Release FoxtrotGPS

[cfr34k]

Hello everyone,


I have ported FoxtrotGPS (a fork of TangoGPS) to the Pandora.


The PND works great for me, but as this is my first port, it would be nice if someone could verify that everything works correctly.


If a working GPSD is installed, FoxtrotGPS should use it to display your current position. If no GPS(D) is available, you can navigate the map manually. Map tiles will be downloaded on demand and cached in appdata/foxtrotgps/Maps.


Changelog:


v1.1.1.3:


- "Auto download map tiles" is now enabled by default


- set focus to map display on startup to make it possible to navigate the map using the DPAD and X,Y


v1.1.1.2:


- added libgps.so.19 to the PND to make it work without gpsd installed.


v1.1.1.1:


- initial upload


You can download the PND for testing here: http://temp.tkolb.de/foxtrotgps.pnd

 

[TrashyMG]

so GPSD isn't included in this PND?

 

[Farox]

Sorry but didn't run on my pandora it say that is missinig a lib....here the PND_run file

=======================================================================================


PND : /media/TRANSCEND16/pandora/apps/foxtrotgps.pnd


PND_FSTYPE : Squashfs


APPDATADIR : /media/TRANSCEND16/pandora/appdata/foxtrotgps


APPDD_FSTYPE : vfat


PND_CPUSPEED : <unset>


EXENAME : ./bin/foxtrotgps


ARGUMENTS : <unset>


=======================================================================================


[ START ]--- Mount the PND ----------


Mounting : mount -t squashfs -o ro "/dev/loop0" "/mnt/utmp/foxtrotgps"


Mounting the Union FS : mount -t aufs -o exec,noplink,dirs="/media/TRANSCEND16/pandora/appdata/foxtrotgps=rw+nolwh":"/mnt/pnd/foxtrotgps=rr" none "/mnt/utmp/foxtrotgps"


[sUCCESS]--- Mount the PND ----------


[ START ]--- Starting the application (./bin/foxtrotgps ) ----------


./bin/foxtrotgps: error while loading shared libraries: libgps.so.19: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory


[ FAILED]--- Starting the application (./bin/foxtrotgps ) ----------


[ START ]--- Restoring the frame buffer status ----------


[sUCCESS]--- Restoring the frame buffer status ----------


[ START ]--- uMount the PND ----------


[ START ]--- Waiting the Union to be available ----------


[sUCCESS]--- Waiting the Union to be available ----------


auplinklink.c:223: AUFS_CTL_PLINK_MAINT: Inappropriate ioctl for device


rmdir: failed to remove `/mnt/utmp/foxtrotgps': Device or resource busy


[ START ]--- Waiting the PND mount dir to be free ----------


[sUCCESS]--- Waiting the PND mount dir to be free ----------


cleanup done


[sUCCESS]--- uMount the PND ----------


=======================================================================================


Return code is : 4

 

[cfr34k]

Thanks for testing!

so GPSD isn't included in this PND?

No, because GPSD needs a different setup for each GPS device. Also, the PND probably wouldn’t work for those people who have GPSD installed via opkg for other applications.

Sorry but didn't run on my pandora it say that is missinig a lib....here the PND_run file

[...]


./bin/foxtrotgps: error while loading shared libraries: libgps.so.19: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory


[...]

Oh, sorry, I forgot that this library comes with GPSD. Maybe I can copy it to the PND to make it run without GPSD.


I'll report back when the new version is available.

 

[cfr34k]

Hi again,


i have just uploaded the new version (see the first post for the download link).


Now libgps.so.19 is included in the PND, so it should start even without GPSD installed. All other libraries should be available in the default firmware. I hope it works now .


I’m also thinking about packaging GPSD as a separate PND. That would include some script to configure the data source. That way, it would still be possible to have a central GPSD instance and multiple client apps.

 

[Farox]

ok now run...i have not download any map for now and don't have a GPS installed...but the prog runs good.


Thank's a lot for this.

 

[cfr34k]

Thanks again for testing!


I have uploaded the PND to the repo: http://repo.openpandora.org/?page=detail&app=foxtrotgps.cfr34k

 

[Emnasut]

I can't see any maps, just a white screen with a flag. When I select "download maps" a number counts down but nothing else changes. What am I doing wrong?


Edit: Also I can see the downloaded maps when I open /appdata/foxtrot/maps, they just don't appear in foxtrot itself...

