GPSTracka - GPS Logging Application for Windows Mobile

[mendhak]

If you have a Windows Mobile phone, I'd appreciate your help with testing and code improvements.

This project is available on CodePlex. http://www.codeplex.com/gpstracka (Please read!)

It will track your GPS coordinates and log it to a GPX file. The GPX file can then be imported and used with any other app that accepts GPX files such as a geotagger, path tracker, etc. This is what it looks like

http://i3.codeplex.com/Project/Download/FileDownload.aspx?ProjectName=gpstracka&DownloadId=58399
http://i3.codeplex.com/Project/Download/FileDownload.aspx?ProjectName=gpstracka&DownloadId=58400

Start by installing the application on your phone and then using it for a few days. I'd like to see

1. If you were able to get it to work and which COM port was right for you.
2. Whether it logged for you
3. What version of Windows Mobile you have
4. Your phone make and model
5. A GPX file from your phone

The best way to test it would be to install, figure out which COM port you use, then leave it running and go out for a walk, drive, photography session, etc.

I've already been using this for a few months. I went to Greece and used it for 2 weeks and then used the log files to geotag my photos. The photos now show up on my Flickr Map (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mendhak/sets/72157611331282817/map).

Any other thoughts, let me know. You can give your feedback either as issues on codeplex or just a reply to this thread.

You can also join the project on Codeplex where the source code is available.

[gep13]

Hey,

Couple things straight off the bat (I haven't actually played with the GPS logging yet, since I don't get a GPS Signal in the office)...

The controls do not seem to be aligned properly on my phone when in the default portrait mode, see portrait screen shot.

Also, I have the ability to change the orientation of my home by flipping the phone into landscape mode, and this is what I get, see landscape screen shot.

Those are small issues, but something that you might want to handle. Not sure if you are aware, but you can subscribe to the screen orientation change event using:


private SystemState screenOrientation;
screenOrientation = new SystemState(SystemProperty.DisplayRotation);
screenOrientation.Changed += new ChangeEventHandler(screenOrientation_Changed);


Which would let you handle the positioning of controls depending on the screen size and orientation.

Really like the idea though. Will give the GPS side of it a play on the way home.

Gary

[Atheist]

I get the same problem with the controls in portrait mode as Gary on my HTC Touch HD.
I am trying to find the proper port to try out the actual GPS part right now, so I cant comment on it just yet.

Just another small thing, when you click "Start", some controls (dropdowns etc) gets disabled, but when clicking Verbose they do not. Is this intended?

Edit: Said landscape, but meant portrait ;)

[gep13]

Hey,

Following up on my last post, I have been unable to get any logging from GPSTracka.

My phone uses COM4 for GPS, and I have verified that it is working (using Google Maps), but I can't get it to work. There are no error messages in the textbox, and I can't see any log file being created.

I have tried using Verbose on all the COM channels in the drop down list, but none of them seem to be operating.

Is there anything else that I can try?

Thanks

Gary

[Atheist]

As I was testing COM3, it threw an exception a while after I had pressed the Start button:

IOException

in System.IO.Ports.SerialStream.WinIOError() in
System.IO.Ports.SerialStream.CheckResult() in System.IO.Ports.SerialStream.get_BytesToRead() in
System.IO.Ports.SerialPort.get_BytesToRead() in
SharpGis.SharpGps.SerialPort.Read() in SharpGis.SharpGps.SerialPort.Start()

[mendhak]

Thanks for that, I wasn't aware of the orientation event, I'm new to .NET CF, but I'll give that a try and see how I can make it easier.

I'm sorry it's not working for you guys, what a deeply mortifying situation. :( I'm trying to figure out why it won't work for you. Maybe it's the low baud rate I used? Unfortunately, I've hardcoded the baud rate to 4800. Do you know how to check for your GPS receiver baud rate on your phone?

If you go to Start > Settings > System > "External GPS" or "GPS"

Then in those tabs, have a look at the baud rate. Also, look at the "Access" tab and see if the "Manage GPS Automatically" checkbox is checked. It ideally should be checked.



There are a few things you guys can try.

The first is 'quick gps'. Start > Program Tools > QuickGPS. That 'helps' the ports out especially if you haven't used the GPS settings before. If you have, this is of no use to you.

The second is to actually run the code against your phone :p I know you guys probably have other stuff to do and won't have time to download and compile and run against your phone, so I'll have a look at what other areas could be failing and then get back to you.

If it turns out to be a baud rate issue, I'll have to add a dropdown that lets you choose that, or get it to find out the baud rate automatically.

Sorry about this... bad start.

[mendhak]

Alright, I've uploaded a new CAB file to www.codeplex.com/gpstracka

Just hit the download button again and this time when you install it you'll get a baud rate combobox. I'll work on the orientation bit afterwards, hopefully the baud rate is what was going wrong.

I'll also need to save the settings you choose to a config file of some sort, but let's get to that later shall we :D

[mendhak]

Atheist - yes, the verbose is simply a quick 'debug' mode.

[gep13]

Hey,

I will give it a try again on the way home tonight, to see how I get on. If it doesn't work with the different baud rates, then I will try hooking it up and running the code against the phone to see how I get on with that. Am quite interested in using this application, so am happy to help to get it working.

On a side note, there are lots of events in SystemState that you can subscribe to. In a recent application I wrote I was subscribing to things to wireless network detected, GPRS network detected, cradle state (i.e. whether it's connected to activesync) etc, there is quite a lot of things you can use.

Also, if you haven't already had a look, that a look here:

http://www.opennetcf.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

They include a lot of functionality that isn't included in the Compact Framework out of the box.

On that note, out of the box, there is no System.Configuration in the Compact Framework, so if you are creating a configuration file, you are going to have to roll your own.

I also noticed that you had rolled your own logging, but this is the logging library that I have used in the past, and it worked well:

http://www.nlog-project.org/

I tried to get log4net working on the CF, but couldn't get it going for some reason.

Anyway, will let you know how I get on.

Gary

[Atheist]

How do I run the code against my phone? I've wanted to know that ever since I bought it.
I checked my settings, and it looks like COM4 with a baud rate of 4800 should be the right thing for me...so its odd that it didnt work.

[mendhak]

Right, so if you want to debug or run code straight against the phone, you'll need VS 2008 and the SDK.

I've put the instructions on the codeplex page.

Now, to get it running directly on your phone, you connect it to your PC via USB, and when you F5/run your project, you'll get a choice of many 'emulators'. However, one of them should say "Windows Mobile Professional Device" or something similar. If you choose that, then the app gets deployed to your phone and then runs in debug mode via the USB cable. So you can step through the code.

You'll be able to download the source code directly from here: http://www.codeplex.com/gpstracka/SourceControl/ListDownloadableCommits.aspx

[mendhak]

Thanks again gep, Atheist. I'm sometimes overly-empathic and so I'm always conscious that I'm "wasting" your time with this so any help with testing or coding or criticism, I'm grateful for, even if you decide to suddenly stop.

I had considered OpenNetCF at one point but I guess I was trying to keep the memory usage as low as possible. If you vouch for it then I'll definitely use it.

[gep13]

See, I was just away to post that that is how you do it, but when I tried it on my machine, I get an error about not being able to connect to the device. Have you seen that before? I have never done any debugging on this phone, but I assumed it would be the same as always.

Gary

[mendhak]

Oh, set build configuration to 'debug' mode, I think it's at 'release' mode right now.

When you connect your phone to your PC, if you do get the ActiveSync thing or its Vista equivalent, then the debug should work, you'll get a prompt asking you to install the application (trusted publisher, yadda yadda), after which it then installs and starts running.

[gep13]

Don't you just hate it when things don't work the first time, and then when you go back, having changed nothing else, it works perfectly :)

Am now able to connect to the device through Visual Studio, so am able to run the application. Will let you know any findings.

[mendhak]

Woohoo! I'd rate you if I could but apparently I already have. Shame on you for knowing me from the ASP.NET forum :p

[Atheist]

I was recently trapped at university, I'll try the debugging-on-phone thingie once I escape.

[gep13]

Hello,

Here is an update.

I have checked my GPS Settings, and I have attached screenshots of the settings.

And I have attached a screen shot of the settings that I am using in GPSTracka.

Which i me, seems correct.

Stepping through the code, it goes through the StartUpGPS method without any exceptions, although I notice that GPS.IsPortOpen never switches to true, should it?

I have set a break point line 45, but this never seems to get called.

Any thoughts?

Gary

[gep13]

Ok, update...

Attached is a screenshot of the GPSEventHandler being fired. And it is for TypeOfEvent = TimeOut. At this point in the code execution, LogEverything was true, since I had clicked on Verbose, however, e.Sentence is null, so nothing is written to the TextBox. This sort of explains what is going on, but I am guessing that this should get logged.

