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Messages - Vegas Runner

Pages: 1 [2]
51
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.




52
TopoFusion Pro / Re: More maps than you can shake a stick at...
« on: March 28, 2009, 08:57:35 PM »
Well you have me beat but not by much. I am at 16.6 Gigs. I bought a USB drive for my laptop dedicated to map data.

53
TopoFusion Anouncements / Re: Version 3.60 - Color Aerials
« on: March 26, 2009, 11:33:51 AM »
Excellent!

54
TopoFusion Anouncements / Re: Version 3.60 - Color Aerials
« on: March 26, 2009, 07:35:00 AM »
Quote
Sorry, this is by design right now -- no auto download of color aerials.  (You aren't the first to ask)

These are new servers and we're already putting a fair amount of load on them.  The idea was to "be nice" and not release a version that can truly mass download tiles from them -- until we can confirm they can handle it and/or won't go away.

In other words, look for it in a beta soon, but not right now.

<!--EDIT|ScottMorris|1227281936-->


Any word on when the "Auto Load Tool" will be enabled for color maps. I am finding the color maps are not adding much value to me without being able to download them except manually.

55
GPS, Trails, Training / Topofusion - a video
« on: January 04, 2009, 10:03:38 PM »
Two basic functions would be neccessary.

One: show call sign and position of received stations (and hopefully track)

Two: Topofusion sends instructions to TNC (terminal node controller) to transmit location
-----------------------------

The logs from USAPhotoMaps include:

1.) Instructions to TNC:

These look like this and this may not be a complete set of instructions I just copied and pasted a group I recognized (not sure what they all do but it is probably in the APRS Protocol):

cmd:BEACON EVERY 15
BEACON   was EVERY 0
cmd:MMONITOR  was ON
cmd:ECHO ON
ECHO     was ON
cmd:HID OFF
HID      was OFF
cmd:MYCALL KE7MWY
MYCALL   was TEST
cmd:UNPROTO APZUSA VIA WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1
UNPROTO  was APO422 VIA WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1
cmd:BTEXT =3600.75N/11505.10W-270/000
BTEXT    was =3506.84N/-11546.71Wk270/016
cmd:MONITOR ON
MONITOR  was OFF
cmd:BEACON EVERY 15
BEACON   was EVERY 15

2.) GPS Location information - these look like this

$GPRMC,192714,A,3506.7533,N,11448.8119,W,17.8,269.6,120908,13.0,E,D*0ABTEXT =3506.75N/-11548.82Wk186/020


3.) APRS Packets received - THese look like this

AD6NH>APU25N,ONYX,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE2:@121929z3350.99N/11752.79W_207/003g005t068r000p000P000h76b10120/PHG61604/Anaheim WX {UIV32}
N6BG-9>SVQTTT,N7ZEV-3,WIDE1,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE2:`+,gm{u>/";q}
N6BG-9>SVQTTT,VEGAS,WIDE1*,WIDE2-1:`+,gm{u>/";q}
K7YMA-6>STUSVU,W7DXJ-1,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE2:`*?s ?iv/]"5B}=
K1GGS-9>S6QQQY,N7ZEV-3,WIDE1,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE2:`+`ZnIpR/]":P}=
N5UIS-9>S6PXWS,N7ZEV-2,N7ZEV-3,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE3:`+ap*:k/"3r}TinyTrak3
W7DXJ-2>APTW01,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE2-1:_09130032c225s002g000t087r000p000P000h29b09769tU2k
N7ZEV-3>APN383,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE2-1:!3619.06NS11534.32W#PHG3962/W3,NV3 Angel Peak north of Las Vegas, NV.
W7DXJ-2>APTW01,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE2-1:!3429.56N/11416.35W_WXTrak
K1GGS-9>S6QPXS,N7ZEV-3,WIDE1,WA7RAT-12*,WIDE2:`+`eo^0R/]":]}=


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

I will try to dig down and learn more about TNC Commands. Not sure what I will be able to come up with as I really dont know much about software commands.

Hope this helps.  Ed.

56
GPS, Trails, Training / Topofusion - a video
« on: January 03, 2009, 12:18:33 AM »
Here is some raw packet data I pulled off the APRS-IS servers. The APRS servers log all data received from all APRS users everywhere. Here is a link to where I pulled the data from:

APRS-IS Servers


Here is a link to the data I pulled:

APRS-IS Data Log

57
GPS, Trails, Training / Topofusion - a video
« on: January 03, 2009, 12:02:17 AM »
Here are some of the logs from USAPhotoMaps:

My call sign is KE7MWY:

APRS log96.txt

APRS log98.txt

APRS log99.txt

If you need more logs or if you need more information let me know.

