Hacking the Mio Moov 200 for Geocaching

My son got a Mio Moov 200 for a Christmas gift. He is interested in Geocaching and
wants to be able to use this device for the hunt. After quite a bit of searching
I am not seeing much success from others.

The Mio Moov 200 appears to be an ARM processor running Windows CE. You can mount
the GPS as a USB drive you can browse the filesystem. At the root I found some text
and XML file with the following info:



Created: 2008-02-18 18:42:34:968750000

Software: COBIA_300_64_NA 5.50.0023

Map Data:TA_NA_0710_3207

Map Region:US

Part Num: 565116840019R02 

[Process1]

RelativePath=TRUE

ProcessFile=SmartST_CE.exe

ProcessCmdLine=

ProcessDbgFile=SmartST_CEDbg.exe

ProcessDbgCmdLine=

MaxRestarts=3

Major=TRUE

WindowName=SmartST_CE

MaxCloseMessages=10

The older units used to use an iGO format and there are conversion tools for that
format. Based upon some notes that I found on the Internet it appears the Mio purchased
a company called Navman and adopted their tools. That is unlucky for us it because
it appears that no one has built a tool to import geocaching info into their
POI database.




Their is a rumor that the POI database is based upon SQLite but I am unable
to confirm that because I have been unable to find the database. Other folks
report that it is named database.db but I can't find that on my GPS. Since I
am unable to find a POI file or database I decided to try another route. 

Once of the interesting things about this GPS is that it has a LOT of XML files. Almost
all of the config is XML. Open up the following file with notepad or some other
editor:

I:\Program Files\Navman\SmartST_CE\UserData\MyFavouriteLocations.xml

It is possible to modify this file to include your Geocache location. But it requires
hand formating some XML.



I converted a GPX file from www.geocaching.com Pocket
Query into a CSV text file via another website called GPS
Visualizer. I then reformatted the latitude and longitude in formation so that
decimal point was removed. Now at this point to can manual create/insert some XML
into: MyFavouriteLocations.xml




Here is an example of what I created:

I had to reformat some of the original XML to make it more readable in my browser
and editing tools. After a couple of attempts I was able to get a file that worked
as designed showed up  and showed up as a favorite. So far I have about 3 hours
into this little experiment in an attempt to make my son happy. (We have other
GPS that I can upload cache locations into... but this is HIS gps.) I am not
sure how many favorites this little device will hold at this point.



I really need to come up with a simpler way to format the XML so that I can insert
one large block here. A more advanced person could probably whip up a script
to do this or push it into a SQL formated RDMS and then run a query that formats the
output data.

Hmmm... I am not sure what is next. All that I know is that I hate Mio Moov 200. This
is a lot of work to navigate to a parking location just so that I can then get out
my 10+ year old Garmin 12 to hike in.



I have about 500 locations loaded into my TomTom One and Garmin 12 at this point in
less than an hour. That time includes also figuring out how to format the data and
run the various tools. I can now load about 500 locations into both of them in less
than 10 minutes.

Geocaching with Garmin 12

Using the GPX file from the earlier blog posting I was able to get it loaded into
my Garmin 12 gps. This GPS is pretty old but extremely reliable.




I downloaded the eval edition of GeoBuddy from:

http://www.geobuddy.com/

It is a pretty neat program while pull up the details and maps for each cache as you
click on them. It is also design to track and update you info on www.geocaching.com.

Right now I was just looking for an easy to load the data into the Garmin 12. The
only magic was that I had to the change the "Interface" options on the GPS so that
it would look like a Garmin host. I am not sure why is it will accept NMEA sentences
directly. --Whatever... I was able to push the data to the GPS.



I am still considering what tool I am going to use on an ongoing basis. I would prefer
a free or open source tool and I don't really need this many features. If I can't
find a simpler/cheaper tool I will spend the $49 to buy this one.



I would prefer to use something open source since for the GPS 12 since I will probably
end buying a BlackBerry with GPS and then end up buying the Geocaching software on
for the crackberry.



For a 10+ year old GPS it still does a pretty good job. It is incredibly rugged which
is a requirement when you have 6, 8, and 10 year old kids hiking with it.

