
12. Displaying GPS Status
13. Virtual Mode
14. Viewing Nearby Points of Interest
15. Locking the PAC Mate Omni Keyboard

The Output and Trip Windows

StreetTalk VIP uses two windows to display information. You can move from one window to the other by pressing CTRL+TAB (DOTS 5-6 CHORD). Use the ARROW keys to navigate the text in each window.

The Output Window

By default, StreetTalk VIP always starts in the Output window. The Output window maintains a running record - or log - of your activity. Messages indicating that you changed maps, changed from vehicular to pedestrian route calculation, and so on, appear in the Output window. While traveling, important navigation info such as intersections, approaching turns in a route, and nearby points of interest are also displayed.

New messages appear at the bottom of the window. By default, when a new message arrives, you are automatically placed on the new message. If you want to review previous messages without being constantly positioned at the bottom of the window each time a new message appears, press ENTER to turn off Output Window Tracking. You can now review messages in the Output Window at your leisure. New messages will continue to be appended and announced, however, you will now need to manually go to the bottom of the window to review them. Press ENTER again to turn Output Window Tracking back on.

If you get to a point where you feel there are too many messages to keep track of, press CTRL+X (F1+F3+F4+F6+F8) to clear all text on the window.

The Trip Window

Whenever you create a route, StreetTalk VIP automatically switches to the Trip window. Each point on your route appears in this window. Each maneuver in the route is displayed on its own line to make it easy to read.
This window contains your complete route and will be updated if the route is recalculated.

StreetTalk VIP Operating Modes

StreetTalk VIP has two operating modes, Planner and Navigation. By default, StreetTalk VIP starts in Planner mode. Press ALT+N (F1+F3+F4+F5+F7) to toggle between Planner and Navigation modes.

Planner Mode

Use Planner Mode to create personal favorites, calculate origin points, or calculate routes and save them for future use. It is not necessary to have your GPS receiver activated while in Planner mode.

Navigation Mode

Use Navigation mode to follow a route and receive feedback and details while traveling, as well as to make use of functions that require GPS data. You must activate your GPS receiver and be receiving satellite signals when in Navigation mode.
Note: In order to update your location continuously, the software must acquire fresh GPS signals. This requires signals from a minimum of four individual satellites for optimal use. Initially, the GPS may take a few minutes to find its current location. For best results, ensure that the receiver has a clear view of the sky. Once the receiver is tracking enough satellites, StreetTalk VIP will announce "GPS Signal OK." At this point, you can begin traveling.

StreetTalk VIP Menus

When you open the StreetTalk VIP menu by pressing ALT (F2), the following choices are available:

• Routes
• Favorites
• Toggle Modes
• Utilities

The following sections describe the options available in each menu.

The Routes Menu

This menu contains all the options for creating and managing routes. There are 12 choices:

The Favorites Menu

This menu is where you create and delete favorites (User POIs). You should create favorites for your most frequently used origins and destinations. There are three choices:

Favorites are associated with the map that is active at the time of their creation and that map must be active in order to use them. Before creating a favorite, make sure you are using the map where you want the favorite saved. If the map you want is currently not active, press ALT+M (F1+F3+F4+F7) to switch to the appropriate map and then create the favorite.

Note: You can also access the Favorites menu by pressing ALT+F (F1+F2+F4+F7) from the Output or Trip windows.

The Toggle Modes Menu

This menu lets you toggle various StreetTalk VIP modes and settings on or off. To display the current mode settings, press CTRL+M (F1+F3+F4+F8). There are eight choices:

Note: You can also access the Modes menu by pressing ALT+T (F2+F3+F4+F5+F7) from the Output or Trip windows.

The Utilities Menu

The Utilities menu contains eight choices:

Address Conventions

This section briefly discusses the format in which StreetTalk VIP displays and expects to receive street addresses.

Street Name Syntax

While the maps use standard address conventions, you must use the correct abbreviations when entering address information. For example, Freedom Scientific�s street address is 11800 31st Court North, however, StreetTalk VIP would display this as 11800 31st CT N. CT is the abbreviation for Court while N is the abbreviation for North. In addition, if you were calculating a route to this address, you would enter the street name as 31st CT N. If you attempted to write Court instead of CT, you would receive an error as this is an invalid street name.