Ed

58
GPS, Trails, Training / Topofusion - a video
« on: December 30, 2008, 04:41:14 PM »
Quote (ScottMorris @ Dec. 30 2008,12:55)
Started looking.  The protocol spec is a HUGE document.

Do you have any data logs I can test with?  (Or know where to get some?).

The info relevant to TF should be easy to extract (at least initially... if things go well we might get into getting more data).

Thanks.

I will see what I can get you.

59
GPS, Trails, Training / Topofusion - a video
« on: December 06, 2008, 10:48:19 PM »
Scott,

Any progress on the APRS front? Did you have a chance to review the protocol?

Ed

60
TopoFusion Anouncements / Version 3.60 - Color Aerials
« on: November 21, 2008, 01:22:23 PM »
Got it! I will try manual download to get a taste. I did a bit of downloading and it was incredibly slow. Hopefully the new servers will be up to the task.

61
GPS, Trails, Training / Topofusion - a video
« on: November 21, 2008, 11:46:31 AM »
Quote (ScottMorris @ Nov. 21 2008,9:33)
Cool stuff -- nice video.  It's been a while since I've looked at USAPhotomaps.  I'll have to check out the APRS support.

I've looked into it a bit for TF -- seems like it would be a good fit with the display engine and other features.  Seems like it shouldn't be that complicated.

What hardware to you use to connect the radio to the computer?

Scott,

The hardware is generally connected to the computer via a serial port. Since many computers don’t have serial ports anymore a serial to USB converter is often used. I don’t understand why the HAM community is still using serial ports instead of USB but they are. It should be pretty easy to get some APRS data logs that you could feed into Topofusion through  serial port terminal software for testing your code.

I put together some links that will help you to quickly get up to speed with APRS. There is much more info out there but this should answer many of your questions.

I am really excited about the idea of Topofusion supporting APRS.

An overview of APRS
PowerPoint Slideshow


The APRS Protocol
The APRS Specification (v 1.0)  
Addendum to the spec (v 1.1.)
Proposed addendums to the spec (v 1.2)


The Author of the APRS protocol
Bob Bruninga’s website


Software (My favorites)
USAPhotoMaps Download
USAPhotoMaps Yahoo Group
APRSPoint


Hardware - Tranceivers with built in (internal) TNCs and APRS firmware
Yaesu VX-8R Handheld Tranceiver
Kenwood D710 Mobile Tranceiver


Hardware – External Terminal Node Controllers (TNCs) and APRS firmware – Connect these TNCs to many 2M Tranceivers to create an APRS Station
Argent Data Systems Tracker2 TNC
Byonics TinyTrak4 TNC

62
TopoFusion Anouncements / Version 3.60 - Color Aerials
« on: November 21, 2008, 12:18:56 AM »
I just downloaded version 3.61.  I tried downloading the new color maps using the "Load Maps Tool" but the new color maps do not seem to be listed in the "tilesets" preferences. Am I missing something?


63
TopoFusion Anouncements / Version 3.60 - Color Aerials
« on: November 20, 2008, 11:57:24 PM »
Scott, This looks great. Cant wait to download it and give it a go this weekend. Do you need to be "connected" to the internet to get a 3D view like you are showing or can that be done "offline". Almost all my use is "offline" so I have my fingers crossed!

64
GPS, Trails, Training / Topofusion - a video
« on: November 20, 2008, 11:36:20 PM »
I also found this video on you tube. It was made by David Boulder. Pretty Cool!



65
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.



66
Feature Requests / Import *.gdb files
« on: July 28, 2008, 10:15:56 PM »
Just for ease of use. I can always convert in Mapsource as you say. Low Priority request.

67
Feature Requests / GPS Live Tracking Bug
« on: July 28, 2008, 10:13:28 PM »
Yes I think that is what they do, shut it off then back on.

68
Feature Requests / GPS Live Tracking Bug
« on: July 15, 2008, 10:48:46 PM »
Found some additional information while looking at Xport (a GPS Com Port Splitting Software that allows you to run multiple applications off the same GPS COM port). It appears that this "hibernation" issue is not a new thing. HEre is a link to the Xport website which you may find interesting by itself if you are interested in port splitting, but it also has some discussion about the "hibernation" issue.

