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Sunday, January 13, 2008
Nokia SportsTracker, 6110 and GPS anomalies
I downloaded a new version of Nokia Sports Tracker the other day and discovered that it now has an online community aspect as well. This is a feature that we originally used on SportsDo, our previous gps tracking tool. The main benefit over SportsDo is that Sports Tracker allows you to upload via your mobile phone OR by importing a GPX file directly into the application. Sports Tracker also still allows exports directly from the application in CSV, XML, GPX or Google Earth (KML) formats to either phone or SD card- a real advantage.
On today's cycle ride, it tells me I got a speed of 42.1mph (which does not match what my cycle computer says - 21.7mph). I've started hunting for tools to spot and remove anomalies from GPX or KML files, but in the meantime have come up with a workable alternative.
After working through these stages, I now have an uploaded trail that looks more accurate.
Sample trkpt
<trkpt lat="50.824980" lon="-0.148063">
<ele>91.0</ele>
<speed>0.07</speed>
<course>193.8</course>
<desc>Speed 0.2 mph Distance 0.00 mi</desc>
<time>2008-01-13T13:50:34.95</time>
<name>2</name>
</trkpt>
On today's cycle ride, it tells me I got a speed of 42.1mph (which does not match what my cycle computer says - 21.7mph). I've started hunting for tools to spot and remove anomalies from GPX or KML files, but in the meantime have come up with a workable alternative.
- Export the file in CSV format
- Also export the format in GPX format
- Open the CSV file and sort by the Speed column
- Look for any readings that look extraordinary - in my case I had lots around the 20, 21, 22 mph mark, and then 3 at 37, 38 and 41 mph - obviously incorrect. Make a note of those numbers, they'll be used in a minute
- Open up the GPX file in an editor
- Search the file for "
Speed " and use the numbers recorded above - For every anomaly you spot, remove the whole trkpt node (see example below)
- Save the GPX file
- Head over to Sports Tracker and upload the new file
- Check that the file looks about right
After working through these stages, I now have an uploaded trail that looks more accurate.
Sample trkpt
<trkpt lat="50.824980" lon="-0.148063">
<ele>91.0</ele>
<speed>0.07</speed>
<course>193.8</course>
<desc>Speed 0.2 mph Distance 0.00 mi</desc>
<time>2008-01-13T13:50:34.95</time>
<name>2</name>
</trkpt>
Labels: 6110, gps, sportstracker
// posted by Jane @ 2:55 PM 
Comments:
Saturday, January 12, 2008
More on Route 66 - buying the North West USA this time
Yesterday I bought the North West USA map from Route 66. It took me a while to play border identification to determine which states were going to be covered but I was pretty confident that it had what I needed. For some reason, all you get when you look at a map within Route 66 is a map showing the shape of the areas to be covered, and the longitude and latitude of the top left hand corner and bottom right hand corner.
So, I went ahead and bought the map, and can confirm that for anyone else trying to find out what states are covered, that these are the ones:
So, I went ahead and bought the map, and can confirm that for anyone else trying to find out what states are covered, that these are the ones:
- Alaska
- California
- Colorado
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Washington
- Wyoming
// posted by Jane @ 10:04 AM
Comments:
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Route 66 and the Nokia Navigator
This morning I made my first purchase of a map from Route 66 for my Nokia Navigator. After an unsuccessful attempt using VMWare on the Mac, I took the DVD to work and tried it there.
First step - installation. No problems, just followed the instructions on the screen - although the phone does have to be attached to the PC.
Second step - choosing a map. One discovery I made, the hard way (by buying the wrong map), is that for France I can buy either the whole of France for EUR49.95, or sub-areas for EUR9.95. These sub-areas are nothing more than cities, they aren't provinces or regions, so for my trip I ended up needing the whole of France.
Third step - buying a map. At the top left hand corner is a button marked Switch to Route 66 Store. I recommend doing this rather than using the DVD.
Select the appropriate map from the left hand side (don't forget to check out the Free travel guides at the top of the menu as well)
When you select a map, the view will alter to something similar to below
Pressing the Add to cart button moves the map into the Shopping cart in the right hand side of the screen.
Pressing the checkout button allows you to enter your personal details and a credit card and when payment is successful the Download screen should be displayed. This will firstly download the map to the PC, and then to the phone.
Closing the screen will not activate the map on your phone at this point but will display a message similar to the following:
Fourth Step - Activating the map. Close down Route 66 Sync and disconnect the phone. Reconnect the phone and start up Route 66 sync again. On my PC a bubble was displayed informing me of new content. I clicked on the bubble and allowed the content to be updated. This seemed to activate the maps for me.
I didn't find the process particularly easy. These notes are as much for me as for anyone else, with the hope that next time I need to buy a map I can do it far easier than the 4 hours it took today trying out different things.
First step - installation. No problems, just followed the instructions on the screen - although the phone does have to be attached to the PC.
Second step - choosing a map. One discovery I made, the hard way (by buying the wrong map), is that for France I can buy either the whole of France for EUR49.95, or sub-areas for EUR9.95. These sub-areas are nothing more than cities, they aren't provinces or regions, so for my trip I ended up needing the whole of France.
Third step - buying a map. At the top left hand corner is a button marked Switch to Route 66 Store. I recommend doing this rather than using the DVD.
Select the appropriate map from the left hand side (don't forget to check out the Free travel guides at the top of the menu as well)
When you select a map, the view will alter to something similar to below
Pressing the Add to cart button moves the map into the Shopping cart in the right hand side of the screen.
Pressing the checkout button allows you to enter your personal details and a credit card and when payment is successful the Download screen should be displayed. This will firstly download the map to the PC, and then to the phone.
