Archive for the 'gps' Category

geohashing

6/7/2008

The webcomic xkcd is really, really nerdy. But it just got injected with a major dose of cool due to the introduction of geohashing. And yes it’s a GPS thing, hence the reason I dig it.

Geohashing is when a random set of coordinates is picked for a longitude/latitude zone utilizing Google Maps. The zones are called “graticules”. All you have to do is pick the spot on the map where you live and the graticule appears along with the randomly picked spot for that graticule. You get the spot via GPS.

The coordinate changes daily and it’s completely random. On Saturday afternoons if the random spot picked for your graticule on that day can be reached (because sometimes the spot could be in the middle of a lake or other area that can’t be reached), people will get together and meet up. This really happens and it’s fucking awesome.

Lo and behold there’s one I could have gone to today but couldn’t because it’s 50 miles away and that’s too expensive on gas.

If you can see the purple route line (sorry if it’s hard to see), I’m on the bottom and the geohash is on top. It’s right off US-98 and very accessible.

(sigh..) Win some, lose some. One of these days one will be close by and I’ll drive on over. Who knows, I might meet some completely random people that do the exact same thing (a distinct possibility!)

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Garmin Map Update 2009 and other thoughts

5/29/2008

Yesterday I received the City Navigator North America NT Map Update 2009 DVD in the mail. I plugged in my StreetPilot c580, applied the update and everything went smooth as silk. It took a very long time to complete (as usual because of the massive amount of data transferred,) but it worked exactly like it should.

For each successive update Garmin is definitely getting better and better at it. This was by far the easiest update compared to when I updated to version 8 then Map Update 2008 for the following reasons:

1. Garmin places a BIG LOUD GREEN sticker on the back of the jewel case with your product key. There is absolutely no way you can miss it - and that’s good. Previously it was a separate sheet that could be easily lost; now it’s in a place where if you lose it, that’s your own darn fault. :-)
2. The update program updates both the StreetPilot (or nüvi) and MapSource at the same time whereas it didn’t prior.
3. The update and myGarmin site now talk to each other very smoothly. The updater program verifies your unit’s serial and will auto-update this information in your myGarmin account with no fuss, no muss. Big improvement. And to note, if you don’t have your Garmin device(s) registered with Garmin.com, you should because you’ll get notified of map updates much faster. And let’s say for the moment you lose the jewel case with your product key. No problem - it’s kept in your myGarmin account for retrieval later.

The only problem that still exists is that it takes a really really long time to update the unit. At least a good 1 to 2 hours. During this time you’re doing nothing but playing the waiting game. Does it finish? Yes, but geez does it take a while.

I e-mailed Garmin Cartography and alerted them the update went smooth and also to let them know there were still a few major Tampa Florida intersections that hadn’t been fixed in this update - but that’s okay because some were fixed.

To anyone with The Big Question “Should I get the 2009 update?” Yes. This is the one to get, no question.

The way to report map inaccuracies is not to contact Garmin. Why? Because they don’t provide the map data. NAVTEQ does. If you want to report something wrong with the map data, you use mapreporter.navteq.com.

So why did I contact Garmin Cartography? Because the errors I was reporting were very unique. It has to do with major intersections in the metro region of Tampa Florida and would take way too long to explain here, but it definitely had to be reported. Garmin Cartography was always super-nice, professional and very good with follow-up communication.

My thoughts on the way Garmin deploys map data in StreetPilot and nüvi series (and what needs to change)

The single largest complaint among Garmin mobile GPS owners is that the map data is not current. And the only way to update the map data is via DVD (or recently introduced download which I haven’t tried yet.)

The DVD is not cheap. It’s 70 bucks. Most people get really upset about this, especially people who buy lower-cost sub-$200 nüvi models (when you buy a nüvi for $160 then have to spend an additional $70 to update it - this ticks people off big time.)

Note that you don’t have to update your Garmin GPS if you don’t want to. There is no “expiration date” on map data. For example, I have an older StreetPilot i3 with version 7 maps (3 versions ago) and have absolutely no intention of updating it. I can still use it even though the data on it is old.

