mrp

quote:Originally posted by geospotter:The G7toWin appears to only work with Garmins, but thanks for the tip, Pneumatic. The old version I had sitting on my laptop didn't support Magellans, but I just downloaded the latest version from the website, and it comes up with with a configuration option for Magellan. I can't test it since I'm a garmin only house right now. I've hat a great time using g7towin to convert large amounts of data. In fact, I use it to export long track files to Excel, so I can play with the numbers. -- Mitch

I love a good flame war quote:Originally posted by Directionless:Pnumatic drawing an analogy to my comments and the CEO problems is offensive and not germain to the topic. Boy.. you don't mind being compared to a thief, but being compared to a CEO gets you all bent out of shape. Now *that's* social commentary. My only point there was the you seem to be advocating covering an illegal act with a highly dubious claim of "I didn't knowingly do anything wrong". quote:Here is my argument. 1) I am using public owned air waves This statement reminds me of the statments in these forums a while back that since the park land was "publicly owned" that we could do any dadgum thing we wanted on it. Wrong! The term is unregulated, meaning (among other things) that you don't need a license to use it, the same way that bolt cutters are "unlicensed", but that doesn't make using them legal in all circumstances.. quote:2) I am on public property, not trespassing in any way. Which is irrelevant. Tresspassing is not a prerequisite. There are plenty of crimes you can commit standing on a streetcorner. (including some pretty fun ones ) quote:3) I have every right to use that frequency The term "right" gets thrown around a lot. You have the right to a speedy trial, the right to an attorney, the right to peacably assemble, and to seek redress of grievences, you have the right to bear arms (but only inasmuch as there is a need for a well regulated militia). Nowhere is there a well recognized document that guarantees you the "right" to use the 2.4Ghz spectrum. quote:Connection issues: 4) I am not "Hacking or Cracking" a user id or password. You *are* probably having to use AirSnort (or similar) to get the ESSID, and maybe the WEP keys, or are relying on someone doing the same and publishing it. quote:5) In fact my machine is quering the nodes owners machine for permission to access the network and the node is granting permission by assigning a I.P. address. (DHCP) Aside from the technical problems with this (IP is a different layer of the network protocol than ethernet, and is only tangentially related), this is akin to saying that "I queried the doorknob to see if it gave me permission to enter the house". Computers can't give you permission, only a human can do that. Sure a good network admin would have additional authenication, but their negligence doesn't relieve of you of the culpability any more than using an unlocked door to enter a house relieves you of the culpability of breaking and entering. quote:Presumptive issues. 6) How am I to know that this use of the public airwaves is private? Am I to presume it is private or public, after all it is the public domain. That is an affirmative defense. You need to show that you have a reasonable belief that you had permission to use that network. Unless you can show that you have a resonable belief that there is an open network that hapens to have same ESSID right next door (within 300 ft or so) to the network in question, then you have no such defense. quote:SO until there is clarity in the Law. My opinion is as good as anyones. Be careful what you wish for... already IP owners are pushing through draconian DRM technologies and laws mandating their use becuase some people claim "how was I to know that it was wrong to copy that software/music/movie?" I am fighting against the coming tide of DRM, because I know that there is such a thing as "fair use", but fair use is going to be lost if DRM is built into the hardware and software(*). Because people are abdicating their responsibility to make moral decisions, technology is being designed to take the desicions away from them, and at the same time concentrating a frightening amount of power among a very few people. If lots of people take the attitude that any unsecured network is fair game, how long before business interest push through laws heavily regulating the use of WiFi, and that would be the end of the hobbiest home network, and freely available open network. Don't let weaknesses in technology act as a rationalization of amoral behavior, or the techology used to "fix" it will hurt us all. -- Mitch (*) An example: I was watching a DVD on my computer the other day, and I wanted to take a screenshot of the opening scene to use as a backdrop. (I am pretty sure this falls under "fair use".) However, when I tried, the screenshot program put up a dialog box that it wouldn't work while the DVD player was open. Right now this is just Apple pandering to the MPAA, and I have the option of getting another DVD player or screen grabber (or writing my own, if I were so inclined), but if hardware like Palladium (search slashdot.org for recent article) and laws like the CBDTPA (or whatever Sen. Holling's bill is called now) come along, then all software will be like that. [This message was edited by Pneumatic on July 02, 2002 at 10:47 AM.] [This message was edited by Pneumatic on July 02, 2002 at 11:30 AM.]

