GPS - Tracking our cruise ship using GPS receiver+laptop??

Author

Tracking our cruise ship using GPS receiver+laptop??

notaguru

2007-09-26, 10:33 pm

In Nov we'll be on a lengthy cruise, with a balcony cabin that
sees plenty of sky.

What can I buy to permit real-time tracking of the ship's
position during the trip? I assume one of the little Bluetooth
or USB receivers will work, but we need NMEA maps of the
Mediterranean and Atlantic, also.

Is this practical? What is a good choice for the receiver? The Maps?

Thanks!

John Tserkezis

2007-09-27, 4:33 am

notaguru wrote:

> In Nov we'll be on a lengthy cruise, with a balcony cabin that sees
> plenty of sky.
>
> What can I buy to permit real-time tracking of the ship's position
> during the trip? I assume one of the little Bluetooth or USB receivers
> will work, but we need NMEA maps of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, also.
>
> Is this practical? What is a good choice for the receiver? The Maps?

It depends. If you want to track occasionally, then pretty much anything
will do.

If you want to track real time, all points, continuously over the entire
trip, requirements change.

Firstly, I was always iffy with bluetooth receivers unless you have no other
option to get NMEA into your box in the first place.

You're going to need LOTS of storage space. I'd like to say laptop, but
that might not be practical for you- even if it is the best option in "that
respect".

A PDA is certainly practical, and you can offload longer tracks (every so
often) onto SD card as you go along. There will be breaks while you stop and
copy data, but owing it's a cruise, I really don't thing this will be a problem.
With the right software, you can have quite detailed control over what
happens to logged data- and again with the right choice of software, you can
log straight to SD card so there is no lag while you clear the local memory.

If you're not fussy with track detail, a "standard" off the shelf handheld
GPS receiver (ala Garmin or Magellan) will do, just set the track to as far as
you can go, and offload when it becomes full. This will give you a by far
more course detail, but still doable, because you're not exactly swinging
around streets in that kind of vessel.

In all cases, power is going to be the first and foremost issue. These will
need to be powered up 24/7, and it's up to you how you get power into all your
boxes.
If you're lucky, you might get a good enough view from your window to see
the birds, but should have a backup (just in case you don't have a good view).
Bluetooth would be ok, but you still have to run power cables regardless,
AND you have to waterproof it. Even if it isn't raining. Trust me.
Another option is a GPS "puck" be it as a full-blown USB receiver, or just
an antenna extension for your existing receiver. Both have waterproof options
if they don't already come standard waterproof.

Maps can be afforded an afterthought, because they're not useful unless
you're analysing tracks at the end. While you're looking at it live, I don't
think you need any more than world-wide broad maps, because let's face it,
you're not going to come across too much in the middle of the ocean.

If you're going to take the thing with you when you dock, that's another
story. You need to look at more detail for all the cities you visit.
Probably not going to be a cheap option unless their coverage does all the
cities you're going to visit.
In this area, there are several choices, and they'll all affect your choice
in hardware.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622
<http://counter.li.org>

mike

2007-09-27, 4:33 am

Larry G

2007-09-27, 7:33 am

On Sep 26, 11:58 pm, mike <spam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> notaguru wrote:
>
>
>
>
> You can make your own maps of the ocean.
> Take a piece of paper.
> Paint it blue.
> Put a grid on it.
> Put an arrow in the corner pointing up...name it "N".
>
> I try never to ask questions when I can't do anything with the answer.
> Unless you have some influence over the ship's rudder, are meeting
> a drug connection, or can swim to a landmark, knowing where you
> are within 30 feet is irrelevant. Any of the staff should be able to
> tell you when you'll arrive at a place where you have options.
>
> Take the hundreds of bux you're gonna spend on GPS and use it to
> keep the wife entertained along the way.
>
> As for practical matters, ships are made of metal. You may not get a
> signal unless you go topside. Now, you're juggling your laptop
> the bluetooth interface and the gps receiver while trying to see the
> display in the sun. And laptops don't like moisture, especially
> when it's full of salt. And everybody sees your cool toys. Half
> will think you're a nerd. The other half will be trying to determine
> your room number and when you'll be away.
>
> Leave the technology at home and play with the wife. With any luck,
> you'll have your very own "arrow pointing north".
>
> mike
>
> --
> Return address is VALID!
I've done this with a handheld in a small plane and on a ferry (but I
was topside) and captured the tracks.. and if you have a unit like the
Garmin 76 that can log data to the SD card.. then you can capture some
(not all) of the track info. I have not actually logged to the SD
card....though

but I do agree with Mike's advice also. :-)

Joseph Johnson

2007-09-27, 10:33 pm

too funny!

mike <spamme9@gmail.com> wrote in news:FTFKi.9066$Nn4. 8414@trnddc02:[color
=darkred]
> Leave the technology at home and play with the wife. With any luck,
> you'll have your very own "arrow pointing north".
>
> mike
>[/color]

Marcus Fox

2007-09-28, 12:33 pm

"notaguru" <notaguru-obvious@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:fdf036$3v4$3@re
gistered.motzarella.org...
> In Nov we'll be on a lengthy cruise, with a balcony cabin that
> sees plenty of sky.
>
> What can I buy to permit real-time tracking of the ship's
> position during the trip? I assume one of the little Bluetooth
> or USB receivers will work, but we need NMEA maps of the
> Mediterranean and Atlantic, also.
>
> Is this practical? What is a good choice for the receiver? The Maps?