I will keep having a play.

Gary

[mendhak]

@gep: Wow, lots of detail!

Have you also set different baud rates?

I am wondering if a higher baud rate will work for you.

I'm in the middle of lunch right now so I'll continue looking at it too (this evening).

And I will also confirm is IsPortOpen should be true.

@Atheist: Ha ha, student.

[mendhak]

gep: After StartupGps() runs, I get IsPortOpen = True. I have a hunch when I walk; I also have a hunch that the baud rate should fix things for you.

Atheist: Try Verbose mode only for now, at different Baud rates and ports until you get readings. The moment you get those gobbledygook NMEA sentences, you know you've got the right port and baud rate.

Guys, I know it's a hassle, but I don't believe there's a uniform way to detect the proper GPS port and baud rate as it differs from phone to phone. For example, I have an HTC TyTnII. In the registry, I have

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\GPS Intermediate Driver\

Under this I have Drivers which points to 'CurrentDriver' = 'GPSOneDevice' and InputBufferSize=4096 and OutputBufferSize=4096. This tells me that the baud rate is 4096. But not the COM port. For that, I looked at

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\GPS Intermediate Driver\GPSOne*.*

And there, I found GPSOnePort which ponits to COM1.

Now, I don't believe you'll have the same registry entries, hence the 'manual' bit of fiddling around. Google Maps, if you select 'Windows managed COM port', I believe iterates through the ports to figure out the right port.

[Atheist]

I had a look in the registry too and found the same keys on the InputBufferSize and OutPutBufferSize, but the one you found that said COM1 wasnt there for me. I did find two other registrykeys when looking around though, one pointing at COM4 and one at COM0. I have tried COM4 on all baud rates with no luck, I'll try COM0 on all baud rates now.

[mendhak]

Thanks Mr. N.

Just so you know, few changes I just made: I used the anchoring/docking properties to get the controls aligned. Also, used


string[] portNames = SerialPort.GetPortNames();
foreach (string port in portNames)
{
this.ComboBoxCOMPorts.Items.Add(port);
}


To populate the combobox with the COM ports. (It was hardcoded previously)

I've re-uploaded the installation CAB (sorry) so you'll have to download again.

[mendhak]

I think it should be easier now... because you'll have a limited set of ports to choose from. You guys are also welcome to change the layout or code as you please directly against the live source code on CodePlex, just in case you want to.

[mendhak]

Oh and the controls should align properly now because I put them in a panel, hopefully no interference or overlapping.

[mendhak]

OK, last post for today (maybe :p)

I'm now also getting the form to save the settings to a file so that it can persist your changes across uses instead of having to pick it from the dropdown each time. That CAB file has been

The most elusive problem so far is why it won't read for you guys. :(

I've also checked - you will get the timeout if you have the wrong port.

[gep13]

Hey,

Just had a play with the latest version, and I can confirm that the layout of the controls is now working as expected while in portrait mode. One small nag is that when in landscape mode, the controls separate, instead of sticking together, seems a little bit less intuitive. Have attached a screen shot to show what I mean.

Using the new code, I only get the option of selecting either COM4 or COM7. I have now been through each Baud Rate for both COM Ports, but unfortunately, I get a time out for each of them?!?!

I have confirmed that the GPS Signal is there, by using the GPS functionality within Google Maps, and that works fine.

I have had a look at the registry settings that you suggested and I get the following:

CurrentDriver = GPSOneDevice

And in there, I don't have InputBufferSize or OutputBufferSize, instead, i have:

CommPort - GPS0:
DriverName - GPS Device Driver
FriendlyName - QualComm GpsOne Card, version 0.0
InterfaceType - POLL
PollInterval - 0x000003e8
Version - 0x00000002

And under GPSOnePort I have:

CommPort - GPD10:
FriendlyName - QualComm GpsOne Card, version 0.0
InterfaceType - COMM

Is there anything obviously wrong here?

Thanks

Gary

[mendhak]

Oh yeah, as you can tell, I'm not that good with form layouts :D Feel free to change it if you'd like, to something better.

Now the COM ports that you get in the combobox are the only COM ports available on your phone because it uses a built-in .NET Framework method.

If Google Maps works for you and this doesn't, then what about the reverse? If you go to G Maps and go to Options > GPS Settings, it will probably say "windows managed". What happens if you choose the other radio button and start picking COM ports from there?


Any ideas why this isn't working? :confused:

I'm also going to have a look at OpenNetCF tonight.

[mendhak]

There's nothing wrong with your registry settings if G Maps works for you. It's something wrong with the code. I just don't know what yet :sick:

[gep13]

Good thinking.

Just been into Google Maps settings and I have selected COM4: and a baud rate of 4800, and Google Maps connects to GPS without any problems.

Need to get on with some work just now, will I will do some digging when I get a chance to see what I can come up with.

Gary

[mendhak]

So today at work, I got 3 coworkers to try it out, and it worked for them right off the bat. Still another 4 to go, but they're rather lazy and need constant prodding to click a button.

Did changing the port work for you Atheist? I'm half-hoping that you haven't replied because it did start working for you and you were so amazed that you left your house immediately and are still walking somewhere in the wildernesses of Sweden.

[gep13]

Out of interest, what phones did they try it on? It's still not working for me :(

[mendhak]

They were HTC phones - HTC Touch Pro and HTC Diamonds :sick:

I have something else for you to try if you're willing. Now, I use a library called SharpGps, which is also on Codeplex and which comes with its own test forms, etc. Willing to give those test forms a try?

http://www.codeplex.com/SharpGPS

It has a settings screen. Now if this SharpGPS Pocket PC Demo works for you, then we know it's a code problem in GPSTracka. If it doesn't work for you, then it's a problem with the library itself and we'll have to use OpenNetCF and read the serial port ourselves.

[gep13]

Sure, I can give that a try. Might not get round to it today, but definitely at the weekend.

One thought that I did have, but haven't had a chance to play with was, is it possible to extend the TimeOut for establishing a connection? Is this a property that you can set? If so, maybe it's a simple case of extending the TimeOut. If that's the case, then that could exposed as a setting as well.

I have some things to do this morning, but will have a play later.

Gary

[mendhak]

Do you sleep?

Looks like we had the same thought, btw. This morning, I looked at the Timeout property and it was set to 50 seconds. The sample code in the demo form in post #33 uses 5 seconds. Hopes. Dashed. Again. :p

[gep13]

Ha Ha, yeah, I do sleep, just not a lot :)

Just tried to run the demo project, but it telling me that I need to enter a password for the SharpGIS.pfx file?!? Did I miss something? What password do I need to put in here?

[mendhak]

:ehh:

Ok, well, I did find this

http://www.codeplex.com/SharpGPS/SourceControl/changeset/view/22351#86435


//ntrip.UserName = "user28";

//ntrip.Password = "hfjfkp";



I have no idea why you're being asked for a password. Did you download the source code and compile or was it the CAB?>

[gep13]

I am not sure either. I downloaded the source code, which includes the demo form for Windows Mobile. Whenever I try and debug the application, or even build it, i get prompted for a password.

See attached.

I am not having much luck with all this!! :sick:

[gep13]

Oh, forgot to say, I tried the password that you suggested, but that didn't work.

[mendhak]

They probably don't want others tampering with it, so get the actual app (CAB) itself rather than source code, download and install that.

[gep13]

That's fair enough. Will have a go at using the CAB and will report back.

Have you tried any other GPS Libraries (are there any other GPS Libraries)?

[MrRalphMan]

Just to confirm I get the same timeout error when trying to use the cab file on my HTC Touch HD.

As per my other thread (http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=556614)it would be good to resolve this issue once and for all.

[gep13]

Woo hoo, I am not alone!!!! :)

[mendhak]

Damn, you're not alone!!!! :(

[mendhak]

Yes, there are other GPS libraries. There's one in the OpenNetCF library, it appears, that we could look at. I'm going to go through it soon and should have something ready this weekend, I hope.

Aside from that, I'm still sure there are more class libraries for this. Do post any you find.

[gep13]

Damn, you're not alone!!!! :(

Ha ha :)

Really sorry, haven't had a chance to look into any of this yet. With the weather the way it is here i spent most of the day in traffic, just really sitting down for the first time just now, so thought I would check what going on here. I am going to try to have a play over the weekend, but I think I am going to need to do some reading up on GPS. Have you got any good links?

Gary

[mendhak]

Nothing specific to GPS... because when you read GPS data on a WinMo, it's just a matter of reading a COM port.