I love a good flame war quote:Originally posted by Directionless:Pnumatic drawing an analogy to my comments and the CEO problems is offensive and not germain to the topic. Boy.. you don't mind being compared to a thief, but being compared to a CEO gets you all bent out of shape. Now *that's* social commentary. My only point there was the you seem to be advocating covering an illegal act with a highly dubious claim of "I didn't knowingly do anything wrong". quote:Here is my argument. 1) I am using public owned air waves This statement reminds me of the statments in these forums a while back that since the park land was "publicly owned" that we could do any dadgum thing we wanted on it. Wrong! The term is unregulated, meaning (among other things) that you don't need a license to use it, the same way that bolt cutters are "unlicensed", but that doesn't make using them legal in all circumstances.. quote:2) I am on public property, not trespassing in any way. Which is irrelevant. Tresspassing is not a prerequisite. There are plenty of crimes you can commit standing on a streetcorner. (including some pretty fun ones ) quote:3) I have every right to use that frequency The term "right" gets thrown around a lot. You have the right to a speedy trial, the right to an attorney, the right to peacably assemble, and to seek redress of grievences, you have the right to bear arms (but only inasmuch as there is a need for a well regulated militia). Nowhere is there a well recognized document that guarantees you the "right" to use the 2.4Ghz spectrum. quote:Connection issues: 4) I am not "Hacking or Cracking" a user id or password. You *are* probably having to use AirSnort (or similar) to get the ESSID, and maybe the WEP keys, or are relying on someone doing the same and publishing it. quote:5) In fact my machine is quering the nodes owners machine for permission to access the network and the node is granting permission by assigning a I.P. address. (DHCP) Aside from the technical problems with this (IP is a different layer of the network protocol than ethernet, and is only tangentially related), this is akin to saying that "I queried the doorknob to see if it gave me permission to enter the house". Computers can't give you permission, only a human can do that. Sure a good network admin would have additional authenication, but their negligence doesn't relieve of you of the culpability any more than using an unlocked door to enter a house relieves you of the culpability of breaking and entering. quote:Presumptive issues. 6) How am I to know that this use of the public airwaves is private? Am I to presume it is private or public, after all it is the public domain. That is an affirmative defense. You need to show that you have a reasonable belief that you had permission to use that network. Unless you can show that you have a resonable belief that there is an open network that hapens to have same ESSID right next door (within 300 ft or so) to the network in question, then you have no such defense. quote:SO until there is clarity in the Law. My opinion is as good as anyones. Be careful what you wish for... already IP owners are pushing through draconian DRM technologies and laws mandating their use becuase some people claim "how was I to know that it was wrong to copy that software/music/movie?" I am fighting against the coming tide of DRM, because I know that there is such a thing as "fair use", but fair use is going to be lost if DRM is built into the hardware and software(*). Because people are abdicating their responsibility to make moral decisions, technology is being designed to take the desicions away from them, and at the same time concentrating a frightening amount of power among a very few people. If lots of people take the attitude that any unsecured network is fair game, how long before business interest push through laws heavily regulating the use of WiFi, and that would be the end of the hobbiest home network, and freely available open network. Don't let weaknesses in technology act as a rationalization of amoral behavior, or the techology used to "fix" it will hurt us all. -- Mitch (*) An example: I was watching a DVD on my computer the other day, and I wanted to take a screenshot of the opening scene to use as a backdrop. (I am pretty sure this falls under "fair use".) However, when I tried, the screenshot program put up a dialog box that it wouldn't work while the DVD player was open. Right now this is just Apple pandering to the MPAA, and I have the option of getting another DVD player or screen grabber (or writing my own, if I were so inclined), but if hardware like Palladium (search slashdot.org for recent article) and laws like the CBDTPA (or whatever Sen. Holling's bill is called now) come along, then all software will be like that. [This message was edited by Pneumatic on July 02, 2002 at 10:47 AM.] [This message was edited by Pneumatic on July 02, 2002 at 11:30 AM.]

Another solution for loading CSV (comma separated values) data into your GPS might be G7ToWin, which has the added benefit that it's free, though you have to be careful about how you enter the data, since it's probably pretty sensitive to formatting. -- Mitch "Dyslexics of the world, UNTIE!"