This means that when you are entering address information, you may need to experiment a little until you begin to become familiar with the syntax. If you are looking for North 5th Street, "N 5th ST," might be the correct syntax. The more you work with addresses, the more comfortable you will become with the correct way to enter this information.

Note: If you plan to use addresses from the personal contacts you have stored on your PAC Mate Omni to calculate routes to the homes of your friends, the doctor�s office, or your favorite stores, you must enter information in the address format that StreetTalk VIP expects to receive. If an address is stored as �3rd Street West,� and StreetTalk VIP expects it to be �W 3rd St,� StreetTalk VIP is unable to process the address information in order to calculate a route.

Abbreviations

The maps use many abbreviations for common elements of street names. StreetTalk VIP includes a JAWS dictionary that converts these abbreviations into whole words, but when you enter address information, you must use the abbreviated form. None of these abbreviations makes use of any punctuation.
Note: The dictionary can be disabled by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+D (F1+F4+F5+F7+F8>) so that you hear the information exactly as it appears. For example, instead of “North Main Street,” JAWS announces “N Main St.” The dictionary does not affect the way information appears on the braille display.
The following table lists the abbreviations used by StreetTalk VIP and their spoken equivalents.

Calculating a Route

StreetTalk VIP can be in either Planner or Navigation mode when you calculate a route. If you are in Navigation mode, make sure you have a GPS fix before calculating a route. You can calculate a route using any of the following as the destination.

Using a Street Address

1. Press ALT+R (F1+F2+F3+F5+F7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog box.
2. Select Address by City and press ENTER. There is a slight delay as StreetTalk VIP generates the list of cities for the current map.
3. In the Map Name combo box, the currently active map is selected by default. Press TAB to move to the list of cities if you do not want to change this. Otherwise, if you want to create a route to an address in another state, select the state then press TAB.
   
   Note: Only the maps available to StreetTalk VIP appear in this combo box. This means that if the Maps folder of your storage card contains map files for two states, only two states will be listed.
   Additionally, if you are creating a route that requires you to travel through more than one state to reach your destination, all connecting states must be in the Maps folder in order for the route calculation to complete successfully.
4. Select the city. You can begin typing the city name and as you type, the list view scrolls. If you selected a different state from the State combo box, a slight delay may occur when you first enter this list box while StreetTalk VIP builds the list of cities.
5. Press TAB to move to the Street Name edit field. Enter all or part of the street name using the StreetTalk VIP address conventions. StreetTalk VIP will attempt to determine the street you want as you type. There is a one second delay after each character typed before StreetTalk VIP begins generating the list of streets. This gives you time to enter additional characters if desired. As soon as you hear the street you are looking for, you can tab to the next control even if you have not finished typing the whole name. You can also use the arrow keys to move up and down through the list of streets. If you are uncertain about the street name and would like a complete list of streets, type an ASTERISK to have StreetTalk VIP display the complete list of streets for the currently selected city. Depending on the size of the city, generating a complete list of streets can take some time to complete.
6. Press TAB to move to the Street Number field and enter a street number. After you type the number, press TAB to move to the OK button and press ENTER. If you enter a street number that is not in the range of numbers for the selected street, StreetTalk VIP will attempt to set it to a valid address number. Choose OK to use this number or Cancel to enter a different street number.

StreetTalk VIP calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the address you entered as the destination. If StreetTalk VIP is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Using an Entry from Contacts

1. Press ALT+R (F1+F2+F3+F5+F7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog box.
2. Press C or select Contacts in Messaging and press ENTER.
3. Select Current City or All Contacts. Move to the list of contacts by pressing TAB.
4. Select an individual entry and press the RIGHT ARROW to open the list of available addresses (for example, home and business).
5. Press TAB to move to the OK button and press ENTER.

StreetTalk VIP calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the contact address you chose as the destination. If StreetTalk VIP is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Note: In order for contacts to be listed, the contact must contain a first and last name and an address entered in the correct format used by StreetTalk VIP.

