GPS Data Logger Software - BT747

Norman Chang Is Super Man ^-^, or that is at least what the firmware of the Gisteq Phototrackr - alias the Wonde Proud BT-CD110 - claims in its firmware.

It is surely one of these practical jokes that engineers pull to make sure they leave a mark in the product they helped build.

More seriously, I've been working on adding support for that device and in the process of doing so, I build a virtual model of the device.  Using a virtual serial loopback, I am able to connect BT747 to it.  That way I can test BT747 without having to connect the real device.  That is quite handy when developing code.  There is no risk of breaking the device and I can let things go wrong on purpose.  It is specifically handy because I do not own a Wonde Proud device.

The proposed solution is not using BT747 but as an IEEE member, and given BT747's nature, I have to share this.  I guess that http://openstreetview.org could become a member of your favorites although I am not sure that the same person is behind it.

The article in the next link gives an overview of how somebody made a DIY camera to make panoramic pictures like those you can see on google street view: http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/diy-streetview-camera/0

While still in development, the functionality is useable for early adopters.

In the developmment version of the Desktop GUI implementation and of the Mobile Phone implementation (J2ME), BT747 can now send the current GPS position to a web server on regular intervals.

On the server side, the code is also available and pretty much derived from the myLieu project.  A test environment has been set up at bt747.org.

The current position of the 'test' user can be seen at http://mylieu.bt747.org and the past positions at http://mylieu.bt747.org/viewer.php .

It looks like Qstarz is going a similar way as Holux is: limiting device functionality for user friendlyness. This is not to the likings of some users of course, but to warn those, here is a list of limitations.  If you find any other, or some incorrect statement, leave a comment.

1. Time logging can not be set to 5Hz.  When setting logging to 0.2 seconds, logging is set to 5 seconds.  (This is what is reported, but I'ld like to see it confirmed by transaction logs).  The Fix Period has to be set to 200ms if this is meant to work anyway.
2. 5Hz logging can still be achieved by setting the fix period to 200ms and the speed condition to a minimum value like 1 km/h.  The distance condition possibly also works here.
3. Logging can not really be turned on/off by SW.  The 'nav/log/off' button of the logger is the master of this.  Technically, the device does respond correctly to instructions from the SW (BT747) to turn logging on and off, but the firmware checks/sets that value to the one that corresponds to the button position.  In nav mode, logging is set to off, and in log mode, logging is set to on.

That seems to be it, but as said, you can add comments to this post.

After discovering two new maps, I had to update BT747.

The first one highlight public transportation information primarily in Germany, but apparently also elsewhere: http://tile.xn--pnvkarte-m4a.de .
The second one is for snow fans (not Apple Snow Leopard fans specifically): http://openpistemap.org .

If you configured the map cache directory (through the file menu) then the access to these maps should gain in speed on your systems.

If you know of other interesting maps, do not hesitate to let me know.

Apple's MacOS X 10.6 version that goes under the codename "Snow Leopard" is no longer compatible with the official stable driver for the serial link (RXTX).

The more recent "Beta version" of RXTX has to be referenced and that version is RXTX 2.2Pre.

For the moment, the easiest way to get BT747 working on Snow Leopard is to use the webstart version that is labeled as "BT747 Latest using Rxtx 2.2pre".

The move from the previous domain (bt747.free.fr) to bt747.org has now been completed.

The 'webinstall' was the last thing to move and this is now done. I noticed that starting BT747 from the web is now faster than before.

It is possible that I made some mistakes during the move and that some links do not work - please do report such issues so that I can solve them ASAP.

It looks like the terms for the use of Google Maps changed .
There is however still the requirement to use the Google APIs.

I am still puzzled whether the use of the static map API is allowed, since there is still a restriction. If that is not possible, this means that the other - more OS dependent - method of using a 'browser' must be used.

Anybody who can find a clear anwser to whether or not the use of the static API is allowed, do not hesitate to provide a clear reference in a comment on this post.

If you have a Gentoo system, BT747 should be easier to install now.
A visit to http://packages.gentoo.org/package/sci-geosciences/bt747 indicates that Tupone Alfredo has set up the script for that.
It does install the 'stable version' so for the development version you need to use other methods.