GoogleEarth GPSR Tracking - Page 3

briefnotion · 07-01-2006, 04:10 PM

0.2.7.0 (July 1, 2006)
A sound file can be added to the settings. Sounds will play on menu open and when directions are available.

Lord Dragon · 07-01-2006, 11:20 PM

briefnotion,
i have a Earthmate GPS receiver, one of the older ones would you program work on it??

I do not have any map or any thing for it, I cannot afford most of the program for the GPS out there so I am looking for one that will work for mine.

Yours looks like a very good one and it looks lie it would be one I would like to use, but would it work with what I have..

It is a Earthmate Hyperformance GPS receiver from DeLORME.

So could you please tell me if it your GoogleEarth GPSR would work with waht I have and what I need to do to make it work, I am a nOOb when it comes to GPS's lol, but I could use it in a big way, I do a lot of travelling so I could really use it..

Thank you..

Dragon...

briefnotion · 07-02-2006, 02:11 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Lord Dragon

briefnotion,
i have a Earthmate GPS receiver, one of the older ones would you program work on it??

I do not have any map or any thing for it, I cannot afford most of the program for the GPS out there so I am looking for one that will work for mine.

Yours looks like a very good one and it looks lie it would be one I would like to use, but would it work with what I have..

It is a Earthmate Hyperformance GPS receiver from DeLORME.

So could you please tell me if it your GoogleEarth GPSR would work with waht I have and what I need to do to make it work, I am a nOOb when it comes to GPS's lol, but I could use it in a big way, I do a lot of travelling so I could really use it..

Thank you..

Dragon...

The truth is I couldnt tell you if your GPSR would work or not, but i am really interested in weather or not it does. Try it out and let me know. All right?

Lord Dragon · 07-02-2006, 03:00 PM

I am going to try it and see what happens I do hope that it works.

I do not know much about GPS so I do not know what all I need to do but I will woork at it the best that I can do..

The one thing Ido what to say is this before all else..

Thank you briefnotion for all your hard work..

Dragon...

briefnotion · 07-03-2006, 12:13 PM

Three weeks ago I posted a set of improvements I that I thought CommTest2 should have. Some where implemented, some weren't. Here is the list, plus a few more.

Auto Comm port Connect
Auto Comm port search. The Magellan assigns a different comm port to different usb ports. I dont want to reconfigure the pc when I get back into the car.
Point of interest placed at current location with a keystroke.
Audio alert when sat signal is lost.
Customizable icons.
Velocity alerts. Things like, "velocity is over 55 and increasing." Good for speed traps. An alert could be set at 35, 45, 55 70 and let you know when youve passed the speed.

I'd like to open another poll but thats not possible. I dont have any plans on writing any more code, well, at least no particular plans, so if anybody needs anthing then post it.

briefnotion · 07-04-2006, 10:20 AM

Minor Updates

0.2.7.1 (July 3, 2006)

Replaced say text "couldnt execute file." with "Couldn't execute file."

Corrected an error that would cause the program to crash if you tried to change the "Open Google Earth" parameter while connected to a serial NMEA device.

The Settings window will now show on top of the other windows.

Menu "Label" items are now more visible.

briefnotion · 07-04-2006, 02:34 PM

New feature, menus will autocreate from directory. The menu.text entry is "D" then on the next line the directory name. The menu system wasn't quick enough. When I went out I created the file set and put them in a directory anyway. The set was always the same and I didn’t want to edit text files everytime I planned to go somewhere. Plus, when I did plan to go I only took 15 mins to get together. Solution, Auto menus. Execs, web pages, batch files are execute. Links too, so that you don’t have to finagle with parameters if you have already made a good shortcut. KMZ files are loaded into GE, and KML files are loaded as guide, directions list. Don’t expect to load a kml without an embedded line, it just won't work.

CommTest2 Download Link: http://briefnotion.250free.com/

0.2.8.0 (July 4, 2006)
Created Auto Menus from directories. The menu entries is "D" then on the next line the directory path. The menu path will be created and items will be assigned as follows: "html" "htm" "mht" "lnk" "exe" "bat" "kmz" files will be executed, "kml" files will be loaded as guide or leg list, subdirectories will be treated as new auto menus.
Menus are now longer so that long labels don't get truncated.

-------------------

Guy walks out of a bar. A figure steps out from a dark ally says, "Your money or your life." Guy says, "I'm a college student, don’t have any real money. As for a life, I'm still trying to make it." They then wished each other well, and went on separate ways.

pshadwick · 07-05-2006, 04:14 PM

I understand you can cache the google earth maps so you can navigate without an internet connection.
I'd like to cache them on one machine (with a fast internet connection) and move them to my CarPC. Can anyone tell me what directory and file extension Google uses for the cache.

I tried running CommTest using the log data you created around Baton Rouge but my CarPc's internet connection (via cellphone) is too slow to draw the maps as you drive around.

I'll try it tonight as I drive home, but if you were really driving on 5-10mph (as the log showed). I doubt it will keep up when I drive home at 70mph.

I found a file called dbCache.dat in Local Settings. Does this one file hold all the cached data collected on that machine?

pshadwick · 07-05-2006, 05:22 PM

OK, I guess I'm replying to my own post (Is that bad?).

