GPS Tracking Software

[Guest m4rcus]

Hi,

Is there piece of software that will allow you to track where you have been and then enable you to see your whole route on the screen. So if you walked around in a big circle it would draw that on the screen...

Even better would be for it to output it as a picture file...

Cheers,

Marc

[Guest chucky.egg]

I know that Mapopolis keeps a 'GPS Trail' which will show your route, but won't export to an image AFAIK.

I would have thought they all keep a Trail though. Which ones have you looked at?

osted from my SmartPhone!

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

World Tracker is specifically designed for tracking purposes and allows you to see where you have been and allows you to let other people know where you are (see my sig :) ) but I don't think it updates at that kind of speed but it is free I think.

Mapopolis will log your trip to the second and you can replay your log files on your phone so you can show someone where you have been or you can export the log to a text file but that will just show date, time, direction and road you are on but it is updated every second. Mapopolis has trial maps you can download to test.

CoPilot is another Sat Nav package which allows your 'buddies' to see where you are using their tracker service. CoPilot does not have a 'demo' function and you would to buy this.

There may be others but thats all I can think of for now.

[Guest m4rcus]

Cheers guys,

The ideas of replaying the route using Mapopolis sounds good... the thing is I'm going to use this for mountain biking (get those thermals out) so would it still work as there will be no roads...?

Marc

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

Hi M4rcus, Mapopolis will still log you wherever you are and it will playback as well :) Although if you are off road all you may see is a plain background with the GPS arrow moving over it (same for log file playback) and when you approach a road or go over a river then these will show on the map.

Question I have is if you are biking then is this the best way :?: as your phone will need to be charged if you are out on long runs and your gps will have to be charged as well. I have a TomTom BT GPS and it works fine but the battery is only good for 5 hours max :(

Don't forget for the GPS to function it needs a clear view of the sky so I assume a handlebar mount which then means keeping water, sand, dirt etc out from your GPS. I also assume you will want to see where you are so you will probably want to mount your phone on your handlebars as well so again the same issues arise.

Don't get me wrong I am not trying to put a damper on your fun, just trying to think of the pitfalls you may encounter.

Good luck mate.

[Guest m4rcus]

Hi,

I think Mapopolis is the best solution for me, until Active Map is brought out over here...

As for locating the GPS for clear sky views, that can go in the top poket of my Camelbak rucksac. The phone will be in my Auqapac, so it'll be all nice and dry... Aquapac

PS does Tomtom have the feature of running through a trip like I think the one on the PPC does?

Cheers,

Marc

[Guest chucky.egg]

Because Smartphones dont have a GPS unit, what you *could* do is buy one of the Emtac units that logs a trace by itself. I'm not sure how you read the trace file, but it *might* mean that you could just take the GPS out with you and not have to bother with the phone.

Depends on what you actually want it for... if you're out in the wilds and want to be able to find civilisation if you get lost that wont help you, but if you just want to review a good route you find it might be just the thing.

[Guest m4rcus]

The best answer for me would be a program that logs the gps data which then can be exported as a text file... I could then get that into a 3D package (I think) and see where I went... Is there such a program?

[Guest chucky.egg]

Dont know about the data format, or the app to read it again afterwards... but this is the link to the Trine:

http://www.emtac.com/products/bluetooth/in...ndex.html#trine

Longer operation time by using Replaceable / Rechargeable Li-ion battery  

24K records Data Log function provides flexible applications

Muilti-Link supports four iPAQ PPC2003 PDAs  

A true wire-less GPS receiver using Bluetooth™ Technology  

Easy for use and hand free carrying style designs  

Low power consumption with battery  

Embedded high sensitivity active antenna  

LED lights clearly indicate GPS / Bluetooth / Power status

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

Well you sound happy with a BT GPS, SmartPhone combination so thats a good start.

However looking at what you have said I still cant help thinking that World-Tracker may be more suited for you.

First of all its free with the exception of GPRS charges to update your location and all you need is a GPS to go with your phone, no maps to download just the application itself and the world-tracker website has some quite powerful additional features you may find useful when you are mountain biking.

Here is some of my data from the last trip I recorded (last update as per my sig) and this is the status info...

LOCATION DETAILS:

Latitude: 51.6666667

Longitude: 0.6666667

Altitude: 100 feet

Speed: 0 mph

Heading: North East (38°)

Report Type: Position Report

Battery: 100%

Date/Time of fix: 11/10/3615 GMT

Date/Time of upload: 02/12/2004 08:54:40 GMT

(2 weeks, 2 days ago)

Its free to setup an account and when you login to your account on line you can see your 'snail trail' on an OS map and all your previous trips as well and you have an option to export them to a file as well.

Both are free so give them a go.

Let us know what happens.

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