Well, I have a PDA with an integrated GPS reciever, the Mitac Mio P550, that
does this. There are others. I run Memory Map 5 for giving my position on a
map. and TomTom for road navigation. In Memory Map, if digital maps of the
area are not available, then you can scan maps of the area you want to visit
and calibrate them using Google Earth (check the coordinates of a certain
landmark on GE and set the same coordinates as the landmark on the map).

This gives me power sufficient for 4:30 with the GPS on - I have had
sufficient power for a four hour flight. In addition to these, I have a
battery extender which takes 4 AA batteries and plugs in to give a couple of
charge cycles. If you have a good supply of rechargeable AAs and a charger,
your power supply will be limitless.

As others have said, you will need a view if the sky. Whether or not a
ship's porthole will be sufficient, is the chance you would have to take. I
have had sufficient sky view for a lock out of an aircraft window, however,
YMMV.

Memory Map also runs on a laptop, but you would need a GPS receiver for real
time tracking. I have not used it in this way though. Also depends on the
areas you are visiting. I have a 1:1,000,000 map of the northern
Mediterranean as far as Italy and a 1:20,000,000 map of Europe including the
Mediterranean. These were available as commercial products for MM. I have
also scanned maps for my own use which are not covered by a MM product.

If you need any more help, let me know.

Marcus

notaguru

2007-09-28, 3:33 pm

Marcus Fox wrote:
> "notaguru" <notaguru-obvious@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:fdf036$3v4$3@re
gistered.motzarella.org...
>
> Well, I have a PDA with an integrated GPS reciever, the Mitac Mio P550, that
> does this. There are others. I run Memory Map 5 for giving my position on a
> map. and TomTom for road navigation. In Memory Map, if digital maps of the
> area are not available, then you can scan maps of the area you want to visit
> and calibrate them using Google Earth (check the coordinates of a certain
> landmark on GE and set the same coordinates as the landmark on the map).
>
> This gives me power sufficient for 4:30 with the GPS on - I have had
> sufficient power for a four hour flight. In addition to these, I have a
> battery extender which takes 4 AA batteries and plugs in to give a couple of
> charge cycles. If you have a good supply of rechargeable AAs and a charger,
> your power supply will be limitless.
>
> As others have said, you will need a view if the sky. Whether or not a
> ship's porthole will be sufficient, is the chance you would have to take. I
> have had sufficient sky view for a lock out of an aircraft window, however,
> YMMV.
>
> Memory Map also runs on a laptop, but you would need a GPS receiver for real
> time tracking. I have not used it in this way though. Also depends on the
> areas you are visiting. I have a 1:1,000,000 map of the northern
> Mediterranean as far as Italy and a 1:20,000,000 map of Europe including the
> Mediterranean. These were available as commercial products for MM. I have
> also scanned maps for my own use which are not covered by a MM product.
>
> If you need any more help, let me know.
>
> Marcus
>
>

This is GREAT guidance --- thanks!

Lars

2007-09-28, 10:33 pm

On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 18:13:09 -0700, notaguru
<notaguru-obvious@gmail.com> wrote:

>In Nov we'll be on a lengthy cruise, with a balcony cabin that
>sees plenty of sky.
>
>What can I buy to permit real-time tracking of the ship's
>position during the trip? I assume one of the little Bluetooth
>or USB receivers will work, but we need NMEA maps of the
>Mediterranean and Atlantic, also.
>
>Is this practical? What is a good choice for the receiver? The Maps?

I reallt think you should have a laptop and a puck type USB connected
Gps. That Gps will draw its power from the laptop.
Make sure you have enough cable from the Gps to the laptop. Bring some
double sided sticky tape so you can stick the Gps to a window where it
can see at least some satellites. You may have to have the puck out on
your balcony so get one that is waterproof. They cost less than $ 100
now.

For software you can do fine with SeaClear. It is a freeware program
that works very well;
http://www.sping.com/seaclear/

The tricky bit is maps. Depending on your desire for detail, and how
large an area you will cover, it can vary a lot in how much work or
money they will cost you.

One option is to scan maps yourself. SeaClear includes software for
calibrating maps.

Lars
Stockholm

Skramblr

2007-09-29, 3:33 pm

I'll add my two cents. I use my GPS on a cruise. Our cabin had a balcony, so
we had a large glass door. The problem with a laptop w/GPS is that you need
to keep it turned on all the time to track your travels. That may or may not
be practical. I don't like leaving my laptop laying about. But you can find
a small portable GPS for under $100 that works as good as a USB GPS. The
benefit here is that you can just leave the handheld out with it's built in
batteries, then download the track later.