So I suppose you could go through these
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb202097.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb202033.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa446565.aspx

You could even come up with your own test app, specific to your phone, in which you attempt to read from COM4! if you get the time of course,I know we're all busy at work. :)

[gep13]

Hey,

I don't know if you have already seen it, but I have just found a sample application which uses the GPS Library within the OpenNETCF, you can find it here:

http://www.opennetcf.com/downloads/agreement.aspx?s=GPSSample

I am going to try and have a play with this tomorrow night, but I just thought I would let you know about it just in case you get a chance to look at it.

Gary

[MrRalphMan]

Good news,

I have played with the OpenNetCF Serial class and have managed to open and serial port and receive data from my internal GPS device.

Attached if the source code and in the bin\debug direcory is the compiled app.
Copy the Exe and Dll files to your device and test.

Now to work on inserting this into my app. Of course if anyone improves on this, please let us know.

Cheers,

Paul.

[dee-u]

Good news,

I have played with the OpenNetCF Serial class and have managed to open and serial port and receive data from my internal GPS device.

Attached if the source code and in the bin\debug direcory is the compiled app.
Copy the Exe and Dll files to your device and test.

Now to work on inserting this into my app. Of course if anyone improves on this, please let us know.

Cheers,

Paul.
You did not attach anything. :)

[MrRalphMan]

You did not attach anything. :)

I have no idea what you mean.... :)..

All I can say is DOH!!!!!

[dee-u]

I have no idea what you mean.... :)..

All I can say is DOH!!!!!
You did not include the attachment that you were referring to. Not you have edited it and included it. :)

[gep13]

Hey Mendhak,

Looks like we could be onto a winner with the code that MrRalphMan posted, see attached screen shot.

Does it work for you on your phone? Is so, we might need to refactor GPSTracks code to use the OpenNetCF GPS Library.

Let me know what happens.

Gary

[MrRalphMan]

It's not the most pretty app, but it was just proof of concept.

[gep13]

Hey,

That's perfectly fine. Getting the GPS Data is the main thing, which you have been able to do, everything else is just aesthetics.

Gary

[mendhak]

Wow! I was *JUST* (at this very moment) using the OpenNETCF library in a test form to see how it works.

I'm really glad you guys got it working and are at least getting some test data. I will scrub what I'm doing and use ralph's stuff now. Why reinvent the wheel? :)

[mendhak]

Works! I guess all we need to do now is parse it.

I'm also going to look at the GPS class within the OpenNetCF class library, as it has events raised for position, etc.

BBL.

[mendhak]

Hmm, found a bug in the OpenNetCF GPS class.


private string[] devices()
{
// lists all modems on the device
ArrayList al = new ArrayList();
RegistryKey defkey;
string[] keyNames;
string keyvalue="";
string strport="";

// now get the active
defkey=Registry.LocalMachine.CreateSubKey(@"Drivers\Active");

keyNames =defkey.GetSubKeyNames();
foreach (string x in keyNames)
{

try
{
keyvalue=defkey.CreateSubKey(x).GetValue("Key").ToString();
strport=defkey.CreateSubKey(x).GetValue("Name").ToString();

// fudge to remove rubbish off the end of the string
strport = strport.Substring(0,strport.IndexOf("'"));

RegistryKey thekey=Registry.LocalMachine.CreateSubKey(keyvalue);

if (strport.StartsWith("COM"))
al.Add(strport);
}
catch
{

}
}
return (string[]) al.ToArray(typeof(string));
}


I changed that red apostrophe to a colon, not sure why an apostrophe was there. The GPS bits now work too, although they work in a separate thread, which means that we'll need to 'invoke' writing to a texbox or file.

[mendhak]

Making some progress. I'll check the code in in an hour or so and ask you to run it. Ralph might want to take a look at it too...

The OpenNetCF library is really fast, btw. So fast that when I tried going verbose, I couldn't click stop, because the textbox was filling up so fast. I had to introduce a 100ms delay between writes to the textbox in verbose.

Testing it out right now.

[gep13]

Ha ha, that sounds promising!!!

I am heading out this afternoon, but will definitely test it out once I get back in.

[Atheist]

Excuse my absence. I was held captive by the local raging mooses during a stroll in the wilderness.
I'll update myself with all that has been going on in this thread after i have had my revenge on said mooses.

[mendhak]

Guys, I've checked in the latest code (http://www.codeplex.com/gpstracka/SourceControl/ListDownloadableCommits.aspx).

Please re-download the app from here (http://www.codeplex.com/gpstracka/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=22598).

As usual, choose your port and click Verbose, if you get junk data, then you're at the right place. Then stop it and click 'start' and wait for it to start logging.

Exceptions should show up in the textbox too. Let me know how you get along. You're welcome to try it via source code too, change anything you please.

[mendhak]

Good luck with the moose. I am sure that this re-download and retry will be worth the slaughter.

I've left in lots of commented code, we can clean up later. The important thing right now is that we get it working on your phones. I won't dwell on why the other class library didn't work.

Also, any help with the... UI would be great. You should also be able to flip the phone orientation and still have the app looking 'OK'.

[MrRalphMan]

Good show,

I even went back to the .net serialport and tried adding all the settings that work here, including the handshake one that got the OpenNetCF one working for me and it still didn't work.

Just adding this into my app now.

[Atheist]

Right, so if you want to debug or run code straight against the phone, you'll need VS 2008 and the SDK.

I've put the instructions on the codeplex page.
I cant find the instructions :cry:

[gep13]

Hey,

Once you have got the SDK installed, all you need to do is to deploy the the attached device, rather than the emulator.

This is done by first connecting your device through ActiveSync, which I will assume you are already doing, if not, let me know. Once that is done, select the Windows Mobile 6 Classic Device from the dropdown list, see attached screen shot, and the application should be deployed to the Device.

You might get some warning appearing on your phone, just acknowledge them, assuming you trust Mendhak :)

Hope that helps

Gary

[Atheist]

Oh... i have to trust mendhak?... i dont know...
just kidding. Thanks for that information, I assumed that was all that had to be done, but I keep getting the error "No such interface supported" no matter what option I choose to deploy to (both emulators and real devices). I cant understand why.

[gep13]

Mendhak,

I was having a quick play with the code today, and it is looking a lot more promising. I had the textbox filling up with stuff when I hit Verbose. I only had a few minutes to play though, because I was wrestling with trying to get ActiveSync working, for some reason connecting my phone with the USB cable was causing a BSOD, so ended up connecting my phone using Bluetooth, which meant I had to wrestle with the Toshiba Bluetooth Stack....

Anyway, long story short, I can now deploy to my phone, and should be in a better position to have a look at this tomorrow.

I have some ideas for some UI changes as well, so I will try and get them incorporated as well.

Gary

[gep13]

Oh... i have to trust mendhak?... i dont know...
just kidding. Thanks for that information, I assumed that was all that had to be done, but I keep getting the error "No such interface supported" no matter what option I choose to deploy to (both emulators and real devices). I cant understand why.

Hmm, that sounds similar to some problems that I have seen in the past, and normally they have just sorted themselves out, never really found an "actual" solution.

What OS are you running on your desktop? What OS are you running on your Mobile? Are you able to establish an ActiveSync connection successfully? Can you sync data between phone and desktop?

Gary

[Atheist]

Im running Vista Business 64 bit on my PC, Windows Mobile 6 on my mobile.
ActiveSync works like a charm. I have been able to use the device emulator to earlier, it suddenly all stopped working..

[gep13]

Hey,

I am running Windows XP Pro, so I think the extent of knowledge to help you is going to end. I know if XP Pro and you run the emulator through activesync you have to change a setting in ActiveSync to use a "DMA" port, and then you have to change it back again when using a physical device. I don't know if that sounds familiar to you, but if it does have you confirmed this setting?

The other thing that rings a bell, and it sounds ridiculous, but....

Can you establish an ActiveSync connection, and then open up Visual Studio. I seem to remember that this caused my problems before, and this was one way I could guarantee the connection.

Apart from that though, i have nothing. I know the connections in Vista are handled differently using the Mobile Device Center, and I have never played with it.

Gary

[mendhak]

The guy in this Connect feedback seems to get the same error.

http://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=106030

Can you try a repair/reinstall like he did?

You can also try turning your device off and on again.

[mendhak]

Atheist, can you try running the app as-is just to test if it's working in Verbose?

Gep, thanks again. Good to hear about Verbose.

I tried it on the other coworkers' phones and it worked fine, but the one problem that did crop up was that not every phone lets you write to \My Documents\GPSLogs... many of them will probably want to write to a storage card. So we should probably expose the folder path. Looks like the settings are taking up more and more space from that poor textbox :D

[gep13]

That was actually going to be one of the UI changes that I was going to make.

I was going to make another form that handled the settings. At the end of the day, you only really need to set them once, so no real need for them to be displayed on screen all the time.

