GPS route tracing (a modest proposal...)

gasman · Post by **gasman** » 12 Oct 2006, 12:18

Hi,
Just wondering if any challengers would consider taking a GPS unit with them on a challenge attempt to record their route?

A couple of guys I work with are involved in OpenStreetMap, a project to create a map of the UK (and the rest of the world, but mostly the UK) that's free for people to use, reproduce and generally play around with, without the legal restrictions associated with commercially-produced maps. They do this mostly by driving / walking / riding around with GPS receivers, and uploading the traces to a central server.

Right now, London is pretty well covered as far as streets go (thanks mostly to a courier firm who donated masses of data) but the detail on the tube network is making slow progress - most of what's there has been done in spare lunch hours around the city, and it's unlikely we'll be venturing out to Amersham and Epping any time soon. And that's where you lot come in...

We figure that if someone were to take a GPS unit on an all stations challenge, they'd just have to turn it on, stick it in a rucksack and basically forget about it for the rest of the day, other than making sure it's somewhere near a window. As you'd be keeping a logbook anyway, we can cross-reference the times from that with the GPS trace and pinpoint the locations of all the stations. (Obviously we'd get no signal in the underground sections, and somehow I doubt anyone would be willing to pop up to the surface at every station to take a reading during a record attempt, but getting central London mapped isn't an issue anyway - it's the outer zones that are going to be the really valuable bits.)

In the end everyone's a winner... we get our lovely mapping data, and you get a neat record of your route, some cast-iron supporting evidence that Guinness are bound to look upon very favourably, a lot of handy information for future attempt planning, and a warm fuzzy feeling from helping to reclaim a view of our green and pleasant land back from The Man (and his army of highly-paid lawyers).

So, Jonny and Steven... would you be up for it on your attempt later this month? The main coordinator of OpenStreetMap is based in London, and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to lend a GPS unit for the day. Give me a shout if you're interested and I'll get you hooked up with the appropriate people.

hwolge · Post by **hwolge** » 12 Oct 2006, 14:19

We did contemplate bringing a GPS for our attempt back in March. However, that particular unit did only have a battery life of 14 hours... Otherwise we thought that a GPS dump would be an excellent piece of evidence to present to Guinness (especially if you export the data in Google Earth compatible form...)

Starkey7 · Post by **Starkey7** » 12 Oct 2006, 15:39

I wonder what Team Needing Help thinks about this.

Going Underground · Post by **Going Underground** » 12 Oct 2006, 15:47

Yes young Starkey, all depends on the weight of GPS unit as I have no idea what size they are or how heavy.....or what they are at all actually..

But in princible I don't have any objections.......

Post by **tubeguru** » 12 Oct 2006, 15:58

A handheld GPS unit weighs virtually nothing - it's the battery life that is the key here. It needs to be at least 20 hours or more.

GPS's with built-in batteries tend to last less time than those using replaceable ones.

Going Underground · Post by **Going Underground** » 12 Oct 2006, 16:05

tubeguru wrote:A handheld GPS unit weight virtually nothing - it's the battery life that is the key here. It needs to be at least 20 hours or more.

GPS's with built-in batteries tend to last less time than those using replaceable ones.

What about space wise, as obviously on a full network attempt you want to travel as light as possible...

gasman · Post by **gasman** » 12 Oct 2006, 16:57

Consulting one of the local GPS geeks here, it sounds like the replaceable battery type (and a spare set of batteries) might indeed be the way to go - alternatively, the NaviGPS would seem to be up to the task, if we can get our hands on one...

Sizewise, I expect we'll be talking about something between mobile phone and keyfob sized.

Going Underground · Post by **Going Underground** » 12 Oct 2006, 17:01

OK well if no one trials this beforehand I dont forsee any problem in our team taking one with us on 17th Nov........

joy54 · Post by **joy54** » 12 Oct 2006, 17:28

I think this is a brilliant idea and if you want to PM me to discuss this further it would be great, thanks for the idea. Would look great in the Guinness portfolio.

jonny · Post by **jonny** » 12 Oct 2006, 17:28

Steve and I will be more than happy to lug this around with us on our attempt if you can provide us with all the equipment, batteries, etc. I am sure it will help us prove anything if we need to.

When you have any more information please PM me and we'll sort it.

Cheers

Jonny (& Steve)

Post by **tubeguru** » 12 Oct 2006, 17:59

Do you lot think that GPS's are these huge mainframe things with power leads or something?

Look at your mobile phone - now imagine something maybe a little bigger. That's it.

gasman · Post by **gasman** » 12 Oct 2006, 18:04

Excellent news - thanks very much! (And thanks to GU for the offer too... let's hope that Jonny and Steve's attempt goes well enough that I don't need to take you up on it

) I'll be in touch in due course to sort things out.

(edit: What a nicely jubilant way to celebrate my 100th post!)

editorsfoot · Post by **editorsfoot** » 12 Oct 2006, 19:23

I have a GPS sitting in my climbing rucksack, its a bit old so might not work with all the sofware. Sorry to put a spanner in the works but even GPS near a window isn't guaranteed a good signal, and they don't like relocating the satellites.

Anyway mine has a battery life of 22 hours, so good enough for a tube challenge.

gasman · Post by **gasman** » 29 Oct 2006, 23:42

Well then... as Jonny and Steve's attempt was unfortunately cut short, we're still in need of a willing volunteer. Would Team Going Underground still be happy to take a GPS along (or, to be precise, two very small GPSes for extra accuracy) on the 17th?

(...Actually, I've got that week off work and could theoretically fit in some tube challenging fun myself - although I'm not free on the Friday and I doubt that my inexperience / last-minuteness would bode well for doing a 275 anyway. Still, I'm hoping to fit in a DLR attempt / mapping session this weekend.)

Going Underground · Post by **Going Underground** » 30 Oct 2006, 08:31

gasman wrote:Well then... as Jonny and Steve's attempt was unfortunately cut short, we're still in need of a willing volunteer. Would Team Going Underground still be happy to take a GPS along (or, to be precise, two very small GPSes for extra accuracy) on the 17th?

Yes we would be delighted to take GPSes along....

I don't know the best way you can get them to us although team member Soup Dragon works about 5 mins walk from Hatton Cross...

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GPS route tracing (a modest proposal...)

GPS route tracing (a modest proposal...)

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