Anyone have good GPS tools?

[neddie]

Hi all,

I'm wondering, does anyone have some good tools for working with their GPS data? I'm specifically looking for something that will show me a top-down view of my tracks and waypoints, let me delete the obviously wayward points, delete the bits where I went the wrong way, and then save the results again. Additional things like calculating distances, drawing height profiles etc would be a bonus.

 

At the moment I use GarTrip, but it's Windows-only and I can't even get it to work in Wine (can't get Wine to find the VB dlls). So this is currently my only remaining reason to ever boot XP, and I'd like to find a solution :)

 

On linux, I can read the tracks and waypoints from the GPS fine (using a program called Garble and a serial cable), but that just gives me a text file and I'd like something to graphically display and edit the data.

 

Could be a long shot, but you never know what these mubbles get up to!

[aioshin]

I have' nt use this, firefox just show me when I type in the url the key word " gps for linux"

http://gpsdrive.kraftvoll.at/

[neddie]

Tried it, didn't like it. The focus there is much more on displaying current position (using NMEA) along with maps and satellite pics. However I run my software at home, and then I know where my current position is!! (even if I could get GPS reception indoors). GpsDrive also relies on Garble to read tracks and waypoints from the GPS, btw.

I'm looking for a track editor, for example see the functions of GarTrip.

[neddie]

:bump:

I'd like to float this question again, in case anyone missed it first time round. Doesn't anyone here use a GPS receiver with their linux?

 

It seems like my ideal app doesn't exist, so I've been putting some ideas together with a view to creating one. It would be good to know if anyone here has a GPS, and what they use it for or what they would like to use it for, to see what this app should be able to do.

 

Some things which I need it to do include:

* Reading of saved GPS data of any arbitrary text-based format

* Display of an overhead view of the track

* Display of an altitude profile

* Let you load multiple files and show them together

* Let you go through point by point and see the information, and let you delete single points

* Let you select ranges and see the distances / times / speeds / altitudes, and let you delete ranges

* Let you save the edited data, again in arbitrary text-based format

 

Some things which I don't need it to do, so won't be included:

* Actually get the data from the GPS - other programs (eg Garble) do this already and can save the data

* Do anything with the actual, real-time position - this is supposed to only look at recorded data

* Overlay the data on top of scanned or bought maps - not something I do or want to

 

If anyone has any feedback relating to this - comments, suggestions, whatever - I'd love to hear it. Does such a thing already exist and I don't need to build it? Would you be interested in such a thing and have I missed your killer feature?

[RVDowning]

I'm one of those running freaks and use a Garmin Forerunner 201 gps device. I came across a script I can use to read the serial port and get the data into Linux, but that is as far as I've gotten. (I'm not at home now, so can't say what program I use to import the data.) I haven't yet come across any applications to do anything with the data. Garmin doesn't have any software that works in Linux.

 

My interest seems to be a bit different from yours. I keep my running stats separately in a spreadsheet that I update manually. I would be more interested in a map-overlay feature.

[neddie]

I keep my running stats separately in a spreadsheet that I update manually. I would be more interested in a map-overlay feature.

What stats do you keep in the spreadsheet, just summary info like distances, times, speeds and such? How do you calculate these stats?

 

And, what do you do about the times when the GPS has a spasm and thinks you suddenly jumped a few hundred metres and then back again? Or when you went the wrong way and came back again? Or you go through the forest and the points jump all over the place? Then your distances etc will be off, no? That's why I want a way to clean up the data.

 

I'm not sure how tricky it would be to add the map-overlay thing, maybe some GpsDrive code could be reused but I've got a feeling there's all sorts of projection / scaling / correlation problems that might be tricky to solve...

[RVDowning]

I don't have the stats for this year on my site yet; I'm just about to redo my site. But, you can see the type of data I keep internally, by the type of data that would be needed to produce the running data/graphs available at my site: http://www.netrocam.com. There is a link on the menu to the left near the bottom to running stats for 2005.

 

Right below that link, there is a link to a photo of where I usually run at River Green. It shows the run overlayed on the map.

 

I just enter the data from my watch into the spreadsheet. I have field dependencies to calculate averages, compare year-to-date from this year to year-to-date last year, etc.

 

I essentially never get bad way points any more. (Been running in non-obscured places.) Ever since I rotated my gps device on my wrist such that the face (where the antenna is) was facing the sky, I haven't gotten really odd waypoints. However, I have in the past manually modified (or did I delete ??) the bad waypoints from the imported file. As long as no turn was involved with the bad waypoint, it really didn't affect anything.

