GPS Tracklog

GeoBuddy geocaching software

TopoGrafix, the company behind EasyGPS and ExpertGPS has announced the release of GeoBuddy 2.0. GeoBuddy was built with geocachers in mind. It can import pocket queries and GSAK files, and a free 90 day demo is available. The purchase price is $99.95. From the GeoBuddy web site:

"Unlike other geocaching utilities, GeoBuddy is a complete geocaching solution. GeoBuddy displays all of the geocaches in your area, as well as your own personal GPS data, over USGS topo maps, aerial photos, and your own scanned paper trail and road maps.  A built-in Web browser lists all of the information about each geocache, including pictures and hints left by the cache owner, and logs by recent visitors to the geocache. No other software gives you the maps, tools, and resources you need in one easy-to-use, integrated, package."

If you try it out, let us know what you think.

Win a Garmin 60CSx

Going to Florida this summer? Check out the Hidden Treasures of North Florida Geocaching Contest. Find all 13 caches before September 1 and you could win a Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. Along the way, you'll get to tour 13 counties in North Florida and the Panhandle. Thanks to the official Garmin blog for this tidbit.

Technorati tags: GPS

Waypoints - April 15, 2006

My "waypoints" series has become a weekly feature at this point. It started out as a way to capture bits and pieces that didn't warrant a full post. I'm noticing though, that this is the place I tend to post items related to certain themes -- primarily GPS and cellphones, Google Earth and Google Maps. To a lesser extent, the same is true for GPS tracking and location based services. Enough introspection -- on with the show:

Cellphones and GPS

• Memory-Map has released Pocket Navigator for Smartphone, with live weather radar. Via GpsPasSion.
• Have an older parent you'd like to be able to locate if necessary? They're not tech-savvy enough to use a normal cellphone? The Twig Discovery could be the answer.
• MobileMag reports that the U.S. may soon see the E-Ten G500 Smartphone, which carries the SiRFstar III chipset.
• John Kass of the Chicago Tribune explores the issues associated with tracking your kids with a GPS cellphone.
• Fun in Vegas at the Luxor with location based services.
• Here's a review of Verizon's VZ Navigator.

Aerial photos and satellite imagery

• Kathryn Cramer theorizes about using satellite photos as a peace tool. Via Ogle Earth.
• Zillow adds Pictometry's oblique (aka birds-eye) imagery to its real estate site. Via All Points Blog.

Google Maps

• Here's a new mashup that gives you local news and traffic, by zip code. Interestingly enough the mashup uses Google Maps and Google RSS news feeds, but Yahoo! Geocoding and Yahoo! Traffic. Via Google Maps Mania.
• Google Maps is now displaying an overview pane.

Leftovers

• A new satellite system will use GPS to track hurricanes and climate change. It will do this by measuring the extent to which GPS signals are "bent" as they pass through the atmosphere.
• CBSNews.com has posted a story and video on geocaching.

Technorati tags: GPS

Waypoints - April 9, 2006

I’ve been traveling this week and, while I haven’t been posting much, I have been trying out a TomTom GO 300. I’ll be posting a review soon, but in the meanwhile, let’s catch up on some odds and ends of GPS news for the past week:

From the hardware guys

• Speaking of TomTom, a sharp-eyed reader on GpsPasSion has found user manuals for the GO 510 and 710.
• GpsPasSion also reports that the new Magellan RoadMate series will use the SiRFstarIII chipset.
• Garmin’s blog tells how to use multiple video sources on your StreetPilot 7200 or 7500. Time to mount that rear view camera on the RV.
• Want a $1,000 rebate from Garmin? First, you better have your own plane.
• Garmin introduces a new product (Europe only so far) for motorcyclists, the BMW Motorrad III.
• Pioneer introduces a new GPS receiver, the AVIC-S1, which runs Windows CE, and has BlueTooth and the SiRFstar III chipset.

