Beta testers wanted for Macintosh waypoint manager for Magellan units

January 24, 2003

I've just uploaded the first public beta of Magellan Waypoint Manager for the Mac. You can find it at:

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~casoich/

The download is just the program; the instructions are on the web page.

Please give feedback to me so I can polish off this program!

January 26, 2003

I have tried it out for a few scenarios and haven't had a single problem. I am loving this piece of software! Easily edit waypoints, I downloaded a list of ~10 waypoints from geocache, dragged the file onto the window, and all were added without problem. So far, it is great! Excellent job.

You might want to make the waypoint symbol list as an actual popup control (such that it is seen that clicking the current value is a popup). Other than that, I haven't noticed any changes that are needed. I'll keep using it and let you know if I hit any problems.

It identified my meridian platinum running 4.02 (I have a keyspan Serial <-> USB adapter) immediately and I haven't had any communications troubles.

I have been using gpsbabel up until now. I had run into occasional comm problems with it, but, never with your waypoint manager.

January 31, 2003

hey good to see some development on the mac side of things for waypoint management. will we see a garmin version.. i'd love to.. please!!!!

i rekon the majority of people here would have em if they are a mac user. Looks like you have some programming skill so if you could mock us one up i'd be greatful!

cheers,

Your friendly mac garmin user

January 31, 2003

My program is internally modular, so I would just have to code a Garmin protocol module, but since I don't have a Garmin GPSr, it would be very hard for me to develop the Garmin functionality.

The good news is that if you own a Garmin, you can do waypoint management on the Mac with a program called MacGPS Pro, found here: http://www.macgpspro.com

If this program supported Magellans, I wouldn't have had a need to develop my program.

As far as my Magellan waypoint manager goes, I have beta 2 just about ready. changes include:

* An On/Offline button, if you want to just browse .LOC or .GPX files (although the .GPX file parsing is sketchy),

* A "handle" for each entry line, making it easier to select multiple lines,

* the Icon column now has a popup control drawn in it, making it clear that it's a popup (thanks atomicham!),

* Various minor bug fixes (character validation for entries, minor cosmetic changes).

I'll post a note whenever the beta 2 is up.

And planned before the final release is the ability to save out the full list or a selection set to .LOC or .GPX files.

All in all, I've been disappointed in the response this project has generated. apparently, the majority of Mac users own Garmins, or are comtent to use the command-line GPSBabel. I put in the extra effort to make sure this program supported ALL the Magellan models, and not just my SporTrak Pro, but it seems maybe the interest isn't there.

So, my next step is to make the changes I've indicated, and possibly release it as unsupported freeware.

February 24, 2003

I know of at least two other people who have Macs and Magellans--thanks for your efforts.

It did crash under OS9.1 on the 733 G4 at work after trying to find my GPS, but this was probably because there wasn't a GPS attached (no USB adapter available here).

I will test it at home tonight, OS9.1 on a G3-upgraded PM8100 with native serial ports.

Thanks again, you have answered the prayers of Magellan Mac users!

John

--

"I saw two shooting stars last night,

I wished on them--but they were only satellites!

Is it wrong to wish on space hardware?

I wish, I wish, I wished you cared."

--Billy Bragg, "A New England"

February 25, 2003

Since Geocaching here in Pennsylvania is at a standstill during the winter months, I've been devoting my meager spare time to further developing the MagWayMan.

A major new feature that will be in beta 2 will be the ability to plot waypoints onto .DRG maps and DOQQ aerial photos, freely available (for the most part) on the internet. Most of these maps come with .TFW world files, that give you 90% of the calibration data needed to plot LatLon coordinates on it. Some maps also come with .XML files, which further define the coordinate system. And finally, you can "tune" the map with a slider that picks the 'ellipse' that the map is calibrated to. This info is saved in a custom calibration file in the same location as the map. When the new beta is posted, I'll put up some screenshots and instructions for this feature on the website.

Also, before I post the beta, it will have Save All and Save Selected, and write out the waypoints as a .LOC file.

On the horizon, the program will have the ability to print map sections, and I have an unanswered-as-of-yet question to the Groundspeak people about querying their database for caches in the area of a map, and plotting them on a map. We'll see what they say. Also, I have very partial functionality for mapping a track onto a map, but the data that I get from my Magellan is crummy.

Last, it shouldn't be too hard to write routines for making Routes. If anybody feels that they'd use that, let me know.