Xport Webpage

Ed

69
Feature Requests / GPS Live Tracking Bug
« on: July 13, 2008, 11:18:18 PM »
Quote (ScottMorris @ July 02 2008,12:53)
I tried this today (shutting off the GPS while tracking) and it seemed OK.

When you try to hit "start tracking" again, do you get an error message eventually?

Mine very quickly realizes the GPS is no longer there and switches the "stop tracking" button to "start tracking."  Then restarting seems OK, even if the GPS doesn't have a lock yet.

Thanks.

This is what I found:

Shutting off the GPS while tracking does not cause a problem. As you said, all I need to do is hit "start tracking" and everything is AOK.

However....

The bug does exist when the "the hard disks turn off" or the system goes into "standby".  I am not totally sure which one (or both) causes the problem. I think it is when it goes into "standby" but I am not totally sure. When this happens the "start tracking" button does NOT work and I need to shut down Topofusion and re-start it. A work around is to choose "Never" for both of these options in the windows control panel under "Power Options". This is not a great work around though because I do not normally operate in this mode. Hopefully there is a way you can deal with this within Topofusion.

Ed

70
Feature Requests / GPS Live Tracking Bug
« on: July 02, 2008, 09:26:54 PM »
I will do some experimenting this weekend if I get a chance. I will try to re-confirm and document a repeatable sequence of events that demonstrates the bug. At face value we are having different experiences. Thanks for looking into this. I will try to get an update to you as soon as I can.

EDIT: I have never received an error message.

Ed

71
Feature Requests / GPS Live Tracking Bug
« on: June 29, 2008, 06:23:55 PM »
I experienced a very similiar problem today.  This is what happened:

Situation:
1.) Laptop in car, Topofusion Running, GPS Connected
2.) Using "Live Tracking" to track position while driving
3.) GPS Turns off (lost power)
4.) user "Turns GPS Back ON"
5.) In order to make "Live Tracking" work I have to quit Topofusion, then re-open it and start "Live Tracking" again

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

72
Feature Requests / Tracks - Incremental and autosave
« on: June 29, 2008, 06:18:42 PM »
I went out on a run today and the new feature works nicely.

73
TopoFusion Anouncements / 3D downloads back
« on: June 29, 2008, 06:13:37 PM »
Thanks for keeping us updated on this issue.

74
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

75
Feature Requests / GPS Live Tracking Bug
« on: June 23, 2008, 09:47:56 PM »
Scott,

This is a screenshot of my "power options" control panel settings. Hope this helps in tracking down the bug.  The problem occurs in the "Plugged In" mode (my car has a docking station).  I am not sure if it happens in the "Running on Batteries" mode since I rarely run on batteries in my car.


76
Feature Requests / GPS Live Tracking Bug
« on: June 20, 2008, 06:26:58 PM »
It must be sleep then. I use a Garmin GPS60 connected via USB.

77
Feature Requests / Tracks - Incremental and autosave
« on: June 19, 2008, 10:56:07 PM »
Quote (ScottMorris @ June 17 2008,11:50)
FYI - this went into the current beta.

Available in full release / demo soon.

Scott,

How do I download the beta version? I went to the registered user download page but I did not see an option for downloading beta versions.

Ed

78
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

79
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

80
Feature Requests / Tracks - Incremental and autosave
« on: June 17, 2008, 08:37:33 PM »
Super!

81
Feature Requests / Tracks - Incremental and autosave
« on: May 24, 2008, 02:34:05 PM »
Thanks Scott,

Ed

82
Feature Requests / Tracks - Incremental and autosave
« on: May 24, 2008, 06:41:10 AM »
I never heard a reply on this and was wondering what your thoughts are?  Ed.

83
GPS, Trails, Training / Win a free copy of TF!
« on: May 15, 2008, 10:00:53 PM »
My name is Ed and I live in southern Nevada and enjoy exploring the desert. I am also  interested in wildlife, electronics, and natural history. The state of Nevada has a  program where they install guzzlers in remote areas so that wildlife will have water during the dry months. Guzzlers collect water during the wetter months and meter it out to wildlife during the dry months. Because the Guzzlers are located in remote areas they make a great destination for a day of exploring.  If you are lucky you sometimes see a coyote, a hawk, or even some bighorn sheep using the guzzler. To make exploring the backcountry looking for guzzlers even more fun I bought an inexpensive digital camera off eBay and modified it so it would be triggered by a motion sensor. I also removed the near infrared filter in the camera in front of the CCD so it could “see better” at night. Then I enclosed it in a waterproof enclosure.  I can leave this “trail camera” out overnight at a guzzler and capture the activity at night.  In order to make finding the guzzlers easier I use a GPS unit.  Then I found Topofusion and WOW. Next thing you know I installed a Dell ATG semi rugged laptop in my car on a Gamber  Johnson docking station so I could take advantage of all the features in Topofusion. I love the aerial photography, and topo maps and all the tools Topofusion has to offer.
Below is a recap of one of my trips to the Newberry Mountains. The Newberry Mountains are located just south of Las Vegas and are a great place to spend the day exploring. The mountains are  rugged and are  picturesque.