For the most part, the "position" part works equally well for all units. Two things that might affect the usefulness, Terrain and Maps. If the terrain is going to be heavily forested or full of canyons and ravines, then antenna performance will be of greater import. I'd stay away from units with patch antennas, but since both the 76 and the merridian have quad antennas, (and seem to have similar reports in terms of antenna performance.) The only real difference here is the 76 has an external antenna hookup, and the meridian series doesn't, but that's of dubious usefulness since all the external antennas require their own power source. The other issue is maps. If you're going to go with the mapping solution, the quality of the maps is going to vary widely around the world. I've heard that Garmin's World map product is very rough in most places around the world, and has many roads that are miles from where the map indicates they should be, and other roads that don't exist at all. They have two different map sets for Europe, which are reportedly somewhat better, but get very spotty outside major areas. Check them out at garmin's online map viewer. Update: I just stumbled on Ander's review of the MetroGuide Europe product. Magellan doesn't have a worldwide product (which is worse: no information or unreliable information? I don't know), but they do have a set of uploadable maps for europe, (no online viewer), and the larger memory capabilities of the magellans may make it easier to keep lots of maps available in the unit. (any real life product reviews out there?) -- Mitch "Dyslexics of the world, UNTIE!" [This message was edited by Pneumatic on July 01, 2002 at 04:22 PM.]

I think they're "discontinuing" the GPS V in favor of the GPS V Deluxe, the only difference being that the deluxe comes with an unlock code for the entire US (or all of Europe in that market) rather than just for one region. It's really only a change in the pricing model, rather than a change in the product line. In general, I don't put too much faith in what the sales droids say. A few months back I asked a person at the counter in KMart which GPS units they carried, and responded "none", but then I pointed to the yellow etrex on the shelf behind him, and he said "Oh... that's the only one we carry", but I had already lost all faith in the answers he was giving me. -- Mitch "Dyslexics of the world, UNTIE!"

quote:Originally posted by fizzymagic: (....}I could see paying $60 for a program that had its own data, but that price for something that relies on somebody else's Internet data is ridiculous. Well, once it downloads the data, it's cached locally, so the reliance on the net connection isn't crucial. As for ownership and price, Microsoft makes the terraserver data available, but is is all based on publicly available USGS data. If they decide to pull that data, or to make it such that expertGPS can't download it, then I would have to agree that $60 would be high for the remaining capabilities, although another popular mapping product that relies on external map data OziExplorer, costs $75 to register, and doesn't even support automatic retrival of data, although it does support taking image files, treating them as maps, and overlaying waypoints on them. However, most of the data for mapping programs comes from similar "public" sources (tiger cencus data, etc.) I've got Garmin's Roads and Rec data which "has it's own data" (althoguh based on data from tiger.census.gov), and although it's much more expensive ($100) I'm far less happy with the product. The only real advantage is that it can upload maps into my legend. I've heard similarly awful things about Magellan Mapsend, though I haven't used it personally. And finally, when I've had problems with expertGPS, i've gotten excellent customer service. Dan, the programmer, and sole proprieter of the company has responded to almost all inquires within 24 hours, and I usually have a fix/solution within 48 hours. I've sent bug many bug reports to Delorme about their SA 9 product, and so far haven't even gotten a reply (though I have gotten a lot of spam from them.) Don't buy it if you don't think it's worth it, but like I said before, I'm far happier with (and get far more use out of) this program that any other mapping software I've bought. -- Mitch

The saying goes "It's easier to get forgivness than permission." My suggestion... prostrate yourself and appologize profusely for failing to obtain permission. And then see if you can obtain forgiveness and retroactive permission. If you're nice enough, maybe you can convert some critical folks at the parks department. -- Mitch

The saying goes "It's easier to get forgivness than permission." My suggestion... prostrate yourself and appologize profusely for failing to obtain permission. And then see if you can obtain forgiveness and retroactive permission. If you're nice enough, maybe you can convert some critical folks at the parks department. -- Mitch

