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FAQ's:

1. The bottom status bar in Netstumbler says "No Wireless Adapter found". What should I do?
2. The GPS unit won't turn on.
3. The GPS turns on, but it just sits there and takes forever and doesn't connect to any satellites.
4. The GPS has locked on to a coordinate, but NetStumbler isn't picking up the latitude and longitude in the status bar.
5. I have longitude and latitude and my wireless card is working, but we haven't been able to pick up a single wireless network.
6. I have another problem that isn't covered in this section.

Q. The bottom status bar in Netstumbler says "No Wireless Adapter found". What should I do?

A. A few things you can try:

1. Verify that your wireless adapter is working (i.e. you can open an internet window, get to Google, etc. THIS OBVIOUSLY ASSUMES YOU ARE SOMEWHERE WITH A WIRELESS CONNECTION, like Suzallo or an internet café.)

2. Remove the wireless card and put it back in and try again.

3. Reboot and try again.

4. Update your Wireless card driver.

• a. Open Control Panel
  b. Open "Network Connections"
  c. Right-click on the current network connection
  d. Click "Properties"
  e. The top of the window has your current wireless card listed (i.e. "IEEE 8.0211b CardBus Wireless Network Adapter." Click the "Configure" button right under it.
  f. Click the "Driver" tab.
  g. Click "Update Driver".
  h. Click "Next"
  i. Click "Search for a suitable driver for my adapter."
  j. Click "Microsoft Windows Update"
  k. It will take a few minutes, but usually Windows Update will find a newer driver and install it.

Q. The GPS unit won't turn on.

A. It's probably out of batteries. Go buy a $4 set of AA's and see if it works.

Q. The GPS turns on, but it just sits there and takes forever and doesn't connect to any satellites.

A. Try moving out into the open air, getting out of a building or the car, etc. I can't get any GPS signals in my large, brick apartment building, for example. You should be able to get a signal after a few minutes.

Q. The GPS has locked on to a coordinate, but NetStumbler isn't picking up the latitude and longitude in the status bar.

A. This could be a number of things. Here are some options:

1. Close Netstumbler and open it again.
2. Move the GPS unit to a different USB port (if you're using the Earthmate).
3. Check that Netstumbler is using the correct port for the GPS unit.
   • Go to Start > My Computer.
   • Click on "View System Information".
   • Click the "Hardware" tab.
   • Click "Device Manager".
   • Go down to the Ports (COM &: LPT). You should see the GPS device listed there as connected to a port (probably Com 4).
   Now go back to Netstumbler. Go to View > Options. Click on the "GPS" tab. Under "Port", select the Com port you just saw in the Device manager. Click Apply.
4. Try opening and closing Netstumbler again.
5. Finally, check that the GPS unit is transmitting to the computer. Go to Start > Run and type "Hypertrm." This will open a terminal emulation program.
• In the first screen, just type any name, "Test" or something similar. Click "OK."
• Under Connect To: ignore everything except "Connect Using". Open the pull-down menu and select "Com 4" (or the port you found out about in Device Manager).
• Under "Bits Per Second", choose "4800."
• Under "Flow Control", choose "None."
• Click "OK".
You SHOULD see a lot of lines of complete garbage. This is data being spit out from the GPS unit to the computer. At this point, opening Netstumbler again should do the trick.

Q. I have longitude and latitude and my wireless card is working, but we haven't been able to pick up a single wireless network.

A. Unfortunately, this is a mysterious problem that has no known cause. Here are some possible solutions:

• Reboot the computer.
• Close Netstumbler and re-open.
• On the status tray (where the clock is at the bottom of the screen), you should see a logo that looks like a grey rectangle with a little green arrow on it. If you double-click on that, it will open the "Unplug or Eject Hardware" dialog box. Click on the name of the wireless card and click Stop. Click OK. Then, remove the wireless card from the computer. Try blowing on it. Re-insert it and see if you have better luck.
• Go to Start > Run > Control Panel.
• Click on "Network Connections".
• You should see a "Wireless Network Connection" in the list.
• Right-click on it and hit "Disable".
• Give the connection a second to disable itself. Then right-click on it and hit "Enable." The status should say "Enabled."/li>
Open Netstumbler and try again.

Q. I have another problem that isn't covered in this FAQ.

A. Ah yes, the "unexpected error". Here are some tried-and-true tech support mainstays:

1. Reboot the computer.
2. Close Netstumbler and open it again.
3. Move the GPS to a different port (if possible).
4. Unplug the Wi-fi card and replug it in.
5. Unplug the GPS unit and replug it in.
6. Read over everything else on this page. Make sure the GPS unit is on the right port. Make sure the GPS unit is outputting data to the computer. Make sure the wireless card has the correct drivers.
7. Read some of the websites linked on the main page; they are very extensive and may have some answers.
8. If all else fails and you are getting nothing, write down every technique you tried, what error messages you got, and what the system did in response.