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Very nice! Obligatory and shameless self promotion everytime the topic of 3D maps comes up: I recently created a web app to visualize GPS tracking files in a 3

by folli 4y ago

Very nice! Obligatory and shameless self promotion everytime the topic of 3D maps comes up: I recently created a web app to visualize GPS tracking files in a 3D terrain. You can upload your GPX or FIT files and it generates the 3D Terrain using Babylon.js It's called https://cubetrek.com https://cubetrek.com

reaperducer 4y ago
I recently created a web app to visualize GPS tracking files Off topic, but since you work with GPS tracking files, perhaps you can recommend a GPS tracking device for me. Until last year, I used one I got around 2005 that was about half the size of a pack of cigarettes. You turned it on, and it would start logging waypoints at 10 minute intervals to a standard text tracking file on a microSD card. I could unload that text file into my computer and plot the route on a map in a bunch of mapping applications. It was great because when I was going on an adventure off the grid, or traveling overseas or something, I'd clip it to my backpack and then when I got home look at all the fun places I'd been. I recently tried to find a replacement on Amazon, and nothing is suitable. They are all: - Built with a big magnet for clamping to the underside a car - Just a stripped-down Android phone, so large, fragile, and complicated - Require a subscription - Require cellular connectivity - A watch - A piece of software I don't want connected. I don't want to subscribe to anything. I don't want it to drain my phone's battery. I don't want to stalk my ex-girlfriend. I just want something simple that I can turn on and turn off. I know it's possible, because I had one. I just want to find another one.
- baggsie 4y ago
  Garmin Etrex.
  - reaperducer 4y ago
    Discontinued, according to https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/6403 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/6403 The only available Garmin alternative is $200. The one I'm replacing was $30. But I'm willing to go to $75. Also, it's a bit large because it has a screen, but that's not a deal-breaker. The one I'm replacing didn't even have a screen, just a light for power and a light to indicate it was connected to the satellites.
    - frant-hartm 4y ago
      There is a newer model eTrex 10. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/87768 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/87768 I have it, it does the job well. It can store about 14 days of walking, the 25 hour battery life is accurate, it can do more with good batteries (uses 2 AA) and if you reduce the recording interval. The map is rubbish, I deleted it to get more data for the exported tracks, which you can download to any computer with a USB cable, no special driver needed. Unfortunately it doesn't have a card slot. The great thing for hiking is it supports just about any coordinate system you can think of (at least supports all that I know).
- folli 4y ago
  I personally use a Garmin Fenix (an old one, Fenix 3). The watch form factor is perfect for my use cases (mainly hiking, running and ski mountaineering). Also: the barometric altimeter is a must have for mountaineering purposes. I guess it very much depends on what you need it for.
- habi 4y ago
  What a blast for the past! I still have a functioning Wintec GPS tracker which I bought in 2007. One battery lasts for some days, I have multiple batteries… It’s barely larger than a pack of matches. Currently they sell This model here https://www.win-tec.com.tw/portfolio-item/wbt202/ https://www.win-tec.com.tw/portfolio-item/wbt202/, I have a WBT200.
  - reaperducer 4y ago
    This is very much like the one I want to replace. Unfortunately, it's not available for retail purchase anymore.
    - habi 4y ago
      True, sorry. I just looked at the site on my mobile. Also no luck on eBay for me... If my memory serves me good, then a https://www.amazon.com/i-gotU-GT-120-Travel-Logger-Software/dp/B001IMJV0E/ https://www.amazon.com/i-gotU-GT-120-Travel-Logger-Software/... should also do the trick.
- usrusr 4y ago