GeoCaching notifications on your TomTom One

It is nice to get notifications when you driving near some geocaches with the kids
in the car while running errands. Here are the steps for setting up the notifications.



Go into the preferences and select "Warn when near POI"

Select your category.

I see mine to notify me of them if we are within 5 miles.

Choose a sound.

Yes

I chose no... I want it warn all the time.

You are done.

Geocaching with a TomTom One

Here are some simple notes on how to download GeoCache locations into your TomTom
One 3rd Edition. It took me about an hour to figure this out the first time. It is
similar for other platforms.

I upgrade my account at www.geocaching.com free
a Free account to a Premium account. This makes easier to run large queries for
sites. You can use the free account but the number of sites that you download in a
single run is smaller, you will only be able to use the *.loc format, you can't setup
pocket queries, our trips. (Spend the $30... it is well worth the money for the features.)

The free search will give you something like the picture below. Select which caches
you want and click "Download Waypoints" and you will be prompted to save a *.loc file.

If you have a Premium account you can build a Pocket Query and then select when you
want it to run. I a couple of minutes later you will get an email. The picture below
was my first query.

I then went to:


http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/gpsbabel/gpsbabel_convert?all_types=1&intype=gpx&outtype=tomtom&type=w&zip_output=0




That link will set it up for GPX and TomTom file formats. It will also support the
*.loc format if yo choose that from the menu.



FYI... The TomTom One uses a *.ov2 format

Browse to your source file that you saved or got via email.



Click "Convert the file"

Once the processing is done the web page will refresh and you will get a link to down
load your file. Go ahead and download the file and save it someplace where you will
not lose it.

I renamed the file that we just downloaded to: GeoCaching.bmp



I then created a 22x22 8bit bitmap image for the icon that will show up on the map.
I saved it as GeoCaching.bmp.  (Right
click on this bmp and save it.)



These two files need to have the same name with their respective file extension. I
put both files into a new directory on my local pc. Your mileage may vary.

I then connected my GPS to my laptop/pc via the USB cable. You will be able to browse
the directories just like a USB hard drive or thumb drive. In my case the GPS shows
up as my I:\ drive. Browse to I:\USA_and_Canada. You will now copy the two files GeoCaching.ov2
and GeoCaching.bmp into this map directory.

Disconnect the USB cable from the GPS and you should now be able to browse GeoCaches
as POI. The pictures below summarize browsing to a GeoCache POI assuming that
you understand the basics of the TomTom menus.























The TomTom runs Linux and appears to be a very hackable little device. These instructions
might make this look like a big process which is not really the case. Once you have
done it once you can actually do the whole process in about 5-10 minutes.

TomTom One GPS is running Linux

While doing some research on my TomTom One 3rd Edition and GeoCaching I discovered
the my little device is running Linux and appears to be very hackable. (Not that I
have anything that I really need to change on it)

http://www.opentom.org/Main_Page




http://www.opentom.org/TomTom_ONE_3rd_Edition

http://www.opentom.org/TTconsole

http://www.opentom.org/BTconsole






How to change the voice files:

http://stefans.datenbruch.de/tomtom/




Hacking the TomTom ONE through Open Source


http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13531/53/

TomTom Linux Project

http://www.slashgear.com/tomtom-linux-project-303219/

Geocaching with multiple GPS

When we go geocaching we have a couple of different GPS options depending upon which
vehicle we take.

TomTom One 3rd Edition

Mio Moov 200

Garmin 12 (no mapping)

Once we are out of the car we use an old Garmin 12. It is probably 10+ years old.
It is as basic a GPS as you can get with no mapping and no USB interface.

I am working on getting geocache locations loaded into all of the platforms so that
when we are out and about running around we can see all of the local caches and then
stop for a quick hunt if we have a little bit of time.



Here is an interesting solution for getting the locations imported as POI (Points
of Interest) into the TomTom. This will be a hack that I going to try as it looks
pretty simple.



http://www.bioneural.net/2006/01/13/geocaching-with-tomtom-a-solution-for-mac-palm/




Another option is using http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/gpsbabel/ to
import and export the files over the web. It looks like it supports all of the formats
that I will need.