...you might want to give ExpertGPS a try. It's like a souped up version of EasyGPS with lots of mapping features added. It downloads topo and aerial photo maps, and can overlay waypoints (and tracks from your GPS) on top of them. Here are some examples from near my home with waypoints overlaid: Topo maps of the Berkeley area at a 0.5 mile and at a 500 ft. scale. Maps of Briones park at 0.5 mile scale (Topo and Photo) Zoomed in on Briones at a 500 ft. scale (Topo and Photo). And here is a overlay of my (unsucessful) hunt for the cache Turkey Shoot on a photo at the 200ft. scale. It also takes the the files from the download links on geocaching.com. All in all, this was the best $70 I've ever spent on software. -- Mitch

quote:Originally posted by TeamWSMF: So rather than just painting this all with the CRIMINAL brush, why not look into it some more and find the wonderfull world of Random Acts OF Kindness. -tom I realize this. I've been one of them at various times, though according to my logs nobody ever took advantage of my dinky little 802.11b network. However, that's not the goal with warchalking.org, which can be interpreted as anything from a mostly harmless security survey, to a shorthand for those who are ethically impaired. (For those not familiar with the evolution of this, search for 'wardriving' on slashdot.org). I don't mean to imply that all those who use open networks are criminals, but unless you "know" that the network you're associated with is supposed to be open, then you might be breaking the law. What galled me was the attitude of the previous poster.... "If I can find a way to circumvent their technology, then I have a right to hack into their network." Which in my mind is the moral equivilent of "If I can find an unlocked door, I have a right to rob the house." and the attitude of some corporate CEOs that "If I can get away with cooking the books, then it must be okay!" (I knew I could get something topical in there. ) -- Mitch

quote:Originally posted by TeamWSMF: So rather than just painting this all with the CRIMINAL brush, why not look into it some more and find the wonderfull world of Random Acts OF Kindness. -tom I realize this. I've been one of them at various times, though according to my logs nobody ever took advantage of my dinky little 802.11b network. However, that's not the goal with warchalking.org, which can be interpreted as anything from a mostly harmless security survey, to a shorthand for those who are ethically impaired. (For those not familiar with the evolution of this, search for 'wardriving' on slashdot.org). I don't mean to imply that all those who use open networks are criminals, but unless you "know" that the network you're associated with is supposed to be open, then you might be breaking the law. What galled me was the attitude of the previous poster.... "If I can find a way to circumvent their technology, then I have a right to hack into their network." Which in my mind is the moral equivilent of "If I can find an unlocked door, I have a right to rob the house." and the attitude of some corporate CEOs that "If I can get away with cooking the books, then it must be okay!" (I knew I could get something topical in there. ) -- Mitch

Picked off a NAPP photo, this is the coordinates I get from ExpertGPS (for the center of the dish): N 18d 20.653' W 66d 45.156' -- Mitch

Picked off a NAPP photo, this is the coordinates I get from ExpertGPS (for the center of the dish): N 18d 20.653' W 66d 45.156' -- Mitch

I just around to looking at the page on a windoze box, and it isn't nearly as garbled or annoying, but still doesn't add much to the experience. -- Mitch

This a known "problem" with the Mag 315. If your're moving slower than about 3mph it goes into auto-averaging, which means that it's averaging the last points it's measured. If you're moving slowly, this means that the indicated position is actually about 100 ft. behind you, which can be VERY frustrating. Swinging the unit around in a wide arc at arms length is one way to force it out of the averaging mode. In the old forums this was known as the Magellen Hula. I thought that the latest firmware revision was supposed to fix this, but since i don't own a maggy, I can't say for sure. -- Mitch

quote:Originally posted by Directionless:These particular air waves are in the unregulated part of the spectrum. You could conciveably sit outside one of these businesses on public property (sidewalk, roadside, etc) and use a device such as a phone or walkie talkie that is tuned to the same freq and bring down the network while doing nothing illegal. Don't try this defense when arrested. "Unregulated" doesn't mean anarchy. It's still illegal to intentionally interfere with another's communication. It's still illegal to access a computer system (or network) without authorization. Heck, you could sit at home, dial in to their modem pool, and be just as guilty *in your own home*. quote:It is the responsibility of the air wave user to secure their data. I can sit outside of that same business doing "intelligence work" and not be doing anything illegal by monotoring their network. By monitoring it, maybe not (although monitoring cordless phone calls and cell calls is illegal, but that is a special case, sort of). However, there may still be an "expectation of privacy". (e.g. just because your neighbor left her curtains open doesn't make it legal to photograph her getting naked, even if you do it with a telephoto lens from the sidewalk). I'm not a lawyer, so I can't say for sure whether the business has an "expectation of privacy" in their 802.11b network. The caselaw is probably nonexistant. But.. if you actually *use* their network, i.e. associate with thier IBSS basestation, then you are guilty of unauthorized use of computer equipment, the same as if you dialed into their network using "public" phone lines. quote:I really do not have an answer whether jumping their connection via 802.11b is really illegal! Ahh.. but others do know.. Saying that just because you didn't have to tresspass doesn't make it illegal is a little naive. Sort of like saying that just because somebody left their bicycle sitting unlocked next to a park bench, it's not illegal to steal it. Their carelessness/stupidity has nothing to do with the illegality of your actions. -- Mitch