Craig

February 27, 2003

I said I'd do it, and so I did:

Go to http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html to get the latest MagWayMan, beta 2. Once again, the instructions are on the website.

Craig

February 28, 2003

Looks VERY nice!

Now if I only had a serial-to-USB adapter.

5.7k · February 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Treasure Bandits:
I said I'd do it, and so I did:

Go to http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html to get the latest MagWayMan, beta 2. Once again, the instructions are on the website.

Craig

This link doesn't work for me.

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

February 28, 2003

The server is back up.

Sorry!

Craig S.

[This message was edited by Treasure Bandits on February 28, 2003 at 09:58 AM.]

March 28, 2003

keep up the good work, I downloaded it and as soon as I can hook the Meridian up to the computer I'll give it a try.

thanks for the effort,

jeff

April 2, 2003

There's been a maintenance release for MagWayMan, to 0.9b2a. This extends the expiration date to May 1, 2003, with a few bug fixes.

I also posted a system 9-only version.

http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html

[This message was edited by Treasure Bandits on April 02, 2003 at 07:28 AM.]

May 3, 2003

Well, new month, new release of MagWayMan!

This version, 0.9b2c, extends the epiration date to June 1, and adds a "newSync" button, that lets you quickly add waypoints to the Magellan.

Find it at :

http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html

And as always, feedback is always appreciated! Especially for the mapping section, which I think nobody seems to have found yet.

June 1, 2003

This is to let the mac users know there's a new version of MagWayMan online, at:

http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html

Aside from internal changes to some math routines, the only difference is this version is good through the first of August. Hopefully, two months will give me enough time to get some fancy new features in!

Again, if you use the program, I'd like to hear feedback, good or bad, from you!

(I'm still trying to decide what the best way of displaying and storing routes would be...)

June 2, 2003

I'm very interested in something like this. There's also another person out there making a way point manager called MacSimpleGPS that allows one to d/l, u/l, and edit waypoints as well as transfer from the GeoCaching.com website and it works with both my Magellan 315 and my eTrex Summit. But neither of these great pieces of software will let me download tracks. MacGPSPro will let me d/l my track, overlay against a DRG and even export it as a vector file. If this is something that may be in the future for MagWayMan I'm definitely interested. Us Mac GPSers need all the developers we can get. Keep up the great work and please add tracks!

June 2, 2003

I do have provisions for downloading tracks and plotting them on a map in the code, but it's disabled, due to some bugs in the plotting routines (I don't check for the bounds of the current map), and it can take a LOOONG time to download all the track points.

I'll see if I can make a separate button that will download the track, and plot it if applicable on the map. Any specific features? Times along the track?

Most likely, the next "value-added" feature will be the ability to make calibration files for custom maps, such as scans of park maps, using triangulated waypoints. I have my "math guy" working on it right now!

With this feature, you'd be able to plot waypoints onto almost any map where you know the coords of three waypoints (such as "Trail head", "Falls", etc. as long as they're not in a straight line, and the more triangular, the better.)

June 2, 2003

I should preface this by saying that I'm a cartograper and have been desperately looking for ways to get GPS data on to my maps without having to go through a PC.

It would be best to support a couple different projections before you go too far into being able to calibrate your own map. Just dealing with the USGS stuff is a pain in iteself due to all the different projections. AFAIK the USGS DRGs (in California at least) are Albers, while the DEMs are UTM (zone 10 for me), and the actual paper quads are Polyconic. You've also got different Datums to worry about (NAD27, NAD83, WGS84). I wouldn't dare say that you're biting off more than you can chew (cause I'd love to see your software do this), but I'm just saying there's a lot of stuff that's got to go into this to make it work correctly besides just registering a map with 3 known points.

The track download in MacGPS Pro doesn't really take too long (about 1-2 min with the Keyspan USB-PDA adapter). The most useful thing I can see for track data is going to be laying it across a DRG and then getting that data out and into an illustration program (Macromedia FreeHand/Adobe Illustrator). If you can allow for the manipulation and changing into different projections than that's all the much better. I don't particularly care for times, or speeds along a track, but others might. A distance b/w points would probably be fairly useful.

I don't currently have my Magellan or I'd be playing with your software right now, but I'll get it back in a couple of days and give you any first-hand feedback.

Keep up the good work.

June 2, 2003

I'm glad to have a cartographer looking at the software!

The mapping section of MagWayMan will take the data in the world files of the USGS maps, (UTM zone 17T for me!) along with data from the .XML files, if there are any, and applies that info to it's calibration files. the (experienced) user can also adjust the ellipse of the maps with a slider, while looking at the map.

