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### Getting Started

To take full advantage of Cumulus, you need a PDA with a GPS receiver and a set of map files. Currently Cumulus supports the hardware devices Nokia Internet Tablet N800/N810 with Maemo OS2008. It can also run on a Linux desktop under X11/Qt4.

If you start Cumulus it will create all necessary data directories by it self, if they do not already exist. Furthermore you can be ask once, if you want to download missing airfield or map files from the Internet. Your decision is valid until to the termination of the program. If Cumulus is in move, faster as 5Km/h, no downloads are executed. Do enable the automatic download only, if you have an active Internet connection running!

PDA
  As long as the program runs on the PDA and you are in move the automatic shutdown of the screen to save battery life is deactivated. If you move slower the screen is switched off after your programmed time. If you move faster the screen is automatically switched on. The speed border can be configured in the Look&Feel settings.
  For operation over several hours you need to supply external power to your PDA. Furthermore it is recommend to switch off all automatic connection or update attempts (WLAN, version updates, ...) before take off. Such attempts in the air can block the work of Cumulus for a while and peeving you with popup dialogs.
GPS
  You can use any GPS receiver, a bluetooth GPS mouse or a flight logger that can be connected with your PDA and outputs NMEA data records, either by using a serial, an USB or a bluetooth connector. Cumulus can be used without a GPS receiver but is far more useful with such a device.
  Once you manage to connect your GPS to Cumulus select the correct device and baud rate in the GPS Settings. Refer to your GPS manual for the correct settings. The most common decices are:

  - /dev/ttyS0 - RS232 serial device
  - /dev/rfcomm0 - Bluetooth device
  - /dev/ttyUSB0 - USB device
  The default NMEA connection speed is 4800 bps for bluetooth devices it maybe higher.
  If you have a Nokia Internet Tablet N800/N810 it is not necessary to setup a special GPS decive. Available devices will be recognized automatically during startup of Cumulus unless you want to connect to a GPS device via USB. In this case you have to select the USB device in the GPS configuration tabulator.
  Press the key G or click on the GPS status indicator in the statusbar to check the GPS status, if your GPS device is setup. With the Escape key you can leaf the GPS status page.
Personal
  Define in Personal Settings the coordinates of your home position the area where do you fly. The setting is important to get unskewed map draw results! See Personal Settings for more details.
Glider
  Define in Glider Settings your preferred gliders. See Glider Settings for more details.
Maps
  Cumulus uses the same maps as KFLog the KDE Flight Logger. Download the maps, airspaces and airfields you need and install them on your Desktop resp. PDA. See Maps for more information. Airfields and map files can be downloaded automatically by Cumulus, if you enable that during startup.
Waypoints
  Cumulus uses waypoints to facilitate navigation. You can either edit waypoint files on the PDA or prepare them on the desktop using KFLog and transfer them to the PDA. See waypoints for more details on waypoints.
Tasks
  Cumulus supports also the definition of flight tasks. You can either edit the task file on the PDA or prepare them on the desktop using KFLog and transfer them to the PDA. See here for more details on tasks.

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