Cell phones / GPS tracking

• Route 66 Mobile 7 for smartphones has been released.
• Samsung introduces a cell-phone with voice-prompted directions.
• MapQuest gets into the GPS navigation game on cell phones.
• TeleAtlas will begin offering real-time traffic updates to Cingular customers.
• Turn your Palm Treo 650 into a GPS tracking device.
• Disney released a cell phone for GPS tracking of your kids.
• And an even sneakier way to track someone with GPS.

Geocaching news

• April 22 is Cache In, Trash Out day. Via GPSLodge.
• Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (GSAK) supports Garmin x-series receivers in a new beta.

World domination, um…Google

• Google may start placing ads on your mashups.
• Speaking of Google Maps, looks like Google Real Estate is coming soon.
• Honda has apparently integrated Google Earth and GPS in a car navigation system. Only in Japan of course.
• Google Maps API version 2 has launched.
• Success breeds imitation. A Google Maps clone, Pushpin, is on the way.
• Ogle Earth notes that Version 6.3 of MacGPS Pro supports Goggle Earth. 

Non-GPS notes

• A very cool post on Guerrilla Wayfinding from the Map Room.
• Also from the Map Room, a link to a great online collection of historic maps.

All the rest

• Ogle Earth links to a DIY GPS datalogger.
• Another story about GPS sending you over a cliff.
• The US Air Force is putting out a request for proposals for a build out of the next generation GPS construction.

Technorati tags: GPS

Waypoints - April 1, 2006

Quick GPS / mapping links from the previous week:

Mapping software

• Instructables has a nice piece on making trail maps with TopoFusion, one of my all-time favorite mapping software programs. Via The Map Room. You can find more detailed information on TopoFusion in my book, GPS Mapping.
• DeLorme has a new version of Topo USA out — Topo USA 6.0. I’ve got a review copy on the way and will report back on it shortly. Via GPS Review.
• New versions of ExpertGPS and EasyGPS have been released, with some expanded geocaching features.
• The newest version of Fugawi embraces GPX data.

Google Earth and Google Local

• A list of new cities with high-resolution imagery.
• And three inch imagery of Las Vegas.
• Google is officially running ads on local.google.com.

The rest

• Ogle Earth links to a story about DIY aerial photography, which reminds me of kite aerial photography.
• Live in Japan? Here’s a way cool 3–D GPS phone.
• GPS sites were buzzzing this week about the new Navmans, especially the iCN750, which allows you to take pictures and navigate back to it. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d prefer to search by name to find a destination to navigate to, rather than scroll through lots of pictures. Give me a GPS that navigates via voice recognition, then I’ll be happy! Hmm, maybe there already is one. I’ll have to look into that.
• Down under, they are using GPS in soccer (football). Really, they are!

Technorati tags: GPS

Points of Interest (POIs) resources

Last updated February 19, 2008

This thread originally dealt solely with custom points of interest (POIs), but I've updated and reorganized it to include online sources of POIs, conversion tools and more.

Custom points of interest (POI) resources

• How to create custom points of interest (POIs) for Garmin receivers
• A Mio POI loader.
• MioMagic is a third-party Mio POI manager.
• A GpsPasSion thread on sharing custom POI's.
• Here's an article that tells how To create POIs using POIEditor.com (supports TomTom .ov2, Navman/Garmin .csv and ascii files).
• Three ways to make custom POI icons for Garmin receivers.
• GPSInformation.net has a forum on how to create custom POI's using Garmin's POI loader.
• POIs can be loaded to Navigon units using POI-Warner.

A Geocaching Christmas

When my family gathers at Christmas, it's become a tradition to take the kids out geocaching. The first trip, a number of years back, was actually my own introduction to GPS, as documented on page one of my book. So today, we gathered the clan and headed out to Heron Cove, AKA GCJQ4A.

I really look forward to our annual outing since, even though I frequent Geocaching.com's GPS units and software message board, I don't make it out for geocaching that often. The air this morning was a bit nippy, but the day was beautiful, and the outing proved a welcome respite from airports, rental cars and gluttonous feasts.