Using a Point of Interest

1. Press ALT+R (F1+F2+F3+F5+F7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog box.
2. Press P or select Points of interest and press ENTER.
3. Choose the POI category (for example, Restaurant) from the list and press RIGHT ARROW to expand it and display the list of subcategories if available.
4. If the selected category contains any subcategories, select the one you want (for example, Mexican) from the list and press RIGHT ARROW to expand it.
5. Select the specific POI from the list, TAB to the OK button, and press ENTER. Before activating OK, you can press RIGHT ARROW to view aditional details on the selected POI, such as the street address and phone number.

Depending on how far you plan to travel, you can select the radius within which points of interest are displayed. With the POI dialog box open, press TAB to move to the Search Radius combo box and choose a radius ranging from 3 miles to 100 miles. The default search radius is 25 miles.

Because of the amount of time it can take to build the list of POIs after pressing RIGHT ARROW to expand a category or subcategory, StreetTalk VIP will periodically announce how many items have been found and the distance searched so far. For example, "Search found 4 items within 2.8 miles." You can press ENTER on the Stop Search button at any time to stop searching and display the POIs that have already been found.

If you choose to completely expand the selected category or subcategory, StreetTalk VIP will only display approximately 1500 entries. For instance, depending on your search radius and how densely populated your location is, the Bonus category can potentially contain several thousand entries. If a list of POIs is truncated, the very last entry in the list will contain the number of POIs as well as the distance the search was at when stopped.

By default, StreetTalk VIP uses your current location as the center of the search radius when displaying POIs. However, you might want to change this if you are creating a route to a location in another city or state. To change the center of the search radius, press TAB to move to the Center Type combo box and select one of the following options:

• Current Location

Selected by default, this option uses your current origin as the center of the search radius when displaying POIs.

 

• Address Entry

Selecting this option opens the Address Selection dialog box (described above) where you can enter an address to be used as the center of the radius. This allows you to create a route to a point of interest in another state if desired. Once you have entered the address details, select OK to return to the POI dialog box.

 

• Favorite

Selecting this option opens a dialog box containing a list of favorites you have added. Only favorites associated with the currently active map are displayed. Choose the one you want to set as your center then select OK to return to the POI dialog box.

 

Once you have selected either Address Entry or Favorite from the combo box, press TAB to move to the Set Center button and press ENTER to open the appropriate dialog box. Changing the center type only affects what points of interest are listed. Your current origin will still be used when calculating the route.

If you know the name of the POI you want to go to, press TAB to move to the Search edit field and type all or part of the POI name and press ENTER. StreetTalk VIP will display a list of the POIs within the selected radius that match your search string.

The search string must contain at least two characters, otherwise you will receive an error. If you only enter two characters, StreetTalk VIP displays all of the POIs that begin with those characters. Entering three or more characters causes StreetTalk VIP to display the POIs that contain the specified characters anywhere in the name. While this can lead to significantly more results, the search itself may take some time depending on what you are searching for and the size of the radius.

During the search, StreetTalk VIP will periodically announce how many items have been found and the distance searched so far. For example, "Search found 4 items within 2.8 miles." You can press ENTER on the Stop Search button at any time to stop searching and display the POIs that have already been found.

Whether you choose to manually stop the search or not, when the search is finished, you are placed in a list of POIs that match your search string. Navigate to the one you want, then choose OK.

StreetTalk VIP calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the POI you chose as the destination. If StreetTalk VIP is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Using a Favorite

1. Press ALT+R (F1+F2+F3+F5+F7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog box.
2. Press F or select Favorites and press ENTER. The favorites associated with the currently active map are displayed.
3. Select a specific favorite from the list, press TAB to move to the OK button, and press ENTER.

StreetTalk VIP calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the favorite you chose as the destination. If StreetTalk VIP is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

To calculate a route from your current position to a favorite associated with a different map, for instance, a favorite you created in another state, do the following:

1. If you are in Planner mode, press ALT+N (F1+F3+F4+F5+F7) to switch to Navigation mode and make sure you have a GPS fix.
2. Press ALT+M (F1+F3+F4+F7) and change to the map that contains the favorite you want to travel to.
3. Press ALT+R (F1+F2+F3+F5+F7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog box.
4. Press F or select Favorites and press ENTER. The favorites associated with the currently active map are displayed.
5. Select the favorite you want to use from the list, press TAB to move to the OK button, and press ENTER.