 

[cfr34k]

I can't see any maps, just a white screen with a flag. When I select "download maps" a number counts down but nothing else changes. What am I doing wrong?

Is "Auto download map tiles" activated in the Configuration screen? This was off by default in the first versions of the PND.


Also, are you sure you are looking at the part of the map you have downloaded (esp. the right zoom level)?


If you are sure you should see the maps, please take a look at the PND’s log if there are any error messages and post them here.

 

[ekianjo]

I havent tried yet and I could not find info on the official Foxtrot GPS page, but could clarify:


- can you download maps and use them once offline ? The Pandora has no 3G connection so when you are on the road I do not think it is possible to use it if you need to "download" map tiles in real time. But maybe I am missing something.


- This is maybe off topic, but any recommendation for a GPS receiver that would work on Pandora ?

 

[cfr34k]

- can you download maps and use them once offline ? The Pandora has no 3G connection so when you are on the road I do not think it is possible to use it if you need to "download" map tiles in real time. But maybe I am missing something.

All maps tiles you have downloaded while using the program will be stored in a local cache (appdata/Maps). These tiles are then available for offline use. If you are offline, and no map is available for a specific zoom level, the image for a lower zoom level is taken and scaled up (so you can see a map, but it’s quite blurry).


You can also use the "Map download" feature (available in the map’s context menu) to download multiple zoom levels for a specific area in advance so they are available for offline use.

- This is maybe off topic, but any recommendation for a GPS receiver that would work on Pandora ?

The Nokia LD-3W works quite well for me.

 

[ekianjo]

Thanks for the answers crfr34 ! Will definitely try it out - one question though, what software do you use to connect your Nokia LD-3W to the Pandora?


One more thing - I saw that Viking could also be a good open source software to consider for porting (open source as well) : http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/viking/index.php?title=Main_Page -> any reason why you considered foxtrotgps instead?

 

[_wb_]

Haven't tried it as a GPS, but works great as an off-line map viewer! Thanks!

 

[ekianjo]

Forget my questions, I saw there was a link in the wiki for all GPS related questions - I just ordered the Nokia GPS to try your software out!! I will try it in a few weeks time. In the meantime I will try it as a local map viewer.

 

[cfr34k]

One more thing - I saw that Viking could also be a good open source software to consider for porting (open source as well) : http://sourceforge.n...title=Main_Page -> any reason why you considered foxtrotgps instead?

The reason is simple: I didn’t know Viking!


Initially, I wanted to use TangoGPS, but the version you get via opkg couldn't connect to gpsd somehow. So I wanted to compile the most recent version myself and noticed that TangoGPS was dead (website offline ) and found FoxtrotGPS as an actively developed fork.


Now, after using FoxtrotGPS a while on the Pandora, there’s another big advantage I noticed: The interface is very Pandora-friendly by default (big buttons for the touchscreen, large text in the GPS status screen, map can be navigated using the DPAD and X/Y). Therefore, I don't regret my “choice“ .


However, Viking looks quite interesting, too, and seems to have some additional features. Maybe I'll try it on my desktop/laptop. But I think the interface might be too complex for the Pandora screen (there are two additional toolbars compared to FoxtrotGPS and the GUI elements are much smaller).


Anyway, @all: thanks for testing and using this! I'm glad you like it.

 

[ekianjo]

Anyway, @all: thanks for testing and using this! I'm glad you like it.

Thanks for considering Viking and I hope this is just the beginning of your great contributions on the Pandora

 

[ekianjo]

Anyway, @all: thanks for testing and using this! I'm glad you like it.

By the way, one question !


I was able to save offline maps, but when reopening the app i somehow moved away from where my maps were saved and now I only see a grey background. and I am lost and cannot find the point where my maps are displayed. Is there a way to at least save a very rough world map so that you never end up with a grey background when offline ?

 

[cfr34k]

Is there a way to at least save a very rough world map so that you never end up with a grey background when offline ?

Well, you could just zoom out to level 2 or 3 while connected to some wifi and let it load these zoom levels. Once they are in the cache, you should see those scaled up in the deeper zoom levels (maybe it doesn’t work at very deep levels (>10), but you can always zoom out to see the world map then).

 

[ekianjo]

Thanks, will try !

 

[moxie]

Does work very nicely here, at least without a GPS receiver I have a bluetooth GPS thingie somewhere - I'll have to fish it out and see if they talk