  Watches appear on the reject list, but fail to match any of your explanations. If it's about not wanting something on your wrist, just replace the strap with one that is good for clipping to your backpack. Most of the cheaper Garmin don't offer an option to lower recording frequency for extreme battery runtimes, but the Instinct series should do that just fine.
- qwertox 4y ago
  Why not a dedicated phone? A small app like https://github.com/mendhak/gpslogger https://github.com/mendhak/gpslogger and use it in airplane mode. Add a prepaid SIM card so that you can use it as a backup in case of emergency. That's basically what I'm doing to record my bike rides, with the exception that I leave the display and mobile internet on, since I use it as my bike computer. In my case it lasts around 3 hours, but the screen is at max brightness and there's a continuous websocket connection to my server, GPS is recorded in realtime, accelerometer and magnetic field multiple times a second. So I guess that if I'd only record GPS once a minute with the screen off and no mobile connection that battery would last for more than a day. You could also use it as a camera. Plus, when you get home, you connect it to wifi and let it upload the data to your server. I mean a cheap phone with a big battery.
2Gkashmiri 4y ago
like,mind=blown. i was on a trek last month and was following a trail from a gpx file. there was no other guide with us so i had to constantly keep the phone on, try to be on the dotted line and more often i would divert to one side and had going up, we diverted a lot, had to face trouble being rimrocked more than once. one, i felt like a need for voice navigation on OSM for hiking, just a simple "you have diverted from track, move to right 10 meters to be back on track" followed by "you are on track". then i felt like the app should have 3d elevation data WITH the gpx track so that i can look at the phone, see the contour and look up at the rock and cross reference. This is 100% what i wanted. 1. is this open source ? 2. can this be added to some hiking app or even to osmand? 3. i tried to add a gpx track and got "Track does not contain Timing data.". if the file does not have that data, why not ignore all that and just show the visualization?
- folli 4y ago
  Thanks for checking it out. No, it's not open source yet. I don't yet know where to go with this and if there's enough interest to continue development. I'm currently working on having accounts, so users can upload their tracks to their own profile. Also, integration with Garmin Connect is almost finished (so Garmin tracks will be automatically synced to your profile). Sign up to the newsletter if you want to keep in touch (or write me an email). Regarding 3.: It only works for GPX files with timing data (i.e. from a n actual activity) in order to show speed etc. But this is the most requested feature so far, so I'll work on it...
sytelus 4y ago
Is there anyway to get such track or map from Apple Fitness?
- folli 4y ago
  I don't use Apple Fitness, but I assume there's a way to export GPX files?
  - carl_dr 4y ago
    As far as I know, you need a third person app. Strava will import from Apple Fitness, and you can export the .gpx from Strava. Before it did that, I used HealthFit (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/healthfit/id1202650514 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/healthfit/id1202650514) but there are others, I'm sure some are free.
matsemann 4y ago
Very cool! But when trying stuff like this I'm always reminded how flat things look at scale, hah. Like my bike ride to work the other day: https://cubetrek.com/view/8197 https://cubetrek.com/view/8197 200m of elevation from kilometer 25 to kilometer 31, but hard to grasp how steep some of those hills are, haha. But for hiking mountainsides, or where I specifically bike up steep hills it looks really great https://cubetrek.com/view/8203 https://cubetrek.com/view/8203
- folli 4y ago
  I completely agree. To let you in on a little secret: the hills/mountains are already exaggarated by a factor of 1.5 to make them stand out more. So reality is even more flat. The tracks are definitely more impressive on mountaineous terrains (see some of the examples on the homepage), for flat terrain a traditional 2D map is more helpful.

