GPS2TimeXP Support. 
      
The  GPS must be set to 4800 baud (or faster), 8 bits, 1 stop bit, no parity and can be 
connected to any COM port number - whether physical or virtual (eg from a serial to USB adapter). 
Simply select the appropriate detail from the Port dropdown box. The GPS brand should not be 
important but should be set to output NMEA data.

The order of operting the functions is critical. The first time the software is run, the 
Baud and COM details are empty. Always select the Baud rate first then the COM port then 
the Run button.

Data is read from the port only after the 'Run' button is activated and if there is no 
data stream then the box marked GPS Time UTC will display "11:11:11". Try any and or all 
COM ports and check for GPS data. If you add a USB-based COM port after starting the 
software, use the "Recheck COM Ports" button to find any additional ports. "Raw" displays 
some of the basic data from the GPS, useful for confirming the correct port is selected.. 
If no GPS data is displayed, use the message drop-down to check for other messages. The 
most common problem is that the GPS does not have enough satellites to obtain a fix. On 
at least some GPS devices, if GGA and RMC are blank and GSV has data showing, no satellite 
fix !

Gridsquare value plus the time & date should appear within 2 seconds of selecting the correct
COM port and pressing Run - it is not an immediate display. The Clock Set button allows you 
to set the computer system clock to the GPS time (+/- 0.5 sec) and takes into account your 
time zone setting.

The higher the number of satellites (Sats), the better the GPS position fix.

The 'Secs Offset' option allows you to advance or retard the computer clock against UTC by
providing values from -5 to +5 seconds in one second increments. The offset value is always
zero when the software is started. Select the desired offset then press the Manual set button 
to implement that offset.  Remember to reset it back to zero as soon as possible else FT4 
and FT8 users will send you messages reminding you to set your clock..

Always turn off the GPS support by pressing trhe Run button again before unplugging any 
GPS device.

If you get an error, exit and re-start the software.

For those who are using a single GPS on a single PC, the time sync error can be reduced 
by starting the software in Calibration mode. Add a /cal on the command line properties 
of the shortcut and a few extra controls will be obvious. The +1 sec tickbox allows a 
permanent one second to be added to the UTC time to provide better synchronisation on 
slow PCs or GPSs running at slow baud rates. There is also a finer control that steps 
in 100mS increments between +1 and -1 second offset (defaults to zero offset) with a 
Perm tickbox that needs to be ticked if the value is to be remembered permanently. The 
small Reset button resets to the default zero offset value. I suggest downloading and 
doing timing comparisons using NTPMonitor from 
https://www.satsignal.eu/software/ntpmonitor.5.1.6.zip and adjusting the clocklist.txt 
file to local NTP sources in your locality.

While in Calibration mode, you can also tailor the 'Clk UPd Rate' control value (Top RH 
corner) between 100mS and 1 second, default is 500mS. This adjusts how often the time 
values are updated on screen but also minorly affects the sync update error. Use as low 
a value (the LHS) as you can without causing video line effects on the time display boxes. 
Slow PCs may need it closer to the RH end.

Don't forget that you will need to remove the /cal from the properties again after you 
have completed calibration.

Use the "About GPS2TimeXP" button again to remove this screen.