UTM data

 

Sunday 29 March 2009

What can I use UTM data for?

1. Show the current location of your Series 60 GPS phone in several grid coordinates formats (UTM, MGRS, OSGB, IG, CH1903, Maidenhead, Deg-Min-Sec). Allows you to use your GPS phone to locate yourself on paper maps with these grids
2. Convert from a grid coordinate to the native phone coordinate format, and read and write to the phone landmark store. Allows you to use converted grid coordinates with navigation applications such as Google Maps and Nokia Maps
3. Show the distance and direction bearing from your location to a grid coordinate position. Enables you to use a magnetic compass to locate that position.
4. Use the integrated compass with sun and moon direction to navigate to a position
5. Import map images to see your location
 

Saturday 28 March 2009

Download - latest release of UTM data - 0.97.6

Updates:
- v0.97.6 added Maidenhead Locator System support; map text has transparent background; saved KML files include altitude values
- v0.97.5 small changes: saves name of selected bearing landmark on program exit
- v0.97.4 tested with touchscreen user interface Nokia 5800 Xpress - now compiled for S60 5th edition devices; checks for phone location java support
Coordinate view at nightHeading compass view at night with moon positionMap view with accuracy circle
Read the notes supplied in the zip file and test the coordinates shown against your maps to check coordinate grids and datums before use. You can load your own map images by following these instructions.
Nokia phone users should uninstall earlier versions then:
- Download and install from device browser here (cellular download may incur operator charges)
- Download zip file here (zip) and install with Nokia PC Suite or copy the jar file to device
Sony-Ericsson phone users can download this zip file (for "JP8" devices with 240x320 screens).
Please allow the application to contact web server during installation - this logs number of downloads and keeps track of reasons if installations fail.
 

Saturday 13 September 2008

Download - latest release of UTM converter - v0.6.9 beta

screen shotFor converting between different coordinate types and saving as a new landmark in your Series 60 3rd edition device. This enables you to take position coordinates in several different formats, convert and save to the device landmark store, then use those locations in other S60 navigation applications such as Nokia Maps or Google Maps.
Coordinates for conversion are entered manually, or from GPS current or last known locations, or from landmarks stored in the device. Landmarks are sorted allowing you to see the great-circle distance and direction from the most recently viewed coordinates to any stored landmark.
In S60 phones without a GPS receiver, Google Maps uses cellular information to determine approximate location coordinates which can be saved to favourites in the device landmark store which you can then open and convert in UTM converter.
This application is less detailed than UTM data with a simplified user interface, and uses less memory and less battery power - GPS is only activated when needed. Supported coordinates (WGS84): decimal, deg°min'sec", dd°mm.mmm', UTM, MGRS, and OSGB(1936), Swiss(CH1903), Irish grid(1965).

v0.6.9 send sms text messages from the coordinate viewer; read coordinates from geotagged JPG image files; landmark saved kml files can be read by Google Maps for Mobile version 2.2.0.11
v0.6.8 after viewing saved landmarks, these landmarks are plotted onto the map
v0.6.7 supports: improved accuracy for Irish Grid conversions, now 1 metre, by Chris Davey!; View coordinate settings; the device's default photos folder is now used for KML file saving and the Maps folder location e.g.: "Images" in Nokia (or "pictures" in Sony-Ericsson - but can someone test please and comment please?)

Your S60 phone must support Java version MIDP2.0 and Java JSR-179API. First uninstall earlier versions, then download online by opening this link in your device browser.
The installation (zipped) files are also downloadable.
Please allow the application to contact web server during installation - this logs number of downloads and keeps track of reasons if installations fail.
 

Sunday 17 August 2008

Comments - feature requests etc here

Post your comments here
 

Wednesday 6 August 2008

Comments for installation errors

Testing feedback and ideas welcome here ! Here are some suggestions to try with installation:
1. these applications have been compiled for Series 60 platform devices that support Java Mobile Edition MIDP 2.0 and the JSR-179 API. For Nokia devices you can check support here.
2. One reason can be because these applications are not "signed" so the settings in your Nokia device Application Manager must be set to allow "all". If these settings are not shown in your device then your device software may not allow installation of UTM data and UTM converter
3. Uninstall all previous installations of UTM data and UTM converter, before trying a new install
4. "Invalid JAR" Some folks have found the UTM converter application is described as invalid during installation. Try uninstalling earlier versions first.
5. Once the application is installed use the Application Manager to open the security settings for the application to ensure Positioning, Landmarks, Read user data and Edit user data are all allowed
6. If you see an error such as "NoClassDef .. FoundError .. QualifiedCoodinates" then your device does not support Java technology JSR-179 API. Unfortunately these applications will not work in your device.
 