StreetTalk VIP calculates a route based on your current location with the favorite you chose as the destination. Remember, if you are creating a route that requires you to travel through more than one state to reach your destination, all connecting states must be in the Maps folder in order for the route calculation to complete successfully.

Using Latitude and Longitude Coordinates

1. Press ALT+R (F1+F2+F3+F5+F7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog box.
2. Press L or select Latitude/Longitude and press ENTER.
3. Use the ARROW keys to select the North or South radio button.
4. Press TAB to move to the Latitude edit field and enter the latitude. For example, 27.8792895.
5. Press TAB and use the ARROW keys to select the East or West radio button.
6. Press TAB to move to the Longitude edit field and enter the longitude. For example, 82.6755202. Then choose OK.

StreetTalk VIP calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin using the latitude and longitude coordinates you entered as the destination. If StreetTalk VIP is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Saving a Route

After calculating a route, you can save it to a file to recall and use later or to send to another StreetTalk VIP user.

To save a route, press CTRL+S (F2+F3+F4+F8). In the Route name edit field, type a name for the route. Be sure to give the route a descriptive name like “Walk to Dave’s House,” or “Home to Veterinarian’s Office.” Each route must have a different name even if you create a pedestrian and vehicular route to the same destination.

A saved route is always associated with the map you have active at the time you created and saved it. For example, if Florida is the active map, the route would be saved to \Storage Card\Maps\Florida\Routes. StreetTalk VIP automatically creates this folder the first time you save a route.

Recalling and Using a Saved Route

To recall a route that you created and saved previously, press CTRL+O (F1+F3+F5+F8). A dialog box opens listing all of the saved routes that are associated with the currently active map. Choose the route you want to use and press ENTER. If you are in Navigation mode, make sure you have a GPS fix before opening a saved route.

The type of route (pedestrian, vehicular, or breadcrumb) is displayed after the route name. Saved breadcrumb routes are indicated with .bcr, saved Vehicle routes with .veh, and saved pedestrian routes with .ped.

Opening a vehicle route places you directly in the Trip window with the route directions displayed. When you open a pedestrian route, you are first asked if you want to navigate to the origin or the destination. Select the origin if you will be traveling from the destination to your original starting point. Select Destination if you will be traveling from your original starting point to the destination. Once you make your selection, you are placed in the Trip window containing your route directions.

Remember, a saved route is associated with the map that was active at the time you created and saved it. If the route you want is not listed, press ALT+M (F1+F3+F4+F7) to change to the correct map before recalling the route.

Navigating a Route

Once you have calculated a route or recalled a saved route by pressing CTRL+O (F1+F3+F5+F8) and you want to use it, press ALT+N (F1+F3+F4+F5-F7) to start Navigation mode and GPS monitoring. Be sure to turn on your GPS receiver and aim it toward the sky. Press ALT+L (F1+F2+F3+F7) to open the GPS Status dialog box to verify that you have at least four satellites in view and start on your way. For best performance, you need a minimum of four satellites in view (the more the better). Ideally, the item labeled "Quality" should be around 30 feet or less.

StreetTalk VIP announces upcoming maneuvers. For example, it tells you in advance when you need to turn, announcing both the distance to the turning point and the direction of the turn. Review the complete route, maneuver by maneuver, using the ARROW keys while in the Trip window.
The following functions are available when navigating a route:

• You can display your next maneuver by pressing ALT+C (F1+F4+F7).
• You can display information concerning your direction of travel, speed, altitude, and distances traveled and to your destination by pressing ALT+D (F1+F4+F5+F7).
• You can display the direction and distance to your destination as well as your direction of travel by pressing ALT+B (F1+F2+F7).
• When you come to an intersection, press ALT+I (F2+F4+F7) to have the name of the intersecting street announced. While traveling, this keystroke will also tell you the distance to the next intersection.
• You can display nearby points of interest by pressing ALT+A (F1+F7).
• To find out the remaining distance to your destination, press CTRL+D (F1+F4+F5+F8).