What needs to change about the way Garmin deploys map data is:

1. Use an online subscription-based model.

The download feature in the myGarmin web site may be this but I’m not sure. Garmin needs to only deliver DVD updates as a secondary means of updating map data and not primary.

This model would bring Garmin tons of consistent revenue in a very short period of time and allow people to update their Garmin GPS devices at a significantly lower cost (30 bucks instead of 70 would sure be a lot nicer, right?)

2. Allow for “pick’n'choose” updates.

At present when you update the map data in a Garmin mobile unit, it updates ALL the data. This takes way too much time, and via a download would take even longer.

Using the USA as an example, the older “i” series allowed to pick’n'choose which states you wanted loaded into the unit - so the model for map data loading of this type already exists.

If I had the ability to choose what I wanted to update, I would only update Florida. The download and update would be fast and painless.

3. Tri-annual delivery of updates.

Updates are only delivered annually at present; they need to come much quicker. I would say to deliver quarterly but that doesn’t allow enough time for verification of newly updated data. Tri-annual (as in every 4 months) on the other hand would. Heck, even bi-annual (every 6 months) would be a major improvement.

4. Reporting (any reporting) on what was updated and where.

Garmin currently does not tell you what was updated in any DVD release they deploy. However you can verify if certain locations were updated by using NAVTEQ’s Map Reporter. It’s the same data that’s loaded into your Garmin GPS device so it’s not like the data is inaccessible by any means.

The lack of any reporting (better known as a changelog) needs to change. Garmin needs to provide reports on what was updated - even if only in a vague sense.

Using the USA as an example, it would be nice to see a simple report on what states have newly updated data and what regions were affected.

You could break it down by country, state, then county, like this:

USA, Florida, Hillsborough County
327 locations added
75 locations removed
33 locations updated
4 interstates updated
2 highways updated

..and that’s it. This report lets me know that there’s stuff that’s been updated in Hillsborough County Florida (where Tampa is.) There is nothing revealing any personal information about anyone. All it lists are locations that were either added, updated or removed. It does not need to state where in the county this occurred. All it needs to state is that an update or two actually happened.

This lets the GPS owner know whether they have to update or not. Most people probably would just to stay on top of things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t want to give off the impression that Garmin is dropping the ball here. They’re not. For every communication I’ve ever had with them via phone or e-mail with cartography, they’ve always listened and acted upon any issues/problems or the like. It’s a fantastic company that truly pays attention to the people who use their products.

If only computer companies would do the same… :-)

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obsession with the US roadway system?

5/25/2008

A week or so ago I was delivering my sister from TPA to Pop’s house. At one point we were on Highway 41 and I said “We’re goin’ down Highway 41, just like it says in Ramblin’ Man.”

My sister replied with “How do you know all this stuff?”

I answered that I like to research stuff. This stuff includes things about roads in the US.

Here’s a small example (with driving):

On a local level I will purposely take roads other people don’t just to see where they go as long as it doesn’t take me too far out of my way (because at that point you’re wasting gas.) A good example is the way I drive to my boss’ house as there are several ways to get there.

1. I-275 to I-4 to I-75 - very roundabout way but is an option.
2. I-75 southbound - straight to exit, drive a few miles and you’re there.
3. US-301 southbound - follows somewhat alongside I-75, takes longer.
4. US-41 (Tamiami Trail) - this is the way I’ve been going for some time now.

I started off by taking I-275 to I-4 to I-75 because I didn’t know any better. Total distance was close to 35 miles.

Then I discovered I could just take I-75 directly there. This cut the trip down to about 25 miles. Yeah, big difference.

I tried US-301 a few times. Distance-wise it’s decent but any time saved is for nothing because of the wasted gas from stop-and-go traffic.

On a goof I found that Tamiami Trail is the best way to get there. If I remember correctly, the reason I ended up on Tamiami the first time was due to road construction where I was forced to take that road. I’m glad that happened because that road has the lightest traffic, allows you to breeze along at 55mph and (best part) cut my trip down to just under 21 miles. The only drawback is that it adds about 10 minutes to the trip. I encounter some stop-and-go traffic near Ybor City but it’s all smooth sailing right after that point.

Due to my experimentation (and a little luck) I cut 14 miles out of the trip. In addition the route I take now is far less stressful, so it’s a winning situation all around.