 My First stop was a  remote guzzler that was  difficult to find. Along the way I spotted some petrogyphs. Petroglyphs are fairly common in southern Nevada and because I spend quite a bit of time in the outdoors exploring I have begun to learn where to look to find them.  Most of the Petroglyphs in this area are about 700-900 years old. At least that is my understanding.


After leaving the petroglyphs I kept looking for the 1st guzzler. I don’t think I would have found it without Topofusion and the aerial photography. I finally did find it though. I inspected the guzzler to verify it was in good shape. If I find one that is not functioning I like to let the Nevada Department of Wildlife know.


My next step was to set up my trail camera. I found a location near the guzzler where I thought wildlife might pass thorough. One of the tricks to setting up the trail camera is to make sure it does not get triggered by moving bushes or grass that gets blown by the wind.

I left the trail camera and the guzzler and explored the rest of the area for the remainder of the day. All in all it was a super day exploring the Nevada outdoors. Here is a map showing the area that I explored


Post Trip:
Later in the week I went back to the guzzler and retrieved my game camera. Although I did not capture any images of Bighorn Sheep (my favorite), I did capture this image of a coyote


All of this was made possible by using Topofusion and my laptop. I really love the docking station. I don’t have to disconnect any cable to get the laptop in and out. It is pretty sweet.


I hope you enjoyed my story.

OFF TOPIC:
Although the links to the panoramic pictures below do not have anything to do with my trip to the Newberry Mountains I thought you might enjoy them.  I create the panoramas by stiching together a series of still pictures.


Panorama 1
Panorama 2
Panorama 3
Panorama 4

84
Feature Requests / APRS Functionality
« on: April 09, 2008, 01:30:32 PM »
I found another peice of software from a small developer that features APRS functionality. It is called USAPhotoMaps, it uses terraserver imagry and has some neat features. Anyway it might be of interest to you. who know maybe you can convince him (the developer Doug Cox) to help you out with the APRS portion. Doug the developer seems pretty cool.



http://jdmcox.com/

85
Archived Support / Washed out maps
« on: April 09, 2008, 01:23:09 PM »
Excellent. Problem Fixed. That "enhance contract" button is nice.

BTW - did I find a bug or did I somehow change a setting without knowing it?

86
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

87
Feature Requests / APRS Functionality
« on: January 18, 2008, 08:59:39 PM »
The Kenwood TM-D710A (mobile) and TH-D7A(G) handheld HAM radios are probably the hardware of choice for serious APRS users. This is the hardware that I would reccomend you use for development. The Kenwood website is: http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Communications/Amateur_Radio/
Who knows you might be able to get Kenwood to provide you one considering how well your software would compliment there hardware.

Bob Bruninga is the "father" of the APRS standard and he would be your best bet for a first place to go regarding the APRS standard. His web site is: http://web.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/aprs.html

More useful information about aprs can be found at:  http://wiki.ampr2.net/nwaprs/FrontPage

It may also be desirable to be compatible with Garmin Rhino (I do not know if this conforms to the APRS standard or not)however this would be secondary to the primary goal of interfacing with APRS standard devices.  The Rhino is a low powered GMRS radio available to the general public however it is not the radio of choice for SAR operations or for coordination of large events requiring the coordination of many parties over large distances.

88
Feature Requests / APRS Functionality
« on: January 01, 2008, 09:17:12 PM »
Any news on the possibility of APRS functionality being added to future versions of Topofusion? HAM operators everywhere would love you.

89
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.

90
Feature Requests / APRS Functionality
« on: May 13, 2007, 11:15:22 AM »
Any thoughts on the possibilty to adding APRS functionality to Topofusion?

BTW-another great piece of software for APRS tracking is APRSPoint.

91
Feature Requests / APRS Functionality
« on: April 15, 2007, 06:35:46 PM »
APRSPoint is another piece of software that I just found that does exactly what I am talking about but it dosent have all the great maps your software has:

APRSPoint

92
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

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