If you deviate from the previously calculated route, StreetTalk VIP alerts you that you are off-route. If the remaining distance to your destination is greater than 10 miles (as the crow flies), you will be asked if you want to recalculate the route. This prompt will also include the remaining distance and heading to your destination from your current location. If you select Yes, the route is recalculated and the new route is displayed. If you select No, you will need to retrace your steps to get back on the original route. If you deviate from a route and the remaining distance is within 10 miles, StreetTalk VIP will perform three automatic route recalculations before prompting you.

Note: If you choose to recalculate the route when prompted, the recalculation will take a few moments to complete.

When you arrive, StreetTalk VIP announces that you have reached your destination.

Breadcrumb Routes

Breadcrumb routes are routes that consist of individual "breadcrumbs"; that is, records of your exact location as you travel along a route. Breadcrumbs can be dropped at any location and as often as you like.

A Breadcrumb Route could also be referred to as a manual route as you manually drop each breadcrumb after the route creation process begins. The idea is to walk the route with a trainer, or some one who knows the area, and drop breadcrumbs at key landmarks along the route you are making and to make sure you give them meaningful descriptions.

StreetTalk VIP does not use map data when saving breadcrumb routes. This means you can create a breadcrumb route in unmapped areas; for example woods or open fields.

Creating Breadcrumb Routes

>Press ALT+N (F1+F3+F4+F5+F7) to turn on GPS monitoring and Navigation mode. Then, press CTRL+B (F1+F2+F8) to turn on Breadcrumb Route creation. This function is also available from the Routes menu.

StreetTalk VIP announces that Breadcrumb Route creation has started. As you move along the route, whenever you come to a location that is important to know about when retracing the route, press a B. You are placed in an edit field where you can type a description of the particular landmark. Once you finish typing the description, press ENTER to drop the breadcrumb and continue. Select the Cancel button if you decide you do not want to drop a breadcrumb at the current location. You can drop as many breadcrumbs as you like.

When you reach your destination, press CTRL+B (F1+F2+F8) again to stop Breadcrumb Route creation. You are asked if you want to stop recording a breadcrumb route. Selecting the Yes button opens a dialog box that gives you the opportunity to give the route a unique name. Type a name for your breadcrumb route and press ENTER to save the route. Otherwise, select the No button to continue recording your breadcrumb route.

Just like vehicular and pedestrian routes, a saved breadcrumb route is always associated with the map you have active at the time you created and saved it. For example, if Florida is the active map, the route would be saved to \Storage Card\Maps\Florida\BCRoutes. StreetTalk VIP automatically creates this folder the first time you save a breadcrumb route.

Navigating a Saved Breadcrumb Route

You recall a saved breadcrumb route in the same way you recall a saved map route. Press CTRL+O (F1+F3+F5+F8) to open a dialog box from which to select the route you want to use. Saved breadcrumb routes are indicated with .bcr following the route name.

Similar to opening a pedestrian route, when you first open a breadcrumb route, you are asked if you want to navigate to the origin or the destination. Select the origin if you will be traveling from the destination to your original starting point. Select Destination if you will be traveling from your original starting point to the destination. Once you make your selection, you are placed in the Trip window containing your route directions. In addition, if StreetTalk VIP is in Vehicular mode when you open the route, it will automatically switch to Pedestrian mode. As you navigate the route, StreetTalk VIP automatically announces upcoming maneuvers. You can also use ALT+C (F1+F4+F7) to hear your next maneuver.

Note: Please use caution when following breadcrumb routes created while riding in a vehicle.

Manage Routes

The Manage Routes dialog box allows you to rename or delete a saved route as well as edit breadcrumb descriptions in a breadcrumb route. To open this dialog box, open the Routes menu and choose Manage Routes. When the Manage Routes dialog box opens, you are placed in a list of all the saved vehicular, pedestrian, and breadcrumb routes associated with the currently active map.

Renaming a Saved Route

To change the name of a previously saved route, do the following:

1. Open the Manage Routes dialog box and use the ARROW keys to select the route you want to rename from the list.
2. Press TAB to move to the Rename button, then press ENTER. Type the new name for the route and choose OK to return to the route list.
3. When finished, select Cancel to close the Manage Routes dialog box.