I copied the dbCache.dat and index from one PC to another but it does not seem to have worked. As far as I can tell it is not picking up the cache, insead it is reloading (very slowly) from the internet

midiwall · 07-05-2006, 05:34 PM

You might want to wander the GE forums:
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php/Cat/0

I found this:
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat....03/Main/348432

And then this is on the GE site itself:
http://earth.google.com/support/bin/...423&topic=1151

Make sure you have the right DAT & INDEX files.

pshadwick · 07-06-2006, 09:02 AM

OK, I tried this last night on the way home. I need to play some more to get a better feel.

Some observations:
The track between Begin and current location is shown as a straight line (ie it does not follow the track of the roads) Is this normal?

It seems to zoom in and out all byitself and zoom doesnt seem to be under my control.

It would appear to be impractical to use this without cache, I suspect even my DSL connection could not download the maps fast enough if I'm driving at 70mph. With my cellphone internet connection I would be 15 miles from my start location before the map had completed downloading. Problem then is what do you do if you are in an unfamiliar loaction (when it would be most useful)

Anyway I'll play somemore.
...Paul

briefnotion · 07-06-2006, 09:36 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by pshadwick

The rack between Begin and current location is shown as a straight line (ie it does not follow the track of the roads) Is this normal?

No, this is not. If possible pm me with the generated NMEA log file attached and I could look at it. Or just try upgrading. Maybe it was an old bug. Chances are good though that you were zoomed in to closely. Cant tell from here.

Quote: Originally Posted by pshadwick

It seems to zoom in and out all byitself and zoom doesnt seem to be under my control.

Zoom levels are controlled with the number keys 1, 2, and 3. The numbers will only work if CommTest2's main window has focus. If, for any reason, CommTest2's main menu does not have focus, give CommTest2 focus by clicking anywhere on the window. The numbers should work then. 1 is close up, 2 is medium zoom, and 3 is far away.

Quote: Originally Posted by pshadwick

It would appear to be impractical to use this without cache, I suspect even my DSL connection could not download the maps fast enough if I'm driving at 70mph. With my cellphone internet connection I would be 15 miles from my start location before the map had completed downloading. Problem then is what do you do if you are in an unfamiliar loaction (when it would be most useful)

True. A good cache is important. The post by midiwall above addresses ways to import a cache. And PurDoom has discussed cell phone internet access at this post: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/wireless-communications/75451-boost-mobile.html . Unfortunately, I dont have a cell phone to test this out. I've been relying on the cache file I've built at home. From what I hear though, once a the files are built up, minimum internet downloading is required.

Happy Cacheing.

pshadwick · 07-06-2006, 10:27 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by briefnotion

No, this is not. If possible pm me with the generated NMEA log file attached and I could look at it. Or just try upgrading. Maybe it was an old bug. Chances are good though that you were zoomed in to closely. Cant tell from here.

I have the latest version of Google earth (4.0.1565 beta) and the latest version of Commtest (downloaded yesterday). Playing back the NMEA log it appears that it is following the track correctly, but what is displayed is a straight line between beginning and end.

Zoom levels are controlled with the number keys 1, 2, and 3. The numbers will only work if CommTest2's main window has focus. If, for any reason, CommTest2's main menu does not have focus, give CommTest2 focus by clicking anywhere on the window. The numbers should work then. 1 is close up, 2 is medium zoom, and 3 is far away.

I cant get the zoom to work numbers 1-2-3 have no effect. I assume I have no other control over the map, pan left right etc also dont work (focus on google window)

edit: OK, I take that back, unders some circumstances the 1,2,3 does work. I need to play some more to figure out when it works and when it dosent...Paul

True. A good cache is important. The post by midiwall above addresses ways to import a cache. And PurDoom has discussed cell phone internet access at this post: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=75451 . Unfortunately, I dont have a cell phone to test this out. I've been relying on the cache file I've built at home. From what I hear though, once a the files are built up, minimum internet downloading is required.

Happy Cacheing.

I'll have to work on the cache, copying from another machine didnt work (but I may have screwed it up, I'll have to try again).
Thanks...Paul

briefnotion · 07-06-2006, 05:51 PM

0.2.8.2 (July 6, 2006)
Created Program Icon.
Menu window will now appear on top of other windows.
Added more serial port error checking. Better handling of unexpected disconnects.
Changed the text to several error messages to be more descriptive.

briefnotion · 07-07-2006, 03:30 PM

New features are available. Now if you want customize you speech audio alerts to an other languages or just different text, you can. The variable string list is at the bottom of the screen. Should be fairly self explanatory.

CommTest2 Download Link: http://briefnotion.250free.com/

0.2.9.0 (July 7, 2006)

The settings screen is now tabbed to allow more options.
Configurable speech sentences are available.
A "Nautical" measurement system is available.
Main screen will not take focus if settings are open.
A new quick key option is available. "W" is window release. Similar to screen release but allows the GE display to continue on. When window release is on the program will not take focus away from other windows. This allows you to work on other programs while tracking with maps. Quick keys will only be available when CommTest2 has focus though.
Moved the serial bytes to read field lo line up under the points in memory field.