Gary

[mendhak]

Yeah good point. I guess I kept them in one place because in the beginning there were only two or three controls. Now it's... lots. :)

[gep13]

Hey,

Right, I decided to have a play with the code a little and I have come up with the following, and I thought I would get some thoughts before checking anything in, so here goes...

Main Form (all screen real estate is given to the TextBox):

68973

About Form:

68972

Settings Form:

68974

I know there are two schools of thought on this, but I decided to only use one form and then multiple panels to create the different pages, this prevents the need to instantiate multiple forms, rather simply show and hide panels, this should keep the app responsive.

In the designer, this means it looks like this:

68975

I have to play some more obviously with the Settings screen, I have a GroupBox Control that I want to use to group like settings. There isn't one be default in the Compact Framework, so I rolled my own in another project.

The usage of the form has changed slightly. Rather than having both a start button and a verbose button, you now either check or uncheck the verbose menuitem and then depending on the checked state you either start in normal mode or verbose mode.

Let me know what you think, and if you like it I can finish it off and then check in the changes.

Gary

[mendhak]

Wow. I just woke up and I'm stunned, you've done so much.

I like your verbose check/uncheck idea. Dude, well done. Nice concept with the settings screen too.

:lol: @ about screen

[mendhak]

Wait! Does it work for you then? Were you able to get GPX log files written? Was it able to find your position?

Oh, when you check it in, if you get unresolved conflicts, make sure you 'merge in merge tool' instead of getting it done automatically :D

Really nice work.

[gep13]

Wait! Does it work for you then? Were you able to get GPX log files written? Was it able to find your position?

Oh, when you check it in, if you get unresolved conflicts, make sure you 'merge in merge tool' instead of getting it done automatically :D

Really nice work.

You would think that that would be something I would have checked by now wouldn't you, but I keep forgetting. I don't get a reliable GPS signal either at the office or at home, so I keep meaning to do it on the way to and from, but always seem to forget. I will "try" and remember today.

I will keep in mind what you say about the check in's. I should get everything checked in tonight.

Glad you like it.

Gary

[mendhak]

If you feel a little restless before checking in, then you can also introduce a 'save to folder' path in there. If you don't do it, then I will. :)

[gep13]

:) Yip, that was on my list of things to do. Just looking out the source code for the GroupBox which is on this machine. This might be excessive but was thinking a GroupBox for Baud Rate, one for Comm Port and another for logging the text file. Maybe this is too much, but I will have a play tonight and see what I think.

[gep13]

Hello there,

Right, I finally made a check in, still have some work to do on it, but here is a brief run through of what I have done:

- Altered Main Form to include panels for different sections
- Added ConfigurationManager class
- Added UIHelper class, but not working correctly yet
- Added GroupBox Control for segregatng Settings Panel (needs layout work)
- Altered flow of logic uses Verbose CheckBox, needs verification

If you get an error when you build, I am going to guess that it is due to the GroupBox control that I added.

For some reason, when you add the GroupBox control to the design surface it adds it using:


this.groupBox2 = new GPSTracka.GroupBox();


But this can't be found, you have to use:


this.groupBox2 = new GroupBox();


I couldn't figure out why it was doing that, but then again I didn't look at it very long, just got it working.

Let me know what you think.

Gary

[mendhak]

Hey, I just noticed that you checked something in. I'll download it tonight!

And let's pat ourselves on the back, we've just passed 100 downloads :D

Some site picked it up already and is 'advertising' it.

http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-gps-tracka.html

[gep13]

Wow!!! That's good!!

Yeah, I checked some stuff in, still needs some work though, but think things are starting to take shape. :)

[mendhak]

Oh, and you need to try the application out too. Don't worry, I'll keep reminding you until you do try it :afrog:

[mendhak]

Wow, I like the settings screen, very well done.

[mendhak]

Nice configuration manager too. I'm working out a few things right now. Surprising that there's no folder dialog in .NET CF, we'll just use the file browse dialog and parse the directory name out.

[mendhak]

I've done some code cleanup; some of the rearranging had broken other parts of the functionality which is understandable. I've also removed a reference to Microsoft.WindowsCE.Forms. I assume that was there because you were experimenting with something. After removing it, it still builds fine, so... let's see. Checking in now.

[mendhak]

Also, I can't figure out how to add GpsTracka.exe.config to the deployment CAB. I've modified the code so that it gets created if it doesn't exist. Got any ideas?

[mendhak]

Files checked in, please get latest, rebuild, test if everything's OK.

[gep13]

Hey,

Ok, so bad news first....

I tried the application last night on my way home, and I wasn't getting anything in the TextBox. All I got was the message saying that the polling would start in 60 seconds. I get lot's of information in the textbox when I use Verbose, but not when I just hit start. I will try and do some more debugging in the next couple of days, I am sure we will get it working.

Did you get the config file added to the deployment project? I made sure it was added to the output folder on build, so you should be able to add the "content files" from the primary project and this will copy over the config file. That is from memory though, haven't done that recently.

Will grab the most recent code this morning and have a look.

Gary

[mendhak]

OK, for your situation, go into verbose mode and keep it running. The text will run by pretty fast, but what you're looking for is $GPGGA with some proper numbers after it. Usually, you'll get

$GPGGA,,,,,,0,,,*50

(Something like that)

That means that there's nothing yet.

Keep verbose running until you see

$GPGGA,192932.0,5121.490279,N....

In other words, not the series of empty commas. It'll take a while the first time and it's usually best if you're in the open. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get something. If by 'on my way home' you mean in the train, it shouldn't work, I've tried it in trains and it usually doesn't.

[mendhak]

I did check for 'content file' and tried to build but it wouldn't work, which is why I added the code to create the config file. Adding the default config would be great. I'm going to update the screenshots on the codeplex page.

[gep13]

I did check for 'content file' and tried to build but it wouldn't work, which is why I added the code to create the config file. Adding the default config would be great. I'm going to update the screenshots on the codeplex page.

Hey,

What I was talking about was this:

69053

From here you can select to include the content files of an application (i.e. the content file) in the CAB. At the minute, all that is in the Deployment Project is the Primary Output (i.e. the dll).

I think that should get it to work.

Gary

[gep13]

Also, did you have a look at the UIHelper Class that I added? This is a very small point, but it would be good to get it working. On the main screen there is no need for the user to be able to type anything in, so there is no need for this:

69054

The SIP Button, which pops up the on screen keyboard. The UIHelper Class includes a method for showing and hiding this button. The code works when you call the method on the click event of a button, but I tried to put it in the load event of the form, but this didn't work. I can only assume that when the form gets painted it puts the button back in. I tried putting the method call in a few places, but no luck.

Any ideas?

I know it's a small thing, but thought it was a nice touch.

Gary

[gep13]

OK, for your situation, go into verbose mode and keep it running. The text will run by pretty fast, but what you're looking for is $GPGGA with some proper numbers after it. Usually, you'll get

$GPGGA,,,,,,0,,,*50

(Something like that)

That means that there's nothing yet.

Keep verbose running until you see

$GPGGA,192932.0,5121.490279,N....

In other words, not the series of empty commas. It'll take a while the first time and it's usually best if you're in the open. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get something. If by 'on my way home' you mean in the train, it shouldn't work, I've tried it in trains and it usually doesn't.

Ok I will give this a try as well. By "on my way home" I meant driving from work to the flat. This isn't the most valid of test again, but I have been able to get Google Maps to work well whilst driving this route, so I thought this might work as well. I will test the application again when not driving.

Gary

[gep13]

Hey,

Just made a couple small changes, nothing major though.

Gary

[mendhak]

Hey,

What I was talking about was this:

69053

From here you can select to include the content files of an application (i.e. the content file) in the CAB. At the minute, all that is in the Deployment Project is the Primary Output (i.e. the dll).

I think that should get it to work.

Gary
Yep, tried that. That's when I got the errors.

I tried it again and this time excluded 'logo.jpg' from the solution and it worked. How has logo.jpg been added? Is it embedded?

[gep13]

Hmmm, I thought it had been added, but maybe it hasn't.

Let me check.

[gep13]

Ok, I think I know what the problem is, but I will not be able to sort it until I get home. The logo.jpg in locked for check-out on my home machine. Not sure how that happened, but I will fix it tonight. Sorry about that. Still finding my way around TFS, more used to SVN :)

[mendhak]

No prob. Good luck with the testing thing. Keep your eyes on the road.

[mendhak]

Interesting problem. A search reveals to me that Form Load is called before the form is painted. I then tried Form Paint and Form GotFocus, no luck. I'll try some more.

[gep13]

Interesting problem. A search reveals to me that Form Load is called before the form is painted. I then tried Form Paint and Form GotFocus, no luck. I'll try some more.