 

Also, I generally run in the same places all the time. I know the distances involved and the ForeRunner is almost always exactly on. Next interesting run will be the Peachtree road race (10k) in Atlanta on July 4th. I'll have to see how the device handles the buildings. I've also toyed with getting the new Garmin 305. I understand it is more accurate. Is certainly looks much nicer anyway. Just a lot of money to spend if one is not interested in the heart monitor stuff.

Edited May 19, 2006 by RVDowning

[neddie]

That overlay is pretty cool. Unfortunately I can't use the distances etc calculated by my receiver because they're always off - it makes mistakes with the points occasionally and so all distances are overestimates. I have more errors than you because a) I'm walking not running so movements are slower and less predictable, b ) I sometimes go the wrong way, or investigate a side route to see where it goes and then come back, c) my receiver probably doesn't get as good reception as one mounted on a runner's wrist, and d) my sky view is sometimes restricted, either by valleys or trees.

So I do need a way to delete my wonky data points and my unwanted track sections, unlike you. And I need to be able to merge tracks together and measure distances etc. I do like your overlay though, it's just a shame that that map data only covers the US. Maybe there's a way to integrate with google maps.

 

I came across a script I can use to read the serial port and get the data into Linux, but that is as far as I've gotten.

What script is that? Is it based on garble or maybe gpsbabel?

 

If anyone's interested, I've started building this gadget now. B) I've got as far as loading, viewing, merging and selecting, and I'm working on the deleting, undoing and analysing. Then comes the saving and maybe some kind of 3d view. It'll be a while before a polished 1.0 but I'll post the link here when it's done for those who want it.

[RVDowning]

What script is that? Is it based on garble or maybe gpsbabel?

 

I'm at work again. I'll respond back when I get home and can find the script.

[RVDowning]

The script I'm talking about is one created by Winfried Beer. Not sure of the name of the script. I think I just saved it as garmin.txt.

 

Anyway, it is a perl script to pull data from the Garmin 201. You can get the script here:

http://www.w-beer.de/pub/garman/garman

 

His site is here: http://www.w-beer.de/pub/index.html Note that it is in German.

[neddie]

Thanks for the link, I hadn't found that one. In perl, too! And if it's made by a "Mr Beer" then it must be good!

 

I haven't tried it yet but it looks like it does what I need - including altitudes, timestamps, symbols etc. I'll try it out, maybe this could be better than the garble I'm using now.

 

Of course I still need my editor gui, and that will be able to read the files from whichever tool I want B)

[neddie]

Cool, that script works fine here, although it did give a load of warnings every time about the prototype for the decode_packet function...

A bit of googling later and I replaced the line

sub decode_packet () {

with

sub decode_packet {

which got rid of the warnings.

 

Interestingly the timestamp format is eg 27-MAY-06 16:20:23 (ie month names in English) which is great for reading but I'm beginning to think that parsing all possible date/time formats (with international support) could become tricky - there are just sooo many ways to write them...

[neddie]

Do you still have the data you used for your picture overlay?

I've found a way to translate data into Kmz format for import into Google Earth, and it comes up with the coolest 3d views you've ever seen. If you attach your data I can have a go at converting it so you can see what it does.

[RVDowning]

My site has changed considerably since our last messages. If you check out the site: netrocam.com and look under the Running Stuff menu item, there are three map related entries that overlay runs onto Google Maps. It also allows "animatiion" of the runs and various statiistiics.

 

The menu entries are for races, training runs, and an entry for those runs where I wore both a Garmin 201 and 305 at the same time, for comparison purposes.

 

I have the data available, because the data is read dynamically to draw the map. The data has been formatted into xml files and is available at: http://www.netrocam.com/running/xmlfiles/

 

I ended up removing Google Earth since I wasn't able to use it to import the data. I had to import the data myself, and then reformat it to some useful xml to I could use it in Javascript.

 

Would appreciate any comments.

[neddie]

For examples, see the attached files (assuming they come through properly):

google_earth_plots.tar.gz

Sorry I had to tar them up cos the board wouldn't let me upload a kmz.

 

I tried to "view training runs" and "view races" on netrocam but it didn't work for me (tried Mozilla on Mandriva and IE on XP). Just blank.