Am I obsessed with the US roadway system? Considering I save gas by examining where to go, I’d say no. :-)

For those keeping score, the signs in the image above are for I-75, CR-580, SR-60, US-92, New England Route 12, and Connecticut I-395.

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streetpilot c340 map symbol weirdness

5/21/2008

As I mentioned in a recent post, my Garmin StreetPilot c340 is still working just fine. However there’s one thing with it that bugs me. It has nothing to do with the operation of the unit but rather the way it displays map symbols.

This is what the map symbols look like on the c340:

And this is what one of the map symbols look like close-up:

 

For some strange reason the map symbol icons are distorted.

This is what the map symbols look like on the c580:

And this is what one of the map symbols look like close-up:

As you can see there’s a huge difference. The c340’s icons have a skewed/pixelated look while the c580’s (that has identical icons) look the way they’re supposed to.

Now what’s interesting is that the c340’s icons didn’t always look this way. Somewhere along the line it just decided to skew/pixelate them for no apparent reason.

Things I’ve done in an attempt to correct this:

• Removal of all POIs with custom icons. I figured that maybe the custom icons in tow with custom POIs might have caused an issue, but they didn’t.
• Removal of all waypoints/favorites. Again I figured that maybe this had something to do with it, but no dice.
• Factory reset. This is where you press/hold bottom right corner while unit is off, turn it on, unit asks if you wish to reset everything to factory default, I tap “Yes” and it does so. No luck here either.

None of the above worked.

There’s no issue with the way the c340 operates, but I wish I knew what was causing the icon distortion problem. I don’t know if the data is corrupted or if there’s something I need to reset that I didn’t(?)

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Free Garmin StreetPilot and nuvi Splash Screens

5/8/2008

To use:

1. Right-click and save one of the images to your hard drive.
2. Plug in your StreetPilot or nuvi via USB to your computer.
3. Go to the GPS drive letter (most likely E or F), expand and look for the folder under it called “splash”.
4. Copy the image there.
5. Disconnect your Garmin GPS from your computer.
6. Turn on the GPS and select your new splash screen (instructions are in your GPS manual for how to do this.)

The splash screens below will work with any StreetPilot that starts with c5 (such as c550, c580) and all non-widescreen nuvi models.

If you like these, you’ll also like the Garmin StreetPilot and nuvi splash screen super pack.

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Garmin StreetPilot and nuvi splash screen SUPER PACK

4/14/2008

Garmin StreetPilot and Garmin nuvi splash screen SUPER PACK. Includes splash screen images from almost every auto manufacturer on the planet! Add some flare to your Garmin GPS with a splash screen that makes it appear to come as a factory equipped accessory!

WORKS ON ALL c3xx, c5xx and nuvi (non-widescreen) models! All images are superior high quality specifically designed to exact screen dimensions for the StreetPilot/nuvi series.

Manufacturers included are Acura, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Citroen, Daewoo, DeLorean, Dodge, Ferrari, Fiat, Ford, GM (General Motors), GMC Truck, Holden, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Lotus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Oldsmobile, Opel, Peugeot, Plymouth, Pontiac, Porsche, Saab, Scion, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Buy it now

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the club

2/3/2008

I’ve been toying around with the idea of starting a Tampa waymarking club. I like GPS and I like photography. Geocaching, something I did do once, is cool and all that but I’m more into sightseeing than tromping thru the woods.

I have been out and about around Tampa Bay enough where I know good sightseeing spots that many locals don’t. In addition I’m also schooled enough in GPS where I know how to share locations easily.

So the plan, should it come to fruition, is this:

1. I pick out some spots.
2. I schedule one spot per week to visit by way of giving out the coordinates (more on that in a moment).
3. People show up at the scheduled time, we meet and take a few photos.

That’s basically it.

Here’s the long explanation:

Most people who have mobile GPS in their cars usually have a Garmin StreetPilot or nuvi. Almost all those units (even the ones made 3 years ago) have the ability to accept POIs (Point-Of-Interest).

POIs are almost identical to “Favorites” or “My Locations” in a Garmin GPS. The only difference is that instead of going to Favorites, you go to “Custom POI” or “Points of Interest”, which is simply another menu selection.