Closing the screen will not activate the map on your phone at this point but will display a message similar to the following:
Fourth Step - Activating the map. Close down Route 66 Sync and disconnect the phone. Reconnect the phone and start up Route 66 sync again. On my PC a bubble was displayed informing me of new content. I clicked on the bubble and allowed the content to be updated. This seemed to activate the maps for me.
I didn't find the process particularly easy. These notes are as much for me as for anyone else, with the hope that next time I need to buy a map I can do it far easier than the 4 hours it took today trying out different things.
// posted by Jane @ 1:06 PM
Comments:
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Nokia 6110 Navigator and Route 66 satellite navigation
Whilst we were on our recent holiday, we took the opportunity to try out the built-in Route 66 navigation software.
The main observations are as follows:
- The battery life with the navigation system running is obviously impacted. In Liverpool the phone ran out of battery a mile away from our accomodation. We bought an in-car charger for the unit to prevent this from happening at other times.
- The software likes direct routes. Despite having selected fastest rather than shortest it sent us through the Snowdonia mountain park, (the road in the photo), with cattle grids and gates etc. Even when I told the unit that I was in a lorry it sent me the same way.
- It is very optimistic about how long a journey will take. Unlike google maps' directions which I've found to be pretty accurate, at 100% Route 66 seems to expect 60 miles per hour on all road types, including that mountain pass.
- In city navigation is excellent, getting in and out of cities and towns using the navigation system was really good, and really helpful.
- The postcode to longitude/latitude conversion is problematic at times - I don't think this is the software's problem but a complication with low population areas. Something to be wary of - next time I'll check the position of the landmark on the map against any other map or information availabile
In summary, I'll probably still print out google maps, and I'll still have a road atlas in the car, but I'll also let Route 66 guide me in and out of cities and towns.
Cross posted to Jane and Richard's yak and natter.
// posted by Jane @ 9:10 PM
Comments:
Monday, September 03, 2007
Nokia 6110 Naviator, Route 66 and entering longitude and latitude coordinates
We're planning a trip to Wales for later in the year, and one of the places we're looking to stay at has the following disclaimer:
Please DO NOT use postcode search on Google, Yahoo, etc. as you will be taken to a wrong address. If you are using satellite navigation please ONLY use the coordinates in the format below:
Co-ordinates
N52.85005
W3.91084
My new phone has GPS and the Route 66 navigation software. Great I think. I'll just pop in the coordinates and away I'll go. Not so easy as it turns out. Under the Search options there are the following:
I tried entering N52.85005 into both Free text and address, but to no avail.
I did a quick search on the internet, and just found postings from people saying that Route 66 didn't work with longitude and latitude inputs - you can send a longitude and latitude by selecting Send -> Cursor Position or Send -> GPS Position which displays the settings in a text message or other format.
After a bit of playing around, I discovered that if you choose to add a Landmark, via the My Landmarks -> New Landmark -> Blank method you can enter the usual information - Name, Street, Zip code, City etc, and at the bottom, tucked out of the way is Latitude and Longitude. By entering the information in as a landmark, and saving it, I can then show this on the map and use it for navigation purposes.
So, not a straightforward method - but it works!
Please DO NOT use postcode search on Google, Yahoo, etc. as you will be taken to a wrong address. If you are using satellite navigation please ONLY use the coordinates in the format below:
Co-ordinates
N52.85005
W3.91084
My new phone has GPS and the Route 66 navigation software. Great I think. I'll just pop in the coordinates and away I'll go. Not so easy as it turns out. Under the Search options there are the following:
- Free Text (enter some text and hope for the best)
- Address
- Nearby (i.e. close to where the gps detects I currently am
- History (a list of places I've searched for or been at recently
- Landmarks (places I've entered and saved)
- Contacts (people I have in my address book
I tried entering N52.85005 into both Free text and address, but to no avail.
I did a quick search on the internet, and just found postings from people saying that Route 66 didn't work with longitude and latitude inputs - you can send a longitude and latitude by selecting Send -> Cursor Position or Send -> GPS Position which displays the settings in a text message or other format.
After a bit of playing around, I discovered that if you choose to add a Landmark, via the My Landmarks -> New Landmark -> Blank method you can enter the usual information - Name, Street, Zip code, City etc, and at the bottom, tucked out of the way is Latitude and Longitude. By entering the information in as a landmark, and saving it, I can then show this on the map and use it for navigation purposes.
So, not a straightforward method - but it works!
// posted by Jane @ 10:22 PM
Comments:
Hi Jane.
I recently got myself a 6110 nav. and am not 100% happy with it. The maps route66 gave me is locked, to be bought for 9.95 euros....well this doesnt sound so bad, but residing in South Africa, it costing me a minimum of 100 rand....The price of a bottle whisky (not even good whisky) So for me to buy all the maps, i can just as well buy meself a vehicle with a gps onboard. I need to know where i can find free maps to download that is not too big in megabytes, 'cause i'm paying R2 per meg i download. Maybe you can assist me in this regard.
TB Sharpley
swartskapie@hotmail.com
I recently got myself a 6110 nav. and am not 100% happy with it. The maps route66 gave me is locked, to be bought for 9.95 euros....well this doesnt sound so bad, but residing in South Africa, it costing me a minimum of 100 rand....The price of a bottle whisky (not even good whisky) So for me to buy all the maps, i can just as well buy meself a vehicle with a gps onboard. I need to know where i can find free maps to download that is not too big in megabytes, 'cause i'm paying R2 per meg i download. Maybe you can assist me in this regard.
TB Sharpley
swartskapie@hotmail.com