Glad to know that I am not going crazy :D

[gep13]

Hello,

I think I have corrected the problem with the logo for the about page. Not sure how it ended up getting locked on my home pc, but it is now checked in. Was thinking though, maybe it should be added as a resource, rather than just a file.

What do you think?

I was giving some thought to the application as well. Would it be worth extending the app to use the camera that is built into the phone? Obviously this wouldn't provide as good photos as a stand alone camera, but was just thinking it could be a nice addition.

Gary

[mendhak]

Yeah, a resource would be nice. I've been trying the SIP thing as well with no success :sick:

I'm guessing the app still isn't recording locations for you? :(

I wonder if it's working for Atheist.

Can you explain what you have in mind about the camera?

[gep13]

Yeah, the SIP thing is a bit strange?!? As I said, it is only a small point, but just thought it made sense.

Nope, so far the tests that I have done haven't been successful. I am determined to get it working though, just haven't had enough time to devote to it. Studying for a Microsoft Exam at the minute, and I have just started some Spanish lessons as well, so got a lot on. Keeping getting sucked into VBForums as well, think I am going to have to go cold turkey for a bit :)

What I was thinking was this. Within a Mobile Device Application, you can get access to using the camera control, and can use the results, i.e. the image that is taken. So what i was thinking (this could be completely off by the way) was, from GPSTracka give the option to take a photo. When the photo is complete, save it off, as well as saving off a gpx file that is specfic to the photo, same same just different extension, that way you don't have to compare date times etc, you know exactly where the photo was taken.

Does that make sense? Does it seem sensible?

It was just something that occurred to me.

Gary

[mendhak]

I've been rethinking the SIP thing today. A coworker told me that they wanted to use it when their car was stuck on the highway (why?) and couldn't copy paste from the textbox.

Hmmm... I'll try to re-enable and allow copying from the textbox, you know, by holding down the stylus. (They could also press Ctl+C on the onscreen keyboard but the hold-down is more intuitive). I'll let the SIP go for now, we can readdress it.

[mendhak]

I also thought about your comments this morning. The camera thing could work, but there are a few things involved. The most intuitive scenario here would be that they go to the camera app they have, take a photo and the photo is geotagged by GPSTracka.

In such a situation, GPSTracka would need to somehow need to monitor the camera for a picture taken. Another problem posed is that in the .NET framework, you can insert EXIF data into an image by accessing an Image object's Properties collection at 0x0001, 0x0002 and so on. But there's nothing like that in the .NET CF, so another way will need to be found.

Anyways, it's a good idea. I understand you're busy and I'm appreciative of your help but not happy that it isn't working for you. It would have been nice if it did... right, so I'll look into this and see what can be done.

[gep13]

In such a situation, GPSTracka would need to somehow need to monitor the camera for a picture taken. Another problem posed is that in the .NET framework, you can insert EXIF data into an image by accessing an Image object's Properties collection at 0x0001, 0x0002 and so on. But there's nothing like that in the .NET CF, so another way will need to be found.


OpenNETCF to the rescue....

http://blog.markarteaga.com/ExtractingEXIFTagsUsingCompactFramework.aspx

The link to the namespace in that article doesn't work, but you can get to it by browsing through the documention here:

http://www.opennetcf.com/library/sdf/

Gary

[gep13]

I've been rethinking the SIP thing today. A coworker told me that they wanted to use it when their car was stuck on the highway (why?) and couldn't copy paste from the textbox.

Hmmm... I'll try to re-enable and allow copying from the textbox, you know, by holding down the stylus. (They could also press Ctl+C on the onscreen keyboard but the hold-down is more intuitive). I'll let the SIP go for now, we can readdress it.

That's a good point actually. Hadn't considered the need to use that functionality.

[Atheist]

Success! With the latest version I was able to successfully track my little trip from the university to the apartment.

[mendhak]

Thanks Atheist.

And those OpenNetCF guys have thought of everything!

[mendhak]

Gep, you have a Sony Xperia X1, right?
Atheist, what phone do you have?

[gep13]

Gep, you have a Sony Xperia X1, right?
Atheist, what phone do you have?

That's right.

[Atheist]

Im a proud owner of a HTC Touch HD!

[mendhak]

I've put your (plural) phone models on the page there. Sure, it still isn't working for gep unless in verbose, but I said tested. :p

[gep13]

Woot Woot!!! Over 200 downloads!!

[mendhak]

300 downloads! :D

[mendhak]

In my 'extended delay' I was looking at using Objective C and how this application would be ported to the iPhone. Note: I do not like the iPhone, because the target audience would then be below-intelligence individuals and so this application wouldn't apply to them. I just wanted to see what would be involved.

I soon discovered, get this... if you write such an app for the iPhone:

a) The phone must always be on. No going to sleep, no suspend mode.
b) The app must always be in 'foreground'
c) The screen must be unlocked.

So that means if a Mactard decided to use such an app, they'd have to walk around with the iPhone in one hand constantly stroking it to ensure that it doesn't lock. Come to think of it, they probably do that anyways but my statement about below-average intelligence still stands.

[gep13]

300 downloads! :D

Has there been any feedback from anyone? Are they having any issues at all?

[gep13]

In my 'extended delay' I was looking at using Objective C and how this application would be ported to the iPhone. Note: I do not like the iPhone, because the target audience would then be below-intelligence individuals and so this application wouldn't apply to them. I just wanted to see what would be involved.

I soon discovered, get this... if you write such an app for the iPhone:

a) The phone must always be on. No going to sleep, no suspend mode.
b) The app must always be in 'foreground'
c) The screen must be unlocked.

So that means if a Mactard decided to use such an app, they'd have to walk around with the iPhone in one hand constantly stroking it to ensure that it doesn't lock. Come to think of it, they probably do that anyways but my statement about below-average intelligence still stands.

Out of interest, what is involved in developing applications for the iPhone? Is there an IDE that you can use?

[gep13]

OK, for your situation, go into verbose mode and keep it running. The text will run by pretty fast, but what you're looking for is $GPGGA with some proper numbers after it. Usually, you'll get

$GPGGA,,,,,,0,,,*50

(Something like that)

That means that there's nothing yet.

Keep verbose running until you see

$GPGGA,192932.0,5121.490279,N....

In other words, not the series of empty commas. It'll take a while the first time and it's usually best if you're in the open. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get something. If by 'on my way home' you mean in the train, it shouldn't work, I've tried it in trains and it usually doesn't.

The closest that I have got so far is:

$GPGGA,082531.5,,,,,0,,,,,,,,*70

Is this even remotely close to what is needed?

I still get nothing when I start in non Verbose mode.

Gary

[tr333]

Out of interest, what is involved in developing applications for the iPhone? Is there an IDE that you can use?
If you are developing webapps, you only need safari. Full iPhone app development requires a x86 mac and XCode.

http://developer.apple.com/safari/mobile.php
http://developer.apple.com/iphone/

[tr333]

I just tested the latest version of this app on Windows Mobile 5, running on a Symbol MC70+GPS (http://motorola.com/mc70). I had to disable the option "Manage GPS automatically" in the system GPS settings to get it to work. I was having problems trying to get TomTom software integrated with another winmobile app until i noticed that checkbox option :thumb:



One thing that this app could use is an "exit" menu item. Clicking the [x] on the main screen just hides the application and returns to the 'Today' screen.

[tr333]

The program doesn't seem to use the baudrate value from the config file when first going into the settings screen. It just uses the default 4800. Other settings such as com port and logfile location are read from the config file.

Is there any particular reason why the polling rate doesnt go below 60 seconds?

"Save to text file" option doesn't seem to work. I tried saving to "\Storage Card\gps.txt".

[mendhak]

Has there been any feedback from anyone? Are they having any issues at all?
No feedback. :cry:

Although we did get one guy asking a question which had been answered on the main page already.

[mendhak]

Whoops, tr333, sorry for the late reply.

Surprised and glad that it worked on WinMo5! Still sorry to see it not work on gep's phone. Unfortunately this:


$GPGGA,082531.5,,,,,0,,,,,,,,*70


only means that you're getting a satellite time (08:25:31.5), with 0 data.

The polling rate has been purposely set to a minimum fo 60 seconds to avoid battery drain. I had originally tested it out at 1 second intervals but it's really really fast. Since it's a logger, I felt a minute is a good minimum interval.

It shouldn't ignore your COM port settings or any of the other settings. If your COM port is, say, COM1, and you change it to COM7, it should stop working. Try that out, if it stops working then it is reading values from the settings screen.