by folli 4y ago

reaperducer 4y ago

I recently created a web app to visualize GPS tracking files Off topic, but since you work with GPS tracking files, perhaps you can recommend a GPS tracking device for me. Until last year, I used one I got around 2005 that was about half the size of a pack of cigarettes. You turned it on, and it would start logging waypoints at 10 minute intervals to a standard text tracking file on a microSD card. I could unload that text file into my computer and plot the route on a map in a bunch of mapping applications. It was great because when I was going on an adventure off the grid, or traveling overseas or something, I'd clip it to my backpack and then when I got home look at all the fun places I'd been. I recently tried to find a replacement on Amazon, and nothing is suitable. They are all: - Built with a big magnet for clamping to the underside a car - Just a stripped-down Android phone, so large, fragile, and complicated - Require a subscription - Require cellular connectivity - A watch - A piece of software I don't want connected. I don't want to subscribe to anything. I don't want it to drain my phone's battery. I don't want to stalk my ex-girlfriend. I just want something simple that I can turn on and turn off. I know it's possible, because I had one. I just want to find another one.

baggsie 4y ago
Garmin Etrex.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  Discontinued, according to https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/6403 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/6403 The only available Garmin alternative is $200. The one I'm replacing was $30. But I'm willing to go to $75. Also, it's a bit large because it has a screen, but that's not a deal-breaker. The one I'm replacing didn't even have a screen, just a light for power and a light to indicate it was connected to the satellites.
  - frant-hartm 4y ago
    There is a newer model eTrex 10. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/87768 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/87768 I have it, it does the job well. It can store about 14 days of walking, the 25 hour battery life is accurate, it can do more with good batteries (uses 2 AA) and if you reduce the recording interval. The map is rubbish, I deleted it to get more data for the exported tracks, which you can download to any computer with a USB cable, no special driver needed. Unfortunately it doesn't have a card slot. The great thing for hiking is it supports just about any coordinate system you can think of (at least supports all that I know).
folli 4y ago
I personally use a Garmin Fenix (an old one, Fenix 3). The watch form factor is perfect for my use cases (mainly hiking, running and ski mountaineering). Also: the barometric altimeter is a must have for mountaineering purposes. I guess it very much depends on what you need it for.
habi 4y ago
What a blast for the past! I still have a functioning Wintec GPS tracker which I bought in 2007. One battery lasts for some days, I have multiple batteries… It’s barely larger than a pack of matches. Currently they sell This model here https://www.win-tec.com.tw/portfolio-item/wbt202/ https://www.win-tec.com.tw/portfolio-item/wbt202/, I have a WBT200.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  This is very much like the one I want to replace. Unfortunately, it's not available for retail purchase anymore.
  - habi 4y ago
    True, sorry. I just looked at the site on my mobile. Also no luck on eBay for me... If my memory serves me good, then a https://www.amazon.com/i-gotU-GT-120-Travel-Logger-Software/dp/B001IMJV0E/ https://www.amazon.com/i-gotU-GT-120-Travel-Logger-Software/... should also do the trick.
usrusr 4y ago
Watches appear on the reject list, but fail to match any of your explanations. If it's about not wanting something on your wrist, just replace the strap with one that is good for clipping to your backpack. Most of the cheaper Garmin don't offer an option to lower recording frequency for extreme battery runtimes, but the Instinct series should do that just fine.
qwertox 4y ago
Why not a dedicated phone? A small app like https://github.com/mendhak/gpslogger https://github.com/mendhak/gpslogger and use it in airplane mode. Add a prepaid SIM card so that you can use it as a backup in case of emergency. That's basically what I'm doing to record my bike rides, with the exception that I leave the display and mobile internet on, since I use it as my bike computer. In my case it lasts around 3 hours, but the screen is at max brightness and there's a continuous websocket connection to my server, GPS is recorded in realtime, accelerometer and magnetic field multiple times a second. So I guess that if I'd only record GPS once a minute with the screen off and no mobile connection that battery would last for more than a day. You could also use it as a camera. Plus, when you get home, you connect it to wifi and let it upload the data to your server. I mean a cheap phone with a big battery.

2Gkashmiri 4y ago

like,mind=blown. i was on a trek last month and was following a trail from a gpx file. there was no other guide with us so i had to constantly keep the phone on, try to be on the dotted line and more often i would divert to one side and had going up, we diverted a lot, had to face trouble being rimrocked more than once. one, i felt like a need for voice navigation on OSM for hiking, just a simple "you have diverted from track, move to right 10 meters to be back on track" followed by "you are on track". then i felt like the app should have 3d elevation data WITH the gpx track so that i can look at the phone, see the contour and look up at the rock and cross reference. This is 100% what i wanted. 1. is this open source ? 2. can this be added to some hiking app or even to osmand? 3. i tried to add a gpx track and got "Track does not contain Timing data.". if the file does not have that data, why not ignore all that and just show the visualization?

folli 4y ago
Thanks for checking it out. No, it's not open source yet. I don't yet know where to go with this and if there's enough interest to continue development. I'm currently working on having accounts, so users can upload their tracks to their own profile. Also, integration with Garmin Connect is almost finished (so Garmin tracks will be automatically synced to your profile). Sign up to the newsletter if you want to keep in touch (or write me an email). Regarding 3.: It only works for GPX files with timing data (i.e. from a n actual activity) in order to show speed etc. But this is the most requested feature so far, so I'll work on it...

sytelus 4y ago

Is there anyway to get such track or map from Apple Fitness?

folli 4y ago
I don't use Apple Fitness, but I assume there's a way to export GPX files?
- carl_dr 4y ago
  As far as I know, you need a third person app. Strava will import from Apple Fitness, and you can export the .gpx from Strava. Before it did that, I used HealthFit (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/healthfit/id1202650514 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/healthfit/id1202650514) but there are others, I'm sure some are free.

matsemann 4y ago

Very cool! But when trying stuff like this I'm always reminded how flat things look at scale, hah. Like my bike ride to work the other day: https://cubetrek.com/view/8197 https://cubetrek.com/view/8197 200m of elevation from kilometer 25 to kilometer 31, but hard to grasp how steep some of those hills are, haha. But for hiking mountainsides, or where I specifically bike up steep hills it looks really great https://cubetrek.com/view/8203 https://cubetrek.com/view/8203

folli 4y ago
I completely agree. To let you in on a little secret: the hills/mountains are already exaggarated by a factor of 1.5 to make them stand out more. So reality is even more flat. The tracks are definitely more impressive on mountaineous terrains (see some of the examples on the homepage), for flat terrain a traditional 2D map is more helpful.