Deleting a Saved Route

To delete a saved route, do the following:

1. Open the Manage Routes dialog box and use the ARROW keys to select the route you want to delete from the list.
2. Press TAB to move to the Delete button, then press ENTER. You are asked if you are sure you want to delete the selected route. Choose Yes to delete the route, or No to cancel the deletion.
3. When finished, select Cancel to close the Manage Routes dialog box.

Editing Breadcrumbs in a Breadcrumb Route

You can edit the descriptions of breadcrumbs in a breadcrumb route. If the details of a particular location along your route have changed, you might want to update the description of the associated breadcrumb accordingly so you are always aware of it.

To edit one or more breadcrumbs, do the following:

1. Open the Manage Routes dialog box and Select the breadcrumb route containing the breadcrumbs you want to edit from the list.
2. Press TAB to move to the Select button and press ENTER. You are placed in a list box which displays all of the breadcrumbs in the route.
3. Navigate to the breadcrumb whose description you want to edit then TAB to the Edit button and press ENTER.
4. In the edit field, you can either edit the current description or type a new one then choose OK.
5. Select the next breadcrumb you want to edit, or if you are finished, select OK again to close the dialog box.

Setting a Point of Origin

A point of origin is used as the starting point for a route or when virtually exploring an area. Setting a point of origin is very similar to calculating a route. Press ALT+O (F1+F3+F5+F7) and StreetTalk VIP displays the same Choose Address Source dialog box as when calculating a route. You can use an address, contact, POI, favorite, or latitude/longitude coordinates in the same way you can when calculating a route. This function is only available in Planner mode. If you are in Navigation mode with GPS monitoring enabled, StreetTalk VIP automatically calculates your current position using GPS data.

You can set an origin to an address on a map other than the one currently active using the Address Selection dialog box. However, although the origin will be set correctly, StreetTalk VIP will still announce the currently active map instead of the map you have used to set your origin. For best results, use ALT+M (F1+F3+F4+F7) to first change to the appropriate map before setting an origin. You can then calculate routes and create favorites, then use this command again to switch back to the map where you are physically located and reset your origin, or switch to Navigation mode to automatically set your current map and position.

You might want to use a point of origin as the beginning of a new route. For example, you know that you will be landing at a strange airport tomorrow and you want to calculate the route from the airport to your hotel. You can put StreetTalk VIP into Planner mode and first set the point of origin at the airport, then calculate the route from that point to the hotel. You can save this route by pressing CTRL+S (F2+F3+F4+F8). You can recall this saved route when you arrive at the airport tomorrow by pressing CTRL+O (F1+F3+F5+F8), then selecting the saved route. Place your StreetTalk VIP into Navigation mode and you’re ready to go!

Displaying Navigation Information

When StreetTalk VIP is in Navigation mode with GPS monitoring enabled, you can display information about your current direction, speed, altitude, heading, distance traveled, and distance to your destination by pressing ALT+D (F1+F4+F5+F7). The dialog box information automatically refreshes every 10 seconds. To close this dialog box, press ESC (F1) or select the Dismiss button. This information is not available in Planner mode.

Displaying GPS Status

When StreetTalk VIP is in Navigation mode with GPS monitoring enabled, you can display useful information about your current GPS status by pressing ALT+L (F1+F2+F3+F7). The GPS Status dialog box information is refreshed every five seconds and includes the following items:

• Number of satellites being tracked – The number of GPS satellites StreetTalk VIP is currently tracking. The larger this number, the more accurate the positional data. A minimum of four satellites must be in view for a GPS system to function optimally.
• Quality - Since GPS systems can only get you in the approximate area of a location, this provides an estimation of GPS accuracy. This is expressed in feet, if using imperial units, or meters, if set to Metric. A lower number means a higher degree of accuracy. For example, if you hear "Quality is 20 feet," this means that the margin of error between where you are physically and where StreetTalk VIP tells you, is approximately 20 feet - which is about average. If you hear "Quality is no fix, acquiring satelites," this means the receiver is not tracking enough satelites yet to determine your current position.
  
