[OSM-talk] Free the postcode maps

[Ben Gimpert]

On Wed,  5 Jul 06 @10:27am, Joerg Ostertag wrote:
> On Wednesday 05 July 2006 09:58, Ben Gimpert wrote:
> > On Tue,  4 Jul 06 @06:39pm, Joerg Ostertag wrote:
> > > ...
> > >
> > > > Yes, if anyone has regular dealings with a cab firm or a courier in
> > > > their town, it would be ideal to lend them a GPS for a while and grab
> > > > the logs. Also, if they don't use GPS already then it sounds like a
> > > > business opportunity to me!
> > >
> > > The "for a while" is my problem.
> > > Do you know any possibility to EASILY log GPS Data for more than one Day?
> >
> > Zaurus Linux PDA + Compact Flash GPS + "Cigarette Lighter" (12V) Power
> > Adapater, then tuck the bundle under cab's driver seat and ask him or
> > her to forget about it for a month...?
> 
> Which Firmware do you use for it Zaurus-original/OpenZaurus?

This would be a one-purpose gadget, so I'll again beg the question:
"Whichever one best supports the CF GPS chipset."

> Which Logging Software do you use?

(see my previous message, probably Kismet)

> How do you start logging without any "Driver interaction". 

You don't.  Leave it logging continuously, never stopping.  24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.

> Since the Zaurus /With active GPS) probably wouldn't keep batteries over night 
> if it doesn't get 12V supplied.

I'm thinking the kit is *always* plugged into the 12V, even when the cab
is stopped at a Starbucks, or whatever.  The key to this project --
which kinda goes against hacker ethic -- is require *ZERO* user
interaction.  You'll have such an easier time convincing Cabbie in the
pub to sit on top of this gadget for a month if Cabbie can literally
*forget* about it, but still get the volunteering kudos!

> The other Problem is: Under the Driver Seat the GPS-reception probably is 
> comparably poor. So I'd have to use an additional external antenna.

Good point.  Maybe if you had more than one cab with a gadget, the poor
reception due to being out-of-sight and under the seat would be
compensated for by redundant traces?  Merge 'em in post-processing?

> What I'm thinking of was a box with a cigarett-lighter plug and a USB-plug for 
> the GPS-USB Mouse which starts logging (to some Memory >500MB) as soon as 12V 
> are available and stops logging if no power is available. That was the reason 
> I started the NSLU2 project which should be under 200,- Euro:
>  http://www.ostertag.name/GPSLogger/NSLU2_GPS_Logger.html
> But if i'd find a solution/combination which does similar and doesn't cost 
> hell. I'll imideately try to get one.

But how much power does a Zaurus + CF GPS really draw?  Really enough to
sap a cab's (car) battery overnight?  You might be surprised at how
little the gadget's power draw would be, relative to a car battery.

Again, I'd *always* leave the thing on and logging.

> One device I was looking at:
>  http://www.trackstick.com/
>  http://www.getdigital.de/index/0x10f/lng/1
> But it only has 1MB of Tracklog (NOT 1GB)

Yeah, sadly doesn't seem like enough.

		Ben