Bicycling - GPS device with no subscription/data plan
 

I have been riding a bicycle 6 days a week for about 18 months to improve my breathing, stamina, and lose a good deal of weigh. I have gone from 6-8 miles a day last year to 25/30 miles 6 days a week, using the same amount of time.

I have gone from a 42 inch waist pant to a 34/36 inch jeans and have a goal of being able to maintain a 32 inch waist size by the end of the year.

I have a simple wireless computer on the bicycle, and want to step up to a GPS device that has no subscription/data plan, that will work with my 64-bit KDE 4 Debian based Mepis Distro.

Any Linux Bicycle riders using software and devices with suggestions.

1. Affordable
2. Works with http://www.mapmyride.com
3. No monthly fees
4. KDE software compatible
5. USB 2.0 connector

JR

There's are apps for a variety of mobile phone platforms if you want to keep things simpler.

I can recommend GPSLogger for the crackberry. I don't know if it works with mapmyride. It works perfectly with Strava.com. Nokia has a nice, free application for their phone platform and a website just like the others. Nokia also has a bluetooth heart rate monitor if you are into that kind of thing too. I think mapmyride has apps for a couple of phone platforms anyway.

As far as support in KDE goes, I'm not sure what you're after. My crackberry mounts in mass storage mode. I had a nokia that did the same. I just transferred the files that way. GPSLogger makes text files, no special software needed.

As an fyi, mapmyride and Strava are kind of a one-way deal. Unless you hang onto your gps files, you can't recover them 100% intact.

OT: you're an American hero. :) One down, ~200 million to go.

(Sorry. Can't help with the GPS question.)

Hi,

you've done much for your health, congratulations!

I'm using a Garmin GPS Receiver, ETrex Legend HCx, for Geocaching. It is fully compatible with Linux. Data-transfer can be done with "GPS-babel" on the commandline. I'm using additionally "QLandkarteGT" and "Cachewolf" which can deal with maps and convert between various map-formats.

Links: http://www.gpsbabel.org/ and http://www.qlandkarte.org/ and http://www.cachewolf.de/wiki/index.php?n=Main.FAQ and https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8701
maybe it is not everything related to biking, but hopefully the information points you in the right direction.

Markus

If you are a DIY person, you could get a Fastrax uPatch100 module for ten to twenty dollars; it uses CMOS 3.0v 4800 or 9600 baud serial communications. I've been thinking about getting one and interfacing it to a Teensy USB stick; it's cheap (16 to 27 bucks depending on model), open (except for the closed-source boot loader) and easily programmable in C using gcc-avr. Most AVR USB sticks use an USB-serial bridge, but these have a native one; it can be any kind of USB device. In Linux, it is very easy to interface to an userspace application. See the links for examples.

The Teensy and the GPS module consume much less than 100mA altogether (~ 60mA @ 5VDC total, I think), so you can fully power it via USB. For eight bucks more you can get the micro-SD adaptor; you can even drop the voltage down to 3.3VDC, rig it for battery operation, and store the route on a micro-SD card if you don't want to lug your laptop with you. In fact, I already have a couple of Nokia 3510i color displays that can be interfaced to the Teensy. There is very little RAM on the Teensy (8192 bytes RAM, 128k flash on the ++ model), so I'm not sure if it is worth it to try to pack a map in it (but maybe into the microSD card?), but at least coordinates, distance, status (and tachometer etc. you'd care to rig to it) should be relatively easy. A digital gyro or compass chip could be nice, too.

If you are interested, feel free to drop me a private message.

mpapet,

All Mobile phone are a subscription/data plan, something I am trying to avoid.

These have no subscription fees I believe, and no native Linux software!

Garmin Forerunner 305 - USB connectivity
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2007/11/r...unner-305.html
Garmin Edge 500 - USB connectivity
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/11/g...th-review.html

JR

http://www.gpsbabel.org/htmldoc-1.4.2/fmt_garmin.html

the Forerunner- and Edge-devices are supported by GPS-Babel.

I'm using my Garmin (see my post above) with Slackware64-current on KDE.

Markus

Edit: afaik Garmin has no Linux-software yet. But it is no problem to convert various GPS-dataformats on Linux.

Nominal Animal,

I am not much of an experimenter with electrical devices, but have assembled more than one desktop computer & bicycle. Only want a compact device with a GPS that can easily mount to the bicycle and after the ride let me connect it to my Linux desktop computer and upload it to the cloud similar to Garmin connect.(http://connect.garmin.com/ that is Only Apple & Microsoft).

For the moment I manually map and record my all my workouts on http://www.mapmyride.com.

The Garmin 200 is a new device, so street price will be about the same as retail $150, and that is $12.50 a month for a year, or a single cheap pizza I can avoid, to enjoy having a GPS device for my bicycling.

JR

Markush,

Will investigate the information you provided, was currently looking at Edge 200. A cadence and heart monitor is not a requirement today, maybe next year after I have learned to use the device and info it can provide. Maybe a Edge 500 would be a better purchase, still not certain but know I need a device and Linux software.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/08/g...th-review.html

Can GPS-Babel, get the upload into garmin connect, or mapmyride?

JR

I don't know about mapmyride. GPS-Babel can transfer GPS-data from the Garmin-devices to the Computer and from the Computer to the Garmin-device.

Which data-format does your mapmyride support? If I know that I can find out with which programm you can convert the data (if necessary).

Markus

I have a simple USB 2.0 GPS dongle: a BU-353

It works perfectly with linux and the gpsd daemon.

Data can easily be logged with tangogps which will download and cache (free) maps of your area to show you where you are, or have been, even if offline.

Logged coordinates can easily imported into mapping programs like openstreetmap and josm

tredegar,

Appears to need an external USB power source, screen for some visual feedback during a ride and a mounting system for use on a bicycle, do not see these on the website.

JR

tredegar,

I did not look far enough into the website the GB-580P Cycling Computer looks interesting, but they are still testing the units I believe...
http://www.usglobalsat.com/p-678-gb-.../large/678.jpg

JR

JR

The BU-353 gets its power from USB. It costs about US$30-40

I use it with an eee701 (a tiny PC, with a 7" screen) that is running ubuntu 10.04. The eee fits in my backpack. The eee is about 3-4yrs old now, still working fine, and no doubt "previously loved" ones are available very cheaply. The BU-353 (which is waterproof) mounts on my hat (so it can see the sky) with its built-in magnet. Yes, I might look like a lunatic, but I don't care, because it is fun.

If you want to buy a dedicated logger, then go ahead if it will let you download the NMEA data (which linux applications like tangogps will be happy with), but I thought you wanted a linux solution.

No SIM card/subscription needed for either phone. There's a fully functioning computer in both phones. Turn off the cellular radio and get even longer battery life. As I mentioned before both devices mount as mass storage devices in Linux. If you want to go through the trouble of setting up MTP support, MTP works in Linux too.