fub, posts by tag: gps - LiveJournal

After I tweaked my Jaunty installation on Calcifer, I had to deal with a lot of crashes and general instability. Sometimes the font tables would get messed up (necessitating closing and restarting all programs to get legible text again), and sometimes I would get a total crash -- I could still move the mouse, but keystrokes and mouseclicks would go unregistered. And the mean time between failures was steadily decreasing.
So I removed the 2.6.29.4 kernel (which was part of the tweaks to get the Intel graphics behaving again), and lo and behold: everything is rock solid once again! And the graphics are still doing fine -- Google Earth is as nippy as before, so I'm a happy camper once again.

I'm busy preparing for our vacation (we leave for Denmark on Wednesday), and of course geocaching will be part of our holiday. Next to selecting caches, editing the descriptions and printing it all out, I also wanted to update the set of maps on the GPSr. However, that is only possible from within Windows, using Garmin's Mapsource program. That meant I had to boot Sootball into Windows again.
Sootball boots into Jaunty by default, and I can use VNC or FreeNX to take control of the desktop there. I can use a VNC server on the Windows side as well (I use one to remotely control Jiji as well). But before that can happen I have to hook up a monitor and keyboard first -- I need to interrupt the GRUB default boot and select the Windows boot option.

Wouldn't it be cool if I could specify from within Ubuntu that the next boot should go into Windows? Then I could start up Sootball, log in on Ubuntu. set the next boot to Windows and reboot. Then I'd only have to wait a bit until Windows would be all started up, and I'd use VNC to control the machine. On next boot, it should go to Ubuntu again.
And now I have precisely that set up. Through the magic of the GRUB 'savedefault --once' command, I can set the next boot for something else and still have the default boot go to Ubuntu. This means I can run Sootball completely headless -- all I have to do is log in from Calcifer. No need to switch cables around anymore!

Also, I found out that Mapsource can also write the maps to an SD-card through USB -- that speeds up things dramatically -- as in: 10 minutes instead of 90!

I am quite pleased.

My site about using a handheld GPS receiver to plan a trip to Japan is done. While some of it is specifically aimed at Japan, some of the information (how to find your hotel in Google Maps, how to determine the location, how to use that to find things close by to see using Google Earth) are pretty universal.

I'm especially pleased by the fact that I managed to convert the Python scripts to Windows executables that actually run, and by the Link Generator that's all done in Javascript with cookies.

Also, check out the Tools-section for some links to some pretty awesome GPS-related software. I use GPSBabel all the time to up- and download stuff to and from my GPS receiver. I use gpicsync to geocode klik's photos. I use Viking to merge and edit the resulting GPX files. And I use the GPS Visualizer to make an online map of the whole thing. Yes, it's a bit of hassle, but it's fun to have an interactive tour.

Tomorrow, I'll publicise the site a bit more. For now, time to relax. Been a busy week.

Bento.com has restaurant and café listings for all the areas we'll be visiting -- lots more than the Lonely Planet has. The site has another feature: maps with markers for the places they review! And the markers are placed on the map based on an XML file such as this one (which lists the things closest to our hotel in Tokyo).

I think I'm going to write an XSLT stylesheet that transforms the listings into a GPX-file that can be uploaded to the GPS.

There's a Mapsource-compatible map of a large part of Japan available for download here -- for free. The detail is so-so, but it does have POI for stuff like train and subway stations, and some hotels.
There's also a commercial map available, which has higher detail but fewer PoI.

As most of you will know, we'll be going to Japan for a vacation mid-October. We have the itinerary all planned out, and we'll be visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Obviously, I wanted to check out the locations of our hotels through Google Maps, to see where we are, where the train stations are, and if there are any FON spots and/or geocaches nearby.

Finding a specific location in Japan on online maps is a bit of a problem. Google Maps is the only map provider that has Japese maps in any usable resolution, but all the text is in Japanese. Coupled with the fact that Japan doesn't have streetnames (most hotels give their location based on a map), and it is impossible to find those spots on the map. Typing in the name of the hotel or ryokan might work, if the hotel bought Google Ads or someone put a placemark there. But if all else fails (our Ryokan in Osaka is named 'Toraya', which is a really common name in Osaka), you can try searching for the telephone number.

Center the location you're interested in on your Google Map screen, and select the option 'Link' in the right-top corner of the map screen. Copy the link provided for email and IM. It will be in the format of

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=[query]&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=X,Y&spn=0.001565,0.002411&z=19&iwloc=A

X and Y are the latitude and the longitude, in decimal format!