Sunday 16 September 2007

Description and Screenshots - UTM data


Do you have a Series 60 phone with GPS capability, such as Nokia E90 or N95, and want to use the GPS satellite information to locate your position on maps printed with grid references? Or do you have coordinates not in the decimal coordinate format required by Series 60 phone landmarks, yet you need to use these coordinates in Google Maps or Nokia Maps?

I tried to do this in the French Alps with the IGN topographic maps. What I found was the coordinates shown in the phone are in decimal format; but the French maps like IGN TOP25 have Universal Transverse Mercator “UTM” gridlines which are impossible to convert in your head from the decimal lat/lon format shown in the phone. (Go to Wikipedia and other web pages if you want to understand what all that means .. back to school geography lessons for you!).

So I looked for S60 software to display GPS decimal coordinates as UTM and other grid coordinate formats such as OSGB for the UK. In the end I wrote this Java [J2ME] application myself. Here it is for you to download and use. It’s simple with the main view for the current GPS location in several coordinate types:
- degrees in decimals (WGS84 datum)
- degrees-minutes-seconds (WGS84 datum)
- dd mm.mmm (WGS84 datum)
- UTM coordinates (WGS84 datum) in metres
- MGRS coordinates (WGS84 datum) in metres
- OSGB coordinates (1936 datum) shown when in UK
- Swiss coordinates (CH1903) shown when in Switzerland
- Irish grid coordinates (1965 datum) shown when in Ireland
- Maidenhead Locator System (WGS84 datum) for amateur radio

Note: US maps with USNG grids using NAD83 datums may be supported by using MGRS wgs84 coordinates - a wikipedia entry states "when the WGS84 datum is used, USNG and MGRS coordinates are practically identical", as does another site. Please test this first with your USNG maps (the older datum NAD27 may also be similar to MGRS).

There are also several other indicators such as position accuracy, altitude, speed relative to ground, heading in degrees relative to true North, bearing and distance to a landmark, distance to north pole and south pole and equator, civil twilight, sunrise and sunset times, time and date of the last captured position.

Two additional views provide a Compass heading bearing to a selected landmark from the device landmark store, and a Map view to a world map. Toggle between these views using Left/Right or "8" key. You can also load small map image files to the Map view by following the instructions here
Coordinate viewCompass heading view to a selected LandmarkMap view
In addition to viewing coordinates for the current GPS position, you can take coordinates (in grid datum formats: Irish grid 1965, Swiss CH1903, OSGB-1936, UTM wgs84, MGRS wgs84, Deg-Min-Sec wgs84, dd mm.mmm wgs84) and convert and save these map positions to the device's Landmark store (in decimal degrees). Then later when trekking using applications like Nokia GPS data or navigating with Nokia Maps or Google Maps you can set your target destination to the saved Landmark and navigate to the position. There is also application UTM converter which performs same conversions.

Landmarks in the device Landmark store saved by other applications can be viewed in the different coordinate types supported by UTM data.

Before travelling check your paper map is printed with one of these gridline and datum formats and test the application coordinates against your map before real use! Other applications like Nokia Maps, Nokia GPS data and Nokia Sportstracker have lots more functionality for navigation and can run in the device at the same time as UTM data.

This is a beta release so may contain bugs. I have used these applications with Nokia E90 with the internal GPS, Nokia 6120 using an external Bluetooth GPS accessory (and earlier versions with Nokia E61).

S60.com listing: link. Application page: link - you may want to vote!. There is also a WAP browser page here for UTM converter and UTM data. Number of downloads was 11450 on 16/11/2008.

Information relating to copyrights: UTM data is free to download and use but all users must respect the copyrights asserted by the following developers and content providers:
- Jcoord and Jsuntimes code from JStott. Regarding the licence: source code is downloadable here.
- Float11 code from Nikolay Klimchuk
- Irish grid conversion code by Chris Davey (Apache licence)
- also some parts developed using Geotrans
- NMEA package from Dominik Schmidt, copyright (C) 2006 Media Informatics Group, University of Munich. Software distributed under GPL licence
- public domain World image from wikipedia
- concept for sun and moon plotting on the Heading view came from Dana Peters' compass software. This application is a must-have and does not require GPS. Regarding the licence: source code is downloadable here.
- UTM data is not a commercial application

UTM converter uses the same code sources above plus:
- metadata J2ME library from Catholic+Linux+Monkey. Original code GPL copyright belongs to Drew Noakes

Read the notes supplied with the download and test the coordinates with your maps before use. Always take a compass with you as mobile phone battery life is finite. Exit GPS applications if you are not using them to save battery charge - the Pause option in UTM data does not ensure the GPS receiver powers down!

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