The unfortunate bit about saving to text file is that you're asked for a file name but it only uses the folder path from it; there is no folder dialog box in the .NET CF, so we had to use the file browser dialog. You need to create or pick a folder that's either inside \storage card\ or in \my documents\. In other words, you need to give it something like

\storage card\gpslogs\anything.blah

or

\my documents\gpslogs\whatever.haha

[mendhak]

I agree about that the exit thing, we should add it in there. I've created a work item for it here:
http://gpstracka.codeplex.com/WorkItem/View.aspx?WorkItemId=1289

I am stumped about gep's phone - Google Maps works for him but GPSTracka, which is immensely superior, doesn't. I feel the need to actually come over and test it out on your phone in person :D


Gep, do you have any way of brute-testing it? By that, I mean, set it in verbose mode and leave it 'outside' (but not where someone will nick it :p) for about 30 minutes. If you have a balcony, that's a good place, else leaving it in any place where you know you get GPS reception (anywhere Google Maps responds and doesn't start choking). Leave it there for 30 minutes in verbose mode and then come back to it, clear your screen, then try again. I remember when I went to greece, I had to run it in verbose for a good 18 minutes before it finally realized where it was.

[gep13]

Gep, do you have any way of brute-testing it? By that, I mean, set it in verbose mode and leave it 'outside' (but not where someone will nick it :p) for about 30 minutes. If you have a balcony, that's a good place, else leaving it in any place where you know you get GPS reception (anywhere Google Maps responds and doesn't start choking). Leave it there for 30 minutes in verbose mode and then come back to it, clear your screen, then try again. I remember when I went to greece, I had to run it in verbose for a good 18 minutes before it finally realized where it was.

No balcony, but I see what you are saying. I see what I can do.

Gary

[tr333]

Whoops, tr333, sorry for the late reply.

Surprised and glad that it worked on WinMo5! Still sorry to see it not work on gep's phone. Unfortunately this:



only means that you're getting a satellite time (08:25:31.5), with 0 data.

I'm not surprised that there's no data there. It's almost impossible to get a decent gps signal from an office building window. I'll try the config file setting again.

I also have a Motorola MC35 (winmob5) that I could test on, but I have no idea what COM port and baud rate settings I should be using. Can't really just check all combinations if there's no satellites to see.

[arman68]

Fantastic application! I have been using quite a few GPS loggers, and this easily beats them all: simple, straight to the job, low battery consumption, and the killer feature... works in suspended mode!

I have a few suggestions to improve it, and give it even more of an edge:


-1- smart mode

By this, I mean a way to reduce battery consumption further, by intelligently detecting when a new gps poll is required. I can think of 2 ways to achieve it:

* track the phone cells signals; not for triangulation, but only to get a rough idea of a location change since the last gps poll. If no movement is detected, I would suggest to either skip the gps poll until the next scheduled poll, or recheck again in a set interval.

* when polling gps, check current speed (and direction)? If movement is detected, faster than a configurable minimum (to account for gps innacuracy), then the next gps poll should be mandatory and override the cell tracking.


-2- autostart

Option to autostart the application with phone, with automatic logging. If the suggestion -1- is workable, and proves to reduce battery drain even more, there is no reason why we could not have the application always running in the background.


-3- minimum interval forced gps poll

The idea behind this, is to make sure the phone can (almost) always do a hot gps fix, by, for example, making sure we get a gps fix every 2h45m. This should override the poll skipping in smart mode. However, we have to be careful to use a different time interval from the regular polling: if I had my device to poll every min, I would not want to try to force the poll (indoor and unsuccessfull) after 3h, and then try again every min, therefore draining the battery. That means another time interval needed for repeat forced gps poll.


-4- give up

When there is no fix after a certain amount of time, it should give up, until the next attempt. Does it behave this way already?


-5- scheduler

For example, disable gps tracking at night. This could also be done by making the application respond to command line switches, such as "/suspend" and "/resume", and then use any favourite third party scheduler (eg: G-Profile), to control it.


-6- log last gps position in separate file

This could be used to develop further functionality, such as cell phone remote tracking, etc ... and allow other people to use it, taking advantage of the well designed, low power, gps tracking.


-7- separate the gui from the backend

If the application is really suitable for background running, it would be better to reduce it to the bare essentials, therefore minimising resource usage, and run it hidden. The configuration, future fancy front-end, scheduler, or 3rd party tool can then just run in the user space, only when needed.

[mendhak]

HOLY MOLY!!! Feedback! Real user!!! Hello!

Thank you for the feedback! I'm genuinely very excited to hear back from someone 'out there' about this! Notice all the exclamation marks I'm using! :afrog:

Right, I'm going to go through your suggestions properly but overall, we need to keep in mind that there is going to be a sacrifice somewhere. It was initially created to run with very low memory consumption (I had it down to 430k!) but because it's new and we're all new to this, it's easy to get carried away, so we ended up adding more and more things.

Just today, on my way home, I was thinking of a 'send' menu option which sent the data to a web page via HTTP GET so that I could, for example, have a subdomain whereis.mendhak.com which could show the last location I sent data from. So you see what I mean - each new bit will add to the memory consumption (and therefore drain) of the phone.

Anyways, I'll have a proper read through your post. If you're a developer, you can join us too.

[mendhak]

I'm not surprised that there's no data there. It's almost impossible to get a decent gps signal from an office building window. I'll try the config file setting again.

I also have a Motorola MC35 (winmob5) that I could test on, but I have no idea what COM port and baud rate settings I should be using. Can't really just check all combinations if there's no satellites to see.
Yep, just try verbose. I know that we could add a feature in to automatically determine the port but that'd be rather expensive... so I figured, since we're all technical, we could figure it out ourselves :D

You shouldn't need to change baud rates. Change COM ports and go verbose each time. If you see anything on the screen, then that's the right port.

[tr333]

FYI:

MC70+GPS and MC35 both operate on COM8.

[arman68]

Right, I'm going to go through your suggestions properly but overall, we need to keep in mind that there is going to be a sacrifice somewhere. It was initially created to run with very low memory consumption (I had it down to 430k!) but because it's new and we're all new to this, it's easy to get carried away, so we ended up adding more and more things.

I totally agree with you. That's why separating the core gps logging service from the frontend would be beneficial. It makes features it possible to add features, like sending gps position to email, without bloating the core, by running them as separate apps.

IMHO the single biggest improvement to the core, which should not significantly affect the program footprint, would be the smart mode.

I wish I could help developing, but I don't think I am at the level yet. However, I can review the logic or write good algorithms if needed.

[lordielordie]

1. If you were able to get it to work and which COM port was right for you.
2. Whether it logged for you
3. What version of Windows Mobile you have
4. Your phone make and model
5. A GPX file from your phone




1. Got it to work on COM4
2. logged ok
3. I use WinMo version 6.1 (PPC)
4. On a Palm Treo Pro
5. see attached


For some reason the screen on my phone looks different then the picture you posted. I have a simpler screen with 2 options "Start" and "Options". but I don't care. It is small and it works (so far)..

I am planning a trip to Mongolia and since there are no roads or maps, the best way to document my route is an app such as this one.
I like the way it works with Google Earth, really cool. Thanks!

[mendhak]

Hi, welcome to VBF to you too.

Oh right, the original screenshots are from an older build. I should probably update it. Good to know it's working for you and Mongolia's definitely the type of place I'd use it.

[mendhak]

Fantastic application! I have been using quite a few GPS loggers, and this easily beats them all: simple, straight to the job, low battery consumption, and the killer feature... works in suspended mode!



It pleases me to know that you like it. I've gone through your post now...


-1- smart mode

By this, I mean a way to reduce battery consumption further, by intelligently detecting when a new gps poll is required. I can think of 2 ways to achieve it:

* track the phone cells signals; not for triangulation, but only to get a rough idea of a location change since the last gps poll. If no movement is detected, I would suggest to either skip the gps poll until the next scheduled poll, or recheck again in a set interval.

* when polling gps, check current speed (and direction)? If movement is detected, faster than a configurable minimum (to account for gps innacuracy), then the next gps poll should be mandatory and override the cell tracking.



The second bit should be possible. The first bit depends on the presence of cellphone masts and to be honest I don't know how to get the current signal strength to detect distance in the compact framework. I think I'll start adding these as work items on the GPSTracka codeplex page.

http://gpstracka.codeplex.com/WorkItem/List.aspx


-2- autostart

Option to autostart the application with phone, with automatic logging. If the suggestion -1- is workable, and proves to reduce battery drain even more, there is no reason why we could not have the application always running in the background.



If I'm not mistaken, that is a registry entry. The only problem is that when it autostarts, it'll come into the foreground; running applications in the background in Compact Framework is quite difficult. The concept of services doesn't exist, and you have to go to a level lower than what the compact framework provides.

On the other hand, I also want the user to have control over this so I suppose I could allow them to change whether it autostarts or not.