Now that you have the location, you can 'plug' those into the FON maps by using the URL
http://maps.fon.com/?lt=X&ln=Y&zm=16
and you can get the Geocaching maps by using

http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?lat=X&lng=Y

For those of you playing along at home, here's the list of our hotels and their locations:
The B Akasaka, Tokyo: 35.671365,139.732839
Yuhara Inn, Kyoto: 34.991912,135.76488
Toraya Inn, Osaka: 34.712267,135.509791

As I wrote about before, my father wants a auto-routing map for use on a bicycle. So today we went to one of the branches of the specialised GPS store that made the bike map, to see what they could get us.
Within half an hour, we walked out with a GPSMAP 60CSx, various accessories like a handlebar mount and a charger with four 2850mAh rechargable batteries, and a pre-release version of the map on CD. I did play with the new Colorado for a bit, but my dad liked the discrete buttons on the 60CSx better than the scrollwheel on the Colorado. As we left the store, we were accosted by a motorcycle rider who told us all about the things the 60CSx could do that the Colorado couldn't...

The bicycle map is pretty good. It also has all of the PoIs from one of the regular 'car' maps, so if you're in the middle of a route and you want something to drink, you can have the GPS take you to a café as well -- a feature that my dad liked. :)

I took it all home, so I can set it up for them. I'll also be creating a small manual (with screenshots!) so that they can check how to do various things while on the road.

The original in-car navigation system... KITT!

My parents have developed the habit to load up the bicycles onto the car, drive somewhere pretty, and simply ride around there. My dad asked me about a GPS system to be used on the bicycle -- sure, there are topographical maps, but those don't offer turn-by-turn instructions for cyclists. Sure, the car navigation system offers a mode for cyclists, but that only means that you don't get sent onto the highway -- and roads that car's aren't allowed on, are not part of the map in those kinds of systems.

I had him look at the Satmap Active 10. It seems like a very simple system (my dad doesn't want lots of options and buttons), and it has a topographical map. There are two drawbacks: the unit costs quite a mint (EUR 400), and the map only covers half of the Netherlands (and an additional map costs another EUR 100). Oh, and that price excludes a bicycle-holder for the unit.
And, even more important: the maps don't offer turn-by-turn instructions for cyclists. Yes, you can scroll over the map and put waypoints at the intersections, but you have to do that yourself. You can't enter an adress or coordinate and have the machine tell you how to get there.
Still, it seemed like the best game in town, because there aren't any auto-routing maps for cyclists anywhere to be found.

Until I got wind of this today. Waypoint, a retailer specialised in (Garmin) GPS units, has created an autorouting map for bicycles -- and it has a built-in bias for 'nice' paths and roads. Exactly what the recreational cyclist wants!
I may need to visit that store with my dad some time (they opened a third retail location close to where my parents live), and have him informed of the possibilities. A GPSMAP 60Cx with this map would cost less than EUR 320 -- quite a difference, and with more capabilities!

Today's xkcd comic contains an algorithm to genrate a semi-random location, based on the Dow Jones index. Everybody within the 1 degree by 1 degree square gets the same coordinates. It's named GeoHashing (note the similarity to 'geocaching'....) The idea is to have meetups in that location -- if it's accessible, obviously.

An interesting idea -- one that would get you to places previously undiscovered within your little square of the world.

Some people at TNJ are often on the road to clients -- consultants, sales people, etc. Some time ago, a mail was sent to all those types, to ask if they wanted a GPS navigation system for in their cars. It would be the property of TNJ, but it would be loaned for the employee to use.

I replied to that mail, suggesting that it might be more cost-effective to buy only one or two, and let people borrow those when they had to go somewhere they hadn't been before -- but that idea was struck down as being too impractical and giving too much administrative overhead. Fair enough.
Apparently, my mail had been interpreted as "yes, I want one", even though I hadn't intended it to be -- in a bind, the GPSMAP 60CSx serves that purpose quite nicely. So last monday I got a mail saying that my TomTom One XL Europe had arrived and that I should come collect it...

Now I have to figure out how the thing works, and how to mount it in the car. One has to be careful -- thieves notice the holder (or even the mark left by the suction cup of the holder) and break into your car anyway, on the off chance that you left the machine in your dashboard cupboard or under your chair!
Also, I have to get used to driving around with Bram giving me directions -- from driving around under the guidance of babarage's Bram, I know it does take some getting used to. And yes, I did select Bram as the voice -- Eva isn't to my taste, and I don't want Flemish voices. The female Catalan voice is deliciously sensual, but I don't understand spoken Catalan, alas!