I can create POI databases and I’m darn good at it.

Using the free POI Loader software from Garmin, I can send people the locations and all they have to do is plug in the GPS to the computer, run the POI software and load up the Points of Interest.

In the waymarking club I would send an announcement once a week with a POI file attached. They take that file, load it up, then just show up whenever the meet is scheduled.

Easy.

I don’t know exactly when I’m going to start this and honestly speaking, I don’t know if anyone would even be interested.

But hey, I’ll give it a shot. Who knows, I might meet some cool new people.

I’ll notify it here once I have the thing all set up.

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Garmin POI 50-waypoint limit workarounds

1/28/2008

Recently I had to create a POI file that had close to 200 waypoints in it. For those that are interested, it’s a POI database that has all Tampa Parks, Rec Centers, Playgrounds, Beach Parks and anything else in Tampa that’s officially listed as a park. I made the database because I’m a photo bug and outdoor scenery is usually at its best in a park.

So anyway I get my database all set up and ready to rock. I use the Garmin POI Loader to send to my StreetPilot c580. Everything goes fine.

I fire up the c580 to inspect all my newly uploaded POIs.

Only 50 of them show up.

Huh?

I was confused.

After I did some quick research, this is what I found out:

If you upload a POI with more than 50 waypoints in it, only the first 50 closest to your current location will show up. All the waypoints are in there; none of them got missed.

So how do you find the ones that don’t show up?

You can do this in one of three ways.

1. Open the POI category and tap “Spell”

Spell out the name of the waypoint and it will appear. You can then tap it and go.

For example, several Tampa Parks have the word Springs in it. I just spell out the word and the StreetPilot finds all the waypoints in the POI db with that word in it - just like Favorites.

Like this (I typed in “spr” for spring and the list popped up):

2. Choose “A Different City” before going to the POI db

My Tampa Parks database only covers one city (obviously). But if they covered multiple cities I could choose a different one to find locations in the POI db near somewhere else.

Like this:

3. Break up the POI db into smaller db’s of not more than 50 waypoints each

This is what I ultimately decided to do for fastest access. I broke up the large db into smaller ones based on alphabetical title order.

Like this:

I also left in the single big POI db as a separate category just in case I needed it for whatever reason.

Have POI db’s of not more than 50 waypoints will ensure all will show up whenever you bring up the waypoint list.

. . .

POI db’s in the future are going to be easier to manage, but at the present time this is still a very new thing and yes there are limitations; GPS enthusiasts like myself find workarounds for this stuff.

But make no mistake, it’s nothing short of super-cool that the ability exists to trade waypoints as POI db’s, even for GPS units not made by Garmin, with relative ease.

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garmin streetpilot troubleshooting

12/27/2007

I sometimes see visits to this site from Garmin StreetPilot owners looking for ways to troubleshoot their c-series units (as in c310, c320, c330, c340, c510, c550, c580) particularly if the unit locks up or doesn’t power up at all.

Here’s my tips that will address any/all issues.

StreetPilot will not power on

This happens because of the following:

1. Battery is dead.
2. Power cable got “cooked” in the sun.

To find out whether your StreetPilot still works, power it via USB from your home computer. If the screen comes on, your StreetPilot still works.

If your power cable has been sitting in the sun for a while, let it cool off and try to power the unit again. If it doesn’t work, buy another power cable from eBay. If you happen to have a c3xx series, you can get a generic car charger with a mini-USB port on it and it will work. If you have a c5xx series, you have to buy a Garmin-specific cable.

StreetPilot is locked up

To note: Having a StreetPilot lock up is rare. But if it does happen, it most likely occurred because:

1. Battery is near-dead. The StreetPilot was in the middle of calculating something and doesn’t have enough power to complete what it was doing, hence a lock-up.
2. GPS signal dropped during a calculation. The unit was in the middle of calculating a route and lost the signal. Since it has no signal to complete its calculations, it locks up because it’s expecting something that’s not there because of the signal drop.

You have a few options available to you.

If the battery is near-dead, plug in the car charger and power the unit back up.

