GPS odometers? [Archive] - Thoughts Media Forums

PDANEWBIE

12-31-2004, 07:17 PM

I do traveling for my business. I was just given an option to buy a GPS device. What I wanted to find out is if anyone has enabled a GPS odometer? I.E. I turn on my Ipaq 2215. I load the software. I tell it when to start the tracking of milage and I then again prompt it to stop tracking of the milage and at the end of all the starts and stops it gives me a tally of how far I have gone total.

This would help out alot because I have a large area to cover but some of my driving expenses are not covered due to me traveling to my home office and my home.

At first I was htinking bluetooth enableled car odometer or a USB port built in to download data from the odometer to the PDA but I know theres no such thing so now with me having the option of getting the GPS device I was thinking someone must have some kind of software like this.

Menneisyys

12-31-2004, 08:53 PM

There're several solutions to this problem; check out e.g. http://www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=6663

PDANEWBIE

12-31-2004, 09:06 PM

I saw this before but this has no automation features I.E. gathering the distance data from any source but your own input. I was hoping for something automated with some kind of GPS solution. I.E. I turn on the gps. let the GPS get a fix. load up the gps software and then in the backround run a second odometer sofware that you can turn on and the off and then view the end result of your traveling.

Thanks for the link though I'll file it away if what I am looking for is not available.

Sven Johannsen

12-31-2004, 09:17 PM

You can do pretty much that with DeLorme's Blue Logger http://www.delorme.com/bluelogger/ You can get PPC software to download the stored track or do it at home when you get there. If you are wanting to work on the PPC while out, you will need http://www.delorme.com/blueloggermanager/default.asp

KimVette

01-02-2005, 10:18 PM

I have an old version of Teletype (030922 if I recall correctly) and I often use it as an odometer for tracking mileage for tax purposes, but it only tracks milage for each session and does not keep a total tally an ongoing basis. It is extremely accurate though! :)

peterac

01-09-2005, 06:05 PM

Can your Teletype SW also save all the tracking detail of a given "trip"?
(with a line that shows your travelled route?)

Thanks,
Pete R.

KimVette

01-10-2005, 01:35 AM

yes it can. :)

mattp

01-11-2005, 03:43 PM

The latest version of Mapopolis (and maybe earlier ones, I dunno) allows you to log GPS data. It wil give you the start location, finish location, distance, time, avg. speed, max speed, and maybe a few other things for each trip. It will also re-animate your trip on the map just as though you were driving it, so you can watch what you did after the trip while sitting on your couch if you like. It will also allow you to save individual trips.

Mapopolis offers their program for free and will allow you to downloaed demo maps before you purchase, so you might want to give it a try.

In the program, you have to enable GPS tracking and GPS trail to get this info. If you look on the map when you have finished the trip, it actually has a series of blue dots that shows the path you took. If you click on an individual dot, it will show you the location of that dot, what time you were there, and how fast you were going. Finally, it also has a data log describing each detail of when your receiver updated itself, which is REALLY descriptive since the GPS updates every two seconds or so. If you sit at a red light for 30 seconds it will create 15 entries in the log saying that you were stopped at such-and-such a location.

I'm not sure that you can really input that this is the beginning of a trip and this is the end because I haven't played with it enough yet. Probably simply turning the GPS off and then on again will reset a new trip. Not sure. Mine does record "stops" everytime I stop at a red light, so simply relying on "stops" might not be too reliable.

peterac

01-14-2005, 05:55 PM