[plug] Linux GPS Mapping

[Patrick Coleman]

On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 12:06 PM, Tim White <weirdit at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm hoping someone has experience in what I am trying to do, and can lead me
> in the right direction.
> First, I'm looking for a handheld GPS, that can interface with the computer
> (and Linux) and can create "tracks", i.e. logging where ever I go.
>
> I'm also looking for software that will let me take these way points, and
> overlay them on an image, to start creating an updated map. Basically, we
> have a geographical map of the area I am working in, that is about 30 years
> old or something like that, so a lot of road/tracks in the bush aren't on
> it, or have changed. I basically want to be able to go to some known points
> on the map, namely some houses, a fire tower, road intersections for major
> roads, get the gps data for them, so that I can use the scanned in version
> of the map, correctly fitted, and overlay the new roads and tracks.
> Eventually, I'll want it to be printable, as well as scaleable (so I can do
> a large scale map, as well as a smaller scale, as we need both).

I'd have a look at OpenStreetMap (http://openstreetmap.com); if you
get a compatible receiver you can log the tracks and contribute. This
means that all the overlay and map generation side of things will be
done for you, and you'll have maps you can print out.

They have a list of appropriate receivers on their wiki, as well as
some good instructions on how to use them to generate appropriate
data.

-Patrick


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