If the unit won’t power up, plug in via USB on your home computer or a mini-USB car charger. It should force-restart it.

If after power-up the screen lights up but you can’t do anything, remove the front faceplate and press the reset button on the right. The front faceplate is removed via a small indentation under the GARMIN logo at the top of the screen. It will pull off with your finger. No tools are needed. The faceplate is gray/silver-ish and not the black part (which is the body).

In my experience, what causes a StreetPilot to lock up are the following factors:

1. Unit is not updated properly. Download the USB drivers and install them (you probably don’t need this but get them anyway). After that, plug in the StreetPilot to your computer. Then download the Web Updater, install it and run it. Let it update everything. It may take a while. Updates often include internal calculation fixes which prevent lock-ups. For example, the c340 system software revision history has had several calculation fixes from release to release.
2. WAAS / EGNOS is enabled. Having this enabled is not a bad thing unless you’re in an area that causes the StreetPilot to lose signal frequently. Setting GPS Mode to “Normal” will help in preventing future lock-up’s in that respect.

StreetPilot can’t acquire a GPS signal

How fast your StreetPilot acquires a signal largely depends if your unit has SiRF or not. If it’s a c3xx, it doesn’t have it. If it’s a c5xx, it does.

I have a c340 and a c580. The c5’s signal acquisition time from a “cold start” after boot-up is about 15 to 30 seconds. On the c3 it can take anywhere from 1 to 4 minutes after boot for it to get a signal.

Never have I ever had issue with the c5 acquiring a signal. Ever.

The only time I’ve ever had any issue with signal is with the c3. It doesn’t “like” dense foliage, skyscrapers or any tall obstructions. Granted, it takes a lot of foliage and/or tall buildings to knock off the signal on a c3 but it does happen.

If I have an issue acquiring a signal:

• I set the GPS Mode to “Normal” and kill the WAAS/EGNOS.
• If I don’t get at least one red signal indicator bar in 2 minutes, I reboot the unit. (If it has at least one bar indicated I know it’s got something to “work with” and will eventually go green.)

If I have an issue where the signal drops:

• Once again I will set GPS Mode to “Normal” and kill the WAAS.
• I usually do a hard reset via the reset button to eliminate any chance of it locking up. Yes, this is overkill and not necessary 99% of the time but I do it anyway just to be on the safe side.

If you want more tips and tricks concerning nuvi and StreetPilot models, get this book. Good stuff in there.

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categorized favorites in a c-series streetpilot

12/26/2007

Tip: Buy this GPS book. Seriously. :-)

. . .

Recently I discovered that yes, it is possible to categorize waypoints in a c-series StreetPilot. The only disadvantage is the way it’s done because to be honest it’s a pain in the ass.

Okay, the deal is this: Everyone who uses a StreetPilot uses Favorites, unless you’re using a c3xx series in which it would be called “My Locations”. Regardless of that, your Favorites is one big long list with no sorting or category options whatsoever. Whenever you go to your Favorites list it will by default show the closest location first no matter where you are.

Is there a way to categorize Favorites at all?

Yes.

But you don’t do it in Favorites.

You use POI’s instead.

Here’s an example using a StreetPilot c340 (if it were a c580 or any other c5xx series this would be under Where to? > Extras once the POIs are loaded).

I created two CSV files with locations in them. One was for some parks in Hillsborough County and the other for Pinellas County. I called the first one Hillsborough County Parks.csv and the other Pinellas County Beaches.csv. And yes I included the spaces in the file names.

I loaded them into the StreetPilot with the POI Loader.

When I go to Where to? > My Locations > Custom POIs, this is what I have:

While this may not seem like much, I do have custom categories; something you can’t do with Favorites on a c-series StreetPilot.

The categories were named from the file names themselves.

There are three major drawbacks to using waypoints in this fashion:

1. Unable to edit directly
2. Unable to delete directly
3. Unable to add directly

Once a POI is loaded into the StreetPilot, that’s it. It can’t be edited or deleted directly. And if you want to add something to a category you have to manually place it in the CSV file then upload it again with the POI Loader.

Granted, this is a step in the right direction, but I really, really wish there was a way to add/edit/delete POIs directly on the StreetPilot itself.

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