-3- minimum interval forced gps poll

The idea behind this, is to make sure the phone can (almost) always do a hot gps fix, by, for example, making sure we get a gps fix every 2h45m. This should override the poll skipping in smart mode. However, we have to be careful to use a different time interval from the regular polling: if I had my device to poll every min, I would not want to try to force the poll (indoor and unsuccessfull) after 3h, and then try again every min, therefore draining the battery. That means another time interval needed for repeat forced gps poll.


Didn't understand this


-4- give up

When there is no fix after a certain amount of time, it should give up, until the next attempt. Does it behave this way already?


It doesn't, it waits... the give-up option should be added, I'd consider this important actually. I've just been stopping it myself. An interval of... 15 minutes or 20 should be good.


-5- scheduler

For example, disable gps tracking at night. This could also be done by making the application respond to command line switches, such as "/suspend" and "/resume", and then use any favourite third party scheduler (eg: G-Profile), to control it.

This may actually take considerable rework since the entire application runs in a single thread. I'll probably do this later later (as in, later :afrog: )


-6- log last gps position in separate file

This could be used to develop further functionality, such as cell phone remote tracking, etc ... and allow other people to use it, taking advantage of the well designed, low power, gps tracking.


It's a GPX file in an XML format, so retrieving the last GPS location isn't going to be very hard. I don't see a need to move it to another file.


-7- separate the gui from the backend

If the application is really suitable for background running, it would be better to reduce it to the bare essentials, therefore minimising resource usage, and run it hidden. The configuration, future fancy front-end, scheduler, or 3rd party tool can then just run in the user space, only when needed.

With the compact framework, it's all-together. A memory footprint consists of the entire form and assemblies referenced by it in a single memory space even if they aren't used. In order to reduce it to the bare minimum, we'd need a separate application that consists of, say, a blank form that reads from the config file. Anyways, I can look at this too but I don't know how far we'll get on this.

[mendhak]

Gep, I'm guessing it still hasn't worked for you? :(

I think I should add an issue tracker for you :p

Only thing is, aside from what I told you (the balcony thing), I don't know how else this can be troubleshooted. You're getting a signal of some sort, you're on the right port, that's as far as I can go. I wonder if there are any satellites over Aberdeen :p

[gep13]

Hey,

Nope still haven't got it working, although I be fair, I still haven't tried the saturation test that you mentioned, have been in a position to do it yet.

There are definitely satellites over Aberdeen, it isn't that remote a place :) although, you would think that with some of the nightmare stories I have had with getting packages delivered. We are the oil capital after all :)

Gary

[mendhak]

There, I created an issue for you in TFS. :D

http://gpstracka.codeplex.com/WorkItem/View.aspx?WorkItemId=1332

[gep13]

Ha ha!!!

I feel so special!!!

[gep13]

Hey,

A little off topic, but PeteVick over in the Mobile Development Forum has just pointed me at some very useful applications for Monitoring the Performance of Windows Mobile Applications, so I thought I would share it here:

http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=560692

May come in useful.

Gary

[zxed]

ive been developing cf for quite a few years now., hopefully you still need help.,

are you using any third party cf libraries? for the gps stuff?

[mendhak]

Thanks gep, downloading it now. I wonder if I need to run this on the phone or the PC (eqatec).


zxed, yes, we're using the OpenNetCF library to read from the GPS port, it raises the events such as position found, among others. You're welcome to join if you like or just offer advice/help. List of issues here:

http://gpstracka.codeplex.com/WorkItem/List.aspx

I suppose the most difficult one right now - option to autostart. Is there a way to autostart the app with the phone quietly, in the background?

[gep13]

Thanks gep, downloading it now. I wonder if I need to run this on the phone or the PC (eqatec).

Haven't got as far as playing with it yet. One of the applications I wrote last year is starting to play up, so going to need to use the apps soon. From what I read they seem fairly easy to use though.

Gary

[zxed]

Thanks gep, downloading it now. I wonder if I need to run this on the phone or the PC (eqatec).


zxed, yes, we're using the OpenNetCF library to read from the GPS port, it raises the events such as position found, among others. You're welcome to join if you like or just offer advice/help. List of issues here:

http://gpstracka.codeplex.com/WorkItem/List.aspx

I suppose the most difficult one right now - option to autostart. Is there a way to autostart the app with the phone quietly, in the background?

i will probably join., just need to find the time :) too much stuff going on..

you have probably thought about this already., but how about a listner/helper app that checks to see if your main app i running?

[mendhak]

Of course, I wouldn't impose :)

The problem with that one is the helper app needs to autostart, and since we're looking up autostart, may as well start the main app. I'm currently playing with outputting KML formats on the app. Once I check it in, I can move on to autostart.

KML is bad. I feel like ranting about KML. Perhaps I will do this in Chit Chat. But the summary is, KML is bad.

[zxed]

Of course, I wouldn't impose :)

The problem with that one is the helper app needs to autostart, and since we're looking up autostart, may as well start the main app. I'm currently playing with outputting KML formats on the app. Once I check it in, I can move on to autostart.

KML is bad. I feel like ranting about KML. Perhaps I will do this in Chit Chat. But the summary is, KML is bad.

for some reason i saw that as "auto-restart............. :)

Defining the "Autostart" requirement:
Once application has been installed on a device, configuration shall allow the user to specify that the application autostart.
If autostart has been enabled, the application shall start it self when:
1. device is restarted/powered on
2. device is woken from sleep/powersave mode and the application is not running.

would that be correct?

[mendhak]

Yeah, #1 is right. The GPS app currently works in powersave mode so we're alright there. I guess the main thing here is if there's a way to get it to start with the application itself.

[zxed]

Yeah, #1 is right. The GPS app currently works in powersave mode so we're alright there. I guess the main thing here is if there's a way to get it to start with the application itself.

I believe there us a way to register a loader as a service so it bootstraps. Giving you the load on power on/ soft reset

[mendhak]

Any keywords I can search on? Maybe an API or registry key to mess with?

[zxed]

Any keywords I can search on? Maybe an API or registry key to mess with?

have a look at this example

REG FILE:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Symbol\Startup\Programs\Prog10]
"Name"="\windows\wceldcmd.exe"
"Command"="\Windows\netcf.all.wce4.armv4.cab"
"Continue"=dword:0
"ColdBootOnly"=dword:1

i am not sure if wceldcmd.exe is the correct command, or that if command can contain an exe... dont have a mob device near me at the moment...

[zxed]

another thought., when installing the cab., why not just put a shortcut in the startup folder?

[gep13]

Hey,

I know I haven't been back to this thread in a while, but I have just come across some ideas on how you can go about getting the application to start at particular times, or when the device starts up.

Have a look here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/bb495180.aspx

Scroll down until you hit the State and Notification Broker section and you will find videos describing how to do the following:

How Do I: Automatically Start an Application on a System State Change?
How Do I: Auto-Start an Application?
How Do I: Schedule an Application to Run at a Specific Time?
How Do I: Get an Application to Automatically Start When a Mobile Device Wakes Up?

Hope that helps!!

Gary

[zxed]

i was wondering why i totally forgot about state notification....

and then i remembered.. i believe state notification was introduce wince 5.0+... meaning windows mobile 5+ will only support it... ppc2000/2003 will not..




Hey,

I know I haven't been back to this thread in a while, but I have just come across some ideas on how you can go about getting the application to start at particular times, or when the device starts up.

Have a look here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/bb495180.aspx

Scroll down until you hit the State and Notification Broker section and you will find videos describing how to do the following:

How Do I: Automatically Start an Application on a System State Change?
How Do I: Auto-Start an Application?
How Do I: Schedule an Application to Run at a Specific Time?
How Do I: Get an Application to Automatically Start When a Mobile Device Wakes Up?

Hope that helps!!

Gary

[gep13]

Hey,

I think you are right on that one.

Given that GPSTracka, as it stands, runs on Windows Mobile 6, then I can't see any reason why this approach won't work. If GPSTracka is expanded to support older OSes, then a different solution will have to be found.

Gary

[gep13]

Hey Mendhak,

Not sure if you are still checking this thread or not, but I have just found something interesting in the Windows Mobile 6 SDK. Have a look at the following folder (or the equivalent depending on your installation path):

C:\Program Files\Windows Mobile 6 SDK\Samples\PocketPC\CS\GPS

I haven't tried it out yet, but looking at the source code, it seems to be a complete example of getting information from a GPS device without the need for a third party library. Obviously, there are lots of API calls, but just wondered if you had seen this before? I hadn't realised that there were complete examples like these built into the SDK's!!

Gary

[mendhak]

Ah, yes that's what I was using at first (before SharpGps even) but when I tested it out on several phones, it failed dismally! It seems to work on a few phones like mine, but it didn't work on anyone else's.

