I fiddled around with gps/map software on Linux a few months ago. I had to figure out
a bunch of stuff to make it go, here's some of my notes:
* rfcomm pairs with bluetooth gps device and binds to /dev/rfcomm0
* gps-share notices /dev/rfcomm0 and streams NMEA data to port 10110
* avahi-daemon notices that there's a local tcp NMEA source
avahi-browse -a
* geoclue can tell that the local network has an NMEA provider via avahi.
* client (viking, where-am-i, etc) communicates with geoclue via dbus
triggering geoclue to connect to gps-share on port 10110.
Run "dbus-monitor --system" in one terminal when you
run client in another terminal to see the dbus
communication. Run gps-share in the foreground to
see when connections get made to the nmea port.
After figuring out how all the parts fit together, the "geoclue" part
started crashing... I looked at the code, but, phooey...
A few weeks ago I got an iPad with a 256 gb ssd and an app called "maps.me",
it all works without figuring anything out
...
Yesterday my waterproof mount came, and voila! (I think that means "Bob's
your uncle") I have a BF GPS ...
I don't plan to let it tell me where to go anymore than I let the Red Book
tell me where to go. There's a way to plan a route on "mymaps.google.com"
and export the route to a "kml" file and suck that into maps.me... that's
the blue line in the picture above. It isn't really a route, so much as a line
on the screen. My location is always in the middle of the screen, and the map
moves beneath me as I ride down the road. If I have a "kml" line drawn on the
screen, I can tell if I'm on the line or not, so that should help with missing a
turn and not realizing it for ten miles... anywho... we'll see what its like having
all the Red Books for all the states and always being on the right page...
So, naturally I rode down the road to see how it works, and took some pictures along
the way...
Here's one of the tire eating roads I used to go to work on...
A little while later...
It was near lunch time and I was headed to Grits and Groceries, my favorite place.
It seems unusually empty... there's a note on the door...
OH NO! Closed forever
...
So... I headed to Belton, where they have gas and hot dogs...
Hot dogs are a little underwhelming when you thought you were going to
have cheese grits with tomato gravy and pecan pie, but the waitress had
a great southern accent...
After that I put the BFGPS in the saddlebags and rode off somewhat towards
home on some unfamiliar backroads... the privet is in bloom and the air
is thick with its sweet smell... I love spring!
A cool building next to a graveyard at a stop sign...
-Mike
