SkyDemon Mobile Documentation: Getting Started
Starting the Software
When you turn on your SkyDemon device, the first thing you will see is a disclaimer screen stating the purpose of our software and the limitations of our charts. You will need to agree that you understand these limitations before you can continue to the main screen. Once you are viewing the main screen, most of which is taken up by the main map, you will see the chart being loaded when a GPS fix has been obtained.
TIP: If your device has not been turned on for a while, or you are turning it on for the first time, it can take a while to obtain an initial GPS fix. To speed this up, take the device outside or place it on a windowsill. The satellite icon at the bottom left will turn from red to yellow or green once a fix has been obtained. If the icon is purple, it means your GPS needs to be configured (see below).
Your screen should look something like the image on the right. Congratulations, your SkyDemon is up and running! To move the main map around, drag it lightly with your fingertip. Your device may have a built-in stylus you can use for more precise manipulation of the screen, or you may find that lightly using the back of a fingernail works too. The map is dynamically drawn from our vector charts so it's normal for there to be a slight delay between releasing your finger and the newly-exposed area of the map being completely drawn. You will see a "Redrawing Map" message while drawing is in progress. Zoom in and out by pressing the big orange + and - buttons at the sides of the map.
Most of the functions and settings in SkyDemon are accessed through the main menu, which you bring up by pressing the SkyDemon button at the top-left corner. To move the chart to a specific waypoint - such as your home airfield - open the main menu, select Chart, then select Show Waypoint. The Waypoint Finder window appears; start typing the name of the waypoint using the onscreen keyboard (use a stylus if necessary to make this easier) and when it appears select it from the results list. The chart will move so that your selected waypoint is in the centre.
At this point you will probably want to locate and explore the area around your home airfield to see what it looks like in the SkyDemon map.
GPS Setup
You may need to configure your GPS device. You only need to do this if the GPS icon in the lower left corner is purple, which means that GPS services are stopped because more configuration is needed. To access the GPS configuration, open the Settings menu and select GPS Setup. The window will open on the Hardware page. If your device is running Windows Mobile 6.0 or later, the first option "Use Microsoft GPS Driver" will be enabled and selected. This is almost certainly the correct setting for you, and you can click Start GPS and then Back, finishing the process.
If the option to use the Microsoft GPS Driver is not enabled, you must select the hardware port to which your GPS device is connected and its baud rate. This information may be provided in the manual for your device, or if you're already using another piece of GPS software you can often look in its configuration to determine the correct settings.
In the event that you are unable to determine the hardware setting for your GPS device, you may have to proceed using trial and error. The approach most likely to work is to pick a low baud rate such as 9600, and try each port one by one. Select the port, click Start GPS and you will receive an error if the port could not be opened. If the port is successfully opened, switch to the Satellites page and see if any satellites appear within the circle. Once you can see satellites, your configuration is complete and you can press Back, though it may still take a few minutes for your GPS to actually lock on to some satellites and achieve a position fix.
Troubleshooting GPS
The Satellites and Output pages are designed to help you view the raw data received from your GPS device.
Satellites shows the position of the GPS satellites relative to your location. If all you can see if a blank circle, then either there is no data being received from your GPS device or the device does not know about any satellites. Where satellites are present they are numbered, and drawn in a colour ranging from red to green depending upon the strength of the signal. In general the more satellites in view and the stronger their signal, the better a fix you will get.
Output shows the raw fix data being received. This is fed to the instruments in SkyDemon as long as the DoP (dilution of precision) is within an acceptable range for aviation navigation.
Chart Appreciation
One of the most compelling features about SkyDemon is its contemporary chart display, which offers a uniquely uncluttered view of the features that matter to your flight. Many of the features of the SkyDemon charts can be configured to suit your individual preferences. To do so, open the Settings menu and choose Preferences, then the Map Features section.
Airspace, by default, is only displayed between the surface and 4000 feet, unless your planned route or current altitude differ from this. The settings specified in Preferences are always overriden by your planned route and current altitude, so you can never end up in a situation where you miss some airspace due to mis-configuration. It is best to set the display of airspace from the surface to the maximum level at which you usually fly.
Some types of airspace can be simply toggled on and off: flight information regions, aerodrome traffic zones, military air traffic zones, sporting areas and miscellaneous (such as bird sanctuaries). Non-airspace features that can be toggled on and off include visual reference points, roads and railways, designated points and radio aids.
TIP: The Map Features section includes a Weekend View feature. When turned on, all airspace that is designated active only during the week disappears, leaving the chart even less cluttered. Remember to turn it off again once it is no longer the weekend.
The aircraft symbol itself, representing your current position and heading, is highly configurable. Switching to the Moving Map section of the Preferences window shows options to change the size, colours and fill mode of the symbol (solid or outlined). The trajectory display extending from the symbol can be switched off or set to display 2, 5 and 10 minutes or distance units away. The distance units are configured elsewhere but are set to nautical miles by default.
Instrument Appreciation
You will spend a lot of your time in SkyDemon looking at the instruments so it is critical to understand them all well. They are covered individually later in this documentation but for the purposes of getting started, we will introduce them all here. Some instruments can be turned on and off under the Settings menu depending upon your preference.
Your current position is always shown with an aeroplane symbol, with your current trajectory projecting from it in the direction of flight (if you're moving). Drawn on this projection are bars at 2, 5 and 10 minutes ahead (or miles, if so configured).
The Direction Indicator shows your track over the ground in degrees true, on a rotating dial with the exact figure shown within. If you have a route plotted and are following a course, the direction in which you should be flying to reach your next waypoint is also plotted. This instrument can be hidden and replaced with a simple course correction indicator (see later).
The Groundspeed and Altimeter instruments are self-explanatory. Groundspeed units are knots by default and can be changed in the Change Units screen under the Settings menu. Altitude is always displayed in feet above mean sea level, and the instrument features a small coloured flag indicating the current vertical precision (see later).
Distance to Next/End shows the distance in nautical miles to the next waypoint or to the end of your route (press to toggle). If no route is defined, a red and white cross is displayed.
ETA at Next/End shows the ETA at (or ETE to) the next waypoint or to the end of your route (press to toggle). If no route is defined, a red and white cross is displayed.
Virtual Radar, arguably the most powerful instrument, is situated at the bottom of the screen underneath the main map and displays a projection of your course ahead and everything of relevance lying in your path. This is very useful for determining what airspace or obstacles might be a threat and how to get around them vertically.
The clock displays UTC (zulu) time by default but can be switched to display local (device) time in the Change Units screen. Be aware that the local (device) time depends on the timezone configured on the device; SkyDemon does not adjust automatically to the timezone of the region over which you are flying.
In the corner of the screen you will see the GPS status icon, battery icon and storage icon. The GPS status icon looks like a satellite and is purple if GPS is turned off, red for a poor fix, orange for a moderate fix or green for a good fix. The battery icon simply reflects how much life is left in the internal device battery; alerts are displayed on the main map when the level reaches, 30%, 20% and 10%. The storage icon glows yellow when charts are being loaded or unloaded due to your proximity to another country.
