[Xastir] Map.GEO files

[Fred Hillhouse]

> > I posted a question on the Xastir list but haven't seen 
> anything yet 
> > and getting impatient! :)
> 
> Yea, the message I got from the list server this morning, ...

I resent my first message thinking I had used the wrong email account. The
correct email ended up in a holding pattern I guess since it was sent on the
11th.
 
> > Do you know what tool is used produce the map files, in 
> particular the 
> > GEO file which looks like it contains the calibration for 
> the appropriate image?
> 
> Yea.  "vi", "pico", "nano", "emacs", whatever you'd like to use.  ;-)

Or, um, Notepad. Yeah, my PC is on drugs! ;) I have been using vi and nano
on the Pi. I think I prefer nano though.

I was actually thinking that I had an image (map) that needs calibration and
the method used to calibrate the image. It turns out I have a couple of
tools already that do that. I have to convert the output to GEO by hand
currently since it is not in a format I now know how to deal with.

> If you have .INF files for the maps then there's the Xastir 
> script "inf2geo.pl", which uses GraphicsMagick or ImageMagick 
> to figure out some parameters of the image and writes out a 
> .GEO file.  If you're starting from scratch, you can write a 
> .GEO file on your own with a text editor.  README.MAPS talks 
> a bit about .GEO files.

I'll look into this! Thanks!

> > On the link below, I see there are some map files and they mention 
> > they are compatible with Xastir. This got me thinking about 
> possibilities.
> > http://www.crosscountrywireless.net/aprs_map.htm
> >
> > Also, I remember sometime ago that Xastir could get the OSM 
> tiles. I 
> > thought they could be cached for offline use. Is that true? I am 
> > having a discussion with someone working on getting Xastir 
> running on a Raspberry Pi.

I am actually trying to get Dire Wolf up and running on my Pi as a second Pi
project. I finally can play a MP3 through my USB soundcard with static. That
doesn't help packets!
http://home.comcast.net/~wb2osz/site/

I have not made the sound connection between the mpg321 and pulse and the
soundcard yet. Since it isn't a Xastir topic, I won't discuss more here
unless it is brought up.


> Funny, I just got my Pi up and going yesterday here at work.  
> I've had it for months but didn't have a spare monitor I 
> could use it with until yesterday.  Didn't take long for me 
> to "dd" and image onto the card and get it booted up.  I was 
> thinking about throwing Xastir onto it just to make sure I 
> knew the procedure.

My first Pi project was for a ADS-B receiver using an RTL2832 USB dongle.
There was a list of things to do so it was easy. I learned a little about
fishing but mostly just ate fish. As I get deeper into the Pi, I am learning
more about fishing rather than windows shopping for fish. :)

> Yes, Xastir can auto-cache the OSM tiles.  I'm using those 
> maps at work and home.  The trick there as I recall it is to 
> pan across the area of interest at each zoom level you may 
> want to use.  <F4> when using OSM maps will go to the best 
> zoom level nearby for reading the map labels.

I will pass this on to my friend, He will be pleased since we both have
tiles cached from using APRSIS32.

FWIW, there are some pretty tiles at http://toposm.com/usw/. I have played
with Mobile Atlas Creator to make a single tile from the stack up. I am not
from there so I have only played around with them a bit. There is a similar
build for Colorado at http://toposm.com/co. And a single tile set at
http://toposm.com/ma/. In case you want to read a bit more:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/TopOSM.

> -However-  If you'd rather have the OSM Shapefile maps stored 
> locally and use those while offline (highly recommended for 
> that use), search for "osm cloudmade" and download the 
> Shapefile maps for the countries/states/provinces that you're 
> interested in.  Those maps are Shapefile extracts from the 
> OSM databases so you may want to repeat the downloads on some 
> periodic basis so you can catch updates.

I use cached tiles in APRSIS32 on my WebDT360 (XP). It is my mobile
interface. Panning around takes a small hit but overall I don't find tiles
obnoxious. In other applications I found them to be faster than a scanned
map. I am curious how it might compare to the Pi using Xastir and tiles.
Lynn has done a superb job keeping even the slowest of platforms quick.

I'd like to here your comments on the display update speed sometime. For
instance, which is faster for basic driving and panning? What display are
you planning to use? And, whatever comments you come up with.


> -- 
> Curt, WE7U.        http://wetnet.net/~we7u
> The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the 
> illusion of knowledge.  -Stephen Hawking 


Thanks!

Best regards,
Fred N7FMH

"The most stirring symbol of man's humanity toward man I can think of is a
fire truck." -author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.