Geocaching is a great family activity, and I don't know any better way to get kids out hiking a couple of miles on a frosty morning. For some reason, a high-tech treasure hunt is more palatable than a "hike," which must be perceived by many kids as some sort of forced march.

I've loaded the track to a PhotoFusion page, which you should check out if you haven't seen this cool tool. Here is more info on that process - geocoding photos with TopoFusion.

And yes, we did find the cache.

Related post:

• Geocaching software and paperless caching

Geocaching Software and Paperless Caching

In this, the latest in our best of the (discussion) boards series, we take a look at geocaching utilities. Before we get started, here's the place to go if you haven't heard of geocaching. 

While my book, GPS Mapping, covers a wide range of mapping software, I did not get around to reviewing geocaching utilities in it. I was pleased last week to see this post on geocaching software show up on the official geocaching discussion board. Sputnik 57, a geocacher from Texas, was kind enough to pull this list together, giving a little bit of space to each manufacturer's blurb, and a link to their product:

• Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (GSAK) is the all in one Geocaching and waypoint management tool. Major features include: Multiple databases, sending/receiving waypoints to GPSr, conversion to many mapping formats, HTML output, extensive searching, macro support, backup and restore, distance/direction from other waypoints (including caches, locations, post codes) and much more.
• CacheMate™ is a database for tracking GPS cache hunts. You can store information about caches or benchmarks, decode hints, and transfer data between CacheMate and the MemoPad application. Registered users can import LOC and GPX formatted XML files, which are available from Geocaching.com.
• Watcher is a program that lets you view GPX files obtained from Pocket Queries (a membership benefit for Geocaching.com members). Offline viewing. filtering, and sorting are all possible, as well as merging multiple GPX files and outputting custom GPX files. Watcher is a GPX utility available at no charge (although tips are always appreciated) to paying members of Geocaching.com. It is our way of saying "thank you" to all those who support the site from which we have found countless hours of enjoyment.
• Plucker is an offline Web and e-book viewer for PalmOS® based handheld devices and PDAs. Plucker comes with Unix, Linux Windows and Mac OSX tools, scripts, and conduits that let you decide exactly what part of the World Wide Web you'd like to download onto your PDA (as long as they're in standard HTML or text format). These web pages are then processed, compressed, and transferred to the PDA for viewing by the Plucker viewer.
• GPX Spinner puts a spin on your GPX files. Features include: Output a set of HTML files suitable for sending to a handheld device using Plucker or iSilo; Change the waypoint name to include the cache name, ID, difficulty, terrain, or any combination; Change the waypoint description to include the cache name, who it was placed by, difficulty, terrain, or any combination;Change the symbol to represent the type of cache (e.g. a camera for Virtuals, a penny for Micros, or a picnic table for Event Caches). Even change the default 'Geocache' treasure chest for regular caches; Change the symbol (e.g. to an animal) if the cache contains any travel bugs; Change the symbol (e.g. to a tombstone) if there are several recent Not Found logs; Fully configurable!
• EasyGPS is the fast and easy way to create, edit, and transfer waypoints and routes between your computer and your Garmin, Magellan, or Lowrance GPS. Using EasyGPS, you can manage all of your waypoints and routes, and display them in lists sorted by name, elevation, or distance. EasyGPS connects your GPS to the best mapping and information sites on the Internet, giving you one-click access to street and topo maps, aerial photos, weather forecasts, and nearby attractions. And because EasyGPS is part of the TopoGrafix family of outdoor products, you'll be able to exchange GPS data with EasyGPS and ExpertGPS users all over the world!

I should add that the focus here is on software for paperless geocaching, relying instead upon a Palm or Pocket PC device. Also, as long as EasyGPS was mentioned, I want to let you know that there is a full chapter on it in GPS Mapping, since it is such a great (and free) waypoint management tool.