Topics

1

Feature Requests / APRS - Scott - USA PhotoMaps released their source code - Includes APRS

« on: June 19, 2015, 03:36:36 PM »

Hi Scott,

Search and Rescue, Amateur Radio Operators, and people everywhere would love an APRS implementation in TopoFusion.

I just saw that USAPhotoMaps released their source code to the public domain. It includes an APRS implementation.

http://jdmcox.com/

Just hoping this might help you decide to move forward with APRS in TopoFusion.

Edward

2

Feature Requests / APRS Functionality

« on: August 30, 2013, 01:41:47 PM »

I know this has been mentioned by me in the past but its been awhile and I just thought I would let you know this continues to be something that is of interest to me and other Amateur Radio Operators and Search and Rescue teams. Adding APRS functionality to Topofusion would be incredible for us!

Edward

3

TopoFusion Pro / Microsoft Surface Pro and Topofusion

« on: February 15, 2013, 04:56:34 PM »

I am excited about the Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet. I am starting this thread to hear from Scott and from other users about their advice and experience with using topofusion with the new Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet.

4

Feature Requests / APRS users have fewer options w shutdowm of MSR maps

« on: May 13, 2012, 08:59:43 AM »

Now that the shutdown of MSR maps has happened one of the best APRS software packages, USAPhotomaps, is much less useful. The developer has indicated that he will not be upgrading the software. This would be a great time for Topofusion to start supporting basic APRS functionality.

Please give this some thought. The amateur radio community could really use a great piece of software like Topofusion if it supported APRS.

5

TopoFusion Pro / HELP! - Couldn't open maps.dat for writing

« on: August 23, 2011, 06:30:01 AM »

Topofusion wont start. I get a message that says "Couldn't open maps.dat for writing..." I have 160 GB of map data. This took months to compile. I don't want to delete my maps. What can I do?

Please help!

6

TopoFusion Pro / Land Ownership Tiles V4.22 Poor Server Performance 08-20-2011

« on: August 20, 2011, 08:14:17 PM »

I upgraded to Topofusion V4.22 with the new land ownership server fix. The problem is the server performance has been terrible when attempting to download Land Ownership tiles. If I am lucky I get one or two tiles downloaded in a minute. Using the batch download tool I get a few tiles downloaded then I get the "Error Downloading From Current Server, Retrying in 60 seconds" message.

I am assuming that this is because of poor server performance and not some setting that I could change in Topofusion. Is anyone else having similar performance problems when trying to download Land Ownership tiles?

7

Feature Requests / Vector and Range Display for use in projecting waypoints

« on: December 04, 2009, 07:03:59 PM »

It would be nice if you could create a vector from your current location on the map. This would make it easier to project a waypoint using triangulation. For example enter a bearing from your current location to a landmark and create the vector. Then move to a new location and repeat the process. The intersection of the two vectors would be a good approximation of the landmarks location. A waypoint could then be created at that location.

An addition to this tool that would be nice is concentric user defined incremental range circles centered on a location. This would also make waypoint projections easier.

8

Feature Requests / Declination Calculator

« on: December 04, 2009, 06:55:03 PM »

It would be nice if there was a readout of declination based on your current location on the map display. This would make using topofusion with a compass easier.

9

TopoFusion Pro / Batch Download - Difficulty contacting server

« on: June 08, 2009, 10:35:35 PM »

I regularly download large areas that I plan on visiting using the batch download tool. This tool has been very reliable for me, until recently. IT would run for hours upon hours wothout issue. My downloads often take hours and sometimes even days. Recently I have been getting a message "Topofusion is having difficulty contacting server..." after a while of downloading. Downloading is then disabled. I assume this is either due to a long server delay or some other network delay. What this means for me is it is very difficult to do a large download when it stops every half hour or so. Anyway I was wondering if it would be possible for Topofusion to try initiating a new connection with the server instead of disconnecting from the server and requiring a manual restart of the download.

BTW- on a related side note, I also use a piece of software called Terrafetcher that downloads map tiles for USAPhotomaps. It has a pretty neat GUI interface for a batch download tool. You might check it out.

10

User Projects / ANSR-49 High altitude balloon launch - 04-25-2009

« on: April 21, 2009, 05:45:44 PM »

Arizona Near Space Research will be launching a high altitude balloon as part of the Arizona Space Grant "Changes in Altitudes" program. I will be part of the Balloon tracking team. APRS will be used to track the balloon during flight and to facilitate recovery. I will be using both Topofusion and USAPhotomaps during the recovery effort.

For more information:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ballooning/message/2818

Ed
KE7MWY

11

Feature Requests / Zoom - Limit on N+1 Loop

« on: April 06, 2009, 07:50:03 PM »

I occasionally get into a mode where after pushing the zoom several times the map will zoom out, and out, and out... you get the idea. This can take quite a while and I end up with a the map zoomed out to the continent level. It would be nice if there was a limit on the maximum number of loops executed after user input ends.

This also happens to me when using the arrow keys to scroll up or down or side to side.

I may get into this situation more than other users because I am frequently operating the computer in my truck while navigating extremely rough country and it is very difficult to control the number of times touching the touchpad on my laptop.

12

GPS, Trails, Training / Topofusion - a video

« on: November 20, 2008, 11:11:15 PM »

Real time GPS tracking with topographic maps and aerial photography has become an important part of my off road adventuring. Topofusion is my software of choice for this.

New this year (to me) is APRS hardware and software which allows me to transmit my location and receive the location of others who have the same type of equipment. I am able to view my location and the location of others on topographic maps and aerial photography using a great piece of software called USAPhotomaps.

