rhackenb | # 1 | 2007-02-26, 21:53 | Report

I have successfully installed the MaemoMapper on my Nokia 800 but I have no idea of how to use it effectively and there does not appear to be a functioning help or howto page. Maybe someone could answer the following questions:

1. If I want to use Google Streets on the N800, what is the proper way to configure the software? I have been doing something so that as I change zoom or scroll in a direction, maps keep downloading via the wireless connection but it seems like a haphazard process. Can I simply copy down all the maps that I need and have the software access it on the external drive?

2. I don't have a bluetooth gps receiver but plan on getting one if I can be sure that I can use it to make the map scroll with it. Can someone explain what will happen if I have the gps receiver and the maps loaded? Will it track my position on the map? I don't see how that is possible with the raster maps that are downloaded. It seems like we need vector maps and they don't seem to be available.

Thanks

redbones | # 2 | 2007-02-26, 23:25 | Report

sounds like you have it configured correctly.

this post talks about downloading maps for an area.

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ight=winmapper

GeneralAntilles | # 3 | 2007-02-27, 00:12 | Report

The latest version (1.4) will get and configure all the map repositories for you. It's under the Map submenu as Manage Repositories... Just click the big Download... button in the bottom center. You'll have to configure the download folder and view steps for each individual repository. I keep the sliders all the way to the left to give me the maximum number of viewing levels. You should create a Map folder on one of your SD cards (I use the external card) with 5 subfolders for each of the default repositories: gsat, gstreet, vestreet, vesat, vehybrid. Click the Browse... button to select the appropriate folder for each repository. You'll have to do this for all of them:


You can then switch repositories through the Map submenu. Maemo Mapper will download (and cache for later) maps as you view them, which is not particularly useful if you're on the road without a connection. So, to download the maps for a large area that you frequent: 1. Frame the map area that you'd like to download. 2. Go to the Maps submenu and select Manage Maps... 3. Make sure Download Maps and By Area (see tab) are selected (you can also download maps along a route, if you have a route loaded, from here). 4. Switch over to the Zoom tab and check the boxes for levels 0-4 (you may want to do more zoom levels, but 0-4 is good for an average sized city). 5. Click OK:


Maemo Mapper automagically gets the boundaries of your view and downloads the maps for that area. This may take a while.

When you go out to drive (as opposed to browsing around at home), be sure to turn auto-download off so it wont attempt to download maps if you drive out of your area:


I purchased an i-Blue 737 GPS, and would recommend no other. Fast satellite aquisition, holds position well indoors, outdoors, and in-pocket. Long battery life, it uses standard Nokia batteries, so they're easy to come by. More professional reviewers than myself have found it's chipset to be about the most accurate on the consumer bluetooth GPS receiver market (google search will turn up some stuff). Best of all, though, it works flawlessly with Maemo Mapper.

Once you turn on the GPS and get it setup initially (you have to "pair" it under the preferences), you simply select Enabled GPS from the GPS submenu to have it connect. The option under that will show and hide the information sidebar with MPH, time, lat/long, satellites, compass, etc.


The maps that Maemo Mapper downloads map predictable to lat/long positions (else there'd be little point in making GPS software, no? ), so as Maemo Mapper gets GPS data, it can plot your position (and track) onto the map (as can bee seen at the blue dot). Pressing the middle button on the d-pad will change the tracking mode from lat/long to lead, scrolling or tapping will disable tracking (this can also be accessed in the Auto-Center submenu). When tracking is enabled, Maemo Mapper will simple scroll along with your dot as you move and show your track as a red line.


Hopefully this helps you out, as Maemo Mapper is probably the most useful applications on the platform.

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Last edited by GeneralAntilles; 2008-01-18 at 03:41.

neocx | # 4 | 2007-02-27, 03:07 | Report

I have a related question. As I use Marmo mapper, I notice thet multiple versions of each repository start appearing. For example, when I first installed the program, I had Google Street, Good Satellite, VE Street, and VE Hybrid. Now, after a a little browsing with auomatic downloads, now I have two copies of each repository. The first thing I did was change the Cache dir for each repository to a dir on my external card and the newly created repositories are using the default dir. What I am doing wrong? Why is MM creating these new repositories?

Thanks

geneven | # 5 | 2007-02-27, 04:28 | Report

Hurray! I got my device working. There were no instructions I could find on what pairing meant, or whether I had to put it into the control panel, but I eventually figured out that what my GPS manual referred to as a passcode was needed.

Exactly what documentation should I have read before daring to post a message about this?

How do I activate flite? I installed it, but I don't see any new menu options. Is there a voice that will tell me stuff? One of the menus seems to say that there is.

