[Xastir-dev] Position accuracy

[Curt Mills, WE7U]

On Sat, 6 Dec 2003, Jack Twilley wrote:

> Prepare for a shock:  there are people who use xastir for more than
> just sending and receiving positions via APRS. 

Perhaps why I've helped to add driving, touch-screen, SAR, and
OpenTrac features to it?  More maps than we know what to do with?


> We currently have the ability to use maps with a finer level of detail
> than thousandths of a minute.  There are GPSes that transmit their
> positions with a higher precision than thousandths of a minute.  There
> are portable computers with color displays, xastir-friendly operating
> systems, and storage to hold lots of maps.

As Gerry pointed out, much of that improved accuracy is imaginary.
If you get into the GPS units that actually provide that accuracy
then you're into survey-grade equipment, and its not suitable for
driving conditions.  As I understand it those sorts of things still
cost thousands of dollars, and in order to get real-time mobile
accuracy you need a differential base-station that is sending you
fast updated over RF.  The only other option is to sit tight with the
expensive gear to get high accuracy at a point.


> Not a single one of these uses necessitates amateur radio.  Sure, ham
> radio can come along for any and all of those adventures, but it's not
> a requirement.

Some of the SAR and OpenTrac features are also transmit-handicapped.
I often use Xastir for family trips where I'm just running a computer
and GPS.  Works well.  I tweaked on several features because of this
use.


> Curt> world-wide as I recall.  I can't imaging needing anything better
> Curt> than that for any APRS use.
> 
> It's my not-so-humble opinion that restricting xastir to the limits
> currently imposed by APRS is short-sighted.

As my coding and RFE list entries have shown, I'm not restricting it
to that.  I use Xastir for driving, using street maps and topo maps,
often to find the quickest way to a SAR mission.

Most of the people using Xastir are using it for APRS, that's why I
normally think of that first.  We have not intended to become an
all-around mapping application, survey application, or anything else.
Perhaps you're proposing that we start thinking along different lines
now?  I'm listening!

We're adding more GIS-like features these days, and that's a good
thing, but it doesn't mean we've changed our all-around goal.  The
users/developers could certainly decide to.  Perhaps you're starting
this discussion with a project redirection in mind?

-- 
Curt, WE7U.				archer at eskimo.com
http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
  Lotto:  A tax on people who are bad at math. - unknown
Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates. - WE7U.
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