13

Feature Requests / Import *.gdb files

« on: June 26, 2008, 07:03:54 PM »

It would be very nice if it was possible to open *.gdb files

Ed

14

User Projects / Gamber Johnson Laptop Mount

« on: June 17, 2008, 09:47:47 PM »

Here is my laptop mount and radio equipment setup in my 4Runner. I use a Dell ATG 620. The features that made me buy this laptop are: Daylight readable screen (500NITS), Shock mounted hard drive, and dust resistant keyboard. I will soon also add a portable USB drive (powered via USB bus) to store large amounts of map data.

1.) New computer mount. Huge improvement. Before I just had a RAM mount that held the laptop in place. It was kind of a pain because every time I wanted to put the laptop in and out I had to disconnect the power, serial cables, USB cables, and the laptop was held by a strong spring that held the laptop like a clamshell from either side. Now I have a full docking station. I do not have to remove any wires to remove the laptop. Just push a button. The mount also has a lock to discourage theft. It also has a very nice screen support. The other mount also had a screen support but it was pretty cheesy compared to this. The mount is made by Gamber Johnson and is sold for fleet service and police duty. It is a much better product than the RAM Mount was. And really the RAM mount was not bad this is just way better.

2.) Kenwood D710A Dual band Ham radio with APRS- I was able to integrate the radio into the laptop installation. I really like this because I am not keen to mount it to my dash. Inhibits visibility and wire management becomes more of an issue. Also mounting the radio and the head unit near each other makes cable runs easier. I also wanted to avoid mounting the radio down low because I am concerned about liquids, spilt coffee, mud etc getting into the unit (generally concerned about abuse to the radio and head unit). I am pretty pleased with the way it came out.

3.) GPS - I was also able to integrate this into the laptop mount. I also like this because now I have all electronics in one place. It makes it very easy to get all the information I am looking for at a glance.

This setup really makes running Topofusion nice. I also run various APRS software.

Here is a picture of the installation:





For Comparison, Here is a picture of my old set-up:
The Ram-Mount Laptop

15

Feature Requests / GPS Live Tracking Bug

« on: June 17, 2008, 08:50:53 PM »

Hi Scott,

I was out last weekend and came across a bug. Actually I have found this bug many times in the past, Last weekend's trip just reminded me to post up!

Situation:
1.) Laptop in car, Topofusion Running, GPS Connected
2.) Using "Live Tracking" to track position while driving
3.) Laptop begins "Hibernating" (after period of no user input)
4.) user "Wakes" computer (by pressing power button)
5.) "Live Tracking" still "On" but not working
6.) In order to make "Live Tracking" work I have to quit Topofusion, then re-open it and start "Live Tracking" again

NOTE: I have tried to "stop tracking" and then "start tracking" but it does not work.

Ed

16

Archived Support / Washed out maps

« on: April 09, 2008, 06:46:14 AM »

Hi, Just upgraded to 3.31 and noticed all my topo maps are washed out. Now they are very difficult to read. Not sure if this is a 3.31 issue or if I inadvertantly changed some setting. Suggestions?

Ed

17

Feature Requests / Tracks - Incremental and autosave

« on: December 06, 2007, 02:45:05 PM »

Hi I use Topofusion in my vehicle linked to a GPS. I am frequently in my vehicle all day.

I will create one track per day using topofusion this way. My problem is if Topofusion crashes I lose my track. If I save tracks throughout the day, to mitigate this risk, I end up with a whole bunch of tracks when I really only want one. It would be really great if Topofusion would automatically save my track file every few minutes so if topofusion crashes I don't lose everything and at the end of the day I end up with one track file.

Also I have sometimes forgotten to save the track when I close the software and "save all files". THis causes me to lose an entire days tracks. It would be nice if when you tell Topofusion to "Start Tracking" it would prompt you to "Save Track" when you try to "shut down" or "Save all Files"

BTW- Your software is terriffic! It has really made a difference in the enjoyment I get when navigating in the backcountry.

18

Feature Requests / APRS Functionality

« on: April 14, 2007, 04:54:56 PM »

APRS is an increasingly popular technology that allows real time reporting of your position by using a GPS unit in conjunction with a HAM radio. There are very limited software tools available now in this fast growing hobby.

An example of a way it is used. Several mountain bikers are on a ride but they are separated by some distance. With an APRS enabled small handheld radio and a GPS unit the position of each person can be tracked by the others. This information can also be transmitted to the Internet via gateways (right from the HAM radio) so other persons viewing on their home computers can view this information.

Imagine you are in the field sitting in your car. You have a HAM radio, A GPS unit, and a Laptop with Topofusion. You want to watch the progress of all your friends who are out in the field on their bikes. You open Topofusion and you can see their position right on the maps.

You are a search and rescue team and want to coordinate the locations of all your field agents. Send them out with a small handheld HAM radio and a GPS unit and you can track all their locations on Topofusion.

As I said there are limited software and hardware options available now in this fast growing field. One very cool hardware option is the Kenwood TM-D700A Mobile or the Kenwood TH-D7A Handheld hooked up to a GPS unit that shows your location and the location of your friends.  
Here is an example of the Setup:
APRS HAM with GPS


One piece of software that is pretty cool is the DMAPPER software:
DMAPPER

Search and rescue teams, Fire departments, Emergency response teams, Outdoor sports organizers, Off Roaders, And Individual users of all types can benefit from this exciting new technology.

Bob Bruninga is the developer of the APRS software:
The APRS Webpage


Ed