How do I indicate a "waypoint", which I gather is a destination I might want to go to?

rhackenb | # 6 | 2007-02-27, 13:07 | Report

GeneralAntilles,

What an excellent explanation of what I wanted to know. Maybe you should turn your reply into the beginnings of documetation of MaemoMapper.

The screens you are showing don't look much like what I have on my n800. I downloaded it just a couple of days ago. I have no clue which version I have. I brought up the app and poked around the various screens and saw no reference to the version. The About screen should have it but it doesn't. I'll search for 1.4.

I have already taken a look at the I-Blue gps. They are selling it for $69 in the US. On your advice, I will definitely consider getting it. I was worried about it not tracking my position. I definitely will have to download all the maps I need before travelling because I won't get a wifi connection while moving. I can get good maps for the US from Google. We are heading to Italy in a few weeks and I'll see what it gives me for there. Which is the best mapsource for Europe?

I also have the same problem of neocx. Not understanding what Manage Repositories->download did, I ended up with at least four sets of Google Streets, etc. I couldn't figure out how to get rid of them. I even uninstalled, installed again and they were still there. Then I realized that I when I go into the repositories screen and highlight one of the items, I can hit the 'delete' button and it will disappear. The repositories screen is very non-intuitive as to what it does and how to use it.

Thanks for all the feedback. I may end up writing my own howto on the Mapper and posting it on my website. I may 'steal' your explanations with your permission.

GeneralAntilles | # 7 | 2007-02-27, 13:55 | Report

After flite has been installed through the Application Manager, simply check the box in the Preferences under the Announce tab. You can change the voice settings (Marvin from the old Macs) here, too. As far as I know, it only uses voice for reading you directions while you're navigating a route.


Waypoints are direction changes on a route. You can tap and hold on them to get more information. Points of Interest are the destinations that you would generate directions to. These can be place by tapping-and-holding and selecting Add POI.


Maemo Mapper or the whole look of the GUI? I have a custom theme (NuvoTheme) installed, which rather drastically changes the look of the device.

Open up the Application Manager and scroll down until you see Maemo Mapper. The version number should be off to the right.

Have at it, I've no particular attachment to them.

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Last edited by GeneralAntilles; 2007-02-27 at 14:00.

geneven | # 8 | 2007-02-27, 14:41 | Report

Nice, thanks. I couldn't figure out how to get Marvin to tell me more than how to start the trip, but this was fun.

TA-t3 | # 9 | 2007-02-27, 14:57 | Report

Hey Gnuite, the maemo mapper is simply an astonishingly good application! It does exactly what I tried to force my car nav system (TomTom) to do while walking around in cities I travel to, but this is much better! And GeneralAntilles' postings illustrates it well

rhackenb | # 10 | 2007-02-27, 19:11 | Report

I see now that I have version 1.4.3. It is the most current and now that I understand how it works, I am showing what you are showing.

I have now successfully harvested a workable set of maps for the US. Here are some lessons learned:

1. Don't change the repository initially. Each time you do do a download in the repository window, you get a duplicate set of the 5 sources. I guess later I will find a better repository and then I will do a download.

2. When the application launches, I am sitting at 0/0 (near the equator off Africa. This is because I don't have a gps connected and it doesn't know where I am. I would like to manually input a default lat/lon but don't know how.

3. To take gather the right maps of the US, i make sure GStreet (Google Streets) is selected from the Maps menu, and that Autoload is not checked in the same menu. Then I zoom out (I do this with the hard button on the top of the n800 (Wish I could control zoom with the stylus...can I?).

4. I then use the hard button with up, down, left,right up on the upper left of the n800 to scroll up and over to North America and then zoom in to most of the US is showing on the screen. I then use Maps->Manage Maps to make sure that Download Maps and By Area are toggled. On the same interface I select Zoom and select 12 as the zoom area. When I click OK, the level-12 maps for the area seen on the display start downloading. I then proceed to keep zooming into my state (Indiana) and accept the zoom level already checked in the Zoom screen and hit OK. Then I zoom in on the Indianapolis area and choose several levels of zoom. This will download a lot of maps. I think the lowest level is 4. The total size of what has been downloaded is about 7 MB. That's very tolerable because I modified the repository manager to send the maps to my external 2GB drive.

5. When I prepare to travel somewhere out of state, I will give the route to the destination and tell it to download fairly high level maps along the route. I also plan to download similar maps for Italy before I go there.

Hope this helps. It basically made me explain to myself what the process is.

Can anyone tell me how to zoom in and out with the stylus instead of with the physical buttons? Those buttons are hard to press and I am afraid I will break them.

-- rhackenb