A couple of the better software packages:

Geocaching Swiss Army Knife http://gsak.net/ 

GPS Babek http://www.gpsbabel.org/

Nice Geo calculator:


http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/calculators

Installing JBoss 4.0.5 on Ubuntu Server 8.10

We are doing some work with JBoss at work. It got me wondering about how to install
this and play with it at home on one of my Linux server VMs.

Here are the basic steps that I ran tonight.

Get a JDK


sudo apt-get install sun-java6-JDK 

Download a JBoss install


wget "http://internap.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/jboss/jems-installer-1.2.0.GA.jar"

Make a place to store the install bits


sudo mkdir /home/jboss

Install the bits


java -jar jems-installer-1.2.0.GA.jar -installGroup default installpath=/home/jboss

Set the environment variables


sudo nano /etc/profile

JAVA_HOME="/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.10

export"export JDK_HOME="${java_home}"

export PATH="${JAVA_HOME}/bin:${PATH}"

logout then back into pick up the path.

Manually start JBoss

cd /home/jboss/bin

sudo ./run.sh

Test the


http://server:8080

Default User

user: admin

pass: admin

Some of the places that I found notes on how to do this:



http://it.megocollector.com/?p=912

http://space.uwants.com/html/47/110947-188759.html

http://www.jboss.org/jbossas/docs/index.html

http://docs.jboss.org/jbossas/guides/installguide/r1/en/html/install.html

I have two minor issues to work out here:


1. The Java_Home info is not quite correct.

2. I think that I need to change the permissions on the /home/jboss directory so that
I can run this without using sudo. Not a big deal as I have only
been working on this for a few minutes.

Installing VMWare Tools on Fedora Core 10

I have been struggling to get VMWare Tools to properly install on Fedora Core 10 for
a few weeks. My initial searches had left me with little in the way of resolution.
I then found some excellent (link at the end of the posting)  notes that put
me on the right path.

Become SU

yum install make gcc kernel-devel


Say Yes to the prompt

uname -r


rpm -q kernel-devel


Compare the output of uname and the RPM info... if they don't match then run the YUM
upgrade step (next)

yum -y upgrade kernel kernel-devel

The next step is needed or your xwindows config may not work.

nano /etc/X11.xorg.conf

Section "Monitor"

Identifier "vmware"

EndSection

Save it (write out... then exit)

Now run the VMWare Tools install from the command line.

Excellent notes found at:

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/fedora-4.html

Linux Patches and Upgrades

Here is a screen capture of a Ubuntu 8.10 VM and Fedora Core 10 VM running side by
as they download and install the latest updates after the initial installation.

Fedora Core 10 Workstation (left)               
Ubuntu 8.10 Workstation (right)

Initially I like the look of Ubuntu a bit more than Fedora. On the flip side a large
amount of the Linux world writes for RedHat/Fedora Core based systems with their RPM
format.

The Debian world does not seem to be as large. I still seem to manage to be pretty
successful with Ubuntu as there is a lot of great documentation resources on the web.

Virtual Machine Construction

Here is what my screen looks like as I am building some virtual machines.

In the background you see the VMWare Server 2 via it's web interface.

In the lower left you see a Putty/SSH to my Linux Host showing TOP stats.

On the right side of the screen you an Ubuntu 8.10 workstation install.

Kind of a geeky weekend. When it struggles to reach zero (outside temp) for one
or two weekends in the Minnesota winter it is ok to stay inside and geek out.



My 8 year old built his first PC this weekend while I was upgrading my VMWare server.
We will get rid of at least one PC... maybe more with the VM infrastructure.



I also managed to get the Windows and Linux machines integrated this weekend. I have
filesystems mounted between the systems. This might be be beginning of the end for
having Windows Server running at home now that I am sharing data between the systems
fairly transparently.



The goal is to move the workstations/laptops probably to Macs and use Linux as the
server environment. I actually envision the server environment going away over time
as well. I will probably move everything to VMs or NAS as I slowly down size our world.