  Additionally, if you are in an area that is covered by WAAS, or Wide Area Augmentation System, this will be indicated. For instance, "Quality is WAAS, 17 feet." WAAS enhances the GPS accuracy and can improve your Quality to around 10 feet. To take advantage of WAAS, you must have a WAAS-capable receiver and be in an area that offers WAAS coverage.
• Latitude – Distance in degrees and minutes north or south of the equator.
• Longitude – Distance in degrees and minutes East or West of the prime meridian, located at Greenwich Observatory, England.
• Time – Current time appears in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is the international standard on which civil time is based.

To close this dialog box, press ESC (F1) or select the Dismiss button. This information is not available in Planner mode.

Virtual Mode

Virtual Mode allows you to explore any location on the map without actually being there. This gives you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with an area before you actually walk or drive through it.

With Virtual Mode you can:

• Use ALT+O (F1+F3+F5+F7) to set an origin to an address or Point of Interest and then virtually explore the area. For instance, if you recently moved to a new house, you could set the origin to your street address and then virtually explore the streets in and around your neighborhood to get an idea of what is near by.
• Change to a completely different map and virtually explore it. For instance, if you were traveling out of state on business or vacation, you could load the map of the state you are traveling to, set the origin to the hotel or location where you are staying, and then use Virtual Mode to explore your surroundings.
• Calculate a route then follow it in virtual Mode to get a preview before you actually begin traveling. Once you reach the destination, you could then explore the area around the destination point to see what else is in the vicinity.
• Explore ahead of your GPS position while traveling a route.

To turn on Virtual Mode, press ALT+V (F1+F2+F3+F6+F7). Press this keystroke again to turn it off. In Virtual Mode, the ARROW keys perform the following functions:

• UP ARROW - If a route is currently active, moves you forward to the next waypoint along the route and speaks it. To virtually follow a route to its destination, you would continue pressing UP ARROW to move from waypoint to waypoint until you reach the end of the route. Otherwise, you are moved forward to the next intersection. StreetTalk VIP will tell you how far you traveled, what direction you are heading, the names of the cross streets, and their directions.
• RIGHT ARROW - If you are at an intersection with a cross street heading right, pressing RIGHT ARROW turns you onto this street heading in the appropriate direction. Otherwise, turns you around 180 degrees. To turn around 180 degrees at an intersection with a cross street heading right, press RIGHT ARROW two times. If you are currently following a route, pressing RIGHT ARROW causes you to leave the route and return to normal virtual exploration. To follow the route again, toggle Virtual Mode off and back on.
• LEFT ARROW - If you are at an intersection with a cross street heading left, pressing LEFT ARROW turns you onto this street heading in the appropriate direction. Otherwise, turns you around 180 degrees. To turn around 180 degrees at an intersection with a cross street heading left, press LEFT ARROW two times. If you are currently following a route, pressing LEFT ARROW causes you to leave the route and return to normal virtual exploration. To follow the route again, toggle Virtual Mode off and back on.
• DOWN ARROW - If a route is currently active, moves you to the prior waypoint along the route. You could continue pressing DOWN ARROW to retrace the route back to the starting point. Otherwise, moves you back one position. When you are exploring, pressing DOWN ARROW will only move you back once. If you want to explore behind you, you must press either the LEFT or RIGHT ARROW keys to turn around 180 degrees and then explore forward using UP ARROW. You can only move backwards multiple times when navigating a route.

Note: The Output window must be active in order to use Virtual Mode. If the Trip window is active, the ARROW keys are used to review route directions whether Virtual Mode is on or off. If you are in the Trip window when activating Virtual Mode, press CTRL+TAB to move to the Output window before you begin exploring.

While Navigation Mode is enabled, you will still continue to receive announcements as you travel. Upcoming maneuvers, cross streets, city or state changes, as well as any messages generated through a command, are still spoken and appended to the Output window. If you need to review any previously received announcements, you must first turn off Virtual Mode so the ARROW keys can be used to navigate the text.

As you virtually explore, your current origin is updated as you move to a location. If you exit Virtual mode while in Planner mode, you will need to use ALT+O (F1+F3+F5+F7) to manually reset your orgin, or switch to Navigation mode to have your origin set automatically.

If you are virtually exploring while GPS monitoring is active, press ALT+E (F1+F5+F7) to get the distance from your virtual position to your actual GPS position. Pressing ALT+W (F2+F4+F5+F6+F7) announces your current virtual position instead of your GPS position. When you exit Virtual mode, your position is automatically set to your current GPS position.