I wonder if it's meant for yours :ehh:

[mendhak]

Lots of things going on in the app right now, someone's made more source code contributions:


Complete list of changes:
* Possibility to altitude (how high you are from see level); both GPX and KML
* Possibility to log track (i addition to distinct points); both GPX and KML
* Fixed number/time formatting in files and in log (text box) when local settings of device are non-English (Windows uses comma (,) as decimal separator, but GPX/KML must always contain dot (.))
* Fixed file XML (GPX/KML) issue when many elements has xmlns="" attribute
* Points in KML file are now in separate folder in order to turn them easily on/off in Google Earth
* Minimal allowed logging interval is 1 second (60 seconds originally)
* It is no longer possible to change file format when logging is running
* File name is now yyyyMMdd_HHmmss instead of yyyyMMdd. This allows easy experimenting with different incompatible settings as new file is created whenever you click Start (originally maximally one GPX and one KML file per day was generated)
* Removed unused <bounds/> element from GPX file
* UI changes in settings dialog to set up new features
** Added Log altitude check box
** Added Distinct points / Track radio buttons
* In source code:
** All changes in TrackerForm.cs marked with comments (search for word "Ðonny")
** Only changes files are TrackerForm.cs and TrackerForm.Designer.cs


Which I'm testing out right now. That and it's also project crunch time, which is why I haven't been replying much here, but I *am* reading it :afrog:

[gep13]

Ha ha, now that would be funny!!!

When I get a second I will give it a try :)

[gep13]

Lots of things going on in the app right now, someone's made more source code contributions:

Which I'm testing out right now. That and it's also project crunch time, which is why I haven't been replying much here, but I *am* reading it :afrog:

Cool!! And the number of downloads has shot up since I last show it!! Over 1000 now!! :)

[mendhak]

We're officially awesome!

[wossname]

Mend, I can haz a idea... The "Party System".

Once your exported your coordinates data file onto your PC, how about a feature that lets you combine your file with someone else's data? So if you go out taking photos with a few friends that also have your software, you can use positional interferometry to actually increase the accuracy of the overall data.

The way it works is thus, see the drawing below...

Mend (M) and Zaza (Z) are standing a few meters apart. Zaza's GPS gives him a reasonably accurate 3D fix, but Mend's GPS is having trouble tracking satellites and his accuracy is way off.

If Mend and Zaza can combine their GPS data, then it is possible to do some "simple" math and derive a much better average location for both guys. Note that in the diagram the green dots are the "reported" GPS positions and the letters represent the real positions of our two heroes. In this instance, Zaza's fix becomes slightly less accurate but Mend's becomes much better, so the party's combined GPS fix is better than simply adding up and dividing by two!

There is no limit to the number of GPS receivers you could add to this system. Another benefit is that if one guy loses GPS coverage altogether, then the system can fall back to use the other ones to compensate. The more devices, the greater the accuracy, naturally.

What you'd actually end up with is not 1 combined stream of data, but two streams that have been improved. Both streams are still unique to the person that recorded them (because the distance between them will vary over the day), but at times when Mend and Zaza were in close proximity (eg. holding hands and skipping like they tend to do), accuracy would be probably within 15 feet much of the time.




ANOTHER IDEA:
How about importing NMEA (text) data from proper GPS devices (like my Garmin eTrex) and add that to the "Party" data pool? Not everyone has an expensive WinMo phone, but some do have Garmins.



Anyway I like the project as it stands, if you need any code done, let me know. Also are there any free WinMo emulators for Windows 2000?

[mendhak]

I did introduce a circle in the latest release. :p

Anyways, try it now gep... windows drivers introduced so it might work for you this time!

[mendhak]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3675818425_7c0df6f161_o.png

[gep13]

Woah!!!

You have been busy!!! Don't you ever sleep? I will definitely be giving this a try!!

Gary

[mendhak]

Mountain Dew is the only thing that's been keeping me alive these few weeks.

[gep13]

I would have to say I stick to Irn-Bru :)

[mendhak]

Try it! Use the Windows Driver... it'll work.

[gep13]

Hey,

Tried to have a play with the new version of the code (building it from source, than rather using the CAB installer) and for some reason I was getting lots of unhandled exceptions. Not sure what's going on, I will try again with the CAB and see how I get on.

On another note, I was telling a colleague of mine about it, and pointed him at the CodePlex site. He noticed a typo in the word satelites, it is spelt with two t's rather than one. Is that intentional? If so, what is the joke :)

Gary

[mendhak]

If you're getting unhandled exceptions, then check the configuration dialog to see what's being deployed to your phone. Might be some assemblies missing.

The satellite thing is a... er... mistake. Got a few more people working on some parts of it, so he may have spelled it wrong. It's fixed in the code now, it'll be released... some day :p

[gep13]

Will check the configuration and get back to you. Will have to wait until I am on home PC.

Good stuff. So what parts are in active development then? The application seems to be growing arms and legs :)

[mendhak]

Right now, we're working on

* saving more battery life
* new 'main' page with simple info (just lat long, you can go to the logging screen from there)
* see if we can add directional heading
* new skin if possible
* refactoring of code (that's always on the list :p )

[gep13]

All sounds good!! Will keep my eye on it!!

Will post back once I have played again with the configuration and let you know whether it is working on my phone or not.

Gary

[WythyRed]

I have two friends that are going traveling around the world in a couple of months, and i was wondering if this software could be installed on one of their phones (assuming it's compatible) to regularly update a map on a site so that you could see where they are/where they've been in the world and what route they have taken.

Is that possible from this app?

[mendhak]

Yes it is, it's actually a 'hidden' feature that I've added specifically for me. Look at this:

http://where.mendhak.com/

That's from my trip to the Lake District (UK) and I sent these updates regularly using the GPSTracka app.

The reason it's not public yet is because I need to figure out how to add users, make the interface not-crap, that sort of thing. However, if you want, I can make a 'special build' just for them and give you the map software to host on your own ASP.NET server.

If the app works on their phones let me know...

[WythyRed]

I think they're probably going to get a new phone before traveling - which model(s) are you using?

[gep13]

Hey,

I have just tried the newest release (v0.5) on my Sony Ericsson Xperia, and I am happy to report that is all seems to be working very nicely!!

Will have to have a proper play with it, to see exactly what it can do, but for now, I am just happy that's its working!

Gary

[mendhak]

Well, I'm glad it's working for you finally. I have no idea why it's working all of a sudden. Nothing fundamental has changed, although I did do a lot of refactoring.

@WythyRed - Htc Tytn II. It's the one that looks and weighs like a brick.

[gep13]

Yeah, no idea, let's put it down to the refactoring :)

What are the chances of getting a build of your where.mendhak.com code? Would be quite interested in putting this through it's paces?

Gary

[mendhak]

That's going to be the next sub-project for this. Here's what I envision, tell me what you think.

I place the web code at track.mendhak.com. So you could potentially have

track.mendhak.com/gep13

User will need to 'sign up' the URL they want and for that, they request it from the application which sends "gep13" to the web app. Web app checks if available, stores the name against a GUID and the GUID is sent back to the GPSTracka app which then gets written to the config file. As long as you have the GUID, gep13 is yours.

Now when a request is made to update a location on track.mendhak.com with some text, it gets sent along with the GUID, and I update the URL against it for that user so that each user is kept separate, but the URL is unique.

So everyone has

track.mendhak.com/blah
or
track.mendhak.com/blah.aspx

Of course, I get to keep where.mendhak.com for myself. :P

[gep13]

Hey,

Ah, so you are planning on hosting the tracking application on your own server, and then providing people access to it? Is that right?

Will you be charging for this service?

What if people don't want to upload tracking data onto your server, are you also thinking about providing the code for them to run there own tracking software on their own server?

Gary

[mendhak]

No charge!! I want to keep it free as long as I can.

But yeah, it'll all be on my server and I was thinking of what you said too - make the web code available so that someone can host it themselves (which means that the URL needs to be in the config file too).

Do you do C#? If this appeals and you have the time you could help out. No obligation, etc etc.

[gep13]

Yip, C# is where it's at :)

Time permitting, I would be happy to help out.

The only slight caveat is that the web server that I run is using Mono for my ASP.Net applications, so code would have to be Mono compliant, i.e. read .Net Framework 2.0, although some of the 3.5 stuff is starting to be supported.

Gary

[gep13]

Hey,

I was just browsing the interweb, and I found the following:

http://marketplace.windowsphone.com/details.aspx?appSKU=f3a5976c-a517-4a3c-90cd-e4c13473901d&retURL=/categories.aspx%3FcategoryId%3D50077 (http://marketplace.windowsphone.com/details.aspx?appSKU=f3a5976c-a517-4a3c-90cd-e4c13473901d&retURL=/categories.aspx%3FcategoryId%3D50077)

Haven't bought it or anything, but just thought I would point it out.

Gary