Has anyone tried to run recent maping software like ExpertGPS on older hardware? (Like a Pentium 120 or a Pentium Pro 266.) I am thinking of running ExpertGPS on an older laptop like a old IBM Thinkpad or a Fujitsu Stylistic 1200, so I can have a portable mapping system to take with me on the road that is relatively cheap. -- Mitch

I forgot CDPD, which is effectively internet access via the cell network. You can see coverage maps for Verizon and AT&T. You need a CDPD card for your laptop to make this work. -- Mitch

ExpertGPS is fetching it's maps from terraserver.microsoft.com, and it uses whatever terraserver uses. It appears that it switches to different scale topo maps based on the scale of the display. At the 500 and 250 ft scales (when using "standard" units.) It appears that the maps displayed are indeed the 7.5 minute USGS maps, although the actual scale will depend on your monitor. Zoom out to the 10 miles scale, and it appears that the maps used are significantly larger scale. -- Mitch

quote:Originally posted by fizzymagic:+ Frees up 2 channels -- this only is a problem if your unit is receiving more than 10 satellites, which I have _never_ seen. I'll make this one correction... It makes a difference if your unit is TRYING to receive more than 10 satellites, which is pretty common. While I've never received signals from more than 7-8 satellites at once, I've often had all twelve channels dedicated to satellites above the horizon, and it's difficult to predict which ones it will be able to pull in at a given moment. With WAAS on, two of those satellites are taken out of the search, and if either or both of those two could be pulled in, then it might the difference between a 2D and a 3D solution, or wheter I keep lock or not. Like I have said before, on the etrex line, I have almost never seen WAAS work in California, and losing those two channels can make the difference between keeping lock in tree cover or not. Therefore, if you don't regularly see the "D" appear in the sat bars, it's better to turn it off. All the evidence points to WAAS working great in some other units (including the SportTrak and probably the GPS V as well), but with a Legend, Vista, or Venture, I haven't heard of it being useful. quote:It is quite clear that the poster who gave you this advice does not understand the difference between accuracy and precision. I've got to disagree, as one who taught this distiction(*). The precision is unaffected (except in the lower EPE), since that is a function of the granularity of the readout, and is unaffected by WAAS, whereas accuracy is a question how close the position is to the "right" position. The poster in question was indeed talking about a decrease in accuracy. I can't think of a reason why sucessfully receiving WAAS in the US would decrease accuracy, but there has been some anecdotal evidence to that effect for people trying to use WAAS in Europe. One thing to keep in mind, is that WAAS is not simply a larger scale beacon-station DGPS. It uses the information from the ground station to develop a more detailed model of ionospheric distortion as well as clock and empheris corrections for each SV. While this isn't subject to the same sort of simple degredation as you get when further from a beacon station, it's possible that the ionosphic model it generates becomes badly flawed for locations far from ground stations (say.. in Europe). -- Mitch (*) An example for those who haven't thought about the distiction. If my GPSr told me I was somewhere near San Francisco (Say N 38 W 122 +/- 2 degrees in either direction), it would very accurate, but not terribly precise. if it told me I was 2.5 ft. west from the NW corner of Gouchestishire Rd and Cromwell Lane in London, it would be very precise, but not at all accurate.

I just noticed while poking around the site this morning that the ddd mm.mmm feature was only added in the last revision in April. So, if you didn't have the latest, that would explain why you didn't find the option. -- Mitch

Try downloading the latest version. A new one was released last April that was supposed to add support for a whole bunch of new GPSRs. -- Mitch

quote:Originally posted by walkinfool: But unless I am missing something, the only prefs I see are for the GPS and the units. According to online manual, you click on File->Preferences->Coordinates, and then select H DDD MM.MMM as the format. I use ExpertGPS, and am very happy with it, and I can do it there. -- Mitch

Even easier.. Go to the preferences of EasyGPS, and set the desired format. Let EasyGPS do the work... -- Mitch