3-D graphical GPS display software?

[danstrider]

Almost all UAV's nowadays have GPS and wireless telemetry transmitters onboard. How can a hobbiest *show* that GPS data?

My application is for an XC datalogger of sorts (at least logging data is the first step) and I'd like to see the GPS position updated on a computer screen.

The best I've found so far is Skyplotter (http://www.sprut.de/electronic/soft/skyplot.htm), but it isn't real-time. I can get the data from the onboard processor in any format that software needs, I just can't find that software........

Any leads/links/ideas?

Thanks,
Dan

[LukeZ]

Dan,

I haven't used APRS much but I wonder if some of the mapping software for that could be used. I don't know if you'd have to format your GPS position data into APRS packets or if the software could be modified somehow to accept a different output. But essentially these programs show a position on a map in real time.

Here are a few: APRS+SA (http://www.tapr.org/~kh2z/aprsplus/) (SA=Street Atlas), APRSPoint (http://www.aprspoint.com/) and UI-View (http://www.ui-view.org/).

[Medve]

This should be fairly easy. you should be able to use any GPS software that runs on a laptop (Streetmaps). This gives a real time plot over a map from the GPS that is plugged into the laptop. Now, replace the GPS at the laptop with a radio modem RX, and put the GPS with radio modem TX in the plane. This is what I am looking into now, but would also like to downlink my video signal on the same radio modem instead of having to run and power a separate video TX on board. Anyone have ideas on this?

[LukeZ]

Medve, I may be wrong, but if you're going to downlink your video signal over a modem, won't you first have to digitize it (most modems accept serial data in)? If that's the case you're going to have to have some kind of major bandwidth modem to handle that: it seems to me it would be the equivalent of streaming video over the internet.

However, your solution about the mapping software does seem to be staggeringly simple: does it work?

[LukeZ]

Of course Dan was asking about 3-D, which none of this stuff is...

[danstrider]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I am indeed looking for 3-D. The idea is to see how I'm performing in a thermal (which should be fun since it'll be a big spiral going up!) graphically on the computer screen, hopefully with the ability to rotate and zoom and stuff.

For video Medve, the Black Widow A/V transmitters are pretty good. I have experience with both the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz transmitters and they have worked wonderfully for me (the 900 MHz needs power wired directly as opposed to using a connector).

So any 3-D programs?
Dan

[typicalaimster]

Hmmm, Perhaps a program called TopoFusion? I haven't tired it real time yet

[muc]

So any 3-D programs?
Dan

http://www.fugawi.com/docs/fugMOA.html

This software looks promising. Maybe this software and a Garmin Geko 301 that has a barometric altimeter would work.

Mark