As for the datum of custom maps, I'm not worried about it, since the datum will automatically be whatever the "surveying" equipment (i.e. your GPSr) is set to. The algorithm used will be the same affine transform that the .TFW files report. since those result in Easting and Northings, I can get a scale, rotation, and shear of the map from those three points, with the same datum as the waypoints used to generate the grid.

I'll look into saving a track out as a .GPX, which is what I need to go to if I want to save out routes, anyway.

You're welcome to download the software and play now! It has an offline mode, so you can just put a map or two from the USGS in a folder, point the program to it, and drop a .LOC file from Geocaching.com onto the waypoint window to get some sample points on the map. Instructions for the mapping section are on the website.

In the meantime, I'll re-enable the track function, and post a picture of a track plot on the website. Stay tuned...

June 3, 2003

Beautiful! Glad to see you've definitely thought this through. I first understood this to be a waypoint manager that you thought you might consider adding map support to and I just wanted to point out that it's a little more complicated. I see you've already got that down.

I've downloaded the software and will play soon. Any tech questions I'll send to your email listed on the site, but if you want I'll continue to post general stuff here.

June 3, 2003

Attention MagWayMan users: a bug was recently uncovered that prevented the map section from being used. I fixed it, and uploaded new versions of the files the evening of June 3, EDT.

If you're interested in the mapping, please re-download these files, otherwise the program will crash when you try to access the maps window.

Thanks to GeoTripper, who found this bug.

June 25, 2003

This is to let the mac users know there's a new version of MagWayMan online, at:

http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html

This new version, beta 3, has the following changes:

Added support for reading in .GPX files

Added support for several new Magellans

Added a contextual menu to the waypoints list that will give a popup of all the maps that contain that waypoint. Picking a map from that list will open that map in the maps window, and show the waypoint selected.

Added partial support for tracks. Clicking on the Track... button will download all the track points from the GPSr, list them in a separate window that can then be exported to a text file, and will display track points as small blue dots on maps. (I know, a line would be better... I'm working on it.)

August 1, 2003

To all beta participants:

You'll have noticed by now that the beta has expired, and there are no new copies of MagWayMan online.

We're expecting a new addition to the Treasure Bandits any day now , so I don't really have the time to finish off the items I was working on with the next beta.

The current source has been halfway modified to optionally disable error-checking negotiation when downloading. Why would I do that?

Downloading 152 waypoints at 19200 baud:

With error-checking: 120 seconds

Without error-checking: 8 seconds

several checks of identical downloads with and without error-checking show no errors. However, the data sentences coming off the magellan still have checksum codes, and I'll be able to tell at download time if there was a problem with a waypoint. (This is the part that's not done.)

If I'm leaving anybody "In the Lurch" let me know, and I'll see if I can't clean stuff up enough to do a new compile.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

August 22, 2003

Well, the baby is here, and I found a free minute to recompile the program, and upload it. Find it at:

http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html

The interface is a little rougher, as I was preparing to add some features, but I've gotten enough requests to post this interim version now.

If you try it, let me know how you like it, and anything you'd like to see!

September 28, 2003

This is to let people know that there's a new version of MagWayMan uploaded, and ready for evaluation.

This new version has alot of new stuff, so check it out!

MagWayMan 0.95b1

changed the expiration date to December 1, 2003

Added the ability to upload, save, load, and draw tracks.

Added a checkbox to turn off error correction, which greatly speeds up downloading waypoints from the GPSr. (Upload still uses error correction.)

Added code to provide map smoothing when zoomed out, and a check button to turn that feature off, for performance gains.

Added contextual menu to the maps, allowing insertion of waypoints, resetting the map bounds, and printing, although the printing code is far from complete.

Internal changes, paving the way for calibration of user-scanned maps.

New brushed metal interface for 10.2 users.

changed the ellipse slider to dynamically update the overlay, aiding in determining map calibration.

Added the CoordCalc calculator, for on-the-fly conversions from LatLon to UTM and back.

September 30, 2003

I forgot to mention one detail. If you're looking at a map, if you hold down option while doing a click and drag, you'll stretch out a ruler to measure distances between two points. This is useful if you're zoomed in on a map, and the map scale is not visible.