What was interesting was the path taken by the ship. Several times we
traveled to the next destination at night. But rather than dock in the
middle of the night, the ship just sailed in circles until the port opened.
Never would have noticed without the GPS track.

One more trick. It's faster/easier to take the GPS up on deck to let it get
a lock on all the satellites. Once the GPS knows where it is at, you can
take it down to the cabin and it should get a fix pretty quickly. You'll
need to leave it next to the window to keep a fix.

-Skramblr

Lars

2007-09-29, 10:33 pm

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:21:30 -0700, "Skramblr" <skramblr@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>The benefit here is that you can just leave the handheld out
>with it's built in batteries, then download the track later.

I have no problem with leaving laptops on overrnight, or for
extended periods. In my kitchen I have one that is always on, and
I use it only for listening to BBC web radio. It is on for weeks.

Someone else here mentioned there not being much to see "in the
middle of the ocean". I would think that these days people don't much
take cruises covering large stretches of ocean. But rather travel
through waters where there is a lot to see. Through archipelagos or
along coasts.

If that is the case would it not be nice to be able to check in your
laptop every so often to find out what it actually is that you see
outside?

Lars
Stockholm

Crabman

2007-09-30, 3:33 pm

Lars wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:21:30 -0700, "Skramblr" <skramblr@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
> I have no problem with leaving laptops on overrnight, or for
> extended periods. In my kitchen I have one that is always on, and
> I use it only for listening to BBC web radio. It is on for weeks.
>
> Someone else here mentioned there not being much to see "in the
> middle of the ocean". I would think that these days people don't much
> take cruises covering large stretches of ocean. But rather travel
> through waters where there is a lot to see. Through archipelagos or
> along coasts.
>
> If that is the case would it not be nice to be able to check in your
> laptop every so often to find out what it actually is that you see
> outside?
>
>
> Lars
> Stockholm
I think he meant as a valuable laying around.

Mike Lane

2007-09-30, 10:33 pm

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:33:20 +0100, Crabman wrote
(in article < 46ffed0e$0$18999$4c3
68faf@roadrunner.com> ):

> I think he meant as a valuable laying around.

Actually he probably meant 'lying around', unless it could lay eggs.

--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane

Russell Patterson

2007-10-02, 10:33 am

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 23:09:47 GMT, Lars <Lars@fake.com> wrote:

>On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:21:30 -0700, "Skramblr" <skramblr@hotmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>
>I have no problem with leaving laptops on overrnight, or for
>extended periods. In my kitchen I have one that is always on, and
>I use it only for listening to BBC web radio. It is on for weeks.

But you don't have a cabin attendant coming in several times a day,
who might speak a language you are familiar with - or might not.

>
>Someone else here mentioned there not being much to see "in the
>middle of the ocean". I would think that these days people don't much
>take cruises covering large stretches of ocean. But rather travel
>through waters where there is a lot to see. Through archipelagos or
>along coasts.
>
>If that is the case would it not be nice to be able to check in your
>laptop every so often to find out what it actually is that you see
>outside?
>
>
>Lars
>Stockholm

hermans

2007-10-02, 3:33 pm

I did this kind of thing two times:
- I used a garmin 76 and later a 60CSx
- on my laptop I had calibrated for oziexplorer a map of the region we
sailed
- once I regularly got the positions from the crew of the ship, so I
didn't have to registrate the positions myself (Svalbard - Greenland -
Iceland)
- on a smaller ship I made a tracklog every day (Lofoten (Norway))en
then brought it onto the laptop
The greatest problem was calibrating the small scale maps for oziexplorer
I was satisfied with the results.
If you're interested I can send some images.
Herman
notaguru schreef:
> In Nov we'll be on a lengthy cruise, with a balcony cabin that sees
> plenty of sky.
>
> What can I buy to permit real-time tracking of the ship's position
> during the trip? I assume one of the little Bluetooth or USB receivers
> will work, but we need NMEA maps of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, also.
>
> Is this practical? What is a good choice for the receiver? The Maps?
>
> Thanks!

notaguru

2007-10-02, 10:33 pm

Thank you, Herman

I don't need images - enough help has come in to solve the problem.

hermans wrote:[color=darkred
]
> I did this kind of thing two times:
> - I used a garmin 76 and later a 60CSx
> - on my laptop I had calibrated for oziexplorer a map of the region we
> sailed
> - once I regularly got the positions from the crew of the ship, so I
> didn't have to registrate the positions myself (Svalbard - Greenland -
> Iceland)
> - on a smaller ship I made a tracklog every day (Lofoten (Norway))en
> then brought it onto the laptop
> The greatest problem was calibrating the small scale maps for oziexplorer
> I was satisfied with the results.
> If you're interested I can send some images.
> Herman
> notaguru schreef:

LinkBot