Viewing Nearby Points of Interest

Once you have set an origin, or while you are traveling, there are a couple ways to find out what points of interest are nearby.

Pressing ALT+A (F1+F7) will announce the POIs within approximately 150 meters (450 feet), if in Pedestrian mode, or 300 meters (900 feet), if in Vehicular mode. The results are also displayed in the Output window for your review. If you issue this command from Virtual Mode, the POIs are displayed in the virtual viewer so you can use the ARROW keys to review them. When you are finished, press ESC (F1) to close the virtual viewer and return to virtual navigation.

Issuing this command while moving causes only the POIs ahead of you in a direction of plus or minus 75 degrees of your current heading to be announced. Otherwise, the POIs that are announced will be in any direction. If you perform this command a subsequent time from the same position, StreetTalk VIP informs you that there are no new POI entries nearby. Pressing CTRL+X (F1+F3+F4+F6+F8) to clear the Output window will also clear the POI announcement history. You can then press ALT+A (F1+F7) again to hear the POIs that were just announced.

As the search can take some time to complete, the description of the POI location will be relative to where you are when the announcements begin. For example, if you press ALT+A (F1+F7) while riding in a vehicle, the search begins using the location you were at when you performed the keystroke. However, a POI that was ahead of you when you began the search may already be behind you by the time it is announced. StreetTalk VIP takes this into account and begins the announcements using your current position and not where you were when you started the search.

To cancel the search, press ALT+Z (F1+F3+F5+F6+F7). Note that it may take a few seconds for the search to actually stop after you press this keystroke.

Another way to see what points of interest are nearby is to press ALT+P (F1+F2+F3+F4+F7) to open the What is Around You dialog box. This dialog box displays all the POIs beginning with the ones closest to your current position and extending out in all directions to a specified radius. Navigate to the category you want such as Restaurant, Shop/Service, Entertainment, Favorites, etc. and press RIGHT ARROW to expand it.

Note: If you are in a densely populated area, after you press RIGHT ARROW to expand a category, there will be a delay as StreetTalk VIP generates the list of POIs. This is especially true when opening the Bonus category as it contains a large number of uncategorized POI entries.

Once the selected category is open, navigate through the list of POIs until you find the one you want. Press RIGHT ARROW to open it and view the street address and phone number. Press LEFT ARROW to close the POI details and once more to close the selected category.

To change the radius, press TAB to move to the Search Radius combo box and choose a radius from 300 yards to 10 miles. The default search radius is one mile.

If you know the name of the POI you are looking for, press TAB to move to the Search edit field and type all or part of the POI name and press ENTER. StreetTalk VIP will display a list of the POIs within the selected radius that match your search string. During the search, StreetTalk VIP will periodically announce how many items have been found and the distance searched so far. For example, "Search found 4 items within 2.8 miles." You can press ENTER on the Stop Search button at any time to stop searching and display the POIs that have already been found.

To calculate a route to the currently selected POI, press TAB to move to the Navigate button and press ENTER. StreetTalk VIP calculates a route to the selected POI from your current origin and places you in the Trip window with the route directions displayed.

To add the currently selected POI to your favorites, press TAB to move to the Favorite button and press ENTER. The selected POI is added to your favorites and the dialog box is closed.

To close the dialog box without doing anything, press ESC (F1) or choose Cancel.

Locking the PAC Mate Omni Keyboard

To eliminate the possibility of accidentally issuing keystrokes that might interrupt or cancel StreetTalk VIP activity, you can lock the PAC Mate Omni keyboard. To lock the keyboard, press INSERT+S, C (S CHORD, C). Use the same keystrokes to unlock the keyboard.

You have a limited number of keystroke commands, called "one-handed" keystrokes, available for use with the keyboard locked. Note that while these keystrokes duplicate the actions of commands mentioned previously, they are designed for one-handed entry. Please see Appendix A: StreetTalk VIP Keystroke Commands, for a complete list.

In addition to the StreetTalk VIP-specific keystroke commands, a limited number of regular PAC Mate Omni keystrokes are available when the keyboard is locked. Please refer to the PAC Mate Omni documentation for a list of these keystrokes.