[Xastir-dev] args to data_add()

[Curt, WE7U]

On Mon, 12 Apr 2004, Wendell Turner wrote:

> > > Actually, if I were looking at it, what I'd be doing is using the
> > > GPS NMEA string from the simulated panel-mounted GPS (OK, I'm
> > > making an assumption here, but, I suspect it's fairly safe) into
> > > XASTIR as the "my station" input.  I'd also use synthetic APRS
> > > strings for other aircraft to potentially simulate TCAS.  The TCAS
> > > stuff might require adding some capabilities to XASTIR (3D
> > > awareness kind of things), but, those could be generically useful.
> >
> > Yes, if it would solve the purposes, that is exactly how I'd go
> > about it as well.  It fits our paradism quite well.
>
> So then, how about:
>
> - accepting either NMEA or APRS for targets (either "my station"
>   or "other stations")

Well, I'm assuming that you want to use the "TrackMe" mode.  If
instead you could use the "track someone else" mode, then you could
use the same input mode for your station and for others.  You just
turn on the Track Station mode for whatever callsign you're
interested in, which could certainly be your own.

Xastir already accepts NMEA data for other stations, assuming you
throw on a minimal APRS header at the start to identify the station.


> - somehow identifying inside db.c that a target be drawn using
>   non-APRS tagged type (if I were to use synthetic APRS, then I
>   would be limited to APRS symbology, correct?)

This would definitely be an addition to Xastir, but as some of us
have said previously, we could use more functionality here.  I find
the APRS set of symbols a bit constraining.

I'd like to see:

*) A user-defined symbol set for each Xastir instance, something you
can predefine in a file that Xastir reads in.  You can edit and
cause it to re-read the file.  We'd need a corresponding special
character sequence to be able to pick a symbol from this new set.
Perhaps this would be a good time to allow use of the military
symbology set like OpenTrac does?

*) A method of sending custom-designed symbols across the air,
cached of course so that they don't have to be sent every time.  I
think Bill, WA7NWP, has talked about transmission of user-defined
symbols before.  Perhaps send them with course resolution in one
message, then reception of succeeding messages will refine the
symbol?  Send a special symbol designator which causes Xastir to go
fetch the full symbol from the remote station through a symbol
query?


> - a udp input routine in the main loop (optional, I'll look into
>   using gpsd instead, since that is the 'xastir way')

A UDP listening socket is another thing that we could use in Xastir.
I've had need to be able to throw objects into Xastir from other
sources, both for the mapping capability and for igating these
objects to the 'net.  We'd ideally need to come up with some sort of
authentication though so that people couldn't arbitrarily send
things through someone's open Xastir UDP port.

--
Curt, WE7U			    archer at eskimo dot com
Arlington, WA, USA		http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
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