Also, if you're a premium member and use the .GPX files from geocaching.com, the program will parse the Groundspeak tags, and build the waypoint comment this way:

- name of cache

- owner(if there's room for at least 5 letters)

- difficulty/terrain score (always included)

Would anybody find it useful to to be able to "point & click" a route onto a map? I usually don't use routes, and I'm only adding route support because full synchronizations wipe them out, But it shouldn't be hard to auto-generate waypoints and add them to a route.

On side note, I'm doing research into supporting maps aligned to state planes. (geez, what a headache!)

And finally, what would be features you'd look for in future versions? Things that are possible are:

Display of cache info from the .GPX file on the map;
A watch folder that includes .GPX files in a database that will display on the maps;
auto-switching from one map to another as you're panning.

and, as always, feedback is really appreciated! (I know you're downloading! drop me a line.)

October 30, 2003

notice to MagWayMan OSX users:

I just installed Panther (10.3) and found that the popup menus for the baud rate and serial port are broken for MagWayMan 0.95b1 (they defult to value 1 no matter what you choose.)

I haven't been able to check the other functionality. I'm waiting for an update to the compiler to address this problem.

There is a really ugly workaround to restore the functionality. If anybody needs this "hacked" compile, email me and let me know. (my email address is on the website.)

December 9, 2003

A new beta of MagWayMan has been posted at:

http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html

MagWayMan 0.95b4 has the following changes:

A problem for Panther users and the popup menus have now been fixed.

Marginal speed improvements to the listbox editing

The expiration date is now March 1, 2004

And this is my request: if you still use the program, let me know! In the last beta release, I recieved a total of 1 reply about the program. I was under the assumption that the program wasn't being used, so stopped development on it.

At this point, I feel that the only feature stopping MagWayMan from going final is the lack of route support. If there is something else missing that I'm overlooking, let me know!

thanks!

Craig S.

December 9, 2003

I can't wait to try this out. I have been making maps from TOPO and Direct route all day here on my PC. (so I can burn them to CD and not have to use Virtaul PC to make the maps...slow!!!). With your program and the meridians memory card I should be Virtual PC free now.

Features I would like to see (no idea if it does it already since I have not used it):

-management of waypoints

-UL/DL tracks

-make routes (I do a lot of biking and if I could just make a route based on a map of trails that would be very cool)

OK, not much point to this post other than...great idea and can't wait to try it!

December 9, 2003

This program, like all third-party programs. won't let you make maps that you can upload to the GPS. What it does is let you plot waypoints and tracks on scans of topo, street, and aerial maps, and the like.

December 9, 2003

Of course, as soon as I post this new update, the server it's on crashes.

for interested people, email me at:

mailto:casoich@bellatlantic.net

2.6k · December 10, 2003

I contacted Craig to let him know his web site is down. I was unsure if it's the servers problem or on Craig's end. Either way, it will be a welcome site so I can get my waypoints back up to date.

I really like his program as it meets all my needs to simplify Geocaching. It would be nice if I could upload maps or the updated Magellan Firmware but I blame Magellan on that inability. It's there pompous attitude that keeps them from acknowledging Macintosh's... Come to think of it, their pompous attitude prevents them from even acknowledging Geocaching [No Geocaching Waypoint Icon]. Does the new Firmware make Geocaching easier??

December 17, 2003

OK, the website is back up. (running OSX)

http://www.studiosoich.com/MWM.html

March 1, 2004

There is a new MagWayMan beta up to replace the version that expired today, at:

MagWayMan 0.95b6

The new beta has a new feature called "WebMap", which will let you map any waypoint, whether or not you already have a map of that area. You can access this feature with the contextual popup menu in the waypoint list. The last item in the list will be "WebMap...", which will open the webmap tab of the mapping window, and download the imagery from Microsoft's Terraserver.

Note that the functionality is not complete, the controls are roughed in, and I'm still planning out optimizations for the WebMap.

The slider is a zoom, and the checkbox lets you switch between topo maps and aerial imagery.

A broadband connection is recommended.

May 1, 2004

The bi-monthly update of MagWayMan is online. The changes are:

Expiration date is July 1, 2004

Recompiled under a new compiler to greatly enhance the response speed of long lists of waypoints.

Enhanced the "WebMap" feature, Users can now place user waypoints and option-drag to measure distances on a WebMap.

Other, internal changes, paving the way for more features to be added later.

May 2, 2004

You Rock!! Thanks for keeping us Mac/Magellan users up to date with this. To date this is my favorite waypoint manager.

Beta testers wanted for Macintosh waypoint manager for Magellan units

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