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The iFINDER listens to signals from as many satellites as it can see
above the horizon, eliminates the weakest signals, then computes its loca-
tion in relation to the remaining satellites. Once the iFINDER figures its
latitude and longitude, it plots that position on the moving map shown on
the screen. While the screen is updated once a second, your iFINDER is
making these internal calculations and determining its position several
times a second!
The performance doesn't stop there. Stored in the permanent memory of
each iFINDER is a basic background map of the entire world. We lock it in
here at the factory — you can't change or close this map.
Another portion of the iFINDER's onboard memory is devoted to re-
cording GPS navigation information, which includes waypoints, event
marker icons, trails and routes. This lets you look back the way you
came. Think of this data storage like the hard drive memory in a com-
puter or a tape in a cassette tape recorder. You can save several differ-
ent GPS data files, erase 'em and record new ones, over and over and
over again. Like any computer file, these GPS Data Files (file format
*.usr) can be shared between iFINDERs, other Lowrance GPS units,
sonar/GPS units and even personal computers.
The iFINDER has one more thing in common with a personal com-
puter. Just as computers have a floppy disk drive for storing and ex-
changing files, the iFINDER has a slot for an MMC (MultiMedia Card)
or SD (Secure Digital) Card flash memory card. These solid-state mem-
ory devices are about the size of a postage stamp, but can hold data
ranging from 8 MB to 1 GB in size. (Compare that to a floppy disk's
1.44 MB capacity!) The iFINDER uses all that MMC space for two key
purposes.
First, you can backup your onboard GPS Data Files by copying them to
the MMC. Since the MMC is removable (like a floppy disk or a cassette
tape), you can store these GPS Data Files on a personal computer
equipped with an MMC card reader. (Or store them on a pocketful of
MMCs, if you don't have a computer.) Our MapCreate mapping software
can save, edit or create its own GPS Data Files, which can be copied to
the MMC and then loaded from the MMC into the iFINDER's memory.
NOTE:
No matter where they come from, GPS Data Files must be loaded
from the MMC into memory before the iFINDER can use them.
The other key GPS use for MMCs is storage of special high-detail, cus-
tom